You truly encapsulated the profound cynicism and gaslighting of the neoliberal elites embodied by the Democratic establishment. Profiting from a memoir about how you lost the election to a billionaire reality TV star conman and fascist sociopath, and gleefully touring the book while said fascist's government is lighting the country —and the entire world— on fire, all while claiming that it's actually so inspiring how women of color now also get the chance to become war criminals. Also, we don't need to abolish or, at the very least, substantially change the systems that brought us here, we just need to get people to trust in them again (?) Absolute insanity, all of it.
This one's a banger. Feels like those last three paragraphs are speaking for a lot of people. I don't want to be cynical. But the evidence leads where it leads.
If I ever see that fucking worthless asshole [epithet happily changed upon request!] at a demo supporting ICE protestors—ample opportunity—as opposed to a self-aggrandizing book tour and ‘28 soft launch, while fascism goes batshit, I promise to stop calling her a fucking worthless asshole. (Excellent writing, as per usual, btw.)
"Skank" here is Kamala Harris? Don't think the blatant misogyny is helpful. You can hate her and for good reason, but calling women "skank" for no reason is a pretty abhorrent thing to do
Really? I’ve used it for anyone. We all got one, after all!
Happy to have been corrected. Words don’t mean that much to me—therefore if they really do to someone else (on my side), happy to change ‘em up! I get her point.
1. Journalists may be miserable but they are not unpopular! If I ever have a party, you will be first on my guest list. 2. Don't go full cynical - many people are listening closely. 3. Excellent summation of Kamala's flaws. When she didn't have the courage to separate herself from Biden, we saw that Kamala had a story, not a stand.
The road to fascism, it seems is, destined to be littered with the people who can talk pretty (for a certain value of pretty) and do nothing else. In fact it seems that's their prime qualification to even approach the levers of power in this country.
Begrudgingly I must accept the validity of some of the conservative critique of DEI. No that any of it is in good faith or even coherent. But it does seem that under the guise of Diversity, corporate robots were smuggled in who look the part of champions of pluralism while existing only to advance the goals of our white supremacy addled corporate donor class.
As with most things in this wretched consumerist society, every good instinct or desire to do the right thing must be perverted to sell us something antithetical to our hopes, at cross purposes to our best interests and bad for our waste lines.
Then you're not mad about DEI. You're mad about the soulless, evil people who used the momentum of DEI for cynical enrichment. That's not what the conservative critique of DEI is -- the conservative critique of DEI is that Black people should be enslaved again. Your framing helps the fascists.
I agree, I am not mad about the instinct to remedy societal failings by centering diversity, ethics and inclusion. DEI, however, as a corporate and political subterfuge to pantomime progress I've got a big problem with.
As a brown person I get no frisson of accomplishment or warm glow of progress when I see other brown people functioning as puppets of the worst people on the planet, providing cover for the economic looting of the country or manufacturing consent for blowing up other black, brown, indigenous people across the globe and stealing their resources.
So let me sum it up this way. A society controlled by soulless, evil people will only every allow fellow travelers into their ranks. What we want to believe is progress will only ever be a cynical manipulation of that desire.
So my agreement with the conservative critique is purely superficial. In the same way that my agreement with conservative critique that liberals (as represented by the majority of the Democratic party) are full of shit, is agreement but for completely different reasons.
I hear what you're saying, but no normies to whom you say "I agree with conservatives on DEI" is going to take it that way. Nazis will use it as ammunition and liberals will use it as an excuse to keep being racist coward dipshits. Best to avoid any agreements with or humanizing of conservatives. They are evil and everything they have built must be destroyed. Those are the only things that ever need to be said about them.
Excellent! Yes, Kamala is important as a symbol for many Black women (and, since her loss, how far The System will allow them to go). But, for me, she never really connected with people or projected much empathy or understanding of the average voter. She lost me when she answered the question of "What would you do differently from Joe Biden?" by replying "Nothing." Seriously? OMG....
Is it too much to ask the Democratic Party for a clear, working class agenda (that includes everyone), instead of sound bites hyper-targeted to certain constituencies?
