#we offer them no solutions only condemnation and ire

[petluck]

some of you "leftists" will see a dude suffering mentally and physically under capitalism and be like "mmm should've introspected harder or maybe tried not being born bad and irredeemable" and call that praxis

[disillusioned41]

Not waiting before such thinking takes firmer hold or begins to be put into action, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is speaking out forcefully against radical centrist pundits, so-called "Never-Trump Republicans," and corporate-friendly Democratic operatives trying to advance a post-election narrative that the Democratic Party's growing progressive base is a faction to be sidelined as opposed to one that should be embraced.

"I need my colleagues to understand that we are not the enemy. And that their base is not the enemy. That the Movement for Black Lives is not the enemy, that Medicare for All is not the enemy."—Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

As much of the nation—and the world—celebrated Joe Biden's historic defeat of President Donald Trump on Saturday, Ocasio-Cortez gave an interview to the New York Times in which she repudiated those in recent days who have tried to cast a new wave of progressive lawmakers—backed by an army of like-minded supporters and organizers—as somehow dangerous to the party.

Epitomized by a comment that made the rounds on social media Saturday by former Ohio governor John Kasich, a lifelong Republican, the thinking goes that progressives policy solutions (which, in fact, turn out to be highly popular with voters across the political spectrum)—such as Medicare for All, forgiving student loan debt, expanding Social Security, a massive federal increase to the minimum wage, a green energy transition and jobs program, demanding racial justice, and working to end mass incarceration—are toxic politically to Democrats.

"The Democrats have to make it clear to the far-left that they almost cost him this election," said Kasich, who endorsed Biden earlier this year and was given a speaking role at the party's convention this summer, during a CNN interview Saturday. The comments quickly drew ire among progressives, who have condemned the very idea that figures like Kasich should have any say whatsoever in the party's future projection.

"Yesterday," tweeted People for Bernie on Sunday morning in response to the comments, "we officially entered a new era of not listening to anything John Kasich says. The era will continue until further notice."

And Ocasio-Cortez was among those who rebuked the remarks online as she defended her fellow Squad member, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), from the insinuation that progressive House victories in key districts didn't play a large role—as observers have pointed out—in helping deliver the White House for Biden.

"John Kasich, who did not deliver Ohio to Dems, is saying folks like Omar, who did deliver Minnesota, are the problem," Ocasio-Cortez tweeted in direct response to his comments. "Please don't take these people seriously and go back to celebrating and building power."

Common Dreams reported Thursday how Omar in Minnesota—just like Rep. Rashida Tlaib in her Detroit, Michigan district—were "major factors" in helping Biden pull away from Trump in those key battleground states.

In her interview with the Times, published late Saturday night, the New York Democrat—who won her reelection with nearly 70% of the vote in her district—elaborated on that dynamic.

"If the party believes after 94 percent of Detroit went to Biden, after Black organizers just doubled and tripled turnout down in Georgia, after so many people organized Philadelphia, the signal from the Democratic Party is the John Kasichs won us this election?" said AOC. "I mean, I can't even describe how dangerous that is."

On Sunday, Ocasio-Cortez joined CNN's Jake Tapper to discuss the issues she raised in the Times interview and also emphasized the need for Democrats, as a party, to come together in unity:

Progressives like Mike Casca, former communications director for Bernie Sanders' 2020 campaign, applauded Ocasio-Cortez for both her critique and outspokenness.

"What I love most about this interview, and AOC," commented journalist Alice Speri on Saturday morning, "is that she says what she thinks, pulls no punches, and puts her name to it. Just imagine if journalists stopped allowing politicians to stay anonymous for no reason other than their lack of courage."

Tana Ganeva, a criminal justice reporter, said: "AOC is so fucking smart. I can't believe there was actually an effort to deem her 'not smart.' This is the smartest analysis I've read in months."

In the interview—in which she acknowledged that internally within the party "it's been extremely hostile to anything that even smells progressive" since she arrived in 2018—Ocasio-Cortez expressed frustration that the more left-leaning members of the caucus are now under attack for losses suffered by its more centrist members.

What the election results have shown thus far, she said, is "that progressive policies do not hurt candidates. Every single candidate that co-sponsored Medicare for All in a swing district kept their seat. We also know that co-sponsoring the Green New Deal was not a sinker."

