- Part 1: Beware the Moderate Democrat
- Why the centrist extremists are an incredibly dangerous political animal
- Part 2: ‘Socialism surging in Iowa’ gives cold feet to centrist Democrats contemplating 2020 run: report
- it might be the centrists who are getting cold feet.
- Part 3: The Last Thing America Needs Right Now is a 'Centrist Independent'
- Howard Schultz is contemplating a run for president, while Kamala Harris leans into Obama-style rhetoric. God Help Us All.
Compiled by David Culver, Ed., Evergreene Digest
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Part 1: Beware the Moderate Democrat
/ "There's nothing in the middle of the road," the progressive populist Jim Hightower of Texas famously quipped, "but yellow stripes and dead Armadillos."- Why the centrist extremists are an incredibly dangerous political animal
Les Leopold, Common Dreams
February 02, 2019 | The "moderate."
Such a soothing political word. It conjures up a reasonable, considerate person who seeks the middle ground between ideological extremists: Works well with others, crosses the aisle to make good policy, knows how to win incremental change rather than issuing jarring proclamations that jump too far ahead of the electorate. A moderate is pragmatic, gets things done and doesn't let the perfect become the enemy of the good.
Oh, in these troubled times, aren't such moderates—beloved as they are by right-wingers like Bret Stephens—desperately needed?
Les Leopold, the director of the Labor Institute in New York, is working with unions, worker centers and community organizations to build a national economics educational campaign. His latest book, Runaway Inequality: An Activist's Guide to Economic Justice (Oct 2015), is a text for that effort.
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Part 2: ‘Socialism surging in Iowa’ gives cold feet to centrist Democrats contemplating 2020 run: report
Amid warnings within progressive circles that the “moderate Democrat” remains a serious obstacle to the kind of transformative change many rank-and-file party members and voters in general say they want, new reporting by Axios on Saturday…
Jon Queally, Common Dreams / AlterNet
February 3, 2019 | Amid warnings within progressive circles that the “moderate Democrat” remains a serious obstacle to the kind of transformative change many rank-and-file party members and voters in general say they want, new reporting by Axios on Saturday shows that it might be the centrists who are getting cold feet as they register just how hungry the electorate has become for policy solutions like Medicare for All, the Green New Deal, tuition-free higher education, and taxation that targets the nation’s wealthiest.
Citing informed sources, Axios reports that both “Michael Bloomberg and former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, each of whom were virtual locks to run, are having serious second thoughts after watching Democrats embrace “Medicare for All,” big tax increases and the Green New Deal. Joe Biden, who still wants to run, is being advised to delay any plans to see how this lurch to the left plays out. If Biden runs, look for Bloomberg and McAuliffe to bow out.”
Jon Queally: As seen in: Mint Press News, AlterNet, RawStory, Common Dreams, Truthout, Truthdig, In These Times, EcoWatch, BillMoyers.com, Wisconsin Gazette, Green Builder Magazine and more
Full story …
Part 3: The Last Thing America Needs Right Now is a 'Centrist Independent'
Howard Schultz is contemplating a run for president, while Kamala Harris leans into Obama-style rhetoric. God Help Us All.
Charles P. Pierce, Esquire
[Credit: Anthony Frieda.]
Jan 28, 2019 | There was a lot that was intriguing about the high-end rollout of Senator Kamala Harris's presidential campaign on Sunday. The announcement rally itself seemed to shut down most of Oakland. Harris's speech, which has been slightly overpraised, but which was quite solid and occasionally soaring in its quasi-Obama-ish way, had a lot in it to fascinate the casual observer.
For example, the biggest knock against Harris so far is based in her career as a prosecutor, during which she took some stands and actions that run contrary to the post-Ferguson mood among liberal activists. Hence, she's on a unique tightrope that her primary rivals— with the possible exception of Joe Biden, who has other problems, too—don't have to walk. She gave an extended look at the techniques she will try to use to keep from falling.
/ Charles P. Pierce is a staff writer for Grantland and the author of Idiot America. He writes regularly for Esquire, is the lead writer for Esquire.com’s Politics blog, and is a frequent guest on NPR.
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/ ‘Mitch McConnell, the Republican Senate majority leader, has been content to do Trump’s bidding, twice blocking Democratic bills to reopen the government.’ Photograph: Susan Walsh/AP
16 Jan 2019 | California Senator Kamala Harris shows all the signs of announcing her candidacy for the Democratic Party presidential nomination. She is giving speeches in the right states, interviewing with the right talking heads, and recently published the obligatory memoir. She has been on the Democratic funder’s casting couch for nearly two years. Only the official announcement is missing.
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