Financial Times | How liberals lost touch with the 'left behind' Financial Times By 1942, there were just 12 democracies left in the world. But with the defeat of fascism and, a few decades later, the collapse of communism, liberal democracy looked like the wave of the future. Perhaps we had reached, in Francis Fukuyama's famous ... |
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How liberals lost touch with the 'left behind' - Financial Times
Carlos Vera, Opinion contributor 5:02 a.m. ET May 10, 2017
At Brooklyn College in New York.(Photo: Bebeto Matthews, AP)
Finding out that I was selected to intern at the White House in 2014 was one of my proudest achievements. As a first-generation college student committed to public service, it didnt get better than this. I quickly accepted the offer and was soon notified of the strict dress code: namely, the expectation that I wear a suit every day. My only issue, as kid from a low-income family, was that I owned just one suit. Thankfully, my dad, my two auntsand my uncle pitched in money so I could buy one more suit and begin my internship in the Obama White House without any unnecessary snags.
This was not an isolated incident. Iworked as an unpaid intern on the Hill,and later on a national campaign for a progressive candidate without pay. This is the unfortunate reality facing too many young people jockeying to enter and stay in progressive politics. Ultimately, its a story of missed opportunity.
The weekend Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th president of the United States, a groundswell of progressive energy much of it youth-led sought to set the tone for an inclusive movement of resistance and progressive ideas. Massive displays of protest and solidarity took root across the country. Millennials, the most progressive and diverse generation in American history, seemed a natural fit to steer these waves of political enthusiasm into a sustainable path forward for years to come.
But for all that young people have tried to invest in the progressive movement, as my experience shows, the movement hasnt invested as much in young people.
In fact, a new report from Generation Progress and Young People For found that financial support for conservative youth organizations outpaces support for progressive youth organizations by tens of millions of dollars. And with nearly 100 new progressive organizations forming in the wake of the presidential election alone, a financial disadvantage of this scale doesnt bode well for the future sustainability of our movement.
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In 2014, for instance, the five largest conservative youth organizations revenue totaledjust over $100 million, while the aggregate revenue of the five largest progressive youth organizations was just under $38 million. Moreover, between 2008 and 2014, conservative youth organizations received nearly $500 million morein contributions than their progressive counterparts.
Unchecked and overlooked, this youth investment gap is only widening, growing from a 2-to-1 conservative advantage in total revenue in 2008 to 3-to-1in 2014. Should this trend persist, the progressive movement runs the risk of chasing young people away, simply by not investing more in them.
My experiences with unpaid internships led me to launch Pay Our Interns last year, a nonprofit, bipartisan organization that advocates for more paid internships for Millennials. Since our launch, hundreds of interns have reached out and shared stories of what theyve endured to intern at progressive institutions.
My own work with Pay Our Interns has confirmed the youth investment gap: conservatives will often pay interns while progressives do not. In the Senate, half of the Republican offices pay interns; for Democrats that figure is about one-quarter. The Republican National Committee pays interns, the Democratic National Committee doesnt. Whereas College Republicans enjoyed a national budget of over $6 million for 2016, College Democrats didnt even have a line item in the DNC budget.
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Conservatives have simply understood how to play the long game, longer. For decades, conservative fundershave provided financial support to conservative youth organizations with very few strings attached, granting broader autonomy to spend on leadership development, skills trainingand general expenses.
Progressive funders have tended to be more nearsighted, focusing their giving on single-issue campaigns or increasing election-year turnout. But in doing so, theyve pigeonholed progressive youth organizations and forced them to dramatically narrow the scope of their spending. This is not a sustainable model for cultivating or keepingtalent.
Now, thousands of future leaders of the progressive movement are watching as rising student debts, stagnating wages and unpaid internships close doors of opportunity to work in progressive politics.
There is too much to lose, and much to gain. Progressives must address the youth investment gap if they areto win in the future. If they do not, the movement will miss out on the diversity, inclusivityand energy of progressive young people.
Carlos Vera is the founder and executive director of Pay Our Interns. Follow him on Twitter:@carlosangeles25
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Liberals need to close the millennials funding gap - USA TODAY
CNNs Jake Tapper acknowledged on social media the sorrow of a family who lost a father, and then had to face the vitriol of his less than sympathetic liberal followers. He criticized the sickening liberals that were dancing on the grave of a conservative.
