As Democratic Elites Reunite With Neocons, The Party's Voters Are Becoming Far More Militaristic And Pro-War Than Republicans
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As Democratic Elites Reunite With Neocons, the Party’s Voters Are Becoming Far More Militaristic and Pro-War Than Republicans
https://theintercept.com/2019/01/11/as-democratic-elites-reunite-with-neocons-the-partys-voters-are-becoming-far-more-militaristic-and-pro-war-than-republicans/Exerpt –
This is, of course, not the first time that Democratic voters have wildly shifted their “beliefs” based on the party affiliation of the person occupying the Oval Office. The party’s base spent the Bush-Cheney years denouncing war on terror policies, such as assassinations, drones, and Guantánamo as moral atrocities and war crimes, only to suddenly support those policies once they became hallmarks of the Obama presidency.
But what’s happening here is far more insidious. A core ethos of the anti-Trump #Resistance has become militarism, jingoism, and neoconservatism. Trump is frequently attacked by Democrats using longstanding Cold War scripts wielded for decades against them by the far right: Trump is insufficiently belligerent with U.S. enemies; he’s willing to allow the Bad Countries to take over by bringing home U.S. soldiers; his efforts to establish less hostile relations with adversary countries is indicative of weakness or even treason.
At the same time, Democratic policy elites in Washington are once again formally aligning with neoconservatives, even to the point of creating joint foreign policy advocacy groups (a reunion that predated Trump). The leading Democratic Party think tank, the Center for American Progress, donated $200,000 to the neoconservative American Enterprise Institute and has multilevel alliances with warmongering institutions. By far the most influential liberal media outlet, MSNBC, is stuffed full of former Bush-Cheney officials, security state operatives, and agents, while even the liberal stars are notably hawkish (a decade ago, long before she went as far down the pro-war and Cold Warrior rabbit hole that she now occupies, Rachel Maddow heralded herself as a “national security liberal” who was “all about counterterrorism”).
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January 12, 2019 at 3:13 PM #11576
Not the Democrats I know…
Maybe 3rd Way Democrats, Neocon Democrats, and their ilk!
IOW NOT DEMOCRATS
“Never argue with a fool, onlookers may not be able to tell the difference.”
~Samuel Clemens-
January 12, 2019 at 3:21 PM #11578
And much more than just militarism/foreign policy. Across the board on every policy issue, save for some boutique social issues that allow them to virtue signal their way out of being called republicans.
This:
“… wildly shifted their “beliefs” based on the party affiliation of the person occupying the Oval Office…”
So true, and most apparent. I couldn’t get over how glibly some people pivoted right; people I knew and agreed with for a long time, once they cast their lot with Hillary. They didn’t like right wing economics before, but they did when “Her” espoused them.
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January 12, 2019 at 3:51 PM #11596
The article shows clear polling that all democratic voters are becoming militaristic. Not just the leaders.
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January 12, 2019 at 3:59 PM #11601
This comes from polls (which are in the original article). It is amongst people who tend to vote for democratic candidates.
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January 12, 2019 at 3:32 PM #11583
What are “Democratic Elites”?
Tell me, great captain, how do the angels sleep when the devil leaves his porch light on? Tom Waites
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January 12, 2019 at 3:34 PM #11587
I like it: Wrong-Way Democratic Caucus
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January 12, 2019 at 4:15 PM #11607
Overnight instant Russia bogeyman!
It's alright Ma, it's life and life only.
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January 12, 2019 at 4:17 PM #11611
Trump and the GOP are plenty militaristic when it comes to defense spending (a Huuuuge increase), selling weapons all over the world, bombing Yemen, threatening Iran, Venezuela, Nicaragua, canceling missle treaties with Russia, etc.
Does he occasionally stumble into a progressive decision if in an egotistical and irrational manner (“The autocrat Erdogan made a forceful case when I spoke with him. As the “decider” I am declaring what we will do without consultation with anyone or informing anyone who has fought with us”).
Sure he does. Progressives should take advantage when there is such a progressive crack in his otherwise new-con foreign policy.
The Big Lie: "Make the lie big, Make it simple, Keep saying it, And eventually they will believe it." AH.
"Arguments must therefore be crude, clear and forcible, and appeal to emotions and instincts, not the intellect." JG
National issues (slavery/racism, income inequality, pandemics and pathetic health care, weak unions) are not solved with more states' rights. Global problems (climate change, migration, trade, war, pandemics) are not solved with more nationalism.
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