this post was submitted on 06 Nov 2024
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United States | News & Politics

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Full text of statement:

"It should come as no great surprise that a Democratic Party which has abandoned working class people would find that the working class has abandoned them. First, it was the white working class, and now it is Latino and Black workers as well. While the Democratic leadership defend the status quo, the American people are angry and want change. And they're right.

Today, while the very rich are doing phenomenally well, 60% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck and we have more income and wealth inequality than ever before. Unbelievably, real, inflation-accounted-for weekly wages for the average American worker are actually lower now than they were 50 years ago.

Today, despite an explosion in technology and worker productivity, many young people will have a worse standard of living than their parents. And many of them worry that Artificial Intelligence and robotics will make a bad situation even worse.

Today, despite spending far more per capita than other countries, we remain the only wealthy nation not to guarantee health care to all as a human right and we pay, by far, the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs. We, alone among major countries, cannot even guarantee paid family and medical leave.

Today, despite strong opposition from a majority or Americans, we continue to spend billions funding the extremist Netanyahu government's all out war against the Palestinian people which has led to the horrific humanitarian disaster of mass malnutrition and the starvation of thousands of children.

While the big money interests and well paid consultants who control the Democratic Party learn any real lessons from this disastrous campaign? Will they understand the pain and political alienation that tens of millions of Americans are experiencing? Do they have any ideas as to how we can take on the increasingly powerful Oligarchy which has so much political power? Probably not.

In the coming weeks and months those of us concerned about grassroots democracy and economic justice need to have some very serious political discussions.

Stay tuned."

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[–] [email protected] 77 points 1 month ago (3 children)

There needs to be a purge within the Party. These corporate freaks and consultants and their pet politicians must be expelled from the Party. Democrats can't allow them to call the shots anymore.

[–] shalafi 53 points 1 month ago (2 children)

No. The Democratic party deserves extinction. Can't say who or what would replace them, but they're dead.

[–] [email protected] 37 points 1 month ago (10 children)

Despair is typical of those who do not understand the causes of evil, see no way out, and are incapable of struggle.

-Vladimir Lenin

The Dems are failures, plain and simple, but there is a path forward that doesn't involve them. It is the number 1 duty of leftists to get organized, and read theory. I can provide an intro list to Marxism if you want, but Blackshirts and Reds is an excellent primer. It helps us understand what fascism is, who it serves, where it comes from, and how we can banish it forever.

[–] iAvicenna 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

Sure but conservative/right supporters are like drones, they love uniting under one guy who does all the thinking for them and orders them around. They basically love a king.

On the other hand any group that gets invested in left leaning politics quickly splits into fractions or resists uniting with others mainly because they like to think for themselves and by thinking produce their own ideas. And ideas are like babies, especially if you spend a lot of time perfecting and nurturing it. It is hard to accept that others' might be better or at least a synthesis is required.

So in my opinion, the left will always have a much harder time getting organised than the right.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Why do you believe right-wingers think the way they do? Is it genetic, or is it perhaps something else? Why do you see Left-wingers as "free thinkers" yet too individualist to show solidarity?

I think reading on Marxism would be an excellent step forward for you. Left-wingers splinter into factionalism because they don't all want the same thing, or have disagreements on what should be a consistent stance. People's ideas stem from their social relations and material conditions, it isn't genetic.

I keep an introductory reading list I can provide, if you like.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago

I think it is short sighted and kind of dehumanizing to assume they are drones who are merely waning to unite under one person. we can look at the reasons they chose to do this, the material realities that caused them to vote that way. You can only sway people if you understand why they do something so you can convence them to solve it in a better way

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Vote in your down ballot primaries, and volunteer hard to get progressives in. People in those state/local offices often tend to move upwards in the party

Consider also running for office yourself https://runforsomething.net/

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 month ago

Why insist on continuing to spend all your focus and resources on participating in a system that is functioning exactly as it was designed to, and expecting different results?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago

Those are the democratic party elite. We can no more remove them than remove one's own head.

[–] [email protected] 39 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Well the Democratic Party learn their lesson? No.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 1 month ago (1 children)

They need to be abandoned in order for us to move forward.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago (1 children)

We need a different voting system or it will just keep repeating the same situation indefinitely.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 month ago

Voting can't get us there. I recommend reading Reform or Revolution and The State and Revolution for why reform is pretty much impossible and revolution is necessary.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 month ago

Narrator voice record scratch ...... They didn't learn.

The xenophobic finger-pointing continues.

[–] [email protected] 30 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Tbh, to me, this reads like “fuck you assholes. I’m founding a new political party right the fuck now, because you clearly cannot be bothered to pay the fuck attention to people’s actual fucking lives”. I hope I’m right. The DNC deserves to fully collapse for this result. It’s utterly damning.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 month ago (2 children)

The Green Party already exists as a Soc Dem party, I doubt Bernie alone can destabilize the DNC by jumping to the Greens or launching a new party. PSL is in a better position to attack the DNC's foundations IMO.

[–] captainlezbian 5 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I think that if he can form a party out of progressive democrats in congress or convince several progressive democrats in congress to defect to an established third party he’ll have a chance. That’s basically how the republicans formed from the whigs. The biggest problem third parties have right now is no faith. Dems currently have extremely low faith, and so if a new party starts campaigning from the democrats’ former members I might actually consider voting for them.