For family and friends of @bob_owens so sorry for your loss. Horrible news, he tweeted.
Bob Owens was the editor of Bearing Arms, a popular SecondAmendment advocacy website. He was found dead in North Carolina Monday with a gunshot to the head and a weapon nearby. His last Facebook post read, In the end, it turns out that Im not strong. Im a coward, and a selfish son of a bitch. Im sorry, leading some to believe that he took his own life.
Tappers tweet offering sympathy for the Owens family brought out the worst in some liberals, who mocked his tragic death.
Jake, can you confirm the reports that Bob was wearing a diaper when he owned himself, read one tweet from a contributor to Vice News.
Another responded, Glad Bob Owens died at the hands of a mad man with a gun[.]
Another tweeted, love to respect racist s**theads when they finally do the right thing and turn off the lights.
Some reposted to Tapper comments Owens had offered in the past about Trayvon Martin, the Florida teen who was fatally shot, in order to mock his death.
Tapper responded, I didnt like everything he said or did but he is now dead and he left behind a wife and children. Go find some humanity.
Another characterized his sympathy as reaching out to white supremacists, to which Tapper replied, I have no idea what youre talking about. All Im seeing is a lot of liberals dancing on the grave of a conservative. Its sickening.
Police are still investigating whether Owens death was a suicide or if foul play was involved.
A GoFundMe pagehas been created for Bob Owensfamily.
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Jake Tapper decries 'sickening' liberals 'dancing on the grave of a ... - TheBlaze.com
Up until today, when he was fired by President Trump, FBI Director James Comey wasnt particularly popular with American liberals.How the worm turns.Presented without further commentary, here are some quotes about Comey from prominent progressives.
Hillary Clinton, October 30, 2016: Its pretty strange to put something like that out with such little information right before an election. In fact, its not just strange. Its unprecedented, and its deeply troubling.
Michael Moore, November 1, 2016: So Comey will implicate Hillary for crap thats not hers on Anthony Weiners laptop but wont say anything about what he knows about Trump.
Chuck Schumer, November 2, 2016: I do not have confidence in him [Comey] any longer.
The Nation editorial November 3, 2016: James Comey Has Discredited Himself and the FBI
Huffington Post, November 3, 2016: Comey Violated the Hatch Act And Must Be Fired.
Keith Olbermann, November 6, 2016: Nope. Our one bipartisan moment. This mans position at the FBI is no longer tenable. #Comey
Harry Reid, December 14, 2016: Comey, whos of course a Republican[]has let the country down for partisan purposes.
Nancy Pelosi, January 13, 2017: One standard was applied to the Russians and another standard applied to Hillary Clinton.
Adam Schiff, March 2, 2017: I appreciate we had a long briefing and testimony from the director today, but in order for us to do our investigation in a thorough and credible way, were gonna need the FBI to fully cooperate, be willing to tell us the length and breadth of any counterintelligence investigations they are conducting. At this point, the director is not willing to do that.
Robby Mook, March 2, 2017: Its time for Comey to remove himself from this too. His credibility is gone.
Maxine Waters, March 20, 2017: [T]he FBI Director still has no credibility. He needs to also explain HIS interference in the election.
Rachel Maddow, April 24, 2017: FBI Director James Comey would not budge. He would talk about Hillary Clinton being under FBI investigation. Happy to do that. But he would not talk about Trump being under investigation, too. Wouldnt confirm that, wouldnt discuss it at all. They were both under investigation, he would only talk about one of them. There were some Democrats who tried at the time, before the election, back in September, to make clear to him how nuts that was.
Patrick Leahy, May 3, 2017: A cloud of doubt hangs over the FBIs objectivity.
John Podesta, May 9, 2017: The American public is getting mildly nauseous listening to James Comey.
Continue reading here:
Liberals Hated FBI Director James Comey (Until Trump Fired Him) - Observer
Richmondites chose to stick to the BC Liberals in all four of the citys provincial ridings Tuesday evening.
However, the final count in Richmond-Queensborough may help determine what party holds the balance of power in what is presently a minority Liberal government, following the historic 41st provincial election.
The newly-carved riding that incorporates most of east Richmond and parts of New Westminster witnessed a nail-biting, neck and neck race between the Liberals rookie candidate, former TV reporter and LNG lobbyist Jas Johal and the BC NDPs fellow newcomer, and criminal lawyer, Aman Singh.
