If you want to defeat Trump in America and Trumpism at home – you need to understand WHY he was elected

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The fact that liberals in America have not even paused to understand how it was that Trump became elected is of itself deeply concerning.

Trump won 43% of Union homes in last years election – 43%! Work out why 43% of Union homes voted Trump and you can beat Trump in 2020.

Those workers have seen their jobs taken offshore and their factories shut down and have seen their children forced to enrol in America’s latest corporate war to make ends meet. Screaming racist, sexist haters at them while Trump gives them a job is no way to win their vote over.

The irony in all of this is that it was these Liberals with their insistence of identity politics over placing the best candidate tp beat Trump that ultimately allowed Trump to win.

The elites within the Democratic Party wanted Hillary despite her being a neoliberal war hawk who was wedded to the very free market globalisation that was crucifying Union workers.

If all those women who marched last weekend had voted for Bernie they wouldn’t be protesting Trump!

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Rather than examine their own short comings as a political movement and how their own neoliberal worship helped create Trump, American Liberals have descended into a shouting competition amongst themselves to see who can scream their anger the loudest.

NZ politics is not without these tensions, the Union movement is currently being directed by middle class Wellington identity politics liberals whose social media feeds are amongst the most alienating in NZ. This disconnect between the ideas and values they espouse and the alienation of the very people they proclaim to stand for is as vast as it is in the American Liberal political landscape.

Identity politics is simply an extension of the hyper individualistic narcissism that neoliberalism celebrates and while it ignores class for another selfie, those it promises liberation to stop being the working poor.

The Left need to re-establish the debate back to class and solidarity over division because it will take all the 99% to beat the 1%.

 

 

25 COMMENTS

  1. “Identity politics is simply an extension of the hyper individualistic narcissism that neoliberalism celebrates and while it ignores class for another selfie, those it promises liberation to stop being the working poor.”

    If some of those union members could see what the ‘organising’ elite their subs are paying for spend their time doing and talking about on twitter instead of doing actual union work…

    • It’s based on assumptions that are perfectly neat plausible and wrong. Two assumptions 1) economy moves towards equilibrium, 2) money banks and finance don’t exist. Those are obviously wrong assumptions but centre left liberals believe this religiously, and Iv talked with them on social media, and they all fail to comprehend that the American crises of 08 involved 1) high unemployment, 2) banksters. I’m not kidding at all about this.

      Back in the 80’s we had record low unemployment and we could except any immigrantion wave in, with out the previous immigration wave feeling uncomfortable seeing cheaper versions take there jobs. But what’s actually happened to now is instead of money flowing from labour to capitalists, it’s flowed from labour to banksters. And that’s what all politicians and less enlightened pundants get wrong all the time. So labour says we’ll manage the economy because we’re better managers than National and the Greens can do environment and other identity politics. Mind you I do appreciate the reo bill from Mararam Davidson. But there economic thesis has been totally discredited. And I got banned from the tired old standard for highlighting the lefts failings. They really are relegous zelics

      • Yeah, it’s a waste trying these days. Everything from their views on how to make tax systems more fair to their understanding of how central banking works or should work are outdated and/or plain ineffective in achieving progressive goals.

        “But what’s actually happened to now is instead of money flowing from labour to capitalists, it’s flowed from labour to banksters. And that’s what all politicians and less enlightened pundants get wrong all the time.”

        This. “Taxing the rich” requires knowing who they are and how to even go about it. Gareth Morgan has shown that they do not.

        And lol you got banned from TS? I thought it was gonna happen to me during that election campaign.

        • I changed my nick name back to Sam from Clump_AKA Sam once I got my head around the wall. Took me a week to figure what effects that has on the flow of money.

          I look at Gareth in the context of Honouring the treaty. Neoliberalism was founded on the 30 year bond.

          Gareth’s kiwi style politics that he prompts via honouring the treaty is founded on principles as uposed to neoliberalism.

