Working class Dems who campaign on economics beat Trumpists in elections
I'm on tour with my new, nationally bestselling novel The Bezzle! Catch me FRIDAY NIGHT (Mar 22) in TORONTO, then SUNDAY (Mar 24) with LAURA POITRAS in NYC, then Anaheim, and more!
The Democratic Party Pizzaburger Theory of Electioneering is: half the electorate wants a pizza, the other half wants a burger, so we'll give them all a pizzaburger and make them all equally dissatisfied, thus winning the election:
https://pluralistic.net/2023/06/16/that-boy-aint-right/#dinos-rinos-and-dunnos
But no one wants a pizzaburger. The Biden administration's approach of letting the Warren/Sanders wing pick the antitrust enforcers while keeping judicial appointments in the Manchin-Synematic universe is a catastrophe in which progressive Dem regulators (who serve one term) are thwarted by corporatist Dem judges (who serve for life):
https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/14/making-good-trouble/#the-peoples-champion
The Democrats – like all parties in two-party systems – are a coalition; in this case, a "progressive" liberal-left coalition with liberals serving as senior partners, steering the party and setting its policies. These corporate dems like to color themselves as "neutral" technocrats with "realistic, apolitical" policies that represent what's best for the country:
https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/05/not-that-naomi/#if-the-naomi-be-klein-youre-doing-just-fine
This sets up the left wing of the party as the starry-eyed, unrealistic radicals whose policies are unpopular and will lose elections. But for a decade, grassroots-funded primary challenges have made it possible to test this theory, by putting leftist politicians on the ballot in front of voters, especially in tight races with far-right Republicans (that is, exactly the kinds of races that the corporate wing of the party says we can't afford to take chances on).
The 2022 midterms included enough races to start testing these theories – and, unlike traditional midterms, these races enjoyed high voter turnout, thanks to the unpopularity of GOP positions like abortion bans, book bans and anti-trans laws. Jacobin teamed up with the Center for Working-Class Politics, Yougov and the Center for Work and Democracy at ASU and analyzed those races:
https://images.jacobinmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/11134429/CWCP-Report-2024.pdf
Their conclusion: candidates from working-class backgrounds who campaigned on economic policies like high-quality jobs, higher minimum wages, a jobs guarantee, ending offshoring and outsourcing, building infrastructure and bringing manufacturing back to the US won with a 50% share of the vote in rural and working-class districts. Dems who didn't lost with a 35% share of the vote:
https://prospect.org/politics/2024-03-18-how-actually-existing-democrats-run-for-office/
In other words, in the kinds of districts where Trumpist politicians are beating Democrats, running on "left populist" policies beats Trumpist politicians.
That's the good news: if Dems recruit leftist, working class politicians and put them up for office on policies that address the material reality of voters' lives, they can beat fascist GOP candidates.
Now for the bad news: the Democratic establishment has no interest in getting these candidates onto the ballot. Working-class candidates, by definition, lack the networks of deep-pocketed cronies who can fund their primary campaigns. Only 2.3% of Dem candidates come from blue-collar backgrounds (if you include "pink-collar" professions like nursing and teaching, the number goes up to 5.9%):
https://jacobin.com/2024/03/left-populists-working-class-voters
All of this confirms the findings of Trump's Kryoptonite, an earlier Jacobin/CWCP research project that polled working-class voters on preferences for hypothetical candidates, finding that working-class candidates with economically progressive policies handily beat out Republicans, including MAGA Republicans:
https://images.jacobinmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/08125102/TrumpsKryptonite_Final_June2023.pdf
Since the Clinton-Blair years, "progressives" have abandoned economic populism ("It's not a burning ambition for me to make sure that David Beckham earns less money" -T. Blair) and pursued a "third way" that seeks to replace half the world's of supply white, male oligarchs with diverse oligarchs from a variety of backgrounds and genders. We were told that this was done in the name of winning elections with "modern" policies that replaced old-fashioned ideas about decent pay, decent jobs, and worker power.
These policies have delivered a genocide-riven world on the brink of several kinds of existential catastrophe. They're a failure. The pizzaburger party didn't deliver safety, nor prosperity – and it also can't deliver elections.
