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THE ESTABLISHMENT?What Is

Everyone attacks it, but no one can clearly identify what it is.

WHAT BERNIE CAN DO IN PHILLYJOHN NICHOLS

EXXONS FREE-SPEECH LIEMARK HERTSGAARD

M I C H A E L K A Z I N

O U B L E I S S U E

MAY 23/30, 2016 THENATION.COM

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T h e N a t ion

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Childbearing vs. Child-Rearing

Madeline Ostrander asks, Howdo you decide to have a baby whenclimate change is remaking life onearth? and essentially answers,With hesitation [April 11/18].While making a significant personalissue public, and by making a sig-nificant public issue personal, shealso glosses over an opportunity to

do exactly the same for an issue thatprogressives do not address nearlyenough: adoption of waiting childrenin this country.

Adoption is referenced just once,quoting Paul Ehrlich in 1970 (advocat-ing voluntary sterility in the same sen-tence). Ostrander cites many examplesof child-rearing hopes, fears, thoughts,and emotions, but does not alwaysdistinguish between childbearing andchild-rearing, just as she melds togeth-er concern with the personal welfare of

her future offspring on the one hand,and concern about that individualcontributing to climate change on theother. The latter pairing is appropri-ate; the former, not as much.

I was born in 1955, but had littleuse for Ehrlich and Zero PopulationGrowth when I made a firm deci-sion as a teenager to never procreate.I didnt know about climate changethen, but my own list included aworld facing environmental degrada-tion and nuclear annihilation, and

full of incessant war, poverty, racism,imperialism, injustice, oppression,and exploitation. I feared that futureoffspring might be a) victims, b) inad-vertent contributors to the problem,or even c) possible perpetrators.

Like Ostrander, my wife (who hadher own reasons for deciding againstprocreation) and I noticed that wewerent baby people when our peersbegan reproducing. I actually had ano-children inclination (for lifestylereasons), right up there with the more

philosophical no-procreation rule.

But that changed over time: Weveadopted four kids (arriving at differenttimes, at ages 8, 10, 14, and 21), andour Saturdays with all 10 grandkidsare a treasure in our life like no other.

Am I fearful, like Ostrander, thata destabilized world with rising seasand killer storms will eventually en-snare my loved ones? Absolutely! AmI concerned that their own carbon

footprints may exacerbate the problemrather than mitigate it? Absolutely! ButI also feel I can hold up my hands andsay, in effect, Not my fault! for eitherdilemmaexistential or environmen-tal. (Of course, thats not a completelylegitimate perspective.)

I apologize if this seems unfair toOstrander, because I really do feel herpain and appreciate her willingness tolay it out in the pages of T he N ation. Itsjust that the flip side of this problemthe adoption of waiting, older kids by

progressive people who know just howcruel and crazy this world can be to itsmost vulnerable inhabitantsmust notcontinue to be ignored by the progres-sive media. Howard Fain

worcester, mass.

Ostrander Replies

Creating and raising a family in-volves not one but a series of com-plex decisionsamong them, shouldyou have biological children, and/or should you adopt, foster, or oth-erwise take responsibility for raisingchildren who are not biologicallyyour own? Each of these choicesraises a vast set of personal, emotion-al, and ethical questions, and familiescome up with diverse answers. But inany one story, you can answer onlya narrow set of questions and offerup a small and incomplete slice ofhuman experience. In this story, Itook a sliver of my own experience,along with a bit of historical context,to reflect on what it means to try to

GlobalWarmingsTerrifying

NewChemistry

Ourleadersthoughtfrackingwouldsaveourclimate. Theywerewrong. Verywrong.BILL McKIBBEN

SUPREMECOURTBATTLEDAVIDCOLE MEXICOSDILEMMAENRIQUEKRAUZE

DOUBLE ISSUE

THENATION.COM

A PRIL ,

continued on p ag e 2 6 )

letters@thenation.com

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T h e N a t ions ince 1865

U P R O T

4 E xxon by the Num bers;11Back Issues:(1 9 5 6 )T h e P ow e rs T h at B e

3 W h at E xxo n K n ewM ark H ertsgaard

4 D anielB errig ansV isio nJohn N ichols

5 A sking for a F riendL iza Featherston e

C O L U M N S

6 S ubjectto D ebateW hy D idntB ernie G etM e?K atha P ollitt

10 B eneath the R adarO urM om entofTruthG ary Y ounge

1 1 D eadline P oetT h e W o m an C ard C alvin T rillin

F ea t u res

12 W hat I s T h eE stab lishm en t?M ichaelK azinE v e r y b o d y h a t e s i t ,

b u t w h a t i s i t ?

15 I s the P arty S ystemA boutto Crack U p?D a n i e l l e A l l e n , R i c k

P e r l s t e i n , a n d D a n i e l

S c h l o z m a n d i s c u s s i n

T h a t D e b a t a b l e .

