A lot of the post-election debate over the direction of the Democratic Party has been between the "center-left" and the "left" ...
... But there is also a more obscure, though fervent and important debate between what is sometimes called the paleo-left or conversely, "post-left," and both the neoliberal center and the intersectional, activist left embodied by the Squad ...
... Figures on the "post left" -- or traditional, Marxist or labor-oriented left -- believe that the intersectional left has become too focused on cultural movements and symbolic causes that lack a mass, working-class constituency ...
... For those interested in understanding this "post-left" critique, which mainstream leftists deride as "class reductionist" or even reactionary, this new essay by @shantmm is a good place to start: americanaffairsjournal.org/2020/12/the-le…
... For those asking whether this debate is really new, how significant it is, and who fits into the post-left/paleo-left box and who doesn't, I can share some more details ...
... The premise of a debate between elements of the center-left and the left over the value of either certain "social issue" emphases or policy stances, is not new ...
... But it's usually been centrists chiding leftists, etc.

The current deb ate is a reaction of both old-school Marxists (eg, Penn Prof. Adolph Reed) and liberal nationalists (eg, Michael Lind) to the rise of woke liberalism and a Bernie-influenced socialist left ...
... The latter has elements of the former in it, especially post 2016, which is why critics like @shantmm believe Bernie 2020 was less successful ...
... "Significance" is subjective because, as of yet, this is an intellectual movement with a diverse set of adherents.

These discussions are taking place on podcasts like @DeadPundits, Red Scare, and @whatsleft, and in journals like the Bellows and American Affairs ...
... For more information, I'd read this piece by @Jacob__Siegel: tabletmag.com/sections/news/…

This by @powellnyt: nytimes.com/2020/08/14/us/…

And this by Lind: thebellows.org/the-double-hor…

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More from @danielmarans

22 Dec
New: Progressive Democrats have pushed for reforms based on Edward Snowden's leaks, but they have been relatively silent amid a campaign to get President Trump to pardon him. huffpost.com/entry/democrat… via @HuffPostPol
Very unlikely Trump will do it, but advocates think it is the best window they may ever have.

He said in August that he is considering it: reuters.com/article/us-usa…

Why this is a story: Progressive Dems have been at the forefront of efforts to end or curtail the mass surveillance programs Snowden uncovered.

But while 3 Republicans and Amash have called for a pardon, just @TulsiGabbard has on Dem side. ImageImage
Read 13 tweets
20 Dec
John McCain said the exact same thing in 2014 as part of a media blitz designed to pressure Obama into intervening more directly in Ukraine. Obama more or less didn't bite, refusing the Ukrainians lethal aid until the very end. politico.com/story/2014/03/… Image
Incidentally, when Romney called Russia the United States' biggest threat in 2012 it was also cause for mockery: washingtonpost.com/news/fact-chec… Image
The facts about U.S.-Russia relations have since changed, but some of the fundamental questions about how to preserve peace in a world dominated by a handful of nuclear-armed nations remain roughly the same.
Read 5 tweets
11 Dec
Ah yes, trying to score political points on a congresswoman frivolously accused of anti-semitism by ... mocking her Hanukkah greeting?
This is to say nothing of the merits of this historical parallel which are questionable. They were restoring Jewish sovereignty in response to religious repression imposed by an imperial power.
And as @NickBaumann and I noted in this deep dive, Hannukkah was a Jewish civil war and the rabbis of the Talmud downplayed the militaristic component of Hanukkah for a host of political reasons: huffpost.com/entry/real-his…
Read 5 tweets
10 Dec
My one critique of the excellent @JaneMayerNYer report on Feinstein's decline is that she is a little too soft on Democrats for not nudging her out in 2018 ... newyorker.com/news/news-desk…
... Sure, Feinstein may have insisted on running again, but it was Democrats' choice to rally to her side against @kdeleon, an accomplished legislator and the son of Guatemalan immigrants.
This was Exhibit 1,783 in how the Democratic establishment selectively uses racial representation when it suits its interests.

Other examples include backing Cuomo over Nixon and Rahm over Chuy Garcia.
Read 8 tweets
27 Nov
New: I did an overview of Gov. Newsom's choices to replace Kamala Harris in the Senate. Pressure groups are divided into three camps: Advocates for a Black woman; advocates for a Latino; and advocates for someone LGBTQ. Plus, ideological gaps within each: huffpost.com/entry/gavin-ne…
I hoped to shed more light on what frontrunner California Secretary of State Alex Padilla's policy agenda and interests are.

I struggled to come up with details about that, which is its own statement about the politics here. "Inoffensive liberal" seems like the best description.
There is a small, but significant faction pulling for former state Senate President Kevin de Léon, arguing that his run against Sen. Dianne Feinstein showed a prescient "chutzpah."

That includes the Imperial County Democratic Central Committee.
Read 4 tweets
25 Nov
An interesting comparison for context here is that Clinton and Obama outperformed Ellison here in 2016 and 2008, albeit by smaller margins.

The Biden-Omar gap was 16 points.

The Clinton-Ellison gap was about 5 in 2016. Obama-Ellison gap was about 2 in 2008. ImageImageImageImage
Interestingly enough, Ellison actually outperformed Obama in 2012, getting 74.7% to Obama's 73.5% ImageImage
That appears to be because unlike in 2008 and 2016, there was no third-party candidate on the ballot between Ellison and a Republican.
Read 5 tweets

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