Hillary Clinton
Related: About this forumGiordano stuns with this insightful wrap up today
This wisdom came in a series of tweets I love too much to wait for a storified version...
2. While there are exceptions, overall people who have organized and won battles - John Lewis, Dolores Huerta, etc. - went with Clinton.
3. Whereas the high profile lefties with Sanders are overwhelmingly defined by a history of failed activist ventures. "Beautiful losers."
4. The latter group generally feels that their activism fails not because of anything they're doing wrong, but "the system is rigged."
5. That's always been the cop-out excuse. "I don't need to improve, or train, or change my approach because it's all rigged anyway."
6. Sanders' message of economic determinism - that all of life is about money - appeals to the loser part of the left, confirms its biases.
7. And it lets them off the hook, allows activists to take zero responsibility for going about activism in such an ineffective way.
8. This divide on the electoral left sharpens the racial divide, because organizers of color don't have the luxury of always losing.
9. Americans of color, in general, aren't duped or deluded into thinking "we are the majority already." That's plainly obvious.
10. The idea that there is some super woke majority out there waiting to lay siege to the palace is an overwhelmingly white delusion.
11. This imaginary unicorn majority, in their heads, gives them permission to think "we're not doing anything wrong, it's the system."
12. When people think that way, years of frustration and anger build into an impotent rage, and they berate instead of persuade.
13. Since berating is a behavior especially satisfying for men, the Sanders crusade grants them permission to be jerks, & call it politics.
14. It is thus the perfect cocktail for the emergence of the "Bernie Bro," who, again, is not a millennial but the aging white male activist
15. And the whole episode is only going to further reinforce their embittered worldview as the Sanders campaign now sinks into ignominy.
16. They will look back upon it and grumble to each other, "See? We were right! The system is rigged. It's not us, but THEM!"
17. That's why whenever they lose a primary they scream so loudly to invent "fraud" and "voter suppression." Things external to them.
18. They can't ever look in the mirror and say, "My god, we lost because of ME! We didn't train ourselves. We have no social skills!"
19. My central mission in the coming months will be to rescue the idealistic millennials from the "beautiful loser" left, because they're ok
20. What a shame the Sanders campaign didn't repeat the Obama model of training its troops. But to have done so would have been anathema.
21. Because training & organizing are about "agency." They teach "we win or lose based on what WE do." That's the lesson of Sanders' failure
https://twitter.com/AlGiordano
Agency, control of ones self, organizing. There's the power.
Lucinda
(31,170 posts)Pretty thorough analysis in tweet form!
IamMab
(1,359 posts)"When you meet assholes all day long, YOU'RE the asshole."
I thought of this when ready the lines about the "beautiful losers" and their whole mentality. They are their own worst enemy, I believe.
SharonClark
(10,014 posts)IamMab
(1,359 posts)SaschaHM
(2,897 posts)I usually keep tabs open with his and Joy Ann Reid's twitter pages up for political insight.
pandr32
(11,588 posts)Hopefully it gets lots of records.
KittyWampus
(55,894 posts)They are ideologues and cynics.
Ineffective, yet blaming others for their failures.
There are definitely many on DU who WANT Clinton to lose in November, because then they can say "I was right".
And even when they are proven wrong, yet again, when she gets inaugurated, they'll start ripping her apart on Day One of her first Administration. Every appointment will be criticized. Every speech. Every OUTFIT she wears, ffs.
Basic LA
(2,047 posts)The hatred is so strong, her election might only energize them.
DemonGoddess
(4,640 posts)fleabiscuit
(4,542 posts)I'm going to steal that and use the appropriate # for standard answers to BS angles who like to come in and relieve themselves on this group.
Surya Gayatri
(15,445 posts)NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)The lack of accepting responsibility and blaming others for their own failures is definitely a recurring theme that can't be overemphasized.
There was a post earlier today that imagined the dialog at Bernie's campaign that NEVER happened. The gist of the post was the Bernie's campaign and his supporters FAILED to plan ahead for simple (and OBVIOUS) things like New York's closed primary system and long registration requirements.
Number 17 in that list kinda hits on that issue, but doesn't address it directly. It does do a good job at accurately describing how they've responded to the fact that they FAILED to plan ahead ... choosing to blame others, the "system", and offering conspiracy theories.
