The idea that Democrats need to "move to the center on policing" is ridiculous. They are basically on the right on this ALREADY. Have you paid attention??????
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And in their heads, “center” on policing still involves reform. It misstates the political alignment of views on policing and is also impractical because police have made clear repeatedly that they will accept no reform that limits their impunity. It’s not a reality based proposal.
Sure thing. While this particular sheriff may not dabble in specific qanon whatever, but we know many police do and are part of white nationalist groups. This sheriff (nor any law enforcement) isn’t going to do do anything about that locally or nationally.
No argument here. I was uncomfortable seeing him onstage as well, and I am just as disgusted by the DNC's embrace of expanded policing. As LEO'S go, he seems to be what we are supposed to want.
It shows how normalized fascism has become that blind support for abusive and overtly racist / anti-poor policing is the "center" position in US politics.
People like Matt don't care about reality. They care about laundering Right wing bullshit as a "Radical Centrist". Anyone who repeats that shit are just dupes.
I was part of a virtual town hall a few weeks ago and was shocked when Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor suggested that "defund the police" was the reason we were losing and that it was the wrong move to push that point.
The views "the Democrats" have in pop culture and the media has absolutely nothing to do with the party itself and everything to do with what the most extreme young leftist on Tik Tok said.
The right memory holing 4 years of Biden and pretending that some protest slogans from Trump 1 were actual D policy is just them doing their propaganda game, but it's infuriating to see it work
I think that they want to shrink the electorate (which is why they don’t fight voter suppression tooth and nail), so that they only have to appeal to white voters.
It might just me being a recent radicalized former dem.. but I hate these people so much dude. The center didn't swing, What center is coming to save you!? Kamala spent her entire campaign polishing their balls, where WERE they?
Joke never gets old.
Liberals before the election: come on everybody get in the big tent lets have a big tent lets all work together come on left, come help with the big tent
Liberals when the big tent falls over because liz cheney: IM KICKING ALL THE LEFTIES OUT OF THE FUCKING TENT!!!!!
One of the most important ideas I learned in my philosophy degrees was ‘the job of philosophy isn’t to teach you what you don’t know, but to give the words to express what you knew & could not say’
Prisonculture has an amazing talent for that, so she can probs say this better:
..feel like the good team, the hero, the person taking a stand
Dems win when our campaigns take bright line moral stands. But those brightlines entail the party coalition allowing prog&leftist planks in the campaign
The Centrist part is desperate to win on just theirs, and that lost in 2016 & 2024
“Progressive and leftist planks” (which, if the Dems even consider them, are comparatively still far to the right when compared to the left in other countries) do not pass muster with the big donors. The Dems will never be a force for change. Ditch them and organize autonomously
What is really shocking is that people think there even is a center. Like the number of people "between" the democrats and the republicans is, according to research, minuscule.
I think these statements should be read not as part of developing a policy consensus, but as an effort to discipline Democratic voters to accept authoritarian policies. These statements are themselves part of an authoritarian program.
At every level, Dem voters have been “disciplined” enough to support rightwingers like Eric Adams, Joe Biden, etc. and there seems not to be any limit on the “evil” their “lesser evil” calculations will accept.
Centrism is the “banality of evil.” There’s no limit.
And no matter how far right the party moves it will get lambasted anyway by the very same people claiming it should move to the right. Setting the immorality of moving right on policing aside, it's also just going to look weak and earn no political credit.
At the same time they bemoan the loss of the "real Americans" from their caucus. As someone who grew up in Appalachia, you know who the hill folk hated the most*? Cops, Pinkertons
Maybe not reachable because of the other shifts. But it was. It could be.
Conservatives and “moderates” sometimes act like a minority of true leftists with little to no power at the state level ARE the Democratic Party. It’s just a strategy to push the state even further rightward, and it means the Left needs to fight that much harder to turn the tide.
Republicans are too afraid to attend their townhall meetings because their constituents are so angry, and they are telling Democrats to move to the center?
