Progressives have been talking Russia ad nauseam as if they believe it is the magic bullet to end Trump’s reign. Of course, it is not. The panelist explains what they must be doing now.
Katrina Vanden Heuvel warns Progressives about singular concentration on Russia
Katrina Vanden Heuvel, Washington Post columnist and The Nation Publisher, appeared on This Week with George Stephanopoulos with a message I hope Progressives will heed immediately. While discussing Russia, Vanden Heuvel made a blunt statement.
“So, of course, we need an independent investigation into alleged Russian hacking and collusion, ” Vanden Heuvel said.
George Stephanopoulos mysteriously interjected, “Alleged?”
Was he implying it is no longer “alleged” or what?
Katrina continued.
“And we have a special counsel now, which is there,” she said. “And any president can’t be happy to have a special counsel four months into his presidency.”
Katrina is pointing out that for all practical purposes, Trump’s Russia problem is now on auto pilot. She continued.
“But I think Democrats are making a mistake going in Russia, Russia, Russia all the time,” Vanden Heuvel said. “For two reasons. One, you’re distracting from the Donald Trump and Republicans’ mean-spirited, predatory agenda — tax cuts for the richest, hurting the working class, building a military defense budget, squandering diplomacy, and deregulating the economy for the sake of the richest. I think Democrats have to have a bold, inclusive, populist agenda. Get it out into the country, fight for health care, fight for jobs, fight for a different engagement with the world. And make sure that the climate issue is understood to be about economics but shafting working people.”
“So don’t let this overtake everything,” George Stephanopoulos interjected.
“Don’t let this overtake it,” Vanden Heuvel replied. “And I think that that’s about a party of one that needs to be about propositions, not simply opposition. Resistance is not enough.”
Katrina is echoing something I blogged about a few weeks ago in the article titled “Progressives blowing 2018 with too many resources relegated to Russia” where I said the following.
Nothing in the Russian story will improve the personal economies of working class Americans. It will not give them good health care. It will not rebuild infrastructure to provide jobs. It will not educate our children. So while working class America continue to suffer from subpar wages, while they continue to see their healthcare cost rise they hear a narrative anathema to their reality. The Liberal Intelligensia, the Democratic Establishment, is concentrating on a subject that will do absolutely nothing to make their lives better while at the same time giving President Charlatan an excuse for his inability to accomplish anything for the working class.
No one is asking that we ignore the Russian story. In fact, taking it off of the front burner as folks build a substantive evidence based case would be much more effective. Think how impactful a breaking story that is well developed where the Trump family’s financial entanglements and collusion with Russia emerge. It would be much more effective than the daily Russian repetitiousness which causes all but the political buffs to switch to the Food Channel, Discovery Channel, ESPN, or some other station to break said monotony.
So on what should the Progressive Intelligensia expend its resources? — education in a manner that is palatable to working class America. The three biggest Trump disruptive policies, Trumpcare, Tax Cuts, and Immigration, can be tied into a perfect economic narrative that tags Republicans for the charlatans that they are.
I sure hope every Progressive take it upon themselves embrace what Katrina Vanden Heuvel is saying. That is how we win.
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