Excellent review of Obama's book by @ryanlcooper. There's something however that I don't think progressives are willing to countenance. And that is Obama's Democratic Party simply may not include a faction that seeks to decentralize economic power. theweek.com/articles/95090…
Most of the critique from progressives of Democrats is that Dems aren't successful at winning elections or gaining political power, and that if they did what progressives sought, they would be. But aside from untrue, isn't that besides the point?
Obama's political legacy is a Democratic party with moderate upper class Bush Republican, Ivy League social liberals, and older black voters, financed by Wall Street/Silicon Valley. There are no progressives in there, or perhaps that's just where progressives are.
As followers know, I am open-minded about Joe Biden. I want to see what he does, and whether the Dem establishment has learned anything. But my big mistake was in assuming that Kamala/Buttigieg were out of step with Dems. It turns out, they are right in step with them.
I don't know what to do if Joe Biden really does run a third Obama term policy wise. Are progressives anything but a lifestyle brand? I haven't seen it.
The most likely realignment threat if Biden doesn't govern well is not that a Republican wins, it's that the U.S. loses a war to China and we are massively impoverished. That's where we're heading. I don't see any clear thinking about this reality.
No. In five years, China grabs Taiwan, cuts off U.S. semiconductor supply and possibly many other critical inputs. U.S. economy blows up, we become beggars to China and the CCP sets harsh terms.
The left is too addled and racist to realize that the Chinese government can actually displace the U.S. and what that would mean, the right is too corrupt to do anything about it.
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
I'm sorry, but this @csternopher story is inaccurate. I like Gene a great deal, but he's a consumer rights guy not a foe of big tech. For example he pushed for DOJ to sue book publishers on behalf of Amazon, thus solidifying Amazon's market power in books. theinformation.com/articles/the-b…
There's a tendency to read 'Democrat X wants more antitrust enforcement and likes consumers therefore X is a reformer,' but that view reflects a misunderstanding of the debate. Consumer rights types often support concentrating power with the goal of getting conduct changes.
There is a potent debate about whether to orient antitrust around consumer welfare/efficiency or around the competitive process and small business. Kimmelman is a consumer welfare advocate which is why he doesn't seek to break up big tech.
1. An important new paper from @steelewheelz on big money managers: The New Money Trust: How Large Money Managers Control Our Economy and What We Can Do About It economicliberties.us/our-work/new-m…
2. "The solution is to go straight at the concentration problem by limiting their market share," Graham Steele, who wrote the American Economic Liberties Project paper, told CNN Business. cnn.com/2020/11/24/bus…
3. And separate platform and commerce by forcing BlackRock to split off its Aladdin tech platform. ft.com/content/524a1f…
1. I worked for a House member in 2009-2010 elected on opposition to war. Early in his term my boss spoke up for getting out of Afghanistan. We got a lot of hostile email from Democrats saying "I used to agree with you but I trust Obama and he wants to surge into Afghanistan.'
2. The problem was systemic. I worked on the Financial Services Committee from 2009-2010, and while Geithner et al. were horrific, Barney Frank, the progressive nonprofit apparatus, and Dem voters were in lock step on bailing out the banks.
3. In 2008, before he was elected, Obama lobbied on behalf of the bailouts. He promised then-Rep. Donna Edwards that if she voted for it, he would work to write off mortgage debt by changing bankruptcy laws. He was lying, his policy team had already dismissed that option.
I think it's important to acknowledge credit where credit is due, and that means it's time to recognize that under @ddayen, @TheProspect has become the most important political magazine of the last few years. It's not just that they keep scooping others on the transition.
By centering what had traditionally be a center-left magazine around business and power, @ddayen created relevance around governing in an important way. The Day One Agenda has become the most relevant policy reporting done in the 2020 cycle. prospect.org/day-one-agenda
It's time to start recognizing the work that the @TheProspect has put out. Or we can just read the prospect and watch other major media outlets report the same thing 10 days later without credit.
Watching the Equitable Growth event on antitrust, and seeing how Heather Boushey is pointing out all the costs of lax antitrust enforcement, but this is a key problem with their new report on competition policy.
The report's recommendations for Congress are both much weaker and more vague than those of the Congressional Antitrust Subcommittee itself. equitablegrowth.org/research-paper…
I really respect @Michael_Kades, and I appreciate his point that it's important for people who served in government to recognize their mistakes. It's a good thing to learn!
It’s the 2020 primary, the 22nd amendment has been repealed. You are a Democrat. The primary comes down to Biden and Obama. Who do you vote for?
It’s the 2020 primary, the 22nd amendment has been repealed. You are a Democrat. The primary comes down to Obama, Kamala and Mayor Pete. Who do you vote for?
It’s the 2020 primary, the 22nd amendment has been repealed. You are a Democrat. The primary comes down to Biden and Obama, but you know Obama is bringing back Rahn Emanuel as chief of staff and Geithner at Treasury. Who do you vote for?