General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Bernie speaking on 1st day at Women's conference is a horrible idea & it's easy to show why... [View all]JCanete
(5,272 posts)even most.
I myself do not fall into either group but I entirely agree with the sentiment that it should be about the actual policies that help or hurt women or people of color, not simply about identifying as a bonafide representative of one group or another. I personally was dismayed at how vague Clinton's campaigning actually was. She said little of substance often, because no doubt, that was the strategy they thought was best...to try to be everything to her likely voters, and to alienate none of them. The one thing that she and her surrogates did campaign on though, vigorously, was that she was a woman. They calculated that that would be a winning message at this point in history. "I'm with her." "There's a special place in hell for women who don't vote for Hillary." Etc. I understand that approach. I appreciate that her fairly conventional unwllingness to delve deep into specifics that might piss off one institution or another was a tactical choice that may not have reflected on how she governed from the White House at all, but I'm tired of that convention, and I think it has led us to where we are today.
No doubt, as people like to point out here, her platform was well laid out on her website. But actual policy was hardly what she stumped on. Her go-to's of "I will work with people in the industry to find common ground...blah blah..." were completely empty of specific goals. She was going for a feeling. She was selling identity, and not just hers, but party identity. That was all well and good, had there been more details that she was selling...had there been more big ideas, had there been well defined(and lofty enough) goal-posts...
As to economic justice....you cannot move on social justice without it. I would love to see a salient argument that makes that case. As to Sanders trying to move on economic justice without social justice, that characterization hardly reflects his time in congress or the Senate. He just actually recognizes that the failure of moving towards economic justice is stunting our ability to move forward on social justice. Everybody needs to fucking recognize that already.