Socialism Won't Win in Brooklyn, Iowa - Steve Israel

[question everything]

(snip)

The road to a Democratic presidency runs through a few dozen swing counties in about a half-dozen swing states. David Wasserman of the Cook Political Report focuses on, among others, Maricopa, Ariz.; Pinellas, Fla.; Saginaw, Mich.; New Hanover, N.C.; Erie, Pa.; and Kenosha, Wis. Swing voters are, by their nature, centrists. They aren’t animated by extremes. They value a functioning government that moves them forward versus one that veers too far in either direction. “Impeachment” falls hard on their ears. A position that sounds like open borders without any rules is out of touch. Arguing that you’re going to “blow up the system” doesn’t have much credibility against a candidate like Mr. Trump—who has, well, blown up the system.

Socialism may sound like a good voter-turnout strategy in Brooklyn, N.Y. It’s a recipe for defeat in Brooklyn, Iowa, which is in a congressional district flipped by a moderate Democrat in the 2018 midterms.

Speaking of the midterms, can’t my party accept a winning strategy when it finds one? Democrats won the House majority by defeating 41 Republican incumbents. They flipped those districts with moderate candidates who made local voters comfortable. The House Democratic Caucus expanded on the right but finds itself having to prove it’s not socialist. Democrats criticize Speaker Nancy Pelosi for not being liberal enough, and President Obama’s policies on health care and immigration came under attack at the debates. Cue the “Twilight Zone” theme.

The divide in my party is reflected in two comments by prominent Democrats. Mayor Pete Buttigieg argues that Democrats can’t “try too hard to play it safe.” I respectfully disagree. It’s not playing it safe. It’s playing it smart. I do agree with the late liberal lion, Speaker Tip O’Neill, who admonished Democrats: “All politics is local.” He was right. Democrats as well as Republicans should see beyond the confines of absolutism to an electoral horizon that stretches in both directions.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/socialism-wont-win-in-brooklyn-iowa-11564701478 (paid subscription)

Mr. Israel was a U.S. representative from New York, 2001-17. He directs the Institute of Politics and Global Affairs at Cornell University.

[Thekaspervote]

1. Thx for posting... my opinion only...we need a centrist candidate to win

[elleng]

4. Yes, but don't say it too loud.

[hedda_foil]

2. Centrism always loses. Clinton and Obama didn't campaign as centrists. The rest lose.

[emmaverybo]

27. Neither did they campaign on a laundry list of massively expensive programs at a time when

existing social safety net programs are so endangered while we have a historically high deficit.

[pecosbob]

3. Thanks (blue) dog

[liberal N proud]

5. Funny thing about Brooklyn Iowa

It was part of the Amana Colonies, a communal community until the state broke them up because of taxes.

[Skidmore]

19. Not accurate.

Last edited Sat Aug 3, 2019, 05:36 PM - Edit history (1)

Brooklyn is forty miles away from us. The Amanas were originally established in Iowa CA. 1855 by a group from Germany who were persecuted for their religious beliefs. They purchased land around the Iowa River and established six villages, all named Amana with directional descriptors to distinguish between them. The nearby village of Homestead was added later when it was purchased to provide access to the railroad.

The Amanas were communal up until 1932 after the Depression years when they voted to adopt the capitalist system to give individuals a better chance to improve their lot. This decision was in response to the changes in agriculture and markets. Profit sharing via the Amana Society, a corporation established to ensure stewardship and profitability of the farms, woodlands, and mills, perpetuated a formal structure for continuation of some communal activities. Descendants of the original colonists own stock and have access to the common properties to graze animals, harvest wood, grow drops, etc. Newer residents can purchase a different class of stock with limited privileges. The Amanas is also the location of the company that produces appliances. It was started in the 1930s and later sold.

Vestiges of the communal system remain but the colonies are gradually dying out as the youth move away and no longer keep customs. Currently the children and grandchildren of the original settlers are aged. The colonies largely rely on the production of artisans, some farming and animal husbandry or jobs in nearby urban areas.

[George II]

6. Pretty much what Tammy Duckworth said last year and got excoriated for it by a "socialist".

[dhill926]

7. just lay our policies out there....

which most people approve of. But don't call it socialism...problem solved...