When the dust settled, Johal had 7,525 votes and was in the lead by 263 votes, with Singh fetching 7,262 votes, with absentee votes still to be counted.
Johals seat counts as one of 43 the Liberals have secured in the election. Meanwhile the NDP got 41 seats and the BC Green Party received a record-setting three seats that could thrust them into a kingmaker role in a coalition government.
With the riding of Courtenay-Comox secured by the NDP by only nine votes and three other ridings, including Richmond-Queensborough, separated by only a few hundred votes, it will likely take the final count by Elections BC on May 24 to determine the winners.
If the status quo remains, the Greens could form government with the Liberals or NDP.
In the meantime, Lieutenant Governor Judith Guichon has asked Liberal leader Christy Clark to remain Premier.
Its not quite over yet as we await absentee ballots . . . It was a squeaker for sure, Clark told media Wednesday.
Earlier in the evening, while commanding a clearer lead and amid what turned out to be premature celebrations, Johal said he felt like a bottle waiting in the ocean, not sure in which way is up.
He noted that he started building his campaign back in November.
"I didn't just pop in last month. For six months this has been a full-time job. I probably knocked on thousands of doors. For me, this is personal, said Johal, referring to the diversity of the community and the opportunities it has given immigrants such as himself.
"That's why public service is so important to me. I know what I've been given, and I want to give back.
I never missed a single one of those all candidate meetings. I want to hear people's concerns and share my ideas."
The NDPs Singh was unavailable for comment as the results were still coming in.
In the same Richmond-Queensborough riding, local teacher and Green Party hopeful, Michael Wolfe who garnered around 12.8 per cent of the popular vote thanked all his supporters.
Your vote was an honour to receive and has been a vote for a vision of the future that is worth fighting for, he said by phone.
As I return from hiking the Juan de Fuca trail with my students on Friday, I look forward to learning the election results and returning to the community I've always cared for.
Please stay in contact, grow your neighbourhood networks, and remain active citizens, as there is much work to do."
Less complicated were the wins for the Liberal incumbents Teresa Wat (North Centre), John Yap (Steveston) and Linda Reid (South Centre). Yap survived an early scare to see off NDP upstart and rookie candidate Kelly Greene to take Steveston for his fourth term, collecting 48 per cent of the vote to Greenes 39 per cent; Veteran politician Reid won more comfortably than expected in the re-jigged South Centre riding, dismissing the challenge of the NDPs city councillor, Chak Au, with a 49.5 per cent to 39.5 per cent victory; In the re-worked North Centre riding, Wat, past Minister of International Trade, cruised to her second term as MLA with 53 per cent of the vote, compared to nearest challenger, the NDPs Lyren Chiu, with 33 per cent.
Out west, Yap took care of community activist Greene to secure his fourth term as MLA for Richmond-Steveston.
When asked what projects he'll be working on, he said a new hospital for Richmond was clearly a priority.
We need to work on getting that hospital improvement developed, he said.
Yap talked of a hard-fought campaign, adding that "every campaign is different and this one was different again.
Weknocked on a lot of doors, heardpeoples hopes and their concerns. And we want to deal with those concerns.
He said people wanted a strong economy, but he also heard a lot about housing affordability.
His nearest challenger, Greene who narrowed a 23 percentage point gap between the Liberals and NDP from last election to just nine points this time around (making it the ridings most competitive race since 1991) said important social issues she raised on the campaign trail will be harder for Yap to ignore.
Tonight hurts but while we did not win my seat we have brought issues which are vital, to all of our residents front and centre affordability, health care, the environment, education, mental health, child care, economy, corruption, to name a few. And we will continue to shine a light where the darkness doesnt want us to look, she told supporters at the local NDP headquarters in City Centre.
The mom of three young children co-founded Richmond Schools Stand United, a grassroots group dedicated to increasing education funding and seismically upgrading unsafe schools.
We will compel them to act, said Greene, who said she couldnt yet look into the future, to the next election.
Of her incredible seventh victory at the polls a record for a female MLA Reid said: To create a little bit of history in the moment just warms my heart.
Im hoping the seventh win sustains. But this was a glorious campaign.
No one ever does this work alone. I had a tremendously gifted campaign team. We got out every possible vote, shook every possible hand there was to shake. And I am absolutely delighted with the outcome.
