BBC: Has the American left fizzled out?

[pampango]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11496149

New York City has long been a thriving hub of left-leaning political activism. During the Bush administration, the city teemed with disgruntled liberals, angry about the "war on terror", the invasion of Iraq and tax cuts for wealthy Americans - to name but three of their core causes.

These activists had clear adversaries - President Bush and his advisers, most notably vice-president Dick Cheney, deputy chief or staff Karl Rove and legal counsel John Yoo. And they had a clear priority - removing these "war criminals" from office and ending the conflicts abroad.

They wanted to take America back. Some would say they did. Barack Obama won a landslide victory and Democrats gained overwhelming control over Congress.

Now, angry conservatives are demanding their country back, and, if Washington DC's conventional wisdom is to be believed, hardcore liberals are poised to hand it over in November's mid-term elections.

New York's progressive liberal community sees things a little differently. Despite conservative accusations that Mr Obama is socialist, to progressives, he seems hopelessly moderate. They don't think their agenda has been represented in Washington.

Most people in the progressive community say that they didn't truly believe the country - and its institutional and corporate power centres - would be transformed by one man. Still, many harboured hopes that their dreams of a new kind of democracy and equality were close at hand. They have been sorely disappointed, and in the process, their activism has splintered.

[Scuba]

1. Yet we shall appear united on election day (Nov 2nd)...

...when we come to knock down the corporations that would buy our democracy.



You can help.

Volunteer down at Democratic HQ. They need people to make phone calls, knock on doors, compile lists of local events, do data entry, etc.

Help others get their early ballots in case they can't get out on election day.

Get a yard sign.

Talk to your cousin/nephew/aunt etc.

We need to focus on this or the next two years of DU will be not about how to improve the country, but about limiting damage.

thanks,

Scuba

[Winterblues]

34. Election day has already come and gone for many if not most Republicans

Republicans receive an absentee ballot mailed by the Republican Party so they don't have to worry about any get out the vote efforts. Their memebers sit right at their kitchen table and fill in their ballots...

[Scuba]

41. Underscores why it is so important for us to keep working. n/t

[Cal Carpenter]

2. Under Bush it was easy

to have the appearance of a strong left - because the actual capital 'L' Left could align with the pissed off Democratic voters and other progressives to protest against the wars, the corporatism, and all the other things that Bushco did to America and the world.

Now that the Dems are in power, it is becoming more obvious that such an alignment was pretty superficial.

It goes beyond having been disappointed by Obama - there are deep, ideological differences. Most on the Left did not expect much from Obama, and they are getting just what they expected.

Needless to say, our whole concept of what 'Left' is in this country is pretty convoluted; calling the Dem party 'left' requires a very relativistic way of looking at politics/economics. Throw in the word 'progressive' and you have a big, undefinable, clusterfuck of ideology.

[kenfrequed]

17. Well

Many of us have gotten considerably less than we expected, and some of us are accepting less than what we should have gotten.

Still, recent moves by the administration might be good for firing up the base.

[DailyGrind51]

3. The true American Left died with the end of the compulsory draft and the Vietnam War.

What we have now is too fragmented to become a cohesive effort.

[rug]

4. I blame it on disco.

The country has yet to recover.

[Lochloosa]

5. [phone]

[DailyGrind51]

8. You may have something there! Damn BeeGees!

[frazzled]

9. It goes back farther than that

You should Blame It on the Bossa Nova.

[eggman67]

15. Even further back than that

Put The Blame On Mame.

[frazzled]

22. Okay, I raise you one in the blame game

Blame It on My Youth, 1934.

Chet Baker did a gorgeous version of it.

[saltpoint]

10. Agree. Disco deserves quite a bit of the blame.

[joeybee12]

11. Hey! The history of music is Mozart, Beethoven, then....

Donna Summer!

[saltpoint]

12. And she works hard for the money.

[joeybee12]

25. So you better treat her right!

Alright!

[saltpoint]

27. : )

That song's lyrics could slip on by the censors because the specific nature of her work isn't mentioned.

It probably pissed off the people in the censors' office that any 12-year old could have figured out what was going on but there wasn't any specific objectionable language.

[mmonk]

18. Good bye sister disco.

Goodbye Sister Disco
With your flashing trash lamps
Goodbye Sister Disco
And to your clubs and your tramps

[L0oniX]

35. "Car Wash" was clearly a vision of the future of jobs.

