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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[–] gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.works 23 points 9 hours 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.

[–] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 8 points 9 hours 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.

[–] weeeeum@lemmy.world 1 points 47 minutes 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

[–] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 4 points 43 minutes ago* (last edited 42 minutes 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.

[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 4 points 4 hours 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.

[–] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 5 points 3 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago) (1 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.

[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 1 points 31 minutes ago (1 children)

Ok, but are you building popular support for this elsewhere? What I proposed is mutually palatable to a huge portion of Americans. What you proposed doesn’t have the base yet, much less if you’re asking us to risk everything for it.

[–] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 2 points 14 minutes ago

Yes. Not only are there several proper Marxist orgs like The Party for Socialism and Liberation and Freedom Road Socialist Organization gaining in membership every day (especially in the context of the failures of the Democrats), Social Democrat organizations like the DSA have powerful Marxist caucuses like Red Star Caucus.

I know what I propose isn't easy, but I also know it's doable, and there are good people out there working to make it happen.

[–] Hestia@hexbear.net 12 points 13 hours ago

Every failure is an opportunity to fundraise.

[–] FortifiedAttack@hexbear.net 8 points 15 hours ago

Awww, they let the doggie off his leash!

[–] goferking0@lemmy.sdf.org 35 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

Where was this months ago!?!?

[–] ShareMySims@sh.itjust.works 16 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

He was too busy endorsing Harris..

[–] Sterile_Technique@lemmy.world 47 points 19 hours ago (2 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.

[–] normal_user@lemmy.one -4 points 3 hours ago

And Bernie endorsing whatever ghoul the Democratic party chooses did not work in 2016, worked in 2020 mostly because of Covid, and again did not work in 2024.

He really has no spine to keep following wathever he is told to do by the party. I guess you don't get that close to power as a Democrat if you actually want to fight for a better future. You can only say that you want to and then stop short of actually doing anything.

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[–] queermunist@lemmy.ml 88 points 22 hours ago (7 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.

[–] DefinitelyNotAPhone@hexbear.net 28 points 20 hours ago

How do you purge 95% of a party and all of its power brokers and backers without just building a new party? It's not like the capitalists came in and hijacked it, they were always one half of the American single-party state.

[–] shalafi@lemmy.world 50 points 22 hours ago (2 children)

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

[–] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 37 points 22 hours ago (8 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@lemmy.world 1 points 3 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago) (1 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.

[–] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 5 points 3 hours ago* (last edited 1 hour 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.

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[–] pudcollar@hexbear.net 24 points 20 hours ago

That's like reforming the Nazi party, by the time you've fixed the Democratic party you'll have changed everything about it.

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[–] ShaggySnacks@lemmy.myserv.one 65 points 22 hours ago (2 children)

Well the Democratic Party learn their lesson? No.

[–] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 47 points 22 hours ago (5 children)

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

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[–] yogthos@lemmy.ml 14 points 17 hours ago

Bernie is the modern day version of Bernstein. Bernie's emphasis on gradual reform and cooperation with the bourgeoisie is essentially an abandonment of the fight for socialism. Much like Bernstein did in hist time, Bernie prioritizes short-term gains for workers within the capitalist system instead of striving for its overthrow. He built a country wide movement that inspired millions of people, and then he made it all about the election. Once he lost the whole movement just fizzled overnight.

[–] ikidd@lemmy.world 25 points 20 hours 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.

[–] micnd90@hexbear.net 43 points 22 hours ago* (last edited 22 hours ago) (1 children)

all out war against the Palestinian people

flattened-bernie

Say the 'g' word - genocide, you king cuck coward

[–] merthyr1831@lemmy.ml 5 points 11 hours ago

What should we expect of a Genocide denier

[–] VernetheJules@hexbear.net 31 points 22 hours ago

Populism clearly wins elections, which is why the Democrats would shun a platform like this

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