With the two parties running neck on the provincial scene throughout the latter stages of the night, Reid said she was hopeful that Christy Clark would continue to serve as premier.
That leadership and stability needs to continue.
This was the first election since 1991 (her first election) that Reid fell below 50 per cent in the popular vote.
Au, who will remain on city council, said his political future is uncertain. He said it was too early to digest what had happened (after expecting to win) but didnt rule out another campaign in four years.
Notably, Au pledged, in 2014, to only run in two civic elections.
He said it was difficult to face negative attack ads throughout the campaign; after the writ had dropped, he was the continued target of anonymous leaflets that attacked his character and denigrated homosexuals and drug addicts.
Au said he overcame the negativity partway through the election, in part thanks to his faith, he said.
He said he doesnt foresee any change in how hell approach dealing with Liberal MLAs, as a city councillor, now that he has taken to the opposition.
Meanwhile, Au said that, with himself, Greene and Singh all reaching about 40 per cent of the popular vote, his party had breached Richmond.
In 2013, the NDP took 26.6 per cent of the vote while this election it took 38.2 per cent. No other municipality saw greater gains by the NDP, whose overall vote was 39.9 per cent, about the same as last election.
I think this is a victory . . . even though we did not achieve what we wanted at the end, and I think Richmond is never the same as before.
Of her smooth victory, Wat said her re-election was testament to how hard she had worked in her constituency, even though the boundaries were shifted and the riding was renamed as Richmond North Centre.
I have to express my gratitude to all my constituents for their trust in democracy, she said.
The voters have spoken loud and clear and I am going to listen to each and every one, including those who did not vote for me.
She added she wants to be part of a government that can provide a strong and better future for all British Columbians.
She also listed the construction of the north tower at Richmond Hospital as her main goal over the next four years.
I will do my best to push that forward, to finalize it, she said.
Not to be forgotten is the role of the Green Party in Richmond. In Richmond-Steveston, Roy Sakata set a record for most votes ever by a Green Party candidate in Richmond, with 2,614 ballots, good for 13 per cent of the popular vote.
Meanwhile, Wolfe received 2,311 votes, or 12.8 per cent his best showing in a provincial election.
Many NDP supporters argued the Greens would split the vote on the left wing, giving power to the BC Liberals.
In Richmond the Liberals got 47.6 per cent of the popular vote, while province-wide they received 40.9 per cent, which was still good for tops among parties a point made by Clark at her post-midnight speech.
We won the popular vote and weve won the most seats, said Clark.
Its my intention to lead British Columbias government, Clark told supporters.
All the leaders spoke with cautious optimism.
They want us to work across party lines, added Clark, who said the Liberals must be humbled by the results.
NDP leader John Horgan chose to highlight the fact 60 per cent of people didnt vote for Clark.
A majority of British Columbians voted for a new government and I think thats what they deserve, said Horgan.
Green leader Andrew Weaver indicated hes willing to work with both parties.
Weaver may well get to choose who to form government with, should the Liberals not receive a majority of seats.
Notably, in the last election, absentee votes accounted for nine per cent of the total vote.
The Greens were thrust into the spotlight by fetching just over 300,000 votes, more than double what they got in 2013 and good for 16.7 per cent of the popular vote.
Weaver said his number one priority is removing the influence of big money in politics.
Horgan also alluded to campaign finance reform.
British Columbians voted to get big money out of politics, said Horgan.
Weaver said little to TV reporters after midnight but did indicate his desire to move to a clean energy economy.
LNG is not happening, said Weaver. It wasnt going to happen then, it wont happen now . . . Lets move on to a new economy.
As for what a coalition government means for Richmond, Coun. Harold Steves, of the NDP, said the Liberal-planned Massey Tunnel replacement bridge could be dead in the water, if thats the case.
"As long as the NDP and Greens have 44 (seats), we have chance to stop Site C and the Massey bridge," said the environmentalist.
However, many at the Richmond NDP headquarters were calling Weaver the kingmaker and expressed concern he would side with the Liberals to form a government.
Nevertheless Wolfe has stated the Greens are adamantly opposed to the bridge proposal.
This election, there were 64,383 votes cast whereas in 2013, 64,188 Richmond residents cast a ballot.
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B.C. election night in Richmond: Liberals almost sweep city again - Richmond News