They also seem to be lecturing the Democratic electorate that it needs to move to the right to align with Dem leadership, which is both morally gross and a fundamental misunderstanding of how electorate politics work.
Except because of how the dynamics of “lesser evil” logic works over time, this has absolutely worked for the far right, and the people have moved to the far right along with them.
This is the “banality of evil” that whole populations go along with. Maybe they understood it and we didn’t.
Also, it bears always pointing out, that between liberalism and fascism, the center is conservatism. Arguments like that are how ppl are massaged into accepting a total spectrum shift to the right, with a logical conclusion of fascism...
The US has moved so far right so quickly that they have no perception of what the center even is, so they default to being 2004 era Republicans since that's their comfort zone.
The lawless Republicans trying to make Americans believe that they are on the side of law and order, with a felon in the White House. The January 6th insurrection was evidence that they don't back the blue at all.
They've been over the line for a while, so yeah, they should orient towards the center, cross the line back in this direction, and just keep going until there are no police unions to threaten to kidnap Democratic mayor's children anymore
So sick of this talking point. That and all the Dems who want throw trans folks and immigrants under the bus. Mfker you need to stand FOR something, not just be Nazi-lite.
when the NY Legislature banned chokeholds, a week later the NYPD head of department said on video that he’d talked to all the borough DAs, and they’d promised him not to prosecute for it.
All “law and order” democrats, openly subverting a police accountability law. The press didn’t say shit.
Remember when we all blamed the weakness of the Democratic Party on Sinema and Manchin?
Yeah. Good times.
But now we KNOW that it was ALL OF THEM (aside from a brave few) who have enabled a second Trump Presidency.
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https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/08/22/michigan-sheriff-chris-swanson-made-headlines-marching-2020-dnc/74912101007/
*releases it in projectile fashion*
https://www.startribune.com/our-rescue-sex-trafficking-minneapolis-controversy/601217296
But then find they are saddled with vibes (that work against Dems) based on having Black people and Jewish people as part of coalition.
They really do think there is a silent center to their personal right, just waiting
But the center is already in the party—it’s them. So they chase phantoms
There is no “silent” center, it’s already accounted for. There is no one in the center left to pick up.
To the left of the party however, oodles to grab.
Liberals before the election: come on everybody get in the big tent lets have a big tent lets all work together come on left, come help with the big tent
Liberals when the big tent falls over because liz cheney: IM KICKING ALL THE LEFTIES OUT OF THE FUCKING TENT!!!!!
Prisonculture has an amazing talent for that, so she can probs say this better:
But people want to..
Dems win when our campaigns take bright line moral stands. But those brightlines entail the party coalition allowing prog&leftist planks in the campaign
The Centrist part is desperate to win on just theirs, and that lost in 2016 & 2024
All 4 Harris was up v Biden, and she was up with all minorities & urban whites. Down only w/ suburban whites (mostly men)
Communities at risk voted. The safest Dems weren’t motivated to vote.
In swing states only suburban whites (mostly men) remained apathetic.
The party ran an uninspiring, status quo centrist campaign that nationally failed to motivate its base.
Turns out diet oligarchy wasn't much of a motivator.
At every level, Dem voters have been “disciplined” enough to support rightwingers like Eric Adams, Joe Biden, etc. and there seems not to be any limit on the “evil” their “lesser evil” calculations will accept.
Centrism is the “banality of evil.” There’s no limit.
Maybe not reachable because of the other shifts. But it was. It could be.
*Maybe second most because, well, ya know
We will never outflank republicans on police. There is nobody who votes Democrat because of their support of police.
Media: “Why is Kamala Harris not backing cops?"
This is the “banality of evil” that whole populations go along with. Maybe they understood it and we didn’t.
All “law and order” democrats, openly subverting a police accountability law. The press didn’t say shit.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Party_of_the_United_States
This is the “Banality of Evil” Hannah Arendt was warning us about.
“Centrism” is the Banality of Evil.
Yeah. Good times.
But now we KNOW that it was ALL OF THEM (aside from a brave few) who have enabled a second Trump Presidency.