Who were the radicals that pushed liberals left from 1961-1966? The New Left had no real impact on American electoral politics until after that (and even then, its effect was mainly to push the country right), and who was to the left of the CRM pre-1966 that actually mattered?
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Replying to @JoshuaMZeitz @JamesSurowiecki
Totally agree. Jim, the man who is editing MLKs papers also wrote the definitive history of SNCC—that’s not a coincidence: https://history.stanford.edu/people/clayborne-carson …
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Replying to @yeselson @JoshuaMZeitz
I'm very familiar with the history of the civil rights movement and its relationship to postwar liberalism - it's what my unfinished dissertation was about. My point is that pre-1965 there wasn't anyone to the left of SNCC and King making them look more reasonable.
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In terms of today, the argument is that having activists pushing to abolish the police makes it easier for reformers who are pushing more moderate measures. I don't think it's obvious that's the case.
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Replying to @JamesSurowiecki @JoshuaMZeitz
The slogan is not great, but the massive activism on the street (supported by polling data) is what is driving reform even among Republicans (Although I will believe that, even on a minimal level, when I see it.)
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It's pretty straightforward: "yes, we all agree on the problem now [as forced by activists & protestors], and while some hotheads have extreme solutions, we here have reasonable ones [that would not have been politically viable absent the more extreme ones]."
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Or it's "Democrats say they want to do something about excessive police violence, which we all agree is a problem. But as their 'Defund the police' slogan tells you, what they really want to do is abolish the police entirely. Are those really the people you want in power?"
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Replying to @JamesSurowiecki @pashulman and
Since the Democrats have not in fact embraced the Defund the Police slogan, the only people who would buy that argument are the ones who already would never vote for the Democrats. Who are not people who should be catered to.
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Replying to @HeerJeet @pashulman and
Lisa Bender and Jeremiah Ellison are Democrats.
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I think Joe Biden is better known to the general population than they are by a factor of 100 to 1. It's not a good idea to give the Tucker Carlsons of the world veto power over what every single Democrat can say.
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Replying to @HeerJeet @pashulman and
Yes, Biden is better known, and he's now going to have to talk in a presidential debate about how he doesn't want to abolish the cops. I get that activists don't care - they want to effect radical change, not help elect Democrats. Still think it's strategically foolish.
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Replying to @JamesSurowiecki @HeerJeet and
The idea that presidential debates still matter is sweet.
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End of conversation
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