Top Stories Tuesday 12 Nov

Daily Kos thinks of California as the Democrats’ Fortress of Solitude,
several people disagree in the comments:

The Democrats took the governorship despite having one of the most ethically challenged governors in the nation. They also took every single statewide office and the state’s new congressional district. Democrats dominate the state’s Congressional delegation 33-20, have both Senators, and control the state legislature by wide margins.

And how did they do it? Not by coddling President Bush or running to the right. But by pushing a solid progressive agenda.

Nathan Newman considers the implications
of the campaign strategy used to save bilingual education in Colorado:

Instead of merely playing defense with appeals to the good faith of anglo voters, the No side stooped to hitting their fears.

This is a tough story for progressives to ponder, where even I as an arch-pragmatist don’t like all the implications.

But the core strategic insight is more positively that many of the bad policies targetted at the poor and people of color also potentially disrupt the lives of the white majority in most states. And when you want to win and have limited resources in a campaign, targetting the fears of that white majority may be more effective than appealing to their better nature, at least when it comes to the simplicity of message allowed in advertising wars.

New to the Left

From now on, each day I’ll list the blogs I’m adding to the linklist. If you want to be added, please use the form, Luke. Entry does not guarantee winning.
No purchase necessary. Offer void where prohibited.

skippy the bush kangeroo

Not a pundit but plays one on the net. Don’t visit if you’re allergic
to e e cummings.

Antidotal

Observations and arguments by two Canadian grad students on politics
and ideology, society, and the media.

Ignatz

By Sam Heldman. About law, the politics of law, and related topics including good music.
Unabashedly pro-labor, and otherwise left-leaning. Careful in what he says but trying hard not to be too mushy.

GoGoBot

Covers politics around the world (but mainly US). also covers technology issues, particularly space and “transhumanist” technologies.

Top Stories Monday 11 Nov

Pontificator asks whether or not the Democrats will use filibusters:

In light of the fact that the Democrats certainly have the ability to use the fillibuster, what is important is that they have the willingness to do so. Democrats must view the fillibuster as a legitimate weapon, and must not be afraid of being painted as obstructionist.

Bitter Shack of Resentment rants about the Democratic loss last week:

So the Democrats lost the Senate, and we are now riding in a country driven by insane TEK-9-toting, power-drunk nepotists and megalomaniacs who think war is good and business should not be asked any especially personal questions (like, did you really make that $9 billion, or did you make that up?) and there is no designated driver anywhere in sight.

But wait. As much as the idea of an all-GOP Congress and White House scares the living bejesus out of me, I have this itty bitty reservation about getting all panicky and doomsday about it. And it’s this: The Democrats goddamned deserved the ass-whupping they got yesterday, and in a sad, hopeless sort of way, I celebrate this moment.

An Unenviable Situation doesn’t mince words about his political stance:

A conservative is a man who fucks a whore, pays up, and walks out the door. A liberal fucks the whore, pays for it with a sad expression on his face, and asks her if she’s happy.

Through the Looking Glass on how Dubya “changed the tone in Washington”:

During Clinton’s term, Washington was dominated by a discussion of Clinton’s supposedly shady business deals. Not that anyone was able to exhibit a shred of evidence that Clinton had done anything improper, even after Ken Starr spent years turning over every stone in Little Rock — but you knew there had to be something in there someplace, because he was a hick from Arkansas who’d gotten himself elected president, and Sally Quinn turned up her nose at him. Now, with Dubya in the White House, we have a President with plenty of shady business in his own past, starting with the long-suppressed evidence of his insider trading which was buried in SEC files when his father was President — but nobody’s talking about it, because he’s socially compatible with the Georgetown set, and because Democrats just don’t do that sort of thing. Success!

Pandagon gets angry about Instapundit’s claim of homophobia, racism and anti-semitism being rampant in “the left”:

The Right in this country has taken to falsely accusing the Left of every vile sentiment they themselves are visibly guilty of, and also engaging in some that they reserve solely for themselves, such as the feebleminded paeans to “patriotism”, wherein abridging common sense for the purpose of “supporting the president”, much as one would a monarch or dictator, is somehow the prime determinant of being an American. These people are sick xenophobes, beholden to nothing but their own self-interest, remarkably narrow as it may be.

Top Stories Saturday 09 Nov

Beyond Corporate on political lies:

Should it just be expected that lying is how business gets done in politics? And, if so, what’s the next step from there? Just like TV allowing the words “damn” then “crap”, and then HBO going all out with all language…after a while, the powerful words loose their power and end up being just a lazy use of not-well-thought-out language. Is that what political lies will become? Will it be small lies and fabrications, then larger lies, then big, honkin’, blatant, stinking, baldfaced lies that are just written off as “getting things done” or “business as usual”? I am afraid of this. I am afraid of kids going being my gen-x ennui and just saying “what the fuck? who cares? they all lie”. You know, I say that all the time to my partner, but it makes me bitter to say it. I imagine that, when my sons are old enough to vote, they may say that with total acceptance and possibly even some pride..?

Nathan Newman has a short piece about the European Social Forum:

We can talk about a national agenda for the Democrats, but it is just as important for progressives to be involved in the global democratic debate on shaping the global economy and society. Bush has a version of US-led corporate unilateralism. Beyond saying no to war, the Left needs an alternative that will address the needs for cross-border labor solidarity to keep wages up, idealistic hopes for global equity, and the address the fears from international terrorism with new hopes for global cooperation.

Top Stories Friday 08 Nov

Ampersand neatly summarise skewers the myth of independent economic man:

It sometimes puzzles conservatives that progressives are so concerned with what people think. What is racism, sexism, homophobia, etc, after all, other than a way some people think about some other people? And as long as I’m free to pursue my own self-interest, what does it matter what others think of me?

For someone with a lot of privilege, the rational answer is, “it doesn’t matter at all.” The more privileged you are, the less other people’s thoughts count (this is why it’s unsurprising that economics – by far the most white-male-dominated social science – came up with “economic man”). You go into a store, and you buy what you want, or you don’t buy. You don’t have to worry about what the store clerks think of you – what could matter less?

Nathan Newman on the role of the
Working Families Party during the New York gubernational elections:

Backed by major progressive unions and other community groups, the Working Families Party (WFP) goal is to give progressives an electoral vehicle that can force Democrats to the left without playing a spoiler role in major elections.

For those foreign to New York’s relatively unique party system, third parties have the option of running their own candidates or endorsing a major candidate. The option to do the latter gives smaller parties leverage over major parties, since multiple listings on the ballot can significantly boost vote totals.

For the WFP, cross-endorsements are a way to let progressive voters know which Democrats are true progressives and worth devoting their votes but more importantly their time during elections. A WFP endorsement is sought not just for the votes it may deliver, but as a union-supported group, it can deliver get-out-the-vote muscle before and on election day. Notably, while I saw Greens and some Independence Party folks hustling on Tuesday morning, I saw no Democratic Party regulars. The unions supporting Pataki were sitting on their hands and the rest were out hustling for the top Dems on the WFP’s line.

William Burton tells some harsh truths to certain people:

To Dick Gephardt:

Life isn’t fair, and it has dealt you a cruel hand. You were born with no eyebrows and people with no eyebrows just give us the willies. Sorry about all the expectations. If you’d been born different, life might’ve turned out better for you (you might even be President today). But you weren’t, and it didn’t. You’re smarter and harder working than most of the people who get the top job, but they were born with eyebrows and you weren’t. That’s just life. May I suggest a copy of SimCity?