It seems to me that for all the effort and money the Sanders campaign put into filing an "emergency" legal proceeding to force the NY primaries to be open, they could have instead focused those human and financial resources on publicizing the registration requirements, educating voters, and assisting them.
Oh well ... now they know.
Cha
(297,289 posts)Putain Démocratique ??@goddamnedfrank
If you cant even research your States primary rules and register on time maybe you shouldnt call other people low information voters.
6:58 PM - 18 Apr 2016
20 20 Retweets 15 15 likes
https://theobamadiary.com/2016/04/19/early-bird-chat-723/#comments
Glad they didn't, though~
NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)It's a mindset that wants "instant gratification" without planning and without effort and without forethought. (You know, kinda like what happens when you click on an internet poll ... you get the see the results right away, and if you're not happy with the results, you just keep clicking until you do. EASY!)
But when it comes to big stuff, I often think they'd rather angrily 'fight for change' instead of cooperatively 'work for change' ... and instead of thinking-ahead and planning ahead. (Basically, the philosophy seems to be "We'll shout at that bridge when we get to it."
The "all or nothing" approach will almost always result in NOTHING! Yet, they take a great deal of personal pride and self satisfaction in actually having NOTHING and in making NO PROGRESS!
Weird, huh?
Change can still happen, but one method is much more likely to be successful, and with a lot less stress ... and is more likely to produce meaningful long-term results.
It's a mindset and a culture of being the perpetually angry "victim" that is almost always doomed to failure or that offers only minimal (and short-term) rewards.
Cha
(297,289 posts)Right ******* Now!
This a perfect description, imv.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Emo%20Progressive
Thank you, Jackie~
NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)Cha
(297,289 posts)NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)... which he couldn't, but if he could ... they'd be in for quite a shocking awakening to reality. Their disappointment would far exceed anything they've ever experienced before. With their perception of betrayal and with all their grand hopes dashed, they'd turn on him in the blink of an eye.
Even Bernie is not safe from being thrown under the #BernieBus!
Cha
(297,289 posts)Misery!
Rose Siding
(32,623 posts)http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/president-obama-calls-out-black-lives-matter-activists-yelling
It's really at the core of how everything functions isn't it? I think he is fired up to campaign for Hillary.
creon
(1,183 posts)The beautiful losers, in this circumstance, are in a permanent political minority.
It is not easy being in such a place.
Even worse, being in a permanent minority and - most of what you are saying is true and accurate.
very frustrating.
It is sad.
Sanders had points to make.
And, he did not make them.
That is on him.
That faction will have to back up and regroup.
Organization; training/education; persistence; making allies and friends; listen to others and empathize; being able to make a point; etc.
fleabiscuit
(4,542 posts)"Agency, control of ones self, organizing. There's the power."
Sometimes I jot down notes;
Noam Chomsky: You are responsible for the predictable consequences of your actions. You are not responsible the predictable consequences of someone elses actions. The most important thing is to think about the consequences of your actions. What can you affect. (about 1:30:00)
they who have put out the peoples eyes, reproach them of their blindness
~Milton
POLITICS of the DISPOSABLE
Privatize the PROFIT
Socialize the RISK
INDIVIDUALIZE the SOCIAL
...Few suppress critical thinking more systematically than those who falsely claim that they teach critical thinking (or as the awful cliché puts it, "thinking outside the box" . In reality, they operate within a closed system of "problem-solving," constituted as the pedagogy of the Rubik's Cube. What is called creativity is most often merely puzzle-solving (finding the best predetermined answer), whereas authentic innovation would include probing boundaries, interrogating assumptions, redefining concepts rather than using a desiccated sort of "critical thinking" as a shriveled substitute for a genuine critical consciousness. True creativity would consider taking the box off the shelf and disposing of its toxic contents
.
Howard A. Doughty
http://www.collegequarterly.ca/2012-vol15-num01-winter/doughty2.html
--------------------
When Margaret Thatcher married Ronald Reagan two things happened; one was the assumption that government was evil, except when it regulated power to benefit the rich. It wasnt a matter of smashing government, it was a matter of rearranging it, and reconfiguring it, so it benefited the wealthy, the elites, those who run large corporations. But Thatcher said something entirely different, that there is no such thing as society, only families and individuals.
Paraphrasing Henry A. Giroux discussing his book Zombie Politics and Culture in the Age of Casino Capitalism
Agency: action or intervention, esp. such as to produce a particular effect.: "canals carved by the agency of running water."