Instead of blaming for progressives—something that ousted Florida Democrat, Rep. Donna Shalala, did on a caucus conference call after her defeat last week—Ocasio-Cortez said the party needs to have a much more serious look at what led to those failures.

As she told the Times: "If I lost my election, and I went out and I said: "This is moderates' fault. This is because you didn't let us have a floor vote on Medicare for all. And they opened the hood on my campaign, and they found that I only spent $5,000 on TV ads the week before the election? They would laugh. And that's what they look like right now trying to blame the Movement for Black Lives for their loss."

Ocasio-Cortez said the party must begin to examine some of its entrenched belief systems—as well as internal power structures—so it can have a more honest assessment of where shortcomings exist and how to better prepare for the future:

There's a lot of magical thinking in Washington, that this is just about special people that kind of come down from on high. Year after year, we decline the idea that they did work and ran sophisticated operations in favor of the idea that they are magical, special people. I need people to take these goggles off and realize how we can do things better.  If you are the D.C.C.C., and you're hemorrhaging incumbent candidates to progressive insurgents, you would think that you may want to use some of those firms. But instead, we banned them.

So the D.C.C.C. banned every single firm that is the best in the country at digital organizing.

The leadership and elements of the party—frankly, people in some of the most important decision-making positions in the party—are becoming so blinded to this anti-activist sentiment that they are blinding themselves to the very assets that they offer.

Ocasio-Cortez further explained that while she and others have tried to get other members to modernize their campaign operations, those offers have persistently been rebuffed.

"I've been begging the party to let me help them for two years," she said. "That's also the damn thing of it. I've been trying to help. Before the election, I offered to help every single swing district Democrat with their operation. And every single one of them, but five, refused my help. And all five of the vulnerable or swing district people that I helped secured victory or are on a path to secure victory. And every single one that rejected my help is losing. And now they’re blaming us for their loss."

"So I need my colleagues to understand that we are not the enemy," she continued. "And that their base is not the enemy. That the Movement for Black Lives is not the enemy, that Medicare for All is not the enemy. This isn't even just about winning an argument. It's that if they keep going after the wrong thing, I mean, they're just setting up their own obsolescence."

And what if the Biden administration takes the lead of people like Kasich—of whom there is much chatter that he could serve in the next cabinet—and proves itself hostile to its progressive base?

"Well, I'd be bummed, because we’re going to lose. And that's just what it is," responded Ocasio-Cortez, who elsewhere said it is her simple belief that "people really want the Democratic Party to fight for them" and that it's the party's responsibility to show that not in words, but in deed.

"It's really hard for us to turn out nonvoters when they feel like nothing changes for them," she warned. "When they feel like people don't see them, or even acknowledge their turnout."

[wzly]

So, Rock Isn’t Dead After All: Sam Fender’s Hypersonic Missiles

By Isabel Pless 

Whether planned or just by dumb luck (perhaps a mixture of both), Sam Fender’s Hypersonic Missiles hit the music industry with perfect timing, and with great gusto. Amid political turmoil in the UK, an impeachment process in the US tinged with collusion and international interference, as well as general societal discord just about everywhere, a multitude of topics have fallen into the spotlight, simply awaiting discussion. Fender saw his opportunity for commentary, took it, and hit the ground running. Fender is a true newcomer, only 25 years old and from North Shields, England, he writes and sings only as an observer speaking to other observers, yet his remarks feel overwhelmingly astute for a bystander. The album-- Fender wrote all 13 tracks solo-- not only comments on highly contentious political and social issues permeating the world today, but also includes odes to the everyday young person, and does all of this with heavy electric guitar, booming drums, and rough, soaring vocals. The album is reminiscent of past rock albums; Fender clearly draws much inspiration from Bruce Springsteen-- ah, how they both love a good saxophone solo. Still, Hypersonic Missiles maintains its individuality with its undeniable relevance and keeps its integrity by breaking rank with classic rock by experimenting with more current sounds and techniques.

