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America has six different party systems and we should strategize with that in mind. There's a lot more room for breaking out from under the toxic Democratic Party brand than is often acknowledged.
Neal Meyer
3,407 posts
Neal Meyer
@nealmeyer
Researching the transformation of the Democrats in the neoliberal era at NYU Sociology. Writing in @jacobin, member @demsocialists. My Substack linked below.
- The New York Times insistence that all political beliefs can be categorized as liberal or conservative gets more and more inane. God forbid they describe a democratic socialist party as "socialists."
- I met a woman walking home who was carrying a poster for Zohran. I asked her about it, she was excited to make me her "first victim" (her words) for her new pitch. I told her no need. She's retired from a Greek family living in Bay Ridge. She used to be a Cuomo supporter but...
- Let's be clear about what just happened. Progressives and the Squad (minus Rashida) voted to crush a strike in return for a symbolic vote by the House for paid sick days. And now, predictably, the Senate just voted down paid sick days. Truly awful stuff.
- In the last 25 years the Supreme Court: stole an election, okayed a massive new influx of money into politics, struck down the Voting Rights Act, defunded unions, and now is attacking abortion rights. Any step that limits its power and moves us closer to abolishing it is good.
- Dying empire vs. new world struggling to be born.
00:09Rolling through Constitution Ave #Army250 - Replying to @nealmeyerBut she said she's figuring it out and she'll convince some of them. We wished each other luck. That's the kind of consciousness shift and the kind of IRL conversations that a high-profile, high-visibility, well-run, and bold left-wing campaign kicks off everywhere. 😍
- Replying to @nealmeyerNow she realizes Cuomo is like Trump, she's for Zohran. She wishes she could go back in time and vote for Bernie not Biden. She's trying to persuade her friends to vote for Z. She says she gets riled up and ends up telling them they're too "old fashioned" when they won't budge...
- Democrats: “The GOP is a fascist party!! Vote blue no matter who!” Also Democrats: “They told us what to do. We followed their instructions to the letter.”Murphy going off on GOP, saying they’re “a nightmare” to negotiate with. “They are a disaster right now. How can you trust any Republicans right now? They told us what to do. We followed their instructions to the letter. And then they pulled the rug out from under us in 24 hrs”
- In Mexico City, the left-wing party Morena is building community centers (UTOPIAs, an acronym) in working-class neighborhoods. They're places to work out, make art, relax, & give seniors community. Would be interesting if a NYC mayor adopted this idea. 👀
- My union says vote for Zohran #1!🚨 UAW President Fain and our NYC members are proud to support @ZohranKMamdani. He’s not owned by Wall Street. He’s fighting for $30/hr, free transit, housing for all, and real democracy—on the job and in our communities. Rank Zohran #1 for NYC Mayor by 6/24. @UAWRegion9A
00:00 - Unfortunately I think this is a good illustration of the limits of the “insider-outsider” strategy. If you want to maintain access to the “inside,” you have to sacrifice your ability to champion the politics and values of those “outside” when the real insiders set red lines.WATCH: @kwelkernbc asks @RepAOC (D-N.Y.) if she agrees “the president has been supporting a genocide” in Gaza. Ocasio-Cortez: “I think what we are seeing ... is that young people are appalled at the violence and the indiscriminate loss of life.”
00:00 
- I also wish Bernie was using his tour to organize people into a bigger and more permanent project. But when I see takes like "what is the point of these events?" I think it underscores a problem with a lot of "organizing" discourse.
