"Inside game"? I just initiated a petition signed by 100,000 people. When was the last time you did that?
On Sun, Jan 6, 2013 at 1:56 PM, Jim Devine <[email protected]> wrote: > Robert Naiman wrote: >> >> Liberals fight over what Democrats are doing because it's the only game in >> town. How many Greens are there is Congress? Zero. Maoists? Zero. >> Trotskyists? Zero. Anarchists? Zero. > > > This reminds me of Robert Solow's (alleged) quip about neoclassical > economics: "the wheel may be crooked, but it's the only game in town." But > still, lefty economists perservere in not doing neoclassical economics > nonetheless. > > Also, isn't gambling a bad thing, especially if one doesn't have enough cash > to cover one's bets? That is, if you don't have the power, how can one play > with the "big boys"? As serious students of politics know, > inside-the-inside-the-beltway politics involves "horse trading." You get > some Congresscritter to vote for your bill by promising to vote for her or > his bill -- or by promising campaign contributions. What do you give the > Congresscriter to buy a vote for PK to be Treasury Secretary? (If you play > the game, then promising a Congresscritter your vote doesn't work, since > you'll be giving him or her that vote anyway, as a result of "lesser of two > evils" logic." That logov means that it's not credible to threaten not to > vote for her or him.) > > How much "political capital" do they backers of PK have, for example? > > It looks to me as if a lot of the stuff you push, Bob, is a inside game: > isolated and deviant Congresscritters vote for each others' bills even > though they're doomed or are totally symbolic from the start. The political > controllers -- i.e., people like Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, and John Boehner > -- make sure that none of the fringe bills ever pass except as symbolic > gestures. The isolated & deviant types don't have enough political capital > to counteract the power of the controllers. > > Most importantly, is inside-the-inside-the-beltway politics "the only game > in town"? doesn't the Occupy movement count for anything?? If anything, it's > movements like that could give the isolated & deviant ones some political > capital. I for one noticed that while Occupy was making a splash -- despite > the mainstream politicians' and media's efforts to contain the problem -- US > politics had as small shift to the left. (Then as the issue became "reelect > Obama" and liberals lined up to support their guy, it shifted back.) > > By the way, isn't Bernie Sanders in Congress? he may act like a Democrat, > but at least he calls himself a "socialist" and even a "green." He should be > given some credit. > > I, for one, am glad that there are no Maoists or Anarchists in Congress. > Trotskyists probably couldn't get into Congress without immediately getting > into a faction fight with each other, even if there were only one of them. > >> Democrats are on the playing field; that's why people care what they say >> and do. The "anti-Democratic Left" is not on the playing field, so no-one >> cares what they say and do.< > > Yes, people care about who's powerful, what they say, and what they do. Just > as a servant cares what the master or mistress says and does. Just as the > prisoner cares what the guard says and does. Does that mean that we on the > left should kow-tow to those with power? or should we at least try to > resist? > > The "anti-Democratic Left"? What an insult! Do you mean the "anti-Democratic > Party Left"? It's a mistake to equate "democracy" with the Democratic Party: > the DP isn't in favor of democracy unless it serves the interests of the > Party or its individuals. Look how they and the GOP have brought forth all > sorts of anti-democratic rules that protect their political duopoly against > competition from "third" parties. And the lead member of the DP (some fellow > named Obama) is all in favor of killing US citizens without hearings or > trials. Is that democratic? > > In the olden days, people used to distinguish between "small-d democrats" > and "large-D Democrats," if nothing but for clarity's sake. (Luckily for > them, the large-R Republicans are also small-r republicans since they aren't > in favor of having a king (or at least not more than the Democratic Party > is).) > > -- > Jim Devine / "Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti." (Go your own way > and let people talk.) -- Karl, paraphrasing Dante. > _______________________________________________ > pen-l mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l > -- Robert Naiman Policy Director Just Foreign Policy www.justforeignpolicy.org [email protected] _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