[DearAbby]

37. I Blame it on the break up of the Beatles

That was so traumatic. :hide:

[cliffordu]

39. yep.

[zipplewrath]

43. McCarthyism

the "true left" was absolutely, and potentially permanently, destroyed by McCarthyism. There was a very "lefty" movement in this country which can trace back to at least the 30's. Communism as a political philosophy was very "popular" and down right "cool" in some circles. When the "red scare" of the 50's came along and destroyed careers, it permanently put people on notice that your political views could destroy you, despite how strongly or weakly they were held. It was the original "politically incorrect" and it was devistating.

Today, intellectuals will tend to stay within relatively narrow bounds of political commentary, research, and expression. No think tank, college professor, or author will risk getting labled such that they are unemployable. No one with much of an interest in politics will consider wandering too far from the center. The extremes of the parties have become intellectual waste lands in which only the ignorant will willingly wander. The kinds of radical thinking that was present in the late 1700's in much of the colonial areas, or that brought about popular movements in India, or Russia, or even France is no longer tolerated.

And we are all poorer for it.

[Evasporque]

6. More like Drown Out....by the unwashed, mouth-breathing, paint chip eating, right....nt

[jaxx]

7. People ought to be pissed at foreign 'news' trying to divide the Democratic Party.

They make us sound like a bunch of cry babies. Don't take it lying down, get out there and vote for Democrats. I don't mind seeing them choke on their buttinskiisms.

[kenfrequed]

16. Screw that

I'm far more pissed at our own press for deciding frequently and repeatedly that Max Baachus, Joe Lieberman, and Rahm Emmanuel are good democrats to have on the Sunday morning shows.

The BBC is just reporting on voter Ennui that exists, the American press tries to frame the issues and push the left leaning politicians and points of view off camera.

[Cal Carpenter]

20. You are equating the Dem party with the Left.

They are only the same in the most shallow and relativist way.

[jaxx]

29. There is only one Democratic Party.

It's the one all DUers agree to support. There is no purity test.

[Cal Carpenter]

31. Right

What I am saying is that, on the grand scheme of political/economic theory, the Dem party is centrist, not Leftist. I'm not making any insinuations, just trying to clarify that there is a substantial difference between what most of the world considers the Left and the Dem party of the US. Sure, relative to the Repubs it's left-ish, but it ain't the Left, and it doesn't claim to be.

[independent_voter]

38. good luck banning the BBC when you cant ban fred phelps nt

[mmonk]

55. Yeah. Don't need those foreigners pointing out the obvious.

[Octafish]

13. Shot dead.

In Dallas and Memphis and Los Angeles and New York City, among other places.

[bobbolink]

54. That's what I think is true. The terrorism worked.

One of the other places was Kent State.

But, you are right.... those are the main locations of the extinction of the left.

[Romulox]

14. What an awful, superficial article--one with an obvious slant.

Notice the author's true thesis, revealed only in the last sentence of the piece. Poorly researched and cowardly.

Mr Krebs says he has no doubt they will work hard to elect Mr Obama again in 2012. But perhaps they will do so with fewer stars in their eyes.

[KharmaTrain]

19. Outshouted...

McLuan said it..."the medium is the message". During the 90s the right wing coopted the medium and thus generated the message and the rest of the media has danced to its tune ever since.

Hate radio and Faux noise enables lies and poutrages to distract from serious issues and to distort important ones that have made this government dysfunctional. The noise is too loud to ignore...and something the "liberal media" that once existed did which led to the imbalance we see today. "Deregulation" added to this situation as large corporate who fear a left/liberal and pro-union viewpoint all but pushed these viewpoints off the dial.

That said...there are bright rays in the darkness. Compared to the early '00s where there were almost no "librul" voices and faces on the teevee, today we do have intrepid newsfolks like Keith Olbermann, Rachel Maddow along with Ed Schultz, Jon Stewart and a growing blogosphere that are quietly eroding at the right's control on the flow of information.

[whathehell]

26. You forgot the death of The Fairness Doctrine....I'm old enough to remember it

and I know that "hate radio" just happened to coincide with its demise.

Now, I know that people have argued against re-instituting The Fairness Doctrine, pointing out that, at the time, we had far fewer channels, cable, etc....But I do think we need something like it, however it need be tweaked for the current era, as I don't think one can overestimate the role of the "Republican Noise Machine" in our present hideous circumstance.