18 S inn F in

B a ttle s a N e w F o eL aura Fland ersT h i s t i m e , a u s t e r i t y .

2 2 B ernies P hilad elp hiaC ha llen g eJohn N icholsH e w o n w i n , b u t h e

s t i l l h a s i n f l u e n c e .

B ookst h e A rt s

2 7 D ru n k o n P o w e rB everly G age

3 0 C alifo rnia D rea m ing

K im P hillip s-Fe in

3 4 F ilm s: S unsetS o ng S tuartK law ans

3 6 H o m e (p o e m )L aura M ullen

3 7 S he lfL ifeA aron T hier

V O L U M E 3 0 2 , N U M B E R S 2 1 2 2

M ay 2 3 / 3 0 , 2 0 16

T he digitalve rsion of this issue is

availab le to allsub scrib ers M ay 5

atT heN ation.com .

C over illustration b y A nn ie Zh ang .

Wh e n i n t r o u b l e , c h a n g e t h e s u b j e c t o r a t l e a s t

t r y t o . S o i t i s t h a t t h e w o r l d o l d e s t , r i c h e s t , a n d

m o s t p o w e r f u l o i l c o m p a n y , u n d e r i n v e s t i g a t i o n

f o r a p p a r e n t l y l y i n g t o i n v e s t o r s a n d t h e p u b l i c f o r

d e c a d e s a b o u t t h e d e a d l i n e s s o f i t s p r o d u c t s , h a s l a u n c h e d a h i g h - s t a k e s

What Exxon new

c o u n t e r a t t a c k u n d e r t h e u n l i k e l y f l a g o f t h e F i r s tA m e n d m e n t . O n A p r i l 1 3 , E x x o n M o b i l f i l e d s u i t t o

b l o c k a s u b p o e n a i s s u e d b y t h e a t t o r n e y g e n e r a l o f t h e

U S V i r g i n I s l a n d s . F o l l o w i n g r e v e l a t i o n s f r o m t h e L os

ng eles T imes a n d I n s i d e C l i m a t e N e w s , t h e s u b p o e n a

c h a r g e d t h a t t h e c o m p a n y m a y h a v e v i o l a t e d t h e t e r -

r i t o r y a n t i - r a c k e t e e r i n g l a w . I t q u e s t i o n e d w h e t h e r

E x x o n t o l d i n v e s t o r s , i n c l u d i n g t h e t e r r i t o r y p e n s i o n

f u n d , o n e t h i n g a b o u t c l i m a t e c h a n g e ( t h a t i t w a s n a

d a n g e r ) w h i l e i t s o w n s c i e n t i s t s w e r e p r i v a t e l y t e l l i n g

i t s m a n a g e m e n t t h e o p p o s i t e .

N e w Y o r k A t t o r n e y G e n e r a l E r i c

S c h n e i d e r m a n r a i s e d t h e s a m e q u e s t i o n

w h e n h e s u b p o e n a e d E x x o n i n N o v e m b e r .T h e o i l g i a n t t u r n e d o v e r s o m e 1 0 , 0 0 0

p a g e s o f d o c u m e n t s , w h i c h S c h n e i d e r m a n

s t a f f i s r e v i e w i n g . B u t w h e n V i r g i n I s l a n d s

A t t o r n e y G e n e r a l C l a u d e W a l k e r r e q u e s t -

e d m a n y o f t h e s a m e d o c u m e n t s , E x x o n n o t

o n l y r e f u s e d ; i t w e n t o n t h e o f f e n s i v e . T h e

c o m p a n y c o u n t e r s u i t a s s e r t e d t h a t W a l k -

e r s u b p o e n a w a s a n a t t e m p t t o d e t e r E x x o n M o b i l

f r o m p a r t i c i p a t i n g i n o n g o i n g p u b l i c d e l i b e r a t i o n s

a b o u t c l i m a t e c h a n g e . T h e c h i l l i n g e f f e c t o f t h i s

i n q u i r y , w h i c h d i s c r i m i n a t e s b a s e d o n v i e w p o i n t t o

t a r g e t o n e s i d e o f a n o n g o i n g p o l i c y d e b a t e , s t r i k e s a t

p r o t e c t e d s p e e c h a t t h e c o r e o f t h e F i r s t A m e n d m e n t . S o o n , i n a n e x e r c i s e i n m a s s v e n t r i l o q u i s m , m y r -

i a d v o i c e s o n t h e r i g h t i n c l u d i n g t h e H e r i t a g e

F o u n d a t i o n , N ational R ev iew t h e N ew Y ork P ost

R eason a n d t h e H o o v e r I n s t i t u t i o n t o o k u p t h e r e -

f r a i n . O u t r a g e d t h a t 1 6 o t h e r s t a t e a t t o r n e y s g e n e r a l

h a d p l e d g e d a c t i o n a g a i n s t t h e f o s s i l - f u e l i n d u s t r y ,

