cross-posted from: https://news.abolish.capital/post/42784
In a historic vote, 75% of Senate Democrats backed an effort to block weapons to Israel. The resolutions failed, but the vote was the latest sign of Democrats’ growing consensus against aid to Israel, as support for the country hits an all-time low.
From Mondoweiss via This RSS Feed.
I agree with this sentiment across all aspects of the Democratic Party. They are ill-equipped to make the drastic changes internally that are required, even if they wanted to.
This is something that I try to argue with my liberal friends about. It always results in them calling me too idealistic and acting like “leftists” expect change overnight. When really I’m just trying to make them understand that you cannot cure this problem from inside the party.
Yes, progress is slow, but most of the slow progress we see happen along party lines is just placating by the elites. The changes we need still don’t feel like they are transpiring at any rate of speed.
I think there is value in the US-American Left using the electoral system to force the issue. We know from theory that a pro-capitalism bourgeois party will no be able to do something good. Liberal voters, who do largely agree with us on topics like the support for Israel and healthcare reform, do not understand this. If they read theory they wouldn’t be liberals.
There is a strong argument to gas up the Democrats with anti-zionist soc-dem (or better) candidates, just so they can prove on paper where they stand. Many here were radicalized by Bernie getting crushed by the Democratic Party (twice). The Democratic party is not the path to success (of course, of course!), but they must be politicked with as a prerequisite for actual progress, whether that is a via a militant left movement, a DemSoc third party with anti-imperialist characteristics (most likely IMO), or a collapse and reform of the Democratic party (unlikely, but not off the table IMO).