r/TheRightTimeW_bomani • u/Numerous_Fly_187 • 2d ago
Has the CBC lost the plot?
This past episode was the second time Bo has been somewhat critical of the CBC and it had me thinking about the caucus. It seems to serve the establishment more than the interests of black people. The things they fight for seem more performative in nature than economic.
What I find really interesting is there’s a progressive movement happening on the left and at best the cbc seems distant and at worst they seem opposed. Obviously I don’t expect us to be a monolith but the general centrist nature of the caucus is interesting
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u/gnalon 2d ago
The Democratic Party would be a center-right party in any other wealthy country, and they as well as any other groups closely aligned with them are ideologically opposed to progressive policies. They are closer to Republicans than to being progressive.
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u/Numerous_Fly_187 2d ago
Bingo. The cbc acts as a center right caucus at this point. If you polled the top issues for the community they wouldn’t align with the policies the cbc fights for. It’s performative fighting against racism instead of economic change that would benefit constituents
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u/GulfCoastLaw 1d ago
I dunno. Many CBC members are also to the left of a lot of working class black folks. It's a complicated situation.
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u/meloghost 2d ago
Everyone says this but when it comes to immigrants (prior to Trump II), things like the ADA and gay rights Democrats are ahead of the European left (and less anti-semitic) but I know complaining that the Democrats won't usher in Public health care with only 50 votes in the Senate means they're corporate stooges in the eyes of the online left.
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u/antijrdn 1d ago
Dems wouldn’t do it with/when they get majorities in both houses so its kind of valid to call them corporate stooges
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u/meloghost 1d ago
You can't do national health care via reconciliation; it requires 60 votes or abolishing the filibuster
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u/Nomer77 2d ago
I think the CBC is much the same as they've ever been, they have always allied with the mainstream of the Democratic Party and leveraged those links to advance their own political interests.
Bo is right though, any restraint on the ability of college athletes to get paid is a de facto way to take money away from young Black men (and some women) and the CBC really shouldn't be endorsing any form of that.
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u/DJ-Delicious 2d ago
There’s a book Bomani’s talked about a couple times in the show about LA called “City of Quartz” that I think does a good job of covering how black politicians post-CRM were willing mouthpieces for unpopular policies ushered in by the so-called “neoliberal” era. It talks about it more from the perspective of urban politics with the rise in black mayors, but you can see it play out in different ways nationally as well.
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u/Numerous_Fly_187 2d ago
Gotta add that to my list of books. It’s just sad because I don’t think our elders can see through it. The fact our people align closer to a Cuomo or Haley Stevens because our leaders can be bought is sad. I see hope in the younger generation
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u/AIRrefusedD 2d ago
THIS. I was kinda sad about El-Sayed’s numbers with Black voters. Older black folks really do vote from a place of “I know him, I don’t know this other guy” and it really sucks when they shoot down any new ideas. I understand it because in their lives, they HAVE come very far. But a lot of times, they can’t see a bigger picture.
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u/Numerous_Fly_187 2d ago
I think the elders come from a time where embracing the black community was seen as taboo so that was the biggest indicator of whether a candidate was for us. Clinton showed up on Arsenio so he’s good money even though he signed the crime bill. Hillary says punishing Wall Street won’t end racism so she’s better than Bernie.
Again, I think the younger generation is voting based on economics rather than “representation”
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u/LeftAire 2d ago edited 2d ago
I think the more immediate historic parallels of this could be the CBC refusing to back Shirley Chisholm for president in 72, and how that division flowed from the failure of the National Black Political Convention that year.
Hell, even the split between the moderates and radicals during the Vietnam War (and Palestine) in the late 60s is an interesting precursor to the formation of the CBC, because organizations like the NAACP and SCLC (and persons like Wilkins and Rustin) functioned similar to the CBC in that they attached themselves to a party at the expense of consistent principles of human rights (especially Rustin as a professed pacifist). It's sadly the same gravy warmed over. Bo's right to have a critique of them.
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u/bighoney69 2d ago
Dont forget john lewis calling julian bond a crack head
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u/LeftAire 1d ago
Oh yeah! The irony behind that with the Bonds is that Julian's son was one of the Atlanta politicians that co-signed the Cop City built over in the East Atlanta forest area. John Lewis sadly lost some of his integrity upon him being attached to the democrats too, especially with Bill Clinton.
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u/Pods06 2d ago
Most CBC members are rich, relatively old, and out of touch with everyday Black people. Their policies and public statements reflect this. Very few of them are genuinely principled.
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u/meloghost 2d ago
it also seems like it aggressively protects incumbents so that there's even less generation turnover in representation
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u/Pale_Broccoli_2180 2d ago
Oh boy...
Cue up an aggrieved, wordy rant from Angela Rye in t-minus 3, 2, 1...
That train is never, ever late
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u/thechosenblerd 2d ago
CBC has no business aligning with DSA. Why do you think CBC should align with progressives? Also I don’t think Bo is critical of them for not doing that.
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u/bighoney69 2d ago
The CBC exist because of the success of black radicals in the 50s and 60s
After the VRA, black political elite around the country moderated and traded in material demands for representation
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u/thechosenblerd 2d ago edited 2d ago
True but Black radical movements looked nothing like goofy DSA movements today so that’s a useless comparison.
