The divide on the left.

[futurebird.livejournal.com]

Some of the time I feel like things like "net neutrality" and issues of freedom of expression and surveillance take center-stage in our progressive communities and issues like public housing, welfare, min. wage, work safety, don't get much attention at all. If your main concern is addressing poverty and inequality things like "net neutrality" might seem hopelessly abstract. In the same way, I think that some progressives just don't get a lot of issues that are related to poverty and ongoing racism.

"Progressives" need to do a better job of getting to know organizations that work with poor and minority communities. More cross-pollination. There's this gap-- and, frankly, the people with the most resources should do the most reaching to bridge it.

In NYC I've seen good progressive ideas fail since a large number of working class and poor Democrats just don't "get" what the progressives are talking about. It's really easy for whatever lobby it is that benefits from the legislation not getting passed to use some populist BS to piss off these Democrats and get them to pressure the elected officials for the dumbest things.  And who can blame them?  Progressives rush in at the last moment breathlessly explaining their pet policies. I think some of the organizations who focus on class, gender and race issues just say "where were you when we needed your help?" But in the end everyone loses.

When I have tried to talk about this in the past suddenly EVERYONE who is a self-identified progressive is also suddenly so very "working class" --and they get in a huge huff since they think I'm calling them a bunch of latte-drinkers.

Well, goddammit, a lot of progressives do drink lattes and we (yes, I said "we") don't know enough about the issues that matter to poor and working class Democrats or what the hell we can do to address these issues. In addition, a lot of self-identified progressives don't really 'get' issues that involve race or gender that well either.

ACORN should still be around.  So, who's next? The far Right was successful in taking this organization down. And this isn't abstract, it's serious. I have seen the positive impact that they had and it will leave a huge gaping hole.  So, since it worked, you can bet the Right is going to do it again. If we let some of our people end up isolated as ACORN was they won't be able to fight back-- I don't think ACORN spent any money on PR people, they wanted every penny to go to the work. That's idealism, and they were eaten alive becuase of it. It doesn't have to be this way, though, if enough people step up to the plate to protect the people who are doing the good work-- maybe we'll get to know each other better and be a more powerful because of it.

Comments

Re: the far right=bunch of lying tossholes

[lordtwinkie.livejournal.com]

lol using far left nut job rachel maddow to attack far right assholes.

examples?

[futurebird.livejournal.com]

What has she done to merit the title "nut job" ?

Re: examples?

[lordtwinkie.livejournal.com]

you kidding me? she's the bill o'reilly of msnbc... kieth olbermann is the glenn beck.
all of them are douche bags

Re: examples?

[futurebird.livejournal.com]

Can you give me some examples of things she has said or done that make you think she is a nut job? I just want to know why you think this? Or is it just becuase she has an opinion. Some folks dislike Glen Beck since he often gets facts wrong. Is Maddow doing the same thing? Can you give me some examples? (I want to know since I don't really watch TV, and so I don't know that much about her.)

Re: examples?

[mahnmut.livejournal.com]

Don't hold your breath.

Re: examples?

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

Well, Olbermann compared corporations making financial donations to slavery, while his program condemns equally grave statements from the Republicans. I suppose it's an indication that progressives think the entire history of slavery in the United States and the human rights abuses and death toll was less serious than that unleashed by Hitler's barbarian horde, but alas.....

Re: examples?

[futurebird.livejournal.com]

Ok that sounds pretty serious-- anything else?

Re: examples?

[mcpreacher.livejournal.com]

olbermann is not maddow

Re: examples?

[enders-shadow.livejournal.com]

I'll give to Olbermann. But Maddow is not someone I have ever seen go to such lengths--except perhaps in open and obvious hyperbole. I mean, everybody exagerrates from time to time. But as above: Beck gets facts wrong (frequently). show me maddow doing that.

Re: examples?

[eracerhead.livejournal.com]

You will be hard-pressed to fault Maddow on fact. That is the difference between a news program and an entertainment program.

The difference between Olberman and Beck is that Beck is pure entertainment (http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2010/0426/entertainment-fox-news-simon-schuster-glenn-beck-inc.html).

Re: examples?

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

And that Olbermann considers comparing UHC to the Holocaust to be obscene but had no issues at all with comparing Citizens United to Dred Scott and a decision that was legal under the endorsements of groups like the ACLU and AFL-CIO to the attempt of Chief Justice Taney to be Mr. Fix-It and make the entire United States a slave society.

Re: examples?

[eracerhead.livejournal.com]

Source?

Re: examples?

[futurebird.livejournal.com]

What about Maddow what has she done? (that was the focus on this conversation.)

Re: examples?

[mcpreacher.livejournal.com]

are you, like, not even aware of why people call billo and beck nut jobs?

it isn't because they're ~conservative~

it's because they're fucking insane egotistical grandstanding liars who cut mics and weep openly over coca cola commercials on national television

Re: the far right=bunch of lying tossholes

[sealwhiskers.livejournal.com]

I'm posting Maddows coverage of it. Had you bothered to either read or look at it, you'd perhaps see that she's merely referring to California Attorney General Jerry Brown's investigation on the pimp&prostitute matter that Fox was all over last year. The investigation has gone public, so maybe you should lol yourself into reading that, and you'll find that the coverage is pretty factual.

Re: the far right=bunch of lying tossholes

[lordtwinkie.livejournal.com]

i did bother to look, and all it does is refute just what happened in cali, but my comment was more about your attack of the so called "far right" with someone whom i consider part of the "far left"

Re: the far right=bunch of lying tossholes

[sealwhiskers.livejournal.com]

Again, go to the office of the attorney general and read it. Maddow makes correct quotations and summaries. She also adds something to the picture by posting old Fox coverage of the whole matter from last year, that's why I use her instead of just the official investigation.
I don't care what you think about Maddow or any other host for that matter, in this case she made a factual and good summary, and the clips from Fox are fucking hilarious.

Re: the far right=bunch of lying tossholes

[lordtwinkie.livejournal.com]

holy shit calm down damn!
i''m not saying she's wrong or lying. i just thought it was funny you used maddow to me that would be like using glenn beck as your citation.

Re: the far right=bunch of lying tossholes

[futurebird.livejournal.com]

Why are you saying "calm down"? ... sealwhiskers seems calm to me?

Re: the far right=bunch of lying tossholes

[the-rukh.livejournal.com]

People get annoyed with the 'ZOMG THE PERSON IS LIBERAL THEY'RE TOTALLY UNBELIEVEABLE LIKE BECK' shtick. No, Beck is unbelievable because he makes shit up and thrives on hyperbole. Just because a person is on the opposite side of the spectrum politically doesn't make them equally wrong. That's called the distributed middle fallacy. Learn it, live it, love it.

Re: the far right=bunch of lying tossholes

[sealwhiskers.livejournal.com]

btw, the US has no far left of any consequence.

Re: the far right=bunch of lying tossholes

[mahnmut.livejournal.com]

Absolutely. It's funny that they constantly cry OMG sozializts while they haven't really seen real socialism. At any point.

Re: the far right=bunch of lying tossholes

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

Haven't seen it in a while, you mean. We've seen it, but the Mario Budas have joined the Tyrannosaurus and C. megalodon in the number of things encountered only in books and not in real life.

Democrats are the new Republicans

[telemann.livejournal.com]

So true, so true:

Re: the far right=bunch of lying tossholes

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

Naomi Klein is the better name to use, not Maddow.

And Olbermann at least is willing to admit his guy can commit civil rights abuses.....where Malkin and company *defend* civil rights abuses.