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If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:
https://pluralistic.net/2024/03/20/actual-material-conditions/#bread-and-butter
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Yes votes / Artist - Song title / Poll number / Showdown votes / * Showdown Winner
95% A-ha - Take On Me #91 - 45.2% *
94,8% Boney M. - Rasputin #37 - 49,3% *
94,3% Dolly Parton - Jolene #110 - 43,1% *
94,1% Britney Spears - Toxic #04 - 51,9% *
92% Fleetwood Mac - The Chain #116 - 44,4% *
-
86,3% Chumbawamba - Tubthumping #82 - 24,9%
86% Chuck Berry - Johnny B. Goode #53 - 18,6%
85,5% Dido - Thank You #120 - 5,6%
85,3% Ricky Martin - La Bomba #132 - 8,3%
85,2% Queen - The Show Must Go On #142 - 20,9%
85% Green Day - Basket Case #47 - 27,6% *
84,9% Ramones - Blitzkrieg Bop #41 - 15,8%
84,7% The Cardigans - Lovefool #135 - 24,2% *
84,5% Elvis Presley - Can't Help Falling in Love #136 - 18,8%
84,4% Daryl Hall & John Oates - Out of Touch #67 - 31,4% *
82,7% Nightwish - The Phantom of the Opera #144 - 8,6%
82,6% Junior Senior - Move Your Feet #76 - 6,5%
82,4% Myrkur - Tor i Helheim #54 - 7%
82,4% Tracy Chapman - Fast Car #145 - 32,5% *
82% Backstreet Boys - I Want It That Way #105 - 19,2%
81,6% N Sync - Bye Bye Bye #52 - 26,9% *
81,5% Israel Kamakawiwo'ole - Somewhere Over the Rainbow #42 - 16,7%
80,7% Jamiroquai - Virtual Insanity #72 - 17,9%
80,5% Pixies - Where Is My Mind? #148 - 13,5%
80,1% Soundgarden - Black Hole Sun #119 - 14,9%
-
79,3% Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up - #Bonus Poll
78,8% Shakira - Ojos Así #75 - 7,5%
78,5% Kaoma - Lambada #57 - 4,2%
78,4% Danny Elfman - This Is Halloween #05 - 13,9%
78,2% Panic at the Disco - The Ballad of Mona Lisa #78 - 18,5% *
78% Panjabi MC - Mundian To Bach Ke #64 - 5,3%
77,6% Jimi Hendrix - All Along the Watchtower #95 - 13.1%
77,6% Nirvana - The Man Who Sold the World #118 - 10,7%
77% Elton John - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road #22 - 29,4% *
77% Kesha - Blow #38 - 12,1%
76,4% Salt-N-Pepa with En Vogue - Whatta Man #134 - 15,1%
76,3% Johnny Cash - Hurt #81 - 35,6% *
76,3% Red Hot Chili Peppers - Otherside #92 - 8.2%
76,3% The Offspring - Gone Away #143 - 5,9%
76% Foo Fighters - The Pretender #111 - 14,2%
75,9% Queens of the Stone Age - No One Knows #87 - 12,9%
75,7% Nothing but Thieves - Is Everybody Going Crazy? #113 - 3,7%
75,5% Tarkan - Şımarık #94 - 3.1%
75,2% Eiffel 65 - Blue (Da Ba Dee) #147 - 14,2%
74,8% Måneskin - Zitti e Buoni #16 - 33% *
74,6% Nat King Cole - Nature Boy #09 - 7,2%
74,3% Arash - Tike Tike Kardi #137 - 2,6%
73,3% Beck - Loser #124 - 16,4%
72,6% Evanescence - Imaginary #44 - 13,5%
72% Robbie Williams - The Road to Mandalay #129 - 3,9%
71,7% Lil Green - Why Don't You Do Right? #34 - 1,8%
71,1% Cab Calloway - Minnie the Moocher #130 - 14,4%
71% Udit Narayan - Bholi Si Surat #141 - 1,5%
70,9% Nine Inch Nails - Closer #93 - 22%
70,6% The Lightning Seeds - You Showed Me #59 - 2,7%
70,6% Savage Garden - To the Moon and Back #83 - 7%
70,5% Queen - Mustapha #29 - 11,4%
70,4% Soggy Bottom Boys - I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow #26 - 22,3%
70,4% Metallica - Wherever I May Roam #77 - 8,6%
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69,9% MUCC - Ryuusei #19 - 7,4%
69,5% Spooks - Things I've Seen #104 - 0,8%
69,2% Flo Rida feat Kesha - Right Round #02 - 6,2%
68,9% Era - Ameno (Remix) #24 - 4,8%
68,5% Linkin Park - Bleed It Out #63 - 23,9%
68,5% Snow - Informer #139 - 4,7%
68,3% Run-DMC featuring Aerosmith - Walk This Way #127 - 10,9%
68,2% Limahl - The NeverEnding Story #60 - 9,8%
68,1% Stromae - L'enfer #89 - 9,8%
67,9% Urban Symphony - Rändajad #90 - 2,2%
67,8% Muse - Endlessly #107 - 9,4%
67,6% My Chemical Romance - Sing #80 - 17,3%
67,3% “Weird Al” Yankovic - White & Nerdy #43 - 16%
66,7% The Hives - Two-Timing Touch and Broken Bones #58 - 2,7%
66,3% System of a Down - B.Y.O.B. #128 - 26,2% *
65,8% Cliff Edwards - When You Wish Upon a Star #85 - 2,2%
65,7% Modern Talking - Brother Louie #50 - 4%
