I suppose I could have used a more flattering picture of Jill Stein, who has decided to enter the 2024 presidential race as the Green party candidate, but if you know me by now, you know why I'm not going to. She knows her candidacy in 2016 was used by Russia to leach votes away from Hillary Clinton helping set up a Donald Trump win. She raised money for a recount campaign that got used for other things.
But here she goes! Whither the Cornel West campaign, though? Terrible story, that. First, he abandoned the lush, deep infrastructure provided by the Green party (yes, I'm being snarky), and then he got caught getting a maximum donation from his good friend, Brother Harlan Crow and had to return it.
Sometimes, if you want good "progressive" third party fuckery, you just have to see to it yourself. So, she's seeing to it. But why? (Could it be because the other supposed "progressive" lane, RFK, Jr., is more likely to take votes away from Trump? One may well wonder.)
If someone actually wanted a progressive movement, they could build on the progressive wing of the existing Democratic party and mount a serious opposition. Or we could have Marianne Williamson.
Heck, if you wanted an "exactly the same but younger and awkward" movement you could have Dean Phillips, who demonstrates that one of the things you learn when you are older and wiser is, don't fuck with Jim Clyburn. Anyway, his campaign just picked up Jeff Weaver and Zach Graumann, which is exactly what a campaign would do if the Democratic establishment machine was like BRRRRR against it--probably according to their respecting hiring pitches.
Or if you wanted to go more conservative, I guess there could be Joe Manchin? I'm not saying he's likely to run, but I'm sure conservative billionaire-funded "No Labels" is ringing him up.
All I know is, I'm having some 2015-2016 flashbacks, and I am not liking them. History people--let's be learning from it!
4 comments:
I was hoping no one would notice, if we ignore her she'll go away ...
She *won't* be ignored!
I think her mission is to completely discredit the Greens. Not that they had a lot of credibility here, though there was a time This Old Logger leaned Green, but they have been a significant force in Europe for a long time and now, just as dining with Putin and hiring on quite possibly the most racist person I've ever heard speak as VP turned me away it looks like that's what she is actively doing: completely discrediting the Greens, turning voters away
Who benefits from that, aeh ... ?
Here's an interesting thing in relation to that:
https://www.politico.eu/article/ukraine-war-recasts-germany-green-party-russia/
Right wing (plutocrat, oligarch, fossil fuel dickheads of every national stripe) folks would love for there to be no solid anti-racist, social justice, environmental party. The Green Party stands for these things in Europe, but within a representational parliamentarian structure that I never quite understand. If there was going to be a viable, enduring, successful Green Party here in the States, we'd need it to go grassroots-up: like start with city councils and state legislatures. Work their way up to having people with experience who also give the party a "name brand" so voters understand what they are voting for.
Our system doesn't lend itself to that, but also, our big third party folks seem like "pick me, I'm pure!" and run for president rather than "pick me, I can actually do the job of accomplishing left-wing goals." Because you need a whole functional. deep movement to do that, and they aren't building it. It's a protest vote, not a vision for something that will actually happen. That's why I keep wanting to see the Left be a bigger part of the Democratic party: they at least exist and get people elected.
So long as the left is dysfunctional, has dumb, grifty leaders, and thrives on dogged uselessness, we get stuck with trying to make the most of what is by now a kind of left but mostly centrist party against actual theocratic nationalists, backed by shit-tons of fossil fuel money. A situation I've been aware of for like, thirty years and still fucking bites that I don't entirely know how it gets defeated.
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