Four Freedoms articulated by United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt on January 6, 1941. In the 1941 State of the Union address, he proposed freedoms that people "everywhere in the world" ought to enjoy:
Freedom of speech
Freedom of worship
Freedom from want
Freedom from fear
You have to imagine what a good life is, but AGENCY, the ability to do that, to have the capacity to make decisions, to learn how to govern, and NOT JUST be GOVERNED, TO BE a CITIZEN, an AGENT.
A CITIZEN is a political and moral AGENT who has a SHARED sense of HOPE and RESPONSIBILITY to OTHERS, and not to just himself or herself.
Paraphrasing Henry A. Giroux discussing his book Zombie Politics and Culture in the Age of Casino Capitalism
Rose Siding
(32,623 posts)That's so different than filling stadiums and waving signs. Though those can be components of the process, organizing teaches us to govern, expresses our agency.
Fla Dem
(23,690 posts)3. Whereas the high profile lefties with Sanders are overwhelmingly defined by a history of failed activist ventures. "Beautiful losers."
This is Bernie Sanders to a T. Thirty years in the Congress and Senate and nothing to show for it, No Bills passed (2 renaming post offices and one other minor bill). Yes he pasted amendments to other bills, but they never went anywhere.
The system was obviously stacked against him. He could not get consensus. Failed activist ventures indeed.
all american girl
(1,788 posts)Rose Siding
(32,623 posts)You can "like" each of his tweets.
NastyRiffraff
(12,448 posts)but particularly #5:
5. That's always been the cop-out excuse. "I don't need to improve, or train, or change my approach because it's all rigged anyway."
Sums it up nicely. No responsibility,no legitimate searching for what went wrong. "It's not me! It's 'the system.' "
all american girl
(1,788 posts)Koinos
(2,792 posts)The foolish person blames others.
all american girl
(1,788 posts)I just got done reading it, and one thing I can say about dudebros, comprehension is not strong
totally worth reading the take down...
SharonClark
(10,014 posts)Her Sister
(6,444 posts)to learn or get agency?
Rose Siding
(32,623 posts)Groups that have been successful at moving us forward that I know of are the NAACP, Planned Parenthood volunteering, and local or state Democratic Parties.
I hope others know more to add.
Her Sister
(6,444 posts)Rose Siding
(32,623 posts)Look at how SEIU launched the fight for $15 so strategically, with success in the 2 leading edge states already, as well as other localities.
displacedtexan
(15,696 posts)Most local and county Dem offices have experienced organizers and seasoned event planners, but they lack enough volunteers to really make a difference in their areas, especially in red states and in red areas of blue states.
BSers would be surprised to see how many Dem party county board members are ACLU attorneys, business owners and others from all walks of life. They meet once a month normally and usually more often during election years. All you need to get started is party registration. It's amazing how much you learn just by showing up.
kstewart33
(6,551 posts)Cha
(297,289 posts)HillareeeHillaraah
(685 posts)It's just so smart and spot on...
A lot of what we've been saying but he lays it all out and wraps it up in a bow
Kicking it so weekend readers don't miss it.
I spent about an hour or so following some of the links bouncing through Giordano's Twitter feed. Trolls notwithstanding, there are some interesting conversations going on ~
Thanks RS
KewlKat
(5,624 posts)AlGiordano@AlGiordano
AlGiordano Retweeted Lexa
As I started saying last week, 4/19 would be the Dudebro Rapture and 4/26 the Dudebro Apocalypse.
Her Sister
(6,444 posts)AlGiordano Retweeted Lexa
As I started saying last week, 4/19 would be the Dudebro Rapture and 4/26 the Dudebro Apocalypse.
https://twitter.com/AlGiordano/status/723755233566826497
Starry Messenger
(32,342 posts)Al's tweets are a master class for organizers.
Walk away
(9,494 posts)It's a pleasure to, literally, wake up to reality!
Rose Siding
(32,623 posts)Since reading it, I see myself applying this concept as a rubric through which I view campaign news.
For instance, the head of the lefty nurses union that supports him ranted about how the only times he loses a state is because the system is rigged. Fits. They must do canvassing like other unions but the attitude behind their statements is activist and complaining rather than organizational.
That's just one instance but every story I read, there is something to which this overview applies.
ismnotwasm
(41,989 posts)Koinos
(2,792 posts)Haveadream
(1,630 posts)A must read for all supporters. Al needs to write this book!