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What a terrible article. Repeat after me: "The Democrats are not the left. Most Washington Democrats are corporate centrists."
If the author can't understand that basic point, who would believe them about anything else? ... And hey, you can have your own definitions, no worries, but after 2016 and 2024, you damn well oughtta be able to see that the Dems don't represent tens of millions of us.
Bro, they're writing in Jacobin, they know what the left is, and the difference between being on a national left and being a leftist.
Right its jacobin lmao cant have shit here
This article is a very abbreviated version of the book that she recently published, "Outclassed: How the Left Lost the Working Class and How to Win Them Back". If you want to win, you have to address the core issues that the Dems have left behind. Republicans say the right things re: jobs, but they have no follow through, and they aren't doing anything to help reduce the anger against oligarchs. (And the right thing to do to reduce the anger would be eliminate the oligarchs.)
The problem at the very core is that Dems do not want to address these issues. They have the same donors as Republicans. This is why they only focus on the culture war and fully ignore class.
Is it only about the US?
I just watched a video of an enraged MAGAT. The tax cuts on overtime only applied to people making under 100k. No focus on the tax cuts at the top. Just mad all the tradesmen making over 100k didn’t get their free money. “Working class priorities” are rise to the top and pull up the ladder. They are “what about meeeee” and a side of “ill pay more to fuck over the gays and blacks”
We gotta acknowledge most people were appealing too are removed selfish and evil.
Sadly that war is not over yet. They're going to actively try to take it back. Gay marriage isn't safe and we shouldn't pretend it is.
Not sure where you're talking about but in the US it's as safe as it will ever be short of an amendment to the Constitution.
At the national level it's protected by law in the Respect for Marriage Act, by case law precedent AND the constitution per Obergefell v. Hodges and its supported by ~70% of Americans by last polling.
Supreme Court Justices have hinted in arguments that they might want to revisit Obergefell. I'll leave it as an exercise for the reader to guess which ones.
They can revisit it all they want.
The Respect for Marriage Act, signed into law in 2022, codifies federal protections for same-sex and interracial marriage, ensuring that marriages valid under state law are recognized federally, regardless of the couple's sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin.
Until Congress repeals the Respect for Marriage Act it's protected by law. Nothing SCOTUS can do about that.
I like your optimism but the rule of law is rapidly becoming meaningless here.
It's not really optimism, just statements of fact. Same-sex marriage is as protected as it can be without an amendment.
Even if it was protected by amendment it wouldn't be protected from your 'doomer' scenario because that's a complete abandonment of governmental process and legal procedure.
Yes I think complete abandonment of those two things is a fantastic description of the current USA administration. It’s not doomerism, I just read the news.
I want to be convinced and those are affirming articles, but since Roe v Wade fell I’ve just felt like nothing is safe. Any thoughts on Roe falling?
I think the ruling in Dobbs was not made impartially by all Justices. However, the mistake made with abortion and Roe v. Wade was not made in regards to other issues, such as same-sex marriage. Instead of codifying abortion protections into law through Congress everyone decided to rely on the belief that Roe would never be overturned.
Same-sex marriage has been codified into law at the federal level through the Respect for Marriage Act, passed under Biden, by Congress in 2022. There's also a number of states that individually have it protected at the state level through laws or constitutional amendments.
I understand your fear, I share it with you. Right now, though, this regime is still stuck on picking on those in the US with the fewest protections and losing badly. We're finally seeing more cases get through the courts and the administration keeps losing. I think they moved too quickly and expanded to attack immigrants with resources who brought more attention to it than they had planned. The courts work slowly but they have, mostly, still been working.
Now, I think the greatest group at risk is the trans community. Specifically trans youth because they're following the same plan. Go after the weakest of the specific group and then slowly expand. I've seen other people on Lemmy equate it to frogs in slowly heating water.
Yeah we do. I hope you’re right but when he owns the top court in the land none of the lower court stuff means much.
He doesn't own the Supreme Court.
I actually saw a user post on Lemmy recently with the statistics of the current SCOTUS versus previous and the current SCOTUS is roughly in line with previous ones on their rulings.
There's lots of doomer comments on social media about the SCOTUS but that's because the media amplifies the controversial rulings.
To stop Losing the Culture Wars
The only winning move is not to play
No war but class war
Surely the class war includes protecting marginalised groups of people
The poor are one of those marginalized groups. Democrats have already abandoned them, and are now saying that they need to abandon other marginalized groups and then focus on class.
Of course, they'll get as far as abandoning marginalized groups and forget the rest.
This is why I posted this basically.
I am wondering can a culture war even be won? Aren't we allowing the conservatives to define the game to such extend that makes winning impossible?
And additionally are these wars even separate or one and the same but viewed through different lenses?
What do you think, oh wise people of the internet?
"wars", or really just disputes in general I guess since culture war is metaphorical, don't really work that way. It only takes one side to start one, and then the other side must either resist them or cede what the other wants, there's no option to just opt out of them without mutual desire to do so, and if someone has started one against you that desire obviously isn't there.
The issues considered "culture war" aren't inconsequential, they affect the lives of real people in material ways. Thus, trying to dismiss them as a distraction just means accepting harm to some people. If one wants a decent society, it is necessary to win both.
Do you mean that we should simply surrender to the right and let them oppress marginalized groups?
War has been declared, and we can't just plug our ears and pretend it's not happening.
Tell me you didn’t even read the lede that directly ties it into the class war without telling me
That isn't not playing it's just making it bigger to include the broader spectrum
You want to win a war? Learn from what the enemy is doing.
Also stop underestimating them.
The first step of winning a culture war is to acknowledge you are in one.
Sadly I think the big turning point for gay rights in this country was the Matthew Shepard murder. It was very much another Emmett Till type of turning point that shocked a lot of people into awareness.
Interesting, just heard Joan on a podcast the other day. Really interesting arguments. I had some notes, but ultimately good arguments. She understands the gulf south in particular in a way I just can’t communicate to progressives not from here. They get mad at the Joe Manchins of the world but frankly I’d fucking kill to have him in my state, as maddening as he can be. Some people just don’t get bad how bad republicans are here. The stakes are completely different.