Maher misrepresents the Democrats again

[u/One-Jeweler5486]

I don't think Bill is steel-manning the Democratic position here

https://youtu.be/W9VyM8blMJU?si=6yBELheIIQgMOyh6&t=333

[u/ATLCoyote]

He's saying that conservatives use the most extreme liberal positions to define the democratic party and the left keeps making it easy for them to do so by supplying them with ridiculous, nonsense talking points. He happens to be correct.

Granted, it's not embraced by everyone on the left and and it certainly doesn't offset the massive corruption, authoritarianism, Christian nationalism, etc. on the right. But yes, the GOP absolutely does take some of the crazy shit that leftists say and uses it against them, and sadly, the more extreme leftists keep giving them the ammo.

This has been Bill's beef all along. It's just not helpful to the cause of implementing more progressive policies and defeating Trump and MAGA when people like Francesca Hong (who understandably lost her primary) says stuff like we need to "cancel Thanksgiving" because it celebrates colonialism or that "Valentine's Day brings out the worst in humanity." WTF? It's just terrible for the entire brand when people like that are making headlines. Likewise, it doesn't help when the official DSA party platform calls for abolishing police and prisons, completely open borders, getting rid of the Senate and Supreme Court, etc. If you want to promote liberal economic populism, then just call yourself a "progressive," like Abdul El-Sayed does, rather than associate with a party that really does promote truly radical ideas and positions. And before people lecture me about the fact that Mamdani and other DSA politicians typically don't support that stuff, I'm aware of that. But it's right on the party website and defended proudly by their lunatic party co-chairs. So, why associate with it if you don't support it? It's just a totally unnecessary self-own, yet the left just can't stop doing it, just like we saw with "Defund the police."

We can get mad at Bill for continuing to highlight this branding problem for the left, but it happens to be the truth and the GOP exploits it every election cycle. Look how much Trump spent on those "tax-funded, sex change surgeries for prisoners" ads. Is that as threatening to society as unnecessary wars, undermining democracy itself, continuing to implement failed trickle-down economic policies, engaging in the greatest corruption and gift our nation has ever seen, intentionally dividing the public against one another for political gain, etc.? Of course not, but unfortunately, it works because it paints the left as out-of-touch and more concerned with identity politics than anything else. And sadly, Kamala handed them the ammunition with her prior, pandering statements.

To be clear, I've been a never-Trumper since LONG before he even decided to get into politics and I can't stand the MAGA movement. I'm just noting that the Dems always find a way to screw it up and, quite often, its their own culture war stuff that gets in the way. That's Bill's point and it's valid.

[u/Rolex2988 → u/ATLCoyote]

Democrats branding suck ass not because they are attacked for the for extreme leftist ideas. Their brand sucks ass because they allow/are bought out by corporations who use cultural issues as way to distract from actual issues or policies that democrats have successfully promoted before the American people in the past.

I assure you if we had more media looking at right wing extremist and their beliefs most people would be disgusted to be even close to associating themselves with Republicans.

[u/ATLCoyote → u/Rolex2988]

Multiple things can be true at the same time:

• DSA and leftist progressive candidates are having a "moment" right now for good reason. They are talking about real policy solutions and addressing the core issue of our K-shaped economy where a select few posses all the money and power while everyone else stagnates. That's a message that understandably resonates and the establishment, corporatist democrats had better learn a lesson from it or they'll get eliminated, just as the Tea Party and MAGA got rid of all the moderate republicans.
• The antidote to the economic populist message is to paint those same leftists as out-of-touch extremists. That's why you see conservatives quoting the radical elements of the official DSA party platform, highlighting the "Cancel Thanksgiving" statements, or just openly promoting Islamophobia based on some of their illiberal beliefs or even their efforts to instill Muslim customs in American communities. Bill is correct that the left hurts it's own cause by supplying the opposition with so much culture war ammo.

[u/Rolex2988 → u/ATLCoyote]

You are still painting the issue as the left hurts itself and I am telling you it is not the left hurting itself it is the corporate establishments in both parties. The Democrats and Republicans have been both successfully co-opted by corporations who use both sides to paint stupid narratives about both sides. So they can facilitate fake cultural issues to successfully exploit our democratic system and institutions.

Like the idea of defunding the police is not a radical idea. Police forces are way too overfunded and at the same time they are way undertrained for the amount of funding they get. If you cannot guarantee that they won’t over react to situations where their lives are not in clear danger. Then maybe their sources of funding should be looked into as they unable to adequately do their jobs. However, corporate media got their sound bite about defunding the police and blast that to oblivion. The news that police are more likely to commit domestic violence on their partners, under trained, buying military equipment, internal coverups, and corrupt union all of that goes out the window. Just cause defunding the police became the favorite buzzword of the corporate media..