Alright. Effortpost up, I had a lot of scattered thoughts about this but I figured I'd try to make a coherent defense of my points. One that isn't raging at the neolibs.
I'm more focused on Democrats' role because we expect this from the GOP. From a court that constantly tramples precedent, where one of their justice's spouses openly endorsed a political coup, appointed by presidents who lost the popular vote, and three of its members knowingly and willfully perjured their way to their nomination. The Democrats have blame here as well - their prioritization of nominal power over actual power, the prioritization of their own political careers and fundraising over meaningful change, and civility over policy.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg is merely a symptom of the problem - a party that is obsessed with reliving the 1990s. A party that squandered its supermajority to show a country that didn't care how bipartisan it was. Ginsburg stayed on the court because she believed retiring during a Democratic midterm would "politicize the court". A court where open hacks are nominated without scrutiny, blatant perjury is overlooked because it's politically convenient, and precedent is merely a suggestion. Checks and balances have utterly failed.
Pelosi is the one that comes to mind, still talking about how America needs a "strong Republican Party", but even Biden is guilty of this. In reality, the people who caused this have been here since then. The good old days of bipartisanship and kumbaya were never here in the first place. Mitch McConnell has been around since 1985. Clarence Thomas has been serving since 1991. George W. Bush appointed Alito and Roberts. This isn't Donald Trump's party that overturned Roe or pushed an activist court. This is Mitt Romney, Liz Cheney, and Adam Kinzinger's GOP. There's a difference between praising these people and the outright hero worship we see from Democrats today.
The Democratic Party not only believes people like OSR would vote for them, but actively believes its energy is better spent persuading him than motivating its base. As the party has professionalized, it feels like they see more in common with their affluent, educated comrades across the aisle than the rubes they represent. Democratic leadership will gladly accept you as their ally if you say the magic words - "Trump bad" - even if you continue to support his lackeys and ideas. Liz Cheney, #Resistance hero and Good Republican, publicly supported and celebrated Roe being overturned. Mitt Romney confirmed Barrett and would have confirmed Kavanaugh. If you give lip service to the thought of opposition, Democrats laud you as a hero and hold you as proof that there's Good in the Republican Party.
The whole argument about "voting for Democrats" is what I talk about when I say they're more concerned with nominal power than actual power. The Cuellars and Manchins and Schraders and Sinemas of the world need to be stopped, but there are plenty more waiting in the wings. Take the minimum wage discourse, for example. While everyone was outraged about Sinema's thumbs-down dance, Tom Carper and Chris Coons did the exact same coordinated dance. More disgustingly, Hassan and Shaheen voted against raising the minimum wage at the behest of the owner of the largest restaurant chain in the state. This isn't a localized incident. There's a bloc of these people in the House and the Senate, willing to screw us over for a quick campaign donation, often elected because of "electability".
What good is electing a "Democrat" if they just get into office and vote like a Republican?
And that's not even talking about the Andrew Cuomos of the world, who actively campaigned for more Republicans to get elected. Or the heads of
various state and
local parties that openly endorsed Trump entryists because a progressive would risk defeating their own machines. Hell, that's how Manchin got his start in politics! By losing a primary, endorsing the Republican, and burning down the party to remake in his conservative image.
I don't necessarily think that Democrats are secretly pro-life or whatever. I think they just care about incumbency and civility more. It doesn't matter that Henry Cuellar is in a D+5, Trump-trending district. It doesn't matter that Cisneros was outside the lockstep of the district. It doesn't matter that Henry Cuellar is pro-life and anti-union. Leadership backed Henry Cuellar because he's One of Them. He's on the whip team. He's been in office for 18 years, going on 20. So leadership campaigns for him and gets him elected, despite his lack of support for the Democratic agenda in a district that's less hostile than Sinema's.
And those who support his challenger get blackballed from the caucus, and get passed over for key committee assignments. Even if it means appointing
the deciding vote against prescription drug reform. After all, Cuellar's views make for awkward conversation at the caucus's weekly brunch.
The Democratic Party has learned nothing from 2008, let alone 2020. They believe voters value "bipartisanship" and act on a agenda that enriches the ruling class at their expense. You don't see Republicans do this type of masturbatory crap when they talk about tax reform or COVID relief or whatever. They just get it done. Leadership operates as if the Republicans are good-faith actors, and those who pay lip service are lionized as honorary Democrats. Those responsible for stifling the agenda are allowed to thrive in the name of "norms and civility", and those who speak truth to power are silenced at the expense of the agenda.
The more I see the party try the same thing, and the more they attempt to stifle those looking for the structural change they claim to want, the less I trust our politicians to save us. Democrats aren't heroes. RBG and KBJ aren't heroes. The Squad and the Bernie wing aren't heroes. We are the only ones who can save ourselves and fight for our rights. And whether you believe we can change from within, we cannot rely on our politicians or the Democratic Party when they've proven they won't get in the mud.
We need to stop being complacent and expect better from our politicians. We need to find who stands with us ourselves, and not their clique or their people. We need to channel our energy towards those who do, and show those who sell us out that we control their job. Donating to a broken party and voting for its candidates wholesale is not enough. Our emancipation will come from our own fight and our own labor.
