19 Comments

Timely and perceptive article. Since I first heard it as a slogan, I felt like white progressives were mostly likely the people pushing it. And it's very reactionary. Because the real demand should be more capable police who know the communities they work in and who don't go around harassing and shooting people in those communities. The worst type of racism are politicians who accept gun fights, gang wars and murder in the communities that are most plagued by them. Malign neglect, top-down.

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Recently I read an essay on the CSPI website about the cultural roots of populism:

https://cspicenter.org/reports/the-national-populist-illusion-why-culture-not-economics-drives-american-politics/

It explains a lot about what appeals to voters and what they value as essential. It also suggests why strongarm types like to invoke "common sense" and make with the expletives and epithets in the name of "telling it like it is."

The biggest benefit of reading the CSPI piece was getting past the ALL CAPS megaphoning and bare-knuckle posturing of populists, and understanding the motivations of people drawn to them. Are some of those drawn to populists the ones Hillary dismissed as deplorables and belong to The Order of the 17th Letter? Definitely. Do some of them have the same moderate and pragmatic streak that Zaid observes in NYC's minority voters and the national Democratic Party? I think so.

I'm speaking as a JFK Democrat, as my conservative friends call me. I see an opportunity to re-connect with people who who aren't among The Woke but still acknowledge incidents of inequality and disparity. They don't want coastal Establishment elites shoving everything down their throat, but they're open to having a small taste if they get to help in the kitchen. Specifically regarding crime, my guess is that moderate pragmatists don't want to defund the police but at the same time don't want a modern-day Stasi.

I'd go so far as to say these folks also want equality of opportunity without crippling student debt, border enforcement without cages, and reliable public services without complete privatization. That's why I think a great approach would be to reconcile the originalist intent of promoting the general welfare with the progressive goal of serving the common good. It seems attainable. It just takes the right person to get there, regardless of party.

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I think it should have been worth mentioning Maya Wiley in an article about the current mayoral race. She snagged some big endorsements in the last week and the progressive left has begun to coalesce around her since Dianne Morales’ campaign imploded, bumping her up past Yang in the latest Pix11 poll. As a progressive leftists that would have voted for Dianne had she not turned out to be all talk and no walk, I’m praying Wiley or Yang can beat out Eric Adams - an egomaniac who may not live in NYC, who believes god has ordained him to be the next mayor of NYC, and who regularly refers to himself in the third person. We need someone who will hold the NYPD accountable when they assault or abuse New Yorkers, lie in court, or falsify records and evidence, which they do frequently and see no repercussions for.

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