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Rashed Mian’s essay in our Member Only newsletter this week recounts a 60 Minutes interview with Elon Musk years ago when the billionaire-turned-cartoon-villain admitted the government bailed his fledgling companies out—not once, but twice.
Max Notes
There were two takes on the German elections.
Holy shit, the Nazis are coming back to power.
Hey. That little leftist party got some votes.
The far right is having a moment across the European continent due to the decades of austerity measures. Hard stop. Discontent breeds in economic precarity, which gives rise to our worst instincts. That explains point one. It also explains the second. Leftist sentiment is always present among a (properly) educated youth not yet jaded by the intractability of moderate consensus politics.
Both camps find solace and strength in punishing the bureaucratic state and holdovers of the neoliberal era yet only one side has proven it can organize around a governing plan. (Hint: it’s not the Far Left.) And that’s because the right leaning plans are far easier to implement. Basically, the idea is just to tear it all down and preserve a feudalistic-style apparatus that serves the elites. This is what we’re experiencing in the U.S. at this very moment.
But because left movements are built around governing in a way that benefits the masses, it’s hard to do. It requires focused messaging around well-thought out plans, a coalition of like-minded parties, laws that protect democratic ideals and the financial wherewithal to implement them.
For those who opine for a more parliamentary system in the U.S. that allows third parties to hold sway in federal elections, we can look to our friends in the EU to examine this phenomenon. The WSWS posted an article (link in Headlines) about the danger of false optimism on the Left when it comes to strong election showings during fraught times. It’s a lesson worth heeding.
Filling the mouths of progressive and democrat candidates with the right words is clearly insufficient, and that’s the argument the WSWS is making in the article. Governing for the masses is difficult and requires planning. That’s the real danger of Trump’s second term and why the destruction of the administrative state is so vital to their long-term goals. I think they’re aware that the pendulum will swing back in favor of the Left. So the idea is to leave them with nothing by the time we get there.
The only political apparatus with the fortitude to gain ballot access across all states and rebuild critical federal agency infrastructure is (sadly) the Democratic Party. Can you imagine Jill Stein or Chase Oliver having the wherewithal to A) win ANY national election or B) know what to do with it if they did?
I know I’m brutal when it comes to third parties and splinter movements, but the goal isn’t to get a seat at the table. It’s to run the table.
Other things I’m obsessing over…
Bill Burr’s “X” account was flagged for making fun of Elon Musk. Free speech, indeed. What a fucking joke.
Is RFK Jr. responsible for the Measles outbreak in Texas? Not yet. Well, not directly. But he’s in charge now and the blowback has begun. In his first cabinet meeting he did what any responsible person would do. He blamed the Mennonites.
Consumer confidence took a sharp dip in February. It’s almost as if the country is waking up to the reality that the Emperor has no clothes and that Russell Vought’s plan to destroy the administrative state would necessarily gut crucial roles that are central to a functioning economy. Whodathunkit?
From the report: “Views of current labor market conditions weakened. Consumers became pessimistic about future business conditions and less optimistic about future income. Pessimism about future employment prospects worsened and reached a ten-month high.”
Headlines
My Elite Billionaire Is Better Than Yours
This is one to sit with and read a couple of times. The central question the writer Erik Baker raises is why the right prefers “their elites” over the left elites, to the extent that the latter even exist in the capitalist structure. It’s a complex issue and the author makes sure not to take any answer at face value. One clear note Baker does identify is the decoupling of rural and urban America. Anyway, it’s a prototypically deep Baffler piece that will challenge you.
From the article:
“The question is not whether liberal elites exist or even why they are resented. It is why they are so much more resented than the other elites—why, for that matter, the right-wing billionaires and millionaires who have exerted so much control over the federal government for decades and who exercise nearly unimpeded rule over the vast majority of this country’s territory nonetheless get to be the ‘other’ elites, or the ‘counter-elite,’ as the more self-conscious of their number have begun to fashion themselves. Why don’t we see them?”
Here’s the article that I mentioned in Max Notes. WSWS is notoriously critical of all perceived left movements that aren’t wholly committed to a Trotskyite revolution, so I use it to balance establishment perspectives. But I think this piece actually strikes the right balance between the far right exuberance in Europe over the AfD’s strong electoral showing and the optimism among leftists that they even showed up in the results. It’s one thing to have a party that demonstrates an appetite for left policies among young people and another thing to have an apparatus prepared to implement them.