[KharmaTrain]

42. That Was On Purpose

I worked in radio during the days of the "Fairness Doctrine". It had nothing to do with talk programming which is classified as "entertainment" and only pertained to mandated public service shows that aired in graveyard hours. When you say "fairness", then who decides? How much fairness? In theory it sounds good but in reality it's all but impossible to maintain.

The problem isn't "fairness" but access...deregulating so that a handful of large corporates own the majority of the licenses and have frozen out the little, independent operators who can present different voices and perspective. Repealing or rivising Telcom'96 would be a good start but this administration has no desire to rock boats.

[whathehell]

46. We may be of similar age..

and, with respect, Talk Radio was small potatoes before the 1980's.

As to it's being classified as "entertainment"...Well, obviously that's a misnomer at this point..No one could call "Fox News" non-political.

"Fairness" at the time referred to the two major political parties and, if I'm not mistaken, political candidates did not have to pay for their time during those years, the airways concession to their "public" nature.

[KharmaTrain]

47. It Also Applied To "Independents"...

...and that could range from National Socialists or Atheists or any group...not just to political candidates. I operated a talk station in the 80s...it was a far different animal than it is today (I could explain why but that's another topic another day) and while controversial in some cases, it wasn't a "format" as it is today. It was intermixed with news or music.


The rules didn't give free airtime but assured each candidate the lowest station rate (unlike today where candidates are gouged with the highest and why elections have gotten so expensive). As a "public service" my station always did interviews with candidates and sponsored some open forums where they debated and we used it for our "ascertainment" regarding community service. We weren't required to do such programming and our competitors didn't. We attempted to offer time to all candidates but the show was classified as "news" and thus not under the "Fairness" guidelines. Trust me, the rushpublican station owner gave NOTHING away for free and cursed the "Fairness" doctrine for all the revenues he felt he was losing.

As far as terminology...what's in a word? Opinion for some can be entertaining...even Rushbo likes to call himself an "entertainer" (a reference to the last day of the "Fairness" doctrine. Hate radio was set up to run outside the rules...to find the loopholes so there wouldn't be any "equal" time. News didn't fall under "fairness" either as it would make covering any controversial issue all but impossible.

Again, it never was "fairness"...it's been access. Since 1996 the majority of this country's small and medium markets have been dominated by large corporates who eliminated jobs and many talented people; replaced with simple, cheap and easy to control programming. Their reward? The entire industry has gone bankrupt with a massive exodus from virtually anyone under the age of 40.

Cheers...

[whathehell]

49. Correct...But self-described political Independents were a much smaller group

back then...Reich Wing Talk Show came on Big in the middle to late eighties...I don't know when you ran your show, but the Eighties were a time of change, and the seventies and earlier would actually be a better point of reference.

In any case, I'm not going to argue with you further, but I know of many people from that era and earlier who disagree with you re: The Fairness Doctrine.

[KharmaTrain]

53. Bottom Line...

Majority of broadcasters hated the "Fairness Doctrine" as it was very ambiguous and impossible to interpret. It's application was very limited and wasn't this nirvana where everyone could come into a studio and demand time to rebut. If there was a "fairness" it was that license periods were shorter and licenses were easier to challenge. If a station didn't attempt to be fair with a candidate or special interest group, they could make life very nasty when renewal time came around. No such rules exist anymore.

FTR, I worked in talk radio throughout the 80s and into the early 90s and saw it transform from a "town hall" type approach to the partisan hatefest it became. And it was done so by design. In 1988 I met with the "consultant" who put Rush's EIB network together and was told how hate radio would be the new "hot hits" with the backing and blessing of large corporates. It wasn't long after I moved on to other areas...gladly independent and prosperous.

Cheers...

[whathehell]

59. The majority of broadcasters might have hated it,

but they had managed to accomodate it since 1949. The link below illustrates another point of view on the Fairness Doctrine.

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0212-03.htm


Whatever our differences here, I do appreciate your personal information..Especially in regard to the "hatefest" intent..Quite sickening, that.

Good for you for getting the hell out.

[cowcommander]

21. The "left" would rather eat each other than stand united

if DU is any indication :(

[JamesA1102]

24. Well said nt

[girl gone mad]

60. DU is not indicitave of the unity that exists on the left.

Here a small group of vocal party loyalists openly and aggressively attack DU posters who share opinion or criticism from a progressive perspective.