[mopinko]

8. well, steve, you are assuming

that "middle america" is gonna swallow that boogie man label that everyone is throwing around.
it is hard, and foolish, to underestimate the stupidity of the american electorate. but i find it hard to believe that many define socialism as the govt helping me take care of me and mine.
for that matter, i am not that sure the majority would get all that worked up about the govt stepping in and helping shift corporate governance toward more employee ownership.

please sit down steve.

[NurseJackie]

9. Yep. That's exactly right.

[gtar100]

10. No, this is not a choice about "socialism". That is a right-wing scare tactic.

It's a choice about Democracy and whether we are going to continue with the same stupid policies that have driven income inequality to the breaking point and our government being in service only to wealth or if we are going to use our government and the taxes it collects from us for the benefit of the people of this country who actually pay those taxes.

Social programs in a Democratic United States is not the same as socialism. The government is not coming to own your property or business. Health care, education, a social safety net, regulations that help protect the quality of our food, water and consumer goods are not socialism. It is a government working in the interests of the people who actually work and pay for it.

[TCJ70]

11. Mr. Israel should review recent history. Sanders won that county in the 2016 caucus. N/t

[Princetonian]

15. How moronic. Steve Israel headed up the DCCC for many cycles.

Those farmers are existing on socialism in the form of farm subsidies and Medicare.

[crazytown]

12. Guff

Sanders (16) + Warren (15) outpoll Biden (24) in Iowa
https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/iowa-poll/caucus/2019/06/09/iowa-poll-biden-leads-democrats-bernie-sanders-elizabeth-warren-pete-buttigieg-caucus-2020/1360801001/

Biden is weaker in Iowa than most states due to Buttigieg's strong ground game (14)

[brooklynite]

13. In the General Election, they let Republicans and Independents vote.

Also, if Sanders and Warren drop to 14, they still have more aggregate support, but they don't get any delegates.

[crazytown]

14. Sanders and Warren are better placed in Iowa

than most other states. That was the point I was addressing.

[JI7]

18. most Sanders supporters would support Biden over Warren

[thesquanderer]

24. I don't think that's true.

More Sanders supporters may pick Biden as their second choice compared to those who pick Warren, but that doesn't mean that "most Sanders supporters would support Biden over Warren."

https://morningconsult.com/2020-democratic-primary/

31% of Sanders supporters select Biden as their second choice, while only 22% choose Warren, is that what you're referring to? That totals 53. It doesn't tell us, out of the other 47%, how many would prefer Biden rather than Warren, i.e. if the only options were Sanders, Biden, and Warren. It is certainly very possible within those numbers that most Sanders supporters could prefer Warren to Biden.

[Lithos]

16. Sad, because they already have socialism there - they just call it by other names

Farmer subsidies, medicare, food bank programs (the infamous government cheese only happened as a way to buy and support farmer output).

[peggysue2]

17. Oh yes, every criticism of left-wing policies is a Republican framing issue

You know what the biggest, warped frame of all is? Criticizing the policy accomplishments of our former Democratic President Barack Obama. And doing it on a national debate platform or repeating it endlessly throughout the Twitterverse. It's a good rule of thumb not to hand your enemy ammunition before a decisive battle. And that's what we're looking at in 2020--a battle for our lives and the future.

Honestly, I wasn't Barack Obama's biggest fan back in the day. However in comparison to what we've got, I regard President Obama a Prince Among Men. Despite my petty complaints there was never a moment I believed President Obama acted maliciously, cruelly or indifferently to the challenges he had dumped on his plate. Just the reverse. His sanity, generosity and dignity was always at the forefront. When Joe Biden whispered after the passage of the ACA--it's a big fucking deal--he was right. The Democratic Party scored a major victory for healthcare, decades in the making.

IMHO, it's a form of political malpractice to go after a beloved former president, one who has garnered astounding approval numbers since leaving office. I saw a number posted the other day: 97% approval (later revised to a meager 95%) within the Democratic electorate and 99% approval among African American voters.

We want to win this thing (and it's not going to be a cakewalk), we need to heed the warnings that Steve Israel and others have posted. In order to win in 2020, we do indeed need to be smart.

