On 2010-11-15, at 7:54 PM, SA wrote:
> Let me offer a couple of data points on this subject and tell me what you think.
> […]
> This is what I mean when I say the conservatives have escalation dominance. They have more weapons and more forces and in a confrontation they are much more likely to win.
Fact is we haven't seen any confrontations where your proposition can be tested. The Obama administration carefully avoided offending the Republicans and its own conservative wing based in traditional Republican districts and states. You're convinced that the Democrats would have somehow fared even worse than they did in the midterms (!!) if they passed legislation and fought back against Wall Street and the Republicans in the manner of the New Deal, as the liberal intellectuals and party activists were demanding. The political conclusion you and Charles draw from your peculiar analyses is that the tepid and ineffectual record of the Obama administration therefore warrants defence against its "ultra-left" critics inside and outside the party.
Clearly I don't agree, anymore that I think bemoaning the bourgeois character of the DP and chasing after some mythic working class constituency outside of the liberal parties which the unions and their allies presently support offers an alternative. But we've been over this ground many, many times before, including as recently as last week, and I don't know there's much to add to what's already been said.