The title track, “Hypersonic Missiles”, fittingly references the deadly weapons that can travel at speeds of at least 1,150 MPH and which are nearly impossible to shoot down with modern defense systems. The perspective of the song presents itself as simultaneously pessimistically aware, and yet also hopeful. The first verse addresses complacency with the possibility of war (“I am so blissfully unaware of everything, kids in Gaza are bombed, and I’m just out of it, the tensions of the world are rising higher, we’re probably due another war with all this ire”) and yet the second verse and chorus move into a more hopeful place, professing love in a time of crisis (“But I believe in what I’m feeling, and I’m falling for you, this world is going to end, but until then, I’ll give you everything I have” and “when the bombs drop darling can you say that you’ve lived your life? Oh, this is a high time for hypersonic missiles”). With the relatively simple verses-- Fender’s consistent strumming on his electric guitar and the thudding drums in the background-- the high energy choruses, and the explosive instrumental after the second verse, the song builds up to introducing some political and social themes which Hypersonic Missiles explores in more depth with other tracks.

As the name would suggest, “White Privilege” takes some punches at the current social state of affairs. The lyrics move from one topic to the next with lightning speed, and Fender puts a strong emphasis on his words (a personal favorite of mine from this track: “Everybody’s offended, the joke that just keeps on giving, I’m not entirely sure the nitpicking can count as progression, I’m chewing popcorn, sitting in the back row, watching while the whole damn thing implodes”), as the track only uses electric guitar to back up the heavily layered vocals and Fender uses a tight rhyme scheme for the first half of the song. Admittedly, the song title sounds cliche and obtrusive, almost too on the nose to be accurate, yet the surprisingly fast pace at which the lyrics flow allows Fender to cover so much ground that by the time the song ends, the track feels rounded and whole. Interestingly, while Fender takes a clear stance, aggressively condemning the subject matter-- the lyrics have a sarcastic tinge to them-- there is no call to action; Fender crafts his point of view and presents it as his observation and interpretation of the truth.

While “White Privilege” tackles social issues, “Play God” speaks to the paranoia and fear surrounding people in positions of power, specifically those in a government office. The track is delivered in a minor key and along with the muted and distinctive electric guitar strumming pattern backing Fender’s vocals, the song carries a tense sense of suspicion and neuroticism throughout its entirety. The lyrics are intense and direct, highlighting scenarios and conspiracies with careful repetition--especially with the litany of the hook (“he will play God”). The verses address current events as well as the overwhelming and shared feeling of accumulating dread, building up to the bridge which explodes in the fearful realization (“Am I mistaken? Or are we breaking under weight from the long time that he played God”). The repetition and minor key mimic the underlying fear and tension, all while using careful analogies to address the question: how much is too much power?

As Fender moves away from impending doom and power struggles, he turns inward, describing a childhood friendship gone awry in “The Borders”. The sound doesn’t match the words-- the bright guitar, the fast tempo, the crash of the drums layered underneath a story of diverging paths-- but the juxtaposition evokes a sense of melancholy, personifying the overwhelming nostalgia of an old and familiar relationship which ultimately fell to pieces. Similar to “Hypersonic Missiles”, “The Borders” seems to emulate Springsteen with its rock characteristics, yet there’s a modern quality to the song that separates it from classic 80s rock. The bright filter over the guitar and the enormous, almost white-noise-like, sound amalgamation at the end of the track diversify the song from its rock counterparts, as the ending seems to take over the song and bring it to a crashing halt.

“Dead Boys”, perhaps the deepest song on the album lyrically, attempts to describe the utter whirlpool of confusion and grief surrounding suicide. Fender wrote the song after losing one of his good friends to suicide, and the track certainly plays like an ode to lives lost, but also feels like a manifesto. “Dead Boys” calls attention to the astounding number of male suicides that seem to permeate every community and addresses the expectation that men shouldn’t talk about their mental health. With the repetition of the song’s chorus and the constant quick strumming of the guitar-- almost like a fast heartbeat-- Fender makes his message astoundingly clear and pushes for much-needed change even without a set solution in sight.

In its totality, Hypersonic Missiles feels complete. Not every song appears as a stand out, and yet as a whole, the tracks sonically and lyrically fit together like a puzzle. Fender presents his take on several political and societal issues through his music, and his voice comes through loud and clear. He simply offers a narration and lends his voice to younger generations who are observing the world carefully, and then calculating a response. In recent years, the industry hasn’t seen much rock, and there’s been chatter that perhaps the genre is dying out; however, as a newcomer, Sam Fender poses a revival to rock, and to the music industry in general: he’s a force to be reckoned with.