It is an unfortunate tradeoff of denying a holocaust that you're gonna have to hear about the holocaust you deny as though its a real thing that matters to humans with souls.
Beautifully written. In my view, Harris tried to avoid saying what her policy on Gaza would be. She tried to walk a fine line which satisfied nobody. It was pretty clear to me that her policy would be different than Biden’s, but she seemed afraid to say it.
Don’t have any idea what made that clear to you. Her spokespeople said directly that she would NOT ask for any embargo on arms to Israel contingent on their stopping the genocide.
There is some wiggle room there. She wasn't planning to embargo all arms, but she could still cut off classes of arms, for example heavy bombs.
What her advisor said is that she would make sure that Israel could defend itself from Iran and Iran-backed terrorist groups. That still leaves room for cutting off classes of arms which she believed Israel would use against Gaza. There is also other soft power which she could have brought into play.
She said that she would do everything in her power to end the war in Gaza. I believed she was serious when she said that. No way to do that without bringing pressure to bear on Israel.
I believed she was trying to give folks a wink and a nod that she would try to help Gaza; and without offending supporters of Israel. It's a fine line to walk, and I think she tried to be too cute. She satisfied neither supporters of the Palestinian cause nor supporters of Israel.
But, also it is possible that I heard what I wanted to hear.
For the record, I think that Biden's policy of providing material support for the genocide in Gaza was morally bankrupt, cowardly, and venal. But, I also think that Netanyahu would have done what he did with or without U.S. support. I would just rather the U.S. not be an accessory to the crime.
I don't believe Harris' stance on Israel and Gaza cost her the election. I think it was a result of the hangover from the pandemic, which resulted in parties in power losing seats and offices worldwide.
the article is crap. we are suffering under fascism and people are being shot and disappeared, and the author wants to talk about harris and gaze. brother please....
"If a very few things had gone differently in the chaotic second half of 2024, we would not be talking about ICE abductions and National Guard deployments and the malevolent dismantling of government services"
A dispatch from the Berensrain universe where Kamala Harris won, re ICE:
"we’re talking about people who have committed serious and violent crimes—you know, I mean, Chris, you know my background. I’m a prosecutor. I believe that there needs to be serious, severe and swift consequence when people commit serious and violent crimes…and certainly if they are undocumented they should be deported if they commit those serious and violent offenses. So yes, ICE has a purpose, ICE has a role, ICE should exist. "
We wouldn't be talking about it but only be torturing and murdering the 'right' people.
Slight tangent but I seriously thought I was going crazy about Renee Good until a recent crop of articles was like "Yea, shes like the 17th murder they've committed on camera but the first White Woman so it finally matters nationally."
Thanks for always keeping Palestine in your thoughts Hamilton. Keep up the good work - I don’t know if I could have sat through that, so thanks for doing it for us.
I was bitterly disappointed, but not really surprised, when the DNC wouldn't let even one Palestinian speak, especially when they had an Israeli speaker (IIRC). The echos from 1968 Chicago were loud. I think you're so right about the Dems not waking up until all the old consultants are dead, which is a scary thought.
And now some of us sit and wait for some small handful of (wealthy) Democrats to save us from Trump's fascism. Democrats who will never take power and do anything with it, never take anything out of the hands of the ruling class, only ask.. can we have a little bit, please, if it isn't too much trouble? Can we take your for profit health care plan and use it as our own? Etc., etc. No ideas, no plans, no allegiance to the working people of this country, just platitudes and the transcendental "struggles" of the socioeconomically privileged.
As someone who was desperate to prevent Trump 2.0 and donated to and volunteered on Harris's campaign, I say wholeheartedly we are not nearly angry enough at her and every campaign operative, consultant, and pundit who handed the election to Trump on a silver platter.
You truly encapsulated the profound cynicism and gaslighting of the neoliberal elites embodied by the Democratic establishment. Profiting from a memoir about how you lost the election to a billionaire reality TV star conman and fascist sociopath, and gleefully touring the book while said fascist's government is lighting the country —and the entire world— on fire, all while claiming that it's actually so inspiring how women of color now also get the chance to become war criminals. Also, we don't need to abolish or, at the very least, substantially change the systems that brought us here, we just need to get people to trust in them again (?) Absolute insanity, all of it.