65,4% Harry McClintock - The Big Rock Candy Mountains #131 - 6,7%
65,2% Eimear Quinn - The Voice #32 - 2,5%
65,2% 2Pac featuring Dr. Dre and Roger Troutman - California Love #121 - 8,3%
64,6% Gorillaz - Stylo #61 - 15,8%
64,6% Duran Duran - The Chauffeur #133 - 7,1%
64,4% Alice Cooper - Poison #01 - 10,5%
64,4% Depeche Mode - It's No Good #101 - 9,1%
64,1% Destiny’s Child - Jumpin’, Jumpin’ #51 - 12,7%
63,8% Kongos - Come With Me Now #17 - 15,9%
63,8% A. R. Rahman - Jai Ho #40 - 4,6%
63,3% Dua Lipa - New Rules #126 - 10,6%
63,1% Olly Murs - Heart Skips A Beat #106 - 2,2%
63% Moby - Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad? #123 - 3,8%
62,4% 30 Seconds to Mars - Fallen #30 - 5,5%
62,3% Childish Gambino - This Is America #71 - 18,2%
61,4% The Prodigy - Breathe #112 - 4,5%
61,3% Blue Stahli - One Last Breath #99 - 1.8%
61,1% Wham! - Everything She Wants #108 - 6,5%
60,6% Lordi - Hard Rock Hallelujah #70 - 9,9%
60,6% Kwoon featuring Babet - King Of Sea #115 . 0,5%
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58,7% Duran Duran - The Wild Boys #21 - 9,6%
58,5% Nova Twins - Antagonist #68 - 4,5%
56,8% Mendez - Adrenaline #23 - 1,2%
56,8% Sash! - Ecuador #73 - 1,7%
56,7% George Michael and Mary J. Blige - As #62 - 3,2%
56,6% Nikka Costa - Like A Feather #48 - 0,6%
56,6% Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds & Kylie Minogue - Where the Wild Roses Grow #103 - 5,7%
56,1% Margaret Berger - I Feed You My Love #117 - 0,8%
55,9% Blur - Coffee & TV #56 - 9,7%
55,7% Big Brovaz - Nu Flow #65 - 0,9%
55,7% K’s Choice - Everything For Free #79 - 1,2%
55,4% Moby - Natural Blues #07 - 2,5%
55,4% Janet Jackson featuring Q-Tip and Joni Mitchell - Got 'til It's Gone #146 - 2,2%
55,2% Rammstein - Engel #35 - 7,3%
55,1% Maximum the Hormone - What's Up, People?! #138 - 10,6%
54,5% Billie Myers - Tell Me #86 - 0,9%
54% Aqua - Turn Back Time #28 - 8,2%
53,9% Ardis - No Man's Land #88 - 0,9%
53,5% Kylie Minogue - Confide In Me #13 - 5,2%
52,8% Madonna - Who's That Girl #18 - 9,8%
52,7% Aerosmith - Falling in Love (Is Hard on the Knees) #84 - 3,5%
52,2% Marilyn Manson - The Fight Song #49 - 2,1%
51,6% Bomfunk MC's - Freestyler #14 - 6%
51,3% Mariah Carey - The Roof (Back in Time) #46 - 1,4%
51,3% Mori Calliope & Reol - 虚像のCarousel #55 - 5,6%
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49,9% Basement Jaxx - Where's Your Head At #31 - 6,9%
49,8% Shaggy - Hey Sexy Lady #122 - 4,1%
49,7% Warren G & Sissel - Prince Igor #20 - 2,2%
49% Billie Eilish - NDA #10 - 2,6%
47,7% Massive Attack - Angel #39 - 5,9%
47,5% Adam Tensta - My Cool #11 - 1%
47,4% Slipknot - The Blister Exists #100 - 2,6%
47% Seether - Fuck It #74 - 2,6%
46,9% Rhiannon Giddens - Way Over Yonder #102 - 1,2%
46,8% Spiritbox - Rotoscope #66 - 2,6%
46,6% Sabrina Carpenter - Feather #25 - 4,6%
46% Prince - The Greatest Romance Ever Sold #69 - 2,6%
45,6% Jimmy Cliff feat Lebo M - Hakuna Matata #06 - 2%
44,3% 3T and Michael Jackson - Why #114 - 0,7%
43,9% The Prodigy - No Good (Start the Dance) #08 - 2,6%
43,9% David Bowie - I'm Afraid of Americans #33 - 8,5%
43,9% Faithless - Insomnia #109 - 2,9%
42,7% Fatboy Slim - Weapon of Choice #12 - 16,3%
42,6% Eminem - Rabbit Run #27 - 2,9%
40,6% Michael Jackson - Will You Be There #45 - 2,3%
-
39,8% Alanis Morissette - I Was Hoping #96 - 1.6%
38,8% Wyclef Jean - Gone Till November #36 - 1,1%
37,9% Ariana Grande - Yes, And? #140 - 1,8%
36,5% Jedward - Luminous #125 - 1,4%
35,3% Noporn - Geleia de Morango #150 - 0,3%
34,6% Ena Mori - Fall Inlove! #149 - 0,4%
33,3% Ryan Gosling - Put Me in the Car #15 - 3,2%
30% Darren Hayes - Spin #03 - 0,6%
-
29% Dreamcrusher - In Due Time #98 - 0.7%
28,2% BTS - Life Goes On #97 - 1.8%
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mutual 1: sorry the update for my webcomic this week is a bit late! i really had to rush it so it prolly looks really sloppy lol [some of the most sophisticated comic art ive ever seen]
mutual 2: call me uterine lining the way astarions cervix got me bleeding profusely
