So, after years of debate over whether I'm becoming more moderate, there is a clear tonal shift since the election. It seems as if I'm going back to the left again to being more populist like I was in the Bernie 2016-2020 era. And to answer the question, yes, I am becoming more populist again, but my convictions are the same.
Look, my views are my views. I don't fit into neat little boxes. I'm left of the democrats, I'm to the right of leftists. My message and framing of issues changes with the context. In the 2010s, this meant fiery populism intended to drive the democratic party left. During the early 2020s, I became a bit more moderate sounding as the far left got out of control and started overcorrecting, and now in the post Biden/Harris 2024-? environment, that requires being more populist again.
My views aren't any different, I just adapt to the times. My views are actually the same as they've always been since 2014. It just really depends what kind of voice is needed at the time. Am I railing against a corrupt two party system and political establishment, believing we need to shift the overton window left, or am I operating within the existing overton window to accomplish as much change as I can?
I always said that in the 2024 election cycle, I was kind of compromising. I understood that we werent shifting the country further left. Biden and Harris were the best we had, and trying to go against them was kind of counterproductive. But now they lost, and they're gone, and why did they lose? Why, it's similar to why they lost 2016, because their brand of politics sucked, we all actually know it sucks, and we need serious change. This time, I felt the need to stop trump. I felt that was more important than fighting the democrats. but it seems clear that the public didn't see things that way, and now with Biden/Harris gone, I'm free.
It's the same thing with sanders. Sanders didnt stop being as progressive as he always was, he just tried to work with the Biden administration to get concessions, recognizing that poking the bear was counterproductive. But Biden is on his way out, and Harris isn't his successor, so that ship is sinking and it's time to abandon it.
And where do we go next? Once again, to push the overton window as far left as we can to accomplish as much economic change as we can. I still believe that what we need is a new new deal. I still believe that UBI, medicare for all (or a public option), free college, student debt forgiveness, a housing program, and a reduce work week is the way forward. And I am to the left of the democrats on that. I believe part of the reason they lost was because they misread the environment and don't seem to understand that we are in populist times. I don't think they understand that Biden was unpopular. I don't think they understand that what the people want is ACTION. So now that our ties to the Biden/Harris administration are cut, it's time to return to form, it's time to get back on message, and to start to plan for 2028, assuming our democracy lasts that long.
And already, the old divisions are reforming. I'm at odds with the neoliberals and centrist faction of the democrats again, and I hate them almost as much as Trumpers. Some people in those factions question populists like me, Cenk Uygur, or Bernie Sanders in saying or suggesting thigns like that, but honestly, let's face it, neoliberals and centrists are just as much opponents of progress as the right, if not more. Why more? because they gatekeep the democratic party from being a vehicle for ideas that challenge the powerful. We know what we're getting with the republicans. We're getting a party that puts corporate interests and batcrap insane christofascism front and center. We KNOW they're the enemy. But at least they stab us in the front. The centrist democrats will snarkily condescend and talk down to us, pretending to be our allies, but they're not. And honestly? Post election, we're being more honest about that. We are NOT friends with the democratic party and the establishment. Because they're not friends to us, nor do they actually advocate for their agenda. Biden compromised us down half way and then failed to accomplish 90% of what he ran on. Harris compromised down half of that and lost. Everything with these people is chewing us down and compromise, and we're sick of it. So no, you're not our allies, you're not our friends.
But I also do wanna throw some caution at the left too. All that stuff I said condemning you this election cycle? I meant that too. You're too insular on the social justice issues and identity politics. Normies hate that stuff. You seem to literally hate america on foreign policy, and your anti war stuff is cringe and unrealistic. Again, normies hate you. And on economics, yes, you agree with me that we need large scale change, but that change isn't MARXISM, it's human centered capitalism, and I'm cut from a different ideological cloth from you.
I'll work with anyone who I can find common ground with in achieving my goals. But at the same time, I will put my differences up front when they apply. I'm not necessarily the great consensus builder. I am a visionary myself, and my vision is just unique. I'll work with whomever works with me to accomplish mutually beneficial goals, whether it be the democrats (see: Biden, and why i kind of held back against him this time), or the left (see: Bernie, Andrew yang, Marianne Williamson).
I have my purity tests, I apply them, I measure the results. I am populist because I do ultimately believe the democrats are against me and my ideas. And you know what? Dont think I didnt notice. I did notice that yeah, the democrats didnt have a fair primary in 2024. I did notice that the centrist dems ousted Biden in part to do a centrist coup of the party and that Harris basically went along with their advice (and that's one of the reasons she lost). And now that she did lose, yeah, I'm gonna tell it like it is. You guys suck, and that's why you lost. This is 2016 all over again. It's the same populist, righteous anger, we're just on the other side of the phillips curve. And the democrats clearly need to appeal more to bread and butter issues, acknowledge that the economy isn't working, and that we need change.
As such, I'm returning to form and advocating for that change. That is all. I'm just fighting the same battles I always have. My ideology is no different, other than it being more refined. I'm literally the same as I've been since 2014. We're just returning to the more populist version of me since that's what the times now call for.
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