I shut my mouth for Hillary, I shut my mouth for Biden, and I shut my mouth for Kamala. Each time I tried to be enthusiastic for the opportunity to engage in anti fascism by doing something as easy and low risk as voting. But they kept heading rightwards.

I maintain that Biden was way better than I’d expected, but still I’m tired of this. I want someone who will campaign like Bernie. I want someone who will fight for me as a worker and as a trans woman and as an environmentalist who’s young enough for environmental concerns to be self preservation. And I want someone who will actually target the right wing violence I’m afraid of.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)

The problem is that because voting is easy and low risk, it doesn't actually go far enough to get change. The dems are not an anti-fascist party. Capitalism is in constant decay, this decay leads to sharpening contradictions and fascism is deployed to protect Capitalist interests. Bernie would not end Capitalism, he may only slow it's rate of descent, not stop it or reverse it. A great work on fascism is Blackshirts and Reds. I can provide a longer Marxism intro reading list if you'd like, but Blackshirts is a great start.

I understand your fear, but we can know the enemy, why it rises in strength, and can banish it forever.

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[–] weeeeum 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I think Bernie is too old to have a massive impact, even by starting a new party. Hes 83 now, 4 years older than the average life expectancy. I don't think there would be much faith in any new movement he tries to push, unless he can funnel all of his popularity into a younger candidate. A Bernie II if you will

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Trying to run off of personality and not off of proper theory and practice seems to be the key to a fumbling movement with splitting.

[–] [email protected] 27 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Where was this months ago!?!?

[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 month ago (1 children)

He was too busy endorsing Harris..

[–] Sterile_Technique 53 points 1 month ago (4 children)

As he does - support the best option that has a realistic chance of happening even if that's just because it's a lesser evil. He did it with Hillary too even after the DNC stabbed him in the back, and for the same reason: he saw the disastrous potential of a Trump presidency.

That ship has sailed and sunk, so now it's time for aggressive introspection in the hopes that we can make a better ship next time that actually does its job.

...assuming there's a next time.

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[–] ikidd 27 points 1 month ago

They didn't learn when Hillary did it, they squeaked by with Biden because nobody could stomach another 4 years of orange man, and they shit the bed in entirely the same way with Harris. They'll keep the same quislings in control, propping up the Republican monarchists and throw a bunch more elections to make sure there's a supermajority the next go around to get some real work done for the fascists. This is the way.

[–] owenfromcanada 25 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Unfortunately, I don't think any of this bothers them. As long as politics is controlled by money, this is the ultimate destination for any major political party.

If Bernie Sanders and Jon Stewart run in 2028, we might have a chance to install people that would actually attempt to remove blatant bribery from politics. Otherwise, this is it.

[–] Semi_Hemi_Demigod 44 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Bernie's gonna be in his 90s by then. He won't run and I won't blame him.

[–] Kyrgizion 45 points 1 month ago

Dude litterally spent his entire life trying to help us. We consistently turned him down. He did all he could, the blame is not with him.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Despair is typical of those who do not understand the causes of evil, see no way out, and are incapable of struggle.

-Vladimir Lenin

Bernie and Jon Stewart will be too old by then. More than that, ceding defeat without fighting to begin with is the height of foolishness. It is the number 1 duty of leftists to get organized, and read theory. I can provide an intro list to Marxism if you want, but Blackshirts and Reds is an excellent primer. It helps us understand what fascism is, who it serves, where it comes from, and how we can banish it forever.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Jon Stewart is not that old. He's only 61.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 month ago (1 children)

That's still above retirement age, he shouldn't have to run, nor am I in the mindset that he would be enough to course correct.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 month ago

Obviously he shouldn't have to run, but he's not remotely too old. He's sharp, has experience dealing with the political system (and succeeding), is extremely knowledgeable and insightful about the state of society, etc.

He doesn't want to be a politician, though, so it's a moot point.

[–] Bonesince1997 21 points 1 month ago (1 children)

This might be the last chance if even there is one. No centrist Democrat should ever be looked at again until this is corrected.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 1 month ago

The Democrats are incapable of moving left, they draw their resources and legitimacy from their donors.

[–] FartsWithAnAccent 21 points 1 month ago (1 children)

No, fuck no. Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory is like, their whole deal.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 month ago

Marx and Lenin are vindicated every time the dems fumble what was supposed to be an easy election.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 month ago (1 children)

In the coming weeks and months those of us concerned about grassroots democracy and economic justice need to have some very serious political discussions.

Fucking tell them Bernie. Too many people are still in denial about the truth of that happened in this election. Hint: It's not Americans hating women. It's not Americans hating black people. It's not Harris being handed an impossible situation. It's not whatever excuse you came up with or heard (seriously why do people feel the need to make excuses for political candidates' failure).

[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 month ago

They always will fail, they serve the same donors and bourgeois powers as the republicans. That's why they threw away their voterbase and catered with Liz Cheney. Marx and Lenin are vindicated by the passage of time. They were not clairvoyant, they just accurately analyzed the systems around them and saw what necessarily follows from their directions.

Everyone, get organized, read theory, learn self-defense and self-sufficiency. A good primer is Blackshirts and Reds. Defend yourselves and protect each other. I can provide an intro list to Marxism if anyone wants to read up on theory.

[–] gibmiser 8 points 1 month ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 month ago

We need a revolution, the democrats are a failure.

[–] Semi_Hemi_Demigod 6 points 1 month ago

Betteridge's Law says they won't

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago

kinda doubt they care overmuch as theyre making money either way

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