mutual 3: do you think nanowrimo will give me a posthumous pity publishing deal if i mention it in my suicide note
mutual 4: okay fine i finally started revolutionary girl utena
mutual 5: does columbo know the service he did for butch lesbians. for all of us
mutual 6: wish you were here [blurry picture set of conifer woods in early autumn evening, taken as if frantically running down a winding trail]
mutual 4: im pretty hardy i dont need the trigger list but thanks for looking out for me guys
mutual 7: good morning lovelies another day the wizard tried to best me and another day i successfully locked him in the spare bathroom lol hope u like drinking shampoo fucker
mutual 8: here is a zip of every yuri manga scan i have and here is a backup in case i get dcma'd. the himejoshi lifestyle will never die
mutual 9: i wish i could go back in time to the shinzo abe assassination and ask to hold the doohickey
mutual 10: here's my essay on how wanting to be loved is the same as wanting to be eaten. three paragraphs in you'll find out that this is 100% tied to an obscure beauty and the beast manga i've been reading lately and how much i want to fuck the beast
mutual 4: oh thats why there was the trigger list.
mutual 11: YOU CAN'T LOCK ME IN THIS BATHROOM FOREVER
mutual 12: why do i have to defend my thesis to people i dont even respect. im not dickriding you just give me the degree
mutual 13: its just me and this scab ive picked into my scalp against the world
mutual 14: my little dragon got glazed and is ready to go into the kiln! everyone wish him good luck!
mutual 3: nvm i am a beautiful genius. perhaps the most beautiful genius of all
mutual 15: i think we should give david lynch rpgmaker and whatever happens happens
mutual 16: kpeyboaatrds brpokem gpuys
mutual 17: also heres my work in progress glossary of mixtec words! i still have a long way to go but i love being able to preserve my roots even in this small way
mutual 4: i just finished the black rose arc. question: what
mutual 18: i need emet-selch to be my wife
mutual 19: i need glados to be my husband
mutual 20: visited the ocean today!!! <3 beach pics!!! there is a darkness growing within me
mutual 21: the forms for my legal name change came in. pls vote in this poll of what my middle name should be: Dill Pickle (Dickle for short), Optimus Prime, Tumblr User Gorgonicteratologist, Smeve
mutual 22: just finished my 100th book of the year! this weeks read was the uses of enchantment by the psychologist bruno bettelheim,
mutual 23: reeses penis butter cups lol
mutual 4: i need to hunt akio for sport
mutual 24: oouugghhrgh. hot. dog.
mutual 25: your favorite character or fictional other would want you to brush your teeth and wash your face so you're well rested and wake up feeling refreshed! make them proud!
mutual 26: being a delivery driver isnt the worst job ive ever had but i do keep wondering what itd be like to drive off into the wild blue yonder one day and not come back
mutual 27: weird dog? [phone picture of critically endangered stork]
mutual 28: i think the two phone line polls in front of my house are having a lovers tryst. no way to prove it tho
mutual 4: WHAT
mutual 29: while you bitches are balduring your gates or finalling those fantasies im doing what a REAL gamer does. playing a b tier rpg that came out in 2004 for the 18th time
mutual 30: ^ real. hamtaro ham ham heartbreak is a masterpiece of interactive art. im not even going to call it a video game at this point
mutual 4: THAT'S HOW IT ENDS?! ANTHY?
mutual 31: can you help me pick which drawing looks better: 34% overlay or 36% soft light?
mutual 32: new video essay out. its called disability in video game narratives: final fantasy 14's most reliable fault. i churned the script out over an all-nighter and my mic crapped out halfway through but by god i did it
mutual 33: my new zine bundle is out! if you buy it you also get a discount on all my game jam games! i really cant wait for you to play them!
mutual 4: yall should watch revolutionary girl utena
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