election demographics

Marco Anglesio mpa at the-wire.com
Wed Nov 8 18:37:54 PST 2000


On Wed, 8 Nov 2000, Doug Henwood wrote:
> Far left? Brad, you think of yourself as some kind of social
> democrat, no? Are the ideas of more favorable labor laws, campaign
> finance reform, a higher minimum wage, and national health insurance
> "pretty far left"? Are they so far left they'll never win an
> electoral constituency?

As always, it's not just the matter of the policy but who exactly proposes it, and whether they've gained sufficient credibility and trust with the electorate. That probably matters more than the specific policy proposal, in fact.


> If so, why not give up on soc dem politics
> completely?

It's possible to achieve these goals incrementally, bit by bit, without a revolutionary change in the political landscape. Some might even suggest that it's easier to do it that way.

However, if it is a revolutionary change that you're after, then policy goals are secondary, aren't they?

Marco

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