[lbo-talk] RE: Washington post editoral on Dean

Carrol Cox cbcox at ilstu.edu
Thu Dec 18 21:50:39 PST 2003


mongiovg wrote:
>
>
> Do the other Dems really think they can win a fight with a bunch of thugs by
> turning the other cheek? I thought these guys were professional politicians,
> i.e., that they were hard-nosed realists who knew how to mix it up in the big
> leagues. I must be missing something.
>
The core leadership of the DP over the last 50 years has been a pretty principled bunch. And that principle is to put the calming of potential mass dissent over everything, including electing Democrats to office. The function of the DP in u.s. politics since 1936 has been to absorb and neutralize mass movements. I suspect Dean will fulfill that function very well. The pundits and DP leadershi who are attacking him simply can't see that at the present time popular dissatisfaction must be _partly_ satisfied. It's like those rich Republicans in the '30s who couldn't see that Roosevelt was saving capitalism.

The hold of the DP over leftists who should (and really do) know better is frustrating. You can see that hold manifested everytime someone on this list of the pen-l list attacks the Democrats for lacking courage, the implication of which can only be that the DP really wants to do the right thing but is fearful of losing elections. On the contrary, the DP would much rather lose an election than seriously nurture a mass movement.

Carrol



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