W ash ing ton P ost c o l u m n i s t G e o r g e W i l l c h a r g e d

t h a t t h e l a w - e n f o r c e m e n t o f f i c i a l s w e r e t r y i n g t o

c r i m i n a l i z e s k e p t i c i s m a b o u t t h e s u p p o s e d l y s e t t l e d

c o n c l u s i o n s o f c l i m a t e s c i e n c e . F o x N e w s a c c u s e d

t h e A G s o f c o l l u s i o n w i t h a c t i v i s t s , c i t i n g a m e e t -

i n g t h a t a m e m b e r o f S c h n e i d e r m a n s t a f f h a d w i t h a

r e p r e s e n t a t i v e o f t h e U n i o n o f C o n c e r n e d S c i e n t i s t s .

T h e r i g h t - w i n g c h o r u s p r e d i c t a b l y g l i d e d p a s t t h e

f a c t t h a t , a s a m a t t e r o f l a w , t h e F i r s t A m e n d m e n t i s

n o s h i e l d f o r f r a u d . A n d t e l l i n g o n e t h i n g t o i n v e s t o r s

w h i l e p r i v a t e l y k n o w i n g t h e o p p o s i t e t o b e t r u e , a s B i g

T o b a c c o o n c e d i d , i s p l a i n l y f r a u d . B u t n o w , i t w a s a l l

a b o u t E x x o n a s t h e v i c t i m , w i t h t h e u s u a l l e f t - w i n g v i l -

l a i n s o v e r r e a c h i n g g o v e r n m e n t a n d e n v i r o n m e n t a l

e x t r e m i s t s t r a m p l i n g t h e o i l c o m p a n y f r e e - s p e e c h

r i g h t s b e c a u s e i t h a d d a r e d t o t a k e a n u n c o n v e n t i o n a l

p o s i t i o n o n c l i m a t e c h a n g e . E x x o n e v e n

u s e d t h e s a m e l a w f i r m t h a t d e f e n d e d B i g

T o b a c c o P a u l , W e i s s , R i f k i n d , W h a r t o n

G a r r i s o n t o f i l e i t s c o u n t e r s u i t .W i l l c r y i n g f r e e s p e e c h s u c c e e d i n

b l u n t i n g t h e e f f o r t t o b r i n g E x x o n a n d i t s

f e l l o w f o s s i l - f u e l g i a n t s t o j u s t i c e ? I t t o o

s o o n t o k n o w , a n d c o m p e l l i n g e v i d e n c e

r u n s i n b o t h d i r e c t i o n s .

F r a m i n g E x x o n a s a v i c t i m i s n a n e a s y

s e l l b e y o n d t h e r i g h t - w i n g e c h o c h a m b e r .

N o r i s c l i m a t e d e n i a l . T h e v a s t m a j o r i t y o f v o t e r s a n d

p o l i c y - m a k e r s n o w u n d e r s t a n d t h a t c l i m a t e c h a n g e

i s a r e a l a n d g r o w i n g d a n g e r . A n d m o s t p e o p l e h a v e

l i t t l e t r o u b l e b e l i e v i n g t h a t E x x o n k n e w f u l l w e l l

a b o u t t h i s d a n g e r , e v e n a s i t s p e n t d e c a d e s a n d t e n s

o f m i l l i o n s o f d o l l a r s p o r t r a y i n g c l i m a t e c h a n g e a s a p r e m i s e t h a t d e f i e s c o m m o n s e n s e , t o q u o t e f o r -

m e r C E O L e e R a y m o n d .

W h a t m o r e , b y e n a b l i n g i n c r e a s e d g l o b a l w a r m -

i n g , E x x o n a l l e g e d l y i n g h a s d a m a g e d m a n y p e o p l e

a r o u n d t h e w o r l d . C r u c i a l l y , t h e v i c t i m s i n c l u d e i n -

v e s t o r s a n d b u s i n e s s o w n e r s . T h e p o o r s u f f e r f i r s t

a n d w o r s t f r o m c l i m a t e c h a n g e , b u t t h e y r a r e l y f i l e

m u c h l e s s w i n l a w s u i t s a g a i n s t p o l l u t e r s . B u t w h e n

p e o p l e o f m e a n s a r e d a m a g e d , t h e y d o n h e s i t a t e t o

s u e f o r c o m p e n s a t i o n .

