Since the latter 1960s, Jeff Cohen has ridden the contradictions of being a progressive and sometimes radical voice and being, mostly for tactical considerations, a supporter of Democrats. It is good to get his voice here because he bothers to distinguish between one Democrat and another.
Those of us on the left who do go to polls have to make and embrace such distinctions. We argue about whether change is to come inside or outside the Democratic Party, but such discussion remains largely hypothetical. Any change that comes must happen because of or despite elements both inside and outside the party, because that is where we are.
Removing the elected officials that have locked the Democrats into the warlike corporatist and globalist right requires voting the out of office in general election, but it also requires voting in progressives who manage to pass through the corporatist filters to the point where they can compete. That will at some point mean voting for candidates who do constitute some authentic compromise.
This is hard to do partly because Democratic rightists regularly present themselves as left-oriented, humane, or moderate candidates, as “progressives who can get things done” rather than as militarist thugs and mafiosi. That’s natural enough that it will continue as long as they feel that it works for them.
Having neoconservative Democrats in office is particularly dangerous because so many rank-and-file Democrats who otherwise show empathy for progressive causes utterly to hold Democratic office-holders to any corresponding standard. We need to distinguish sharply between politicians who do support significant parts of a humane programme and those simply engaged in the usurpation of political processes for individual and corporate ends.
I am going to look for the roots.action study full from which Nation excerpted this. But disinformation around these things has become thick and varied, so much so that even usually trustworthy sources have been lured into dismal and extended falsehood.
We could use more analysis of this sort from people in various camps and dealing with various sources–should such become available. This might enable us to pick out a sheep in sheep’s clothing from somewhere between all these woolly wolves.