Some of the usual suspects discuss the importance, or lack there of, of the election. For me Eric Foner (#3) was most spot on when he talked about the base. If there is no labor movement it will be next to impossible to organize progressive politics. Even if a coalition forms it will be easily dissipated if there is no institutional base. Minority groups will not do this either given the traditional upward social mobility of many minorities with corresponding shift away from the state. Jews are the only non-forced minority that have not shifted right, at least not to the Republicans.
Michael Lind (#6) is also correct when it comes to pwogwessive alienation from the society as a whole. The elitism of Democrats like John Kerry, Al Gore and Tom Daschle is a big part of their failure. Why would working class voters vote for them? they actually don't have a program except austerity and largesse for Wall Street. It's not that they are blue bloods, people in the US don't seem to let that bother them, FDR, Bush, etc... It's just that they don't seem to believe in anything except managing.
Medea Benjamin (#14)is also right that the Democrats need a left flank coming outside of the Democrtaic Party. But she is delusional if she thinks the Democrats are going to ally with Greens and other third parties for electoral reform. The Dems are the impedment to reform not the ally.
Jorge Ramos(#10) is also right that Latinos are the future and the Democrats had better pay a lot more attention to them if they expect to gain in the future.
But in the end it Cockburn/Frank/St. Clare/Wypesinski (not unsuprisingly not asked to speak) are correct. The Dems are moribund and don't even oraganize anymore. The party itself is a top down dues collector that buys ads and spends it mostly at the Presidential level. Good riddence.
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I heard a revealing sound-bite from a republican rep. today on the radio regarding the Presidential election. Specifically regarding P-Diddy and the Youth Vote.(The whole Vote or Die Thang.) He pointed out how it was interesting that so many of the youth today choose to die. They choose to die rather than vote. And I can relate to this: I also thought the whole process was full of shit when I was 18-28 years old. It's not that I do not think that it is still not f.o.s., but it is that NOW I recognize the Momentum of Subtlety.
(That the lesser evil may be a little better in the short run; and a lot better in the long run.)
-Alex
I thought the Vote Or Die slogan was overly dramatic. I think it should have been vote for either of these idiots and more Iraqi's die! Starvation isn't the issue in the US, neither is the draft; we don't have one.
Voting a small part of democracy. If people don't organize unions, anti-war groups, environmental organizations, etc... the evil lessers will become more evil. The 80's and 90's have proven this.
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