          Thats my understanding of Gareth and TOPs. When you look at the whole thing Gareth has placed principles before privilege and I just quoted Eishonhower again

  2. The white working classes have always been conservative. In the United States they have been voting Republican since Nixon and definitely since Reagan. The Republicans have long understood that if you appeal to their prejudices they will ignore the fact that you are doing them over economically. Back during the height of the liberal late 1960s one member of Country Joe and the Fish recalled that you only had to go a few miles inland from San Francisco and you were still likely to have your head beaten in if you had long hair.

  3. Couldn’t understand why so many Democrats decided to go with Hillary over Bernie even when polling had him performing better when matched against Trump – can only guess that the Democrat ruling elite were so wedded to Hillary winning they did everything they could to skew the results. To be honest looks like the Democratic Party has moved so far away from its ‘core values’ it seemingly has ceased to exist.

      • Quite simple, James. Obama and Clinton did a deal in 2008 in that she supported his candidacy, and in 2016, the DNC would guarantee her the candidacy.

        Well, that’s my guess anyway. I’ve no evidence, just a gut feeling how politics is done these days. Kind of like the Nat/Act deal in Epsom. Politics, done dirt cheap, as the song goes.

  4. I agree with James here, as it was Hillary’s mob that stabbed their own best person to lead the Demos out of their right wing politics.
    Obama was so cosy with the Global elite and even the evil George Soros too ‘that anyone with a grudge against these evil global Titans like Trump was such an attractive choice so we see this may happen here in NZ if Bill English doesn’t change his radical secret right wing austerity program as he continues to sell off the whole country and our public assets!!!!!

  5. Well framed Martin.
    May I add, I don’t fully agree with your last sentence.
    The left-right spectrum is no longer useful as a benchmark for analysis. It is fractured, the left and right are no longer cohesive groupings. A better approach is globalisation vs anti-globalistion. You can see elements of both right and left coalescing into pro and anti globalist camps fighting each other. For the left to recapture working class sentiment they need to become more anti-globalist like Trump and Farrage. However they have spent so much political capital burning Trump, Farrage etc to do that u-turn therefore the left will continue to snuff itself out as jobs come back to US heartland.

    • “For the left to recapture working class sentiment they need to become more anti-globalist like Trump and Farrage.”

      The left can offer class based solutions without descending into anti-globalisation. For example, Corbyn and Sanders – both of whom did not blame immigration.

      But I guess it depends what you mean by ‘globalisation’. These days anti-globalisation means blame the immigrants (I’m not suggesting this is what you define it as). Farrage, Little and Trump all apply this anti-globalisation argument. Whereas Corbyn and Sanders did not blame immigration for inequality.

      I agree that we should be more anti-globalisation if class is foregrounded – as Sanders did. But I don’t think we should become more like Trump and Farage. We might oppose free trade agreements like Trump and Farage, but for vastly different reasons, and from a vastly different ideological stance.

      It’s for this reason that I agree with Martyn’s last sentence.

      Also, your point about the divide being along globalist lines is important and spot on – we need to consider how we deal with this, and make sure we don’t fall into the ‘blame the immigrants’ rhetoric that Labour have been spouting

      • I see globalisation from a ordinary person perspective. I.e the job I used to do no longer exists because someone from India or Mexico now does it.

        • Yes, I agree, but it is also about pushing down wages and widening inequality. Those jobs that have left the West to other places could be brought back, but they’ll mostly be done by robots and this will further depress wages unless there is class based resistance and politicians standing up for the working class.

          However, Trump and Farage are not concerned about poverty wages and they do not care for the working class. They’re offering a nationalistic form of neoliberalism, and therefore they offer us nothing. This is why Sanders and Trump are vastly different despite both opposing existing free trade deals.

          I’d rather have globalisation and more equality, than anti-globalisation and more inequality.

          This video of Hannity and Cornel West is a good example of why the left should not become anti-globalist like Trump. West explains how Trump will further corporate dominance over people. We should become anti-globalist, and nothing like Trump.

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BC8I_tNKt7s

        • No, you fish. Bankers stole your jobs and fucking money right out of your pocket and you didn’t even fucking relies.