From the article:
“There is a huge discrepancy between the hopes that young people associate with the Left Party and what it actually is. The former want to oppose the fascists, they reject the refugee agitation, and they want reasonable incomes and affordable rents. As the Left Party was the only party in the Bundestag to focus its election campaign on social issues – taxes on the rich, a rise in the minimum wage, and rent controls – it was well received. But the Left Party has no program to counter the shift to the right by those in power. It is spreading the illusion that the main parties of the ruling class can be persuaded to change course through a combination of parliamentary opposition and pressure from the streets.”
Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX) has a lifetime Progressive Punch rating of 99.12%, which places him firmly in the top 10 as measured by voting records in the House. (You can look up the methodology here.) In this interview with Progressive Magazine, I’m encouraged by his understanding of the Progressive Caucus’ role in taking over the Democratic Party. It’s nuts and bolts and focused on getting elected and delivering progressive economic results, which will allow them to more effectively implement a more progressive social agenda.
From the article:
“That economic populist and progressive vision has been at the core of what the Progressive Caucus has been all about. There are populist economic issues: capping credit card interest rates, cracking down on junk fees, breaking up corporations that are jacking up prices at the grocery store. For those issues, we have the vast majority of the American people with us, and we need a Democratic Party to catch up to where progressives have been on that for a long time. I think the Democratic Party needs to put taking on corporations and raising people’s wages and lowering people’s housing costs first. I know the consequences of abortion bans. We have one in Texas. Women are dying, and it’s serious. I know the consequences of the January 6ths of the world. Those are serious issues that we should talk about. But first on the list, it should always be people’s pocketbook issues.”
No new pod drop this week my beloved Unf*ckers. Here’s why…
Reason one. I’ve been trying to punch up and migrate some of our more popular podcasts from recent years to YouTube. Last night we dropped The Jewish and Black Divide: The Fracture of the Grand Alliance, which was one of our top downloaded episodes. I thought this was a good one to get out there given we need as much coalition building as possible these days. There were a lot of moving parts so the editing took up much more time than I anticipated.
Reason two. I’m in the weeds. These non-negotiables are pretty hefty because we’re covering new ground. The Housing First movement, Civilian Labor Corps, Medicare for All and ending Citizens United—all new territory for us so it’s been a busy start to the year. Sourcing is everything so I’ve been working non-stop since the election to get this stuff down and make it as comprehensive as possible.
Reason three. The fifth non-negotiable is a moving target. At this moment I’m all research and no glue. Revealing a singular narrative thread and prescription on a topic as large as climate change policy is a challenge. I’m getting close but need more time.
Reason four. Hives. Many of you have already established your hives so I’m keen to launch the curriculum so we can begin our work.
Needless to say, tons of good stuff is coming your way. For now, back to the grind.
Resources
Pod Love
“Joe Biden is gone, but we are now living with the consequences of Biden’s presidency, and it’s important in this moment to look back over the last four years and try to understand what exactly happened to get us to this point. Was Biden’s presidency doomed from the start? Which of the many competing narratives about it is true? Was it an America-wrecking catastrophe, as Trump says, or an underrated golden age, as Biden’s defenders would have it?”
I’m **allllllmost** finished with The Code of Capital and am taking Adam Smith one chapter per week at a time, so I’m a little behind. I’m trying to develop a muscle in my brain to understand our legal system better. It’s definitely a weakness. So I’m probably a week or two out from getting to this, but next on the list is a gift from my pre-law daughter who thought I would enjoy this.
“The Law Is a White Dog tackles key societal questions: How does the law construct our identities? How do its rules and sanctions make or unmake persons? And how do the supposedly rational claims of the law define marginal entities, both natural and supernatural, including ghosts, dogs, slaves, terrorist suspects, and felons? Reading the language, allusions, and symbols of legal discourse, and bridging distinctions between the human and nonhuman, Colin Dayan looks at how the law disfigures individuals and animals, and how slavery, punishment, and torture create unforeseen effects in our daily lives.”
From PDX Squatch: “Just dropping a line to let you know that a few UNFTR listeners met tonight and agreed we want to continue as a hive and are looking forward to the curriculum.”
The former college organizer and youngest-ever Austin City Councilmember, continues to lean on his roots in grassroots activism to shape a bold policy agenda.
“The Native American Rights Fund holds governments accountable. We fight to protect Native American rights, resources, and lifeways through litigation, legal advocacy, and legal expertise.”
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