This one's a banger. Feels like those last three paragraphs are speaking for a lot of people. I don't want to be cynical. But the evidence leads where it leads.
If I ever see that fucking worthless asshole [epithet happily changed upon request!] at a demo supporting ICE protestors—ample opportunity—as opposed to a self-aggrandizing book tour and ‘28 soft launch, while fascism goes batshit, I promise to stop calling her a fucking worthless asshole. (Excellent writing, as per usual, btw.)
"Skank" here is Kamala Harris? Don't think the blatant misogyny is helpful. You can hate her and for good reason, but calling women "skank" for no reason is a pretty abhorrent thing to do
How about, “fucking worthless asshole on a book tour while fascism goes batshit?” That’d be my first “no-reason.” Of many. Gender-neutral for ya.
That’s actually a lot better. Thanks.
OK, will change.
I've always thought "asshole" is gendered male, but that's just me.
Really? I’ve used it for anyone. We all got one, after all!
Happy to have been corrected. Words don’t mean that much to me—therefore if they really do to someone else (on my side), happy to change ‘em up! I get her point.
Right on Doug - there is way too much ugly name calling to go around (starting with POTUS).
"In the midst of everything, a book tour" is such an understated yet brutal burn. Well played sir.
1. Journalists may be miserable but they are not unpopular! If I ever have a party, you will be first on my guest list. 2. Don't go full cynical - many people are listening closely. 3. Excellent summation of Kamala's flaws. When she didn't have the courage to separate herself from Biden, we saw that Kamala had a story, not a stand.
The road to fascism, it seems is, destined to be littered with the people who can talk pretty (for a certain value of pretty) and do nothing else. In fact it seems that's their prime qualification to even approach the levers of power in this country.
Begrudgingly I must accept the validity of some of the conservative critique of DEI. No that any of it is in good faith or even coherent. But it does seem that under the guise of Diversity, corporate robots were smuggled in who look the part of champions of pluralism while existing only to advance the goals of our white supremacy addled corporate donor class.
As with most things in this wretched consumerist society, every good instinct or desire to do the right thing must be perverted to sell us something antithetical to our hopes, at cross purposes to our best interests and bad for our waste lines.
Then you're not mad about DEI. You're mad about the soulless, evil people who used the momentum of DEI for cynical enrichment. That's not what the conservative critique of DEI is -- the conservative critique of DEI is that Black people should be enslaved again. Your framing helps the fascists.
I agree, I am not mad about the instinct to remedy societal failings by centering diversity, ethics and inclusion. DEI, however, as a corporate and political subterfuge to pantomime progress I've got a big problem with.
As a brown person I get no frisson of accomplishment or warm glow of progress when I see other brown people functioning as puppets of the worst people on the planet, providing cover for the economic looting of the country or manufacturing consent for blowing up other black, brown, indigenous people across the globe and stealing their resources.
So let me sum it up this way. A society controlled by soulless, evil people will only every allow fellow travelers into their ranks. What we want to believe is progress will only ever be a cynical manipulation of that desire.
So my agreement with the conservative critique is purely superficial. In the same way that my agreement with conservative critique that liberals (as represented by the majority of the Democratic party) are full of shit, is agreement but for completely different reasons.
I hear what you're saying, but no normies to whom you say "I agree with conservatives on DEI" is going to take it that way. Nazis will use it as ammunition and liberals will use it as an excuse to keep being racist coward dipshits. Best to avoid any agreements with or humanizing of conservatives. They are evil and everything they have built must be destroyed. Those are the only things that ever need to be said about them.
Excellent! Yes, Kamala is important as a symbol for many Black women (and, since her loss, how far The System will allow them to go). But, for me, she never really connected with people or projected much empathy or understanding of the average voter. She lost me when she answered the question of "What would you do differently from Joe Biden?" by replying "Nothing." Seriously? OMG....
Is it too much to ask the Democratic Party for a clear, working class agenda (that includes everyone), instead of sound bites hyper-targeted to certain constituencies?
Yes.
and yet another long winded attack over gaza.....the place trump wants to turn into waterfront property.