          Fucking magic trick boytee

  6. Excellent post , Martyn.

    Its a good thing to be honest and you have hit the nail right on the head. The Left should by and large never move far from its core – and that core is economics.

    And it was because those who call themselves ‘ Left’ when really they were nothing but blind red herrings and stooges for the far right and their neo liberalism … they successfully derailed themselves.

    They got what they deserved and then started crying and whinging and bleating when the the average voter simply turned on them said … ” enough of your fake altruistic crap – what about our jobs ?… what about our family’s security ? … what about our declining living standards ?!!!?’ … ‘ and all you people ever do is blather on about your cherished sacred cows – enough of you hypocrites !!! – get out !!! ”…

    And that is exactly what happened. And why.

    Any fool could see that except the Liberal Leftists.

    And I also wish Chris Trotter would own up to that as well instead of plying us with cute but exaggerated little bedtime story’s about 1984 and Orwell revisited.

    It makes me sick to see how the neo liberal right has manipulated the Left , perverted the labour force and the unions by simple infiltration. And the Left has let itself get suckered punched for 30 bloody long years… and I will add also … engorged and enriched itself in some quarters by simply pretending to oppose far right wing neo liberal economics but in reality was right in there supporting it . And bleeding the rest of us dry.

    Is it any wonder there has been a return to nationalism in a knee jerk reaction to the disgusting dishonesty and theft of 3 decades of globalist neo liberalism ???!!!

    The answer should be right there in front of your face if you have the intelligence – or the honesty – to admit it.

  7. Yep – It’s a blue collar/ white collar issue – the last form of prejudice that is still considered acceptable. Themiddle class identity poltics crew just don’t like the blue collar workers – they’re just so rough and un-cultured don’t you know.

  8. A bloody healthy reminder there, thanks Martyn.

    I am struggling daily to comprehend Trump, I am disappointed and angry at him, for some of his actions, but I also know, this was the revolt vote of those that felt they were NEVER listened to for all those many past years.

    We have a similar situation here in NZ, where many do not even vote, do not even follow politics, as it has such a repugnant reputation. We have people have NO clue about what really goes on, what the government does or fails to do, we live partly in lala land, that is those at the upper middle class and upper class end, we have those at the bottom NOT getting anywhere, but relying now on cheap products made in China and so, to survive.

    We even have fricking WINZ tell clients, they can only get a cash advance for Chinese made, imported, “cheaper” products, that they need as appliances, which is Haier, as Fisher and Paykel’s more traditional products are “out of range ” of affordability.

    When a government, a country, tells its poorest, to bloody well buy cheap imports from a slave labour country, and forgo jobs for their fellow citizens, then something damned serious is WRONG with this damned country.

    As a long term migrant, totally committed to this place and its people, I watch with total dismay, that so far, nobody has taken a firm stand on these issues. We used to make many things ourselves, now even our underwear, belts, shirts, trousers, home appliances, ALL seems to be made in other places, first of all CHINA.

    We are a nation of servants and sell outs on one side, and opportunists at the top, who no longer care about their fellow citizens below their income and asset value.

    We have rich pricks play the real estate market, and others live in damned cars, my friends.

    So Bill Fucking English may go on talking as business is as usual, after Key absconded, or jumped the boat, but it is time to hold these bastards in government to the bloody ACCOUNT for the damned sell out of NZ Inc..

    Where is our future, Mr English, where is our intelligence, our investment, our knowledge base, it all seems to be based in China or somewhere else, what a disaster. If cosy and lazy minded people would please wake up, it is time for REVOLUTION and taking a damned stand, as we will face total disaster or learn to work, to join together, to stand together and fight for a common and fairer future together again. Election 2017 should offer us choice, where the hell is it, please, you useless politicians?

  9. NZ – Very much a country of ‘You don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone’ – America, I believe, has the same motto.

  10. Well put, Bomber. This is right on the money Hard to get votes from the working class when they are struggling to make ends meet and ‘you’ are telling them about the subaltern ambi-gender Dalmation rabbits that they should give a flying fuck about.

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