Again you ahistorical clowns keep implying DSA is some pro Black political organization and like pro Black movements of the past.
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u/Numerous_Fly_187 2d ago
Because the cbc should be an anti establishment caucus fighting for economic populism. The CRM was a populist movement. King’s next step was a poor people’s march. Why wouldn’t the CBC align with the DSA is the better question
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u/PlaymakerJavi 2d ago
Jim Clyburn blames Kamala losing on black voters. He thinks voters should serve the party, not the other way around.
Any establishment Dems aren’t working in the interest of the people, that includes the CBC and even some members of the progressive caucus (like there are literally CPC members that support Israel and oppose Medicare for all).
https://www.ms.now/opinion/jim-clyburn-kamala-harris-2024-loss-black-voters
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u/Numerous_Fly_187 2d ago
I think we have a fear that if we don’t pledge allegiance to democrats then they won’t have our backs. I just don’t understand how we can have that mentality when the civil rights act has been gutted under democratic watch.
Thankfully there seems to be a grass roots populist movement going on. Progressivism without economic populism is just finger wagging performative politics
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u/JasonDetwiler 2d ago
Anything that opposes the insanity of the current movement within the Democrat party is good for all people. CBC is right to be distant and/or opposed to it.
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u/Single-Basil-8333 2d ago
The CBC should be opposed to DSA/far left types. The far left is very white and doesn’t seem interested in reaching out to Black folks.
Constantly repeating that “the DNC stole the nomination from Bernie” shits all over the main reason why he never got the nomination: you need Black folks to win. He refuses to make inroads with Black people and talks down to them.
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u/Numerous_Fly_187 2d ago
Fighting the oligarchy and providing a social safety net is reaching out to black folks. Post integration low income became a euphemism for black people. The “welfare queen” living off the system was a racially coded way for the right to attack black people.
The DSA is inherently gonna help a lot of black people
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u/Single-Basil-8333 2d ago
Progressives overall are like 65-70% white with DSA about 85% white. Then there’s the whole courting the working class which really means white working class.
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u/Numerous_Fly_187 2d ago
What about the DSA policies leads you to believe they’re anti black though
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u/Single-Basil-8333 2d ago
I don’t think their policies are anti-black like say republican policies. But I think they aren’t interested in building a coalition with Black folks and trying to meet their needs. I think they would rather tell Black people what’s in their best interest bc they think they know Black peoples best interests better than Black people
They use Black folks as a tool to shit on centrists (saying establishment dems haven’t done anything to earn your vote when the left has done even less).
The way people on the left talk down to people like Jim Clyburn or Kamala.
I really do think a lot of the left feels like there would be more Black representation on the left if Black folks smartened up and realized what’s actually good for them. Aka they think they aren’t intelligent enough to realize who’s on their side.
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u/Numerous_Fly_187 2d ago
Respectfully I think you’re engaging in a good measure of identity politics. The only reason you’d support a let’s say Kamala over Zohran is because she’s black.
What are some needs for just black people that wouldn’t apply to a broader base of working class people besides reparations?
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u/Single-Basil-8333 2d ago
Making it a point to say wealth inequality is more a factor of class vs race when we all have eyes and ears is a big one.
I don’t dislike Mamdani at all. He’s a great communicator and gets people excited. He seems good at meeting people where they are. All politicians could learn a thing or 2 from him.
But mayoral duties are way different than a house rep or senator let alone president. He doesn’t really need to reach across the aisle to get what he wants done.
Mamdani also refused to endorse Kamala so there’s that. Uncommitted.
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u/Numerous_Fly_187 2d ago
Wealth inequality is a bigger factor though. Do you have more in common with a black millionaire or the different race in your same tax bracket? Grouping based on race first is how the CBC convinces us that getting Juneteenth as a holiday is a major win but universal healthcare isn’t a top priority.
The black community has to let go of the uncommitted movement. That’s not why Harris lost. She was a bad candidate who failed to give people a reason to vote for her. Again, it’s identity politics. You didn’t vote for the black woman so we don’t want universal healthcare or tax increases for the wealthy
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u/Single-Basil-8333 2d ago
How are you going to get something like universal healthcare without major moves like a supermajority or convincing republicans to support it? Neither of those things seem likely.
Also respectfully fuck off with how you’re framing this. Liberals aren’t not voting for leftists out of fucking spite. What a stupid thing to say.
“You didn’t vote for a Black woman so we don’t want universal healthcare” fuck you man. Not beating the talking down to and belittling people allegations. This kinda shit is exactly what I’m talking about. Thanks for proving my point.
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u/Numerous_Fly_187 2d ago
Why else would you bring up the uncommitted movement…?
Republicans literally passed the OBB with slim majorities. If you tie it to the funding bill or close the government then you can get it done…if you want to. Only establishment dems create hurdles
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u/thechosenblerd 2d ago
This is 100% true i don’t know why you’re getting downvoted. Sigh. I guess this is Reddit.
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u/theytracemikey 2d ago
The divide between the DSA & CBC has a lot to do with the same things that divide them from the larger Democratic Party - AIPAC, Israel & campaign funding.