Elsewhere, the left is extremely united around the same core principles that held us together while Bush was in power. In fact, it's been my observation that the failed bank bailouts, the shocking rise in poverty, the attacks on gay rights and the administration's usurpation of much of the illegal and immoral Bush agenda have only strengthened the resolve of liberals.

[JamesA1102]

23. The problem is too many want all the change at once

change needs to be incremental and that takes time.

[Name removed]

28. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Jamastiene]

44. Funny, the change that happened between Clinton and Bush

was fast as hell. There was no incremental in that nightmare.

Why can't we compromise between no change at all and "all the change at once" and move a tiny tad bit faster than a sedated snail's pace?

At this point, we already need micro calipers to measure the amount of change.

[JamesA1102]

45. But most of that was due to 9/11 nt

[BzaDem]

57. To Republicans, many of which want to abolish entire government departments and programs, it was

very incremental.

[BzaDem]

30. Ya wanna know what will REALLY get the disappointed part of the left enthused again?

A Republican Whitehouse, along with a Republican House and a Republican Senate.

Until then, who knows.

[blindpig]

32. Let us be clear....

there is no organized Left in the United States. Liberal is not 'Left' except in the most relative way, the kinder, gentler capitalist position. 'Left' is opposition to capitalism, anarchists, socialists, communists.

The Left in the US hasn't fizzled, it was bludgeoned into a coma in the 50's, it is waiting to be reborn.

[superduperfarleft]

40. +1.

"Progressives" on this site rarely seem to be able to tell the difference.

[leftstreet]

48. +1

[Trajan]

33. What does 'American Left' mean ?

I have had a LONG TIME problem with the so called 'American Left' ....

There is no voice .... There are a hundred million voices, but no voice that espouses the numerous platform planks that would exist for an organized party made up of a hundred million citizens ...

There is no specific set of philosophies that one can pronounce .... None are espoused publicly .... NO political philosophers on the left that identify the salient concepts that form a set of beliefs which can be learned, taught, explained, transferred, transported, and communicated, en masse, to a hungry public needing guidance and knowledge ....

The Democratic party has done an AWFUL job or organizing their own party around a set of core principles ....

NO Democratic party member comes forward and explains what the core philosophies are .... People are born every minute of every day .... People become voters every single day ...

Yet there is no person that is explaining to them, in terms they can understand, why it is THEY should become Liberals, Progressives, or Democrats ....

Where are the elder statesmen ? .... Where are the Gurus ? .... and I do NOT mean these party hacks who know how to twist arms in back rooms ....

I am talking about the smart men and women who we know exist that can come forward, and speak to MILLIONS of voters, and explain why THEY should become Democrats ....

There has been a deafening silence ....

And, I'm sorry, as well as Obama speaks, and I adore the man; He does NOT speak enough to fill the void ....


We needed a full court press ..... for decades ....

So yes ... The 'American Left' fizzled out when the firebrands left the stage .... and none ever filled their place ....

Pitiful ....

[glitch]

36. They shoot the moderates (JFK, MLK, RFK, MX), what do you think they do with real Leftists?

By moderate I mean people who want to honor the Constitution and work within the system for change.

As far as elder Democratic gurus go, look at how the corporate media treats George McGovern, or Walter Mondale or Al Gore? And it doesn't matter how "center-right" they go either, Bill Clinton when he had power, Obama now. Anyone who isn't their corporate stooge, one of them, fully embedded, is vilified.

[Citizen Worker]

50. There is no Left political movement in the US. And the two political parties are best described as

Business Party #1 and Business Party #2. For the last few years Business Party #2 has controlled the congress and in '08 the presidency. Business Party #1 is ascendant and may retake control in November and the "news" media will immediately set about trying to convince the country that voters were angry and that election results represent "change." The reality, however, is that it will be status quo regardlesss of which party is in "control."

[KurtNYC]

51. that piece goes on to state the the TeaBaggers have energized the left and moderates

but it is pointless to speculate when there are polls and other data available.

[Name removed]

52. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[txlibdem]

56. +1

[DJ13]

58. Not fizzled out. Kneecapped by the elites of both party's

They needed the left to give the average voter the idea that the Democratic candidate was promising a serious turn away from the disasters of the Republicans.

Once they won, the left became a liability in the plan to continue most of those same Republican policies.

[kgnu_fan]

61. Until people stop blaming and start organizing...