E x x o n e x p o s u r e o n t h i s f r o n t i s i m m e n s e . I f t h e

a l l e g a t i o n s a r e t r u e , t h e o i l g i a n t h a s i n e f f e c t t r a n s -

f e r r e d m a s s i v e a m o u n t s o f r i s k a n d l o s s o n t o t h e r e s t

C O M M E N T

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T h e N a t ion M ay 2 3 3 0 , 2 0 1 6

Vietnam W ar,the Berrigan brotherstaughtAm ericanstolook forthe intersectionsofinjustice.

Berrigan served 18 m onthsforburning draftrecordsin 1968 as one of the celebrated C atonsville N ine.Inhisessay on those protests,he wrote:Am erica fightsastupid and genocidalwarin Indochina,m ostly becausewe dontknow how to turn offthe bloody spigotwe haveopened.T hatisto say,w e are pow erlessto inquire why

itiseasierto continue to slaughterthan to stop it,whythe historicalcultofviolence hasbecom e the m ainstay ofpolicy both foreign and dom estic,orwhy oureconom yso requiresw arm aking thatperpetualwarhasunited w ithexpanding profitsasthe chiefnationalpurpose.

T he book thatBerrigan wrote partly during histim ein prison,A m erica I sH ard to ind,speaksasclearly to ourown tim e asitdid to the m om entin the early 1970s inwhich he w aswriting.H e warned thatto rem ain pros-perous,Am erica defacesitscountryside,foulsitsairandwater,m akesitscitiesunlivable. A nd he pointed a fingerofblam e atthe elitesthatperm itted poverty am id plentyC hurchesand synagogues fearthe Scriptures,and fear

living them ;universities undertake w ar-related research,even asthey refuse to lead the young;businessputsprofitover hum an life and welfare,while legislaturesare filledwith those who,forthe m ostpart,are vote-getters,ratherthan criticsofwarpolicy and servantsofhum an welfare.

Berrigansvision forchallenging injustice wasrooted insolidarity.H e wrote ofhisow n prison experience:W hyare we in jail,and why are there with us,PanthersandC hicanos,draftresistersand draft-file burners,pluspoorm en who have broken the law asan only way ofassertingtheirrightto exist?Because,we would suggest,we actedsanely in an insane society,because we feltthe futility ofpeacefulwordswithoutpeacefuldeeds.

Berrigan neverstopped preaching a gospelofactionH e w asrepeatedly arrested foractsofcivildisobediencein the 1980 Plow shares protests at a G eneralE lectricm issile plant in K ing of Prussia,Pennsylvania,and, as

recently as2006,ata navalm useum in M anhattan.W hen he w asntbeing arrested,he wasstanding insolidarity with AID S patients, with Palestinianand Jew ish advocatesforpeace in the M iddle Eastwith the O ccupy W allStreetprotestersin 2011.

W hile Berrigan could be very criticalof thechurchsconservative hierarchy,he wasinspired by

a tradition of C atholic social-justice activism ,especiallythatofthe C atholic W orkerM ovem ent.In a 2008 N ation

interview,he said thatitscofounder,D orothy D ay,taughtm e m ore than allthe theologians. She awakened m e toconnections I had notthought ofor been instructed in,the equation ofhum an m isery and poverty and warm ak-ing. From such observations,one can see how m uch heanticipated the econom ic-justice m essage ofPope Francis

Berrigan wasanim ated by a deeply rooted faith and anequally profound hope.A she w rote decadesago:W hatwe plead for,whatw e are attem pting to live,isthe truth ofhope,which assertsthatm en and wom en have been m adenew by C hrist,thatthey can use freedom responsibly,thatthey can build a world uncursed by war,starvation,andexploitation.Such hope,once created,leadsinevitably to

nonviolentrevolution. JO H N N I CH O L S

D a n i e l e r r i g a n s V i s i o n

H enever stopped preaching a gospel ofaction.

FatherD anielBerrigan,who died on April30atthe age of94,wasa beautifulm an with abeautifulvision thathe m ade realby engag-ing in radicalactsofconscience.H e soughtnotm erely to end w arsbut to achieve the

justice that has always been essentialto peacem aking.Born into a fam ily oftrade unionists,Berrigan and hisbrotherPhilip (who died in 2002)broughtto the nationaldiscourse ofthe 1960s a deep understanding ofthe link-ages between m ilitarism and im perialism abroad and

racism and poverty athom e.A sfierce opponentsofthe

ofthe m arketand virtually every businessenterprise in it.By confusing the debate,E xxon helped delay governm entaction againstclim ate change.T he com pany m ade buck-ets ofm oney,but the resulting higher tem peraturesandextrem e weathereventshave costinvestors,governm ents,businesses,and ordinary people m any billions,w ith m uchlargercostsahead.M ark C arney,the governorofthe BankofE ngland,haswarned thatasclim ate change intensifies,

partieswho have suffered lossordam age [m ay]seek com -pensation from those they hold responsible.

N or isthe rightscheerleading withoutitscom plica