It is an unfortunate tradeoff of denying a holocaust that you're gonna have to hear about the holocaust you deny as though its a real thing that matters to humans with souls.
Beautifully written. In my view, Harris tried to avoid saying what her policy on Gaza would be. She tried to walk a fine line which satisfied nobody. It was pretty clear to me that her policy would be different than Biden’s, but she seemed afraid to say it.
Don’t have any idea what made that clear to you. Her spokespeople said directly that she would NOT ask for any embargo on arms to Israel contingent on their stopping the genocide.
There is some wiggle room there. She wasn't planning to embargo all arms, but she could still cut off classes of arms, for example heavy bombs.
What her advisor said is that she would make sure that Israel could defend itself from Iran and Iran-backed terrorist groups. That still leaves room for cutting off classes of arms which she believed Israel would use against Gaza. There is also other soft power which she could have brought into play.
She said that she would do everything in her power to end the war in Gaza. I believed she was serious when she said that. No way to do that without bringing pressure to bear on Israel.
I believed she was trying to give folks a wink and a nod that she would try to help Gaza; and without offending supporters of Israel. It's a fine line to walk, and I think she tried to be too cute. She satisfied neither supporters of the Palestinian cause nor supporters of Israel.
But, also it is possible that I heard what I wanted to hear.
For the record, I think that Biden's policy of providing material support for the genocide in Gaza was morally bankrupt, cowardly, and venal. But, I also think that Netanyahu would have done what he did with or without U.S. support. I would just rather the U.S. not be an accessory to the crime.
I don't believe Harris' stance on Israel and Gaza cost her the election. I think it was a result of the hangover from the pandemic, which resulted in parties in power losing seats and offices worldwide.
It was actually clear to me that HER POLICY WOULD HAVE BEEN THE SAME, you weren't paying close enough attention.
I'll be the third person to ask you to point to any evidence at all that her policies would have been different.
the article is crap. we are suffering under fascism and people are being shot and disappeared, and the author wants to talk about harris and gaze. brother please....
"If a very few things had gone differently in the chaotic second half of 2024, we would not be talking about ICE abductions and National Guard deployments and the malevolent dismantling of government services"
A dispatch from the Berensrain universe where Kamala Harris won, re ICE:
"we’re talking about people who have committed serious and violent crimes—you know, I mean, Chris, you know my background. I’m a prosecutor. I believe that there needs to be serious, severe and swift consequence when people commit serious and violent crimes…and certainly if they are undocumented they should be deported if they commit those serious and violent offenses. So yes, ICE has a purpose, ICE has a role, ICE should exist. "
https://www.jezebel.com/not-good-enough-kamala-harris-1823645362
We wouldn't be talking about it but only be torturing and murdering the 'right' people.
Slight tangent but I seriously thought I was going crazy about Renee Good until a recent crop of articles was like "Yea, shes like the 17th murder they've committed on camera but the first White Woman so it finally matters nationally."
I always enjoy Hamilton’s essays, but this one is outstanding- a gem.
The clarity of his thoughts help disperse the cloudiness of mine.
Well-said, Linda.
Thanks for always keeping Palestine in your thoughts Hamilton. Keep up the good work - I don’t know if I could have sat through that, so thanks for doing it for us.
I was bitterly disappointed, but not really surprised, when the DNC wouldn't let even one Palestinian speak, especially when they had an Israeli speaker (IIRC). The echos from 1968 Chicago were loud. I think you're so right about the Dems not waking up until all the old consultants are dead, which is a scary thought.
And now some of us sit and wait for some small handful of (wealthy) Democrats to save us from Trump's fascism. Democrats who will never take power and do anything with it, never take anything out of the hands of the ruling class, only ask.. can we have a little bit, please, if it isn't too much trouble? Can we take your for profit health care plan and use it as our own? Etc., etc. No ideas, no plans, no allegiance to the working people of this country, just platitudes and the transcendental "struggles" of the socioeconomically privileged.
As someone who was desperate to prevent Trump 2.0 and donated to and volunteered on Harris's campaign, I say wholeheartedly we are not nearly angry enough at her and every campaign operative, consultant, and pundit who handed the election to Trump on a silver platter.