[lbo-talk] tea party numbers

Carrol Cox cbcox at ilstu.edu
Wed Sep 1 09:54:36 PDT 2010


Though I think the wit of "Dumbocratic " underestimates the strength of our adversariesd, and though I disagree with Shane more often than not, I thik this post is essentially correct, especially in its metaphor of the merry-go-round for the electoral system. Neither party has held the WH for more than 12 consecutive years in the last 60 years. That is why the metaphor of "prgress" and "progressive" is so misleading. That term suggests ome established forward route, with every step a gain. But this is profoundly false of electoral politics, since those forward steps are always reversed before they can be permanently installed.

Andre Gorz was essentially correct. (a) The workers will not take to the barricadfes for 5000 more housing units* and (b) whatever a popular movement achieves must be achieved in not much more than a 5 year pereiod.

*That is, the demands of apopular movement must be irrationally great, going well beyond current "public opinion." A popular movement that does not demand the impossible won't even get an extra million for welfare.

Carrol

Shane Mage wrote:
>
>
> But why does it matter at all? Let them get out their vote! If that
> would destroy the Democratic Party once and for all we could applaud,
> but in reality it would just prepare for another Dumbocratic turn on
> the merry-go-round.



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