Josh Marshall acknowledging error and updating beliefs:
"For months I'd thought and written that Sanders campaign manager Jeff Weaver was the key driver of toxicity in the the Democratic primary race. Weaver has been highly visible on television, far more than campaign managers tend to be. He's also been the one constantly upping the tension, pressing the acrimony and unrealism of the campaign as Sanders actual chances of winning dwindled.
But now I realize I had that wrong....
Sanders speech tonight was right in line with his statement out this afternoon. He identified the Democratic party as an essentially corrupt, moribund institution which is now on notice that it must let 'the people' in. What about the coalitions Barack Obama built in 2008 and 2012, the biggest and most diverse presidential coalitions ever constructed?
Sanders narrative today has essentially been that he is political legitimacy. The Democratic party needs to realize that. This, as I said earlier, is the problem with lying to your supporters. Sanders is telling his supporters that he can still win, which he can't. He's suggesting that the win is being stolen by a corrupt establishment, an impression which will be validated when his phony prediction turns out not to be true. Lying like this sets you up for stuff like happened over the weekend in Nevada.
As I said, it all comes from the very top."
"For months I'd thought and written that Sanders campaign manager Jeff Weaver was the key driver of toxicity in the the Democratic primary race. Weaver has been highly visible on television, far more than campaign managers tend to be. He's also been the one constantly upping the tension, pressing the acrimony and unrealism of the campaign as Sanders actual chances of winning dwindled.
But now I realize I had that wrong....
Sanders speech tonight was right in line with his statement out this afternoon. He identified the Democratic party as an essentially corrupt, moribund institution which is now on notice that it must let 'the people' in. What about the coalitions Barack Obama built in 2008 and 2012, the biggest and most diverse presidential coalitions ever constructed?
Sanders narrative today has essentially been that he is political legitimacy. The Democratic party needs to realize that. This, as I said earlier, is the problem with lying to your supporters. Sanders is telling his supporters that he can still win, which he can't. He's suggesting that the win is being stolen by a corrupt establishment, an impression which will be validated when his phony prediction turns out not to be true. Lying like this sets you up for stuff like happened over the weekend in Nevada.
As I said, it all comes from the very top."
Okay I think I can stop blogging about the Sanders campaign after this... Maybe a reader (who am I kidding haha) would get the impression I never felt even a tinge of the Bern.
It's just that while I like the policy concepts, I think assessments of policy proposals should be based in reality and empirics. If you're arguing against inequality or for more government action on healthcare you don't need to mislead supporters because the facts are on your side anyway. Before that, I was concerned about Sanders' views of racism in the US, which even after his pivot last year still seem to me to elevate economic factors above and over the major social elements of racism and its pervasive effect on American institutions. I admire the Sanders' ambitious goals, but making public less extreme, by American standards, alternatives that one could potentially support as it is clear one's preferred policies will be impossible to legislate is not necessarily kowtowing to elites. Above all, I disagree with any efforts to cultivate a group think that rejects contrary evidence and demonizes valid criticism and opposition.
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