[Lordquinton]

33. Not every criticism of Democratic politics is a republican talking point

Just the ones that actually are, like framing issues as Socialism to scare people away, or the "How are we going to pay for it" comments. Those two are absolutely republican talking points.

If we want to win we have to start standing up for ourselves, and others, when the right attacks us, we have to stand up to them, not run away. They've used the same lines for decades now, it's time we stop letting them work.

[Quixote1818]

20. Who is socialist? It's capitalism plus

Dems just need to work on the framing and not let idiots like this get away with their "All or nothing" BS framing.

[Gore1FL]

21. The Democrats could campaign on feudalism and the GOP would call it socialism

We may as well live up to out values. The find-the-middle strategy hasn't worked since it's panicked introduction into conventional wisdom after 1984's defeat. Yet, it keeps getting rolled out as an argument.

[ooky]

22. We should always just tell people pushing this garbage that we aren't campaigning on "socialism".

We are campaigning on giving them access to affordable health care and strengthening their Medicare and Social Security along with many other things normal people want and need. Call the "socialism" what it is - a Republican lie to scare them - which is actually a meaningless, incorrect label being disingenuously used by the party who doesn't want them to have affordable health care, social security, medicare etc. but instead is trying hard to take it all away.

[brooklynite]

29. ...except for the self-avowed Socialist.

[ooky]

30. Yeah except for him.

[oasis]

23. Let's win it first. "Socialism" can be slid in gradually, as needed.

Screw up now and none of us get a damn thing except more Trump. Think about it.

[thesquanderer]

25. About a "blow up the system candidate"...

Let's assume these areas selected Trump because they wanted a "blow up the system candidate" -- They may not be happy with Trump and could be persuadable to shift their vote. But what makes anyone think that they no longer want a "blow up the system candidate"? If that's what they wanted then, that could well still be what they want today. The fact that they're not so happy with Trump doesn't mean they are suddenly looking for a moderate, status quo, take it slow candidate. I think it's possible that they think, well, we know we don't want status quo, and Trump was not great, let's try a different "blow up the system candidate."

[Blue_true]

31. Economic recovery from the Great Recession was very uneven, still is.

Rural areas got hammered and are still getting hammered. What some of the people that bought into the blow up the system argument wanted was what they saw as a fairer shake, so they voted for a conman. He has screwed them, we can take advantage of that opening with well thought out proposals. I like what Warren is doing, except for her embrace of MFA and outlawing private insurance. If she instead pushed the ACA with a Public Option that was on steroids, she would easily win over places like Brooklyn Iowa.

[evertonfc]

26. messaging

I'm a fairly far left guy. However, we have to expand the map. Democrats never counter this ridiculous socialist label by describing that education, military, social security, police, fire, libraries, federal education grants, etc all fall under socialism given the GOP argument. We are terrible at messaging to middle America. I think Biden, Beto, Castro and maybe a couple more would put states in play that Bernie, Warren and Harris simply can't. Any of our canidates will win the states Clinton won in 2016. Who can compete in Texas? Win Florida? Win either of those two and match over before bed time. The "San Francisco" and "Massachusetts" liberal ads are already written and unfortunately they work in the heartland. I'm for any of our candidates but clearly some expand the electoral map while others, in my opinion, dont.

[Blue_true]

32. I have seen some on DU argue that schools, police, roads, fire fighting are not socialist

because we pay taxes. That completely ignores the reality that people who pay no taxes at all (regardless of their wealth) get the police responding to their calls, fire protection and drive on any road that they want to, so the system is allows free use of public services regardless of tax payment status, so it is fucking socialist, end of argument.

[Cha]

28. KR

[TSIAS]

34. This sums up the problem with America

Fascism is polling about equal to or just behind the Democrats in polling. Where are the right wingers who are concerned about Trump's fascism?

[TSIAS]

35. Could Joe Lieberman win in IA?

I suspect we could nominate Zell Miller or Joe Manchin and we would lose Iowa.

[Eric J in MN]

36. Playing that game:

People in Maricopa, Ariz.; Pinellas, Fla.; Saginaw, Mich.; New Hanover, N.C.; Erie, Pa.; and Kenosha, Wis. don't like the chaos and lawlessness of Donald Trump.

They want Democrats to uphold the law by impeaching Trump.


// I'm not a spokesman for those towns but neither is Steve Israel.