Dean Baker at the Beat the Press blog at the Center for Economic and Policy Research writes—
David Brooks Sees Rise of Candidates Who Challenge Rich as Problem of "Expressive Individualism":
David Brooks discussed the rise of Jeremy Corbyn on the left in the Labor Party in the United Kingdom and Bernie Sanders on the left in the United States, along with Donald Trump and Ben Carson on the right. He argues that none of these people could conceivably win election. He therefore concludes that their support must stem from a psychological problem which he identifies as expressive individualism.
This is an interesting view. Of course, Brooks' assessment of who is electable may not be right. For example, the Democrats have often nominated centrist figures, such as Michael Dukakis, because they were ostensibly more electable than their more progressive alternatives. While we can't know the counterfactual, there is little logic in picking a candidate whose views you do not share, because they are electable, when in fact they are not.
But the more important question ignored in Brooks' analysis is how people are supposed to respond when the party they have supported consistently pursues policies at odds with fundamental principles of their core constituencies. In the case of the Labor Party in the U.K., and the administrations of Bill Clinton and Barack Obama in the United States, the wealthy have received the overwhelming majority of the benefits of economic growth. [...]
Blast from the Past. At Daily Kos on this date in 2014—Georgia State Senator vows to block early voting site too 'near' black voters:
Important tip for Republican lawmakers: even if you intend to close down early voting locations because they are too close to where black Americans live, you are not supposed to actually write these things down.
A Republican state senator in Georgia has vowed to end Sunday balloting in Dekalb County when lawmakers gather there at the Capitol in January, due to the fact that the area is "dominated by African American shoppers and it is near several large African American mega churches." [...]
"Now we are to have Sunday voting at South DeKalb Mall just prior to the election," [State Sen. Frank Millar] wrote in the email. "Per Jim Galloway of the AJC, this location is dominated by African American shoppers and it is near several large African American mega churches such as New Birth Missionary Baptist. Galloway also points out the Democratic Party thinks this is a wonderful idea – what a surprise. I’m sure Michelle Nunn and Jason Carter are delighted with this blatantly partisan move in DeKalb."
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Even in Georgia, you are not supposed to get caught being so direct about these things. You are making a mockery of Chief Justice John Roberts' proclamations on the subject.
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