NY Times - "Whatever Happened to the American Left?" - The Left Can't Sit Back

[TomCADem]

Today, some folks on the left push for the election of so-and-so, and the abandonment of so-and-so incumbent as the path to power. In other words, if you elect Dennis Kucinich or Bernie Sanders, we could then sit back and enjoy the establishment of the liberal utopia that many of us expect Barack Obama to bring about. In other words, the left managed to mobilize folks for the 2008 elections, but then were largely out-organized and outspent by the corporate created Tea Party, as the corporate media seized the narrative of a right wing grass roots while portraying the left as ineffective and bitter. I agree that this article's point that the left will need to somehow establish an independent and ongoing identity that demands attention from both parties. This is not about abandoning the Democrats, but about demanding attention and holding Republicans, as well as Democrats accountable.

Sadly, the corporate media often portrays such efforts as a "schism" between the Democrats and their base. However, this is untrue. The corporate creation of the Tea Party demonstrates how a political movement albeit artificially funded can be used to demand attention from both parties.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/25/opinion/sunday/whatever-happened-to-the-american-left.html

SOMETIMES, attention should be paid to the absence of news. America’s economic miseries continue, with unemployment still high and home sales stagnant or dropping. The gap between the wealthiest Americans and their fellow citizens is wider than it has been since the 1920s.

And yet, except for the demonstrations and energetic recall campaigns that roiled Wisconsin this year, unionists and other stern critics of corporate power and government cutbacks have failed to organize a serious movement against the people and policies that bungled the United States into recession.

* * *
If activists on the left want to alter this reality, they will have to figure out how to redefine the old ideal of economic justice for the age of the Internet and relentless geographic mobility. During the last election, many hoped that the organizing around Barack Obama’s presidential campaign would do just that. Yet, since taking office, Mr. Obama has only rarely made an effort to move the public conversation in that direction.

Instead, the left must realize that when progressives achieved success in the past, whether at organizing unions or fighting for equal rights, they seldom bet their future on politicians. They fashioned their own institutions — unions, women’s groups, community and immigrant centers and a witty, anti-authoritarian press — in which they spoke up for themselves and for the interests of wage-earning Americans.

[jaysunb]

1. Excellent !

Absolutely on target. :thumbsup:

[miscsoc]

2. indeed

The article's obviously right. So I'm a foreigner ;___; so forgive me for being presumptious in asking this, but why don't YOU go out and start organising lefties to go out and start making noise and getting coverage. DU is one of the biggest collections of progressive agitators in the country, you should be organising groups everywhere and making nuisances of yourselves like the teabaggers have done. Worked for them.

I don't think "the old ideal of economic justice" needs to be "redefined" at all. It just needs to be voiced. "Rich bastards fucked up our economy and have more money than they know what to do with, so let's hike taxes on them and spend it on the rest of us" is fundamentally an appealing message.

[TomCADem]

3. If The Tea Party Does It, It Energizes The GOP, But If The Left Does It...

...It is portrayed as a schism between Democrats and their base. Its a double standard, but should we be surprised at the corporate media narrative?