The dead hand of the democratic advisory class

Even if you’ve been hiding under the covers for the past month, it’s still hard to miss the debates—including some of my energetic entries. nation Colleagues — about the scale of Donald Trump’s electoral victory and what it said (or didn’t say) about the existence of the Republican mandate. We all agree on the following: when the votes are finally counted, (a) Trump received more votes than Kamala Harris; (b) but not enough to claim a majority, not a majority; (c) ) despite apparently being enough to win in the Electoral College (sadly, this is still how we decide winners in this country). Republicans also won control of the House and Senate.

Indeed, on election night, while Harris remained in her bunker, Trump claimed an “unprecedented mandate.” But I’m confused as to why so many experts seem to think that of all the lies in all of Trump’s speeches, this article is so in need of rebuttal. Then I realized that this wasn’t really an argument about vote counting, or whether Harris, who ended up finishing about 6 million votes short of Joe Biden’s total in 2020, ran an effective campaign . (Though loyal readers will recall, I believe she abandoned a potentially winning economic message in pursuit of the fantasy of Republican crossover votes.)

Despite appearances, this sometimes painful debate is not about the past at all. The real concern is the future, and whether the Democratic Party needs radical reform to allow it to ignore the temptations of an advisory class that has now caused the party to suffer two catastrophic defeats. Or, to borrow a term from British politics, all that is needed to win is “one more go” – running the same campaign but with more vigor than last time. Essentially, this is what the shockingly unrepentant David Plouffe and his colleagues were guests on. pods save america:Give us a chance to do it again in 2028 and we will. Anyone who wants to believe these charlatans should listen to Plouffe’s October episode of “Why You Shouldn’t Panic About the Polls.”

Expelling the advisory class and draining the dark money cesspool that ensures its continued influence on Democratic politics won’t be easy. But it is crucial if there is to be an effective fight against Republican plutocracy masquerading as populism. At the same time, as Tarence Ray points out in this issue, it is equally important to resist the temptation to be fatalistic and simply cede much of the electoral map to a Republican reaction. Because it turns out that, like communism, the “red state electorate” is more ghost than substance — a straw man whose alleged bias is used to govern common sense solutions like Medicare for All and support for the beleaguered. Real debt relief for students (and their students).

Trump managed (or condoned) it both ways: issuing a detailed manifesto in “Plan 2025”—which indeed might have given him some authority had he not denied it so vehemently during the campaign—and drawing from his Any electoral advantage gained in the scheme. As Chris Lehmann made clear in an article in Eli Valley, the whole exercise turned out to be another riddle game.

While we’re on the topic of social corruption, take a look at Eric Orner’s stunning graphic memoir about the day the murders took place in his hometown of Highland Park, Illinois, and Marla Mara Kardas-Nelson’s exposé of the colonial-era legal system. Not to mention Charles Glass on Israel’s recidivist invasion of Lebanon, Abdelrahman ElGendy on post-Gaza literature, and Jorge Cote on Cotte talks Alfonso Cuarón’s TV thriller Disclaimer.

On a more uplifting level, Peter Cooper interviews cartoonist Jules Feiffer and pays his artistic tribute; Joan Walsh reveals why she won’t be in any inaugural Dancing at the Ball; Chris Lehmann (double) delves into the decay of our two-party system; Kim Phillips-Fein writes about the great labor historian David Montgomery (David Montgomery) paints a fitting portrait of a hero.

Plus some hard-hitting opinions from our columnists, dispatches from reporters near and far, and – speaking of heroism – John Nichols’ annual report nation Honor Roll. So, if you’re still hiding, it’s time to come out and join the fight. The causes we care about can’t wait another four years—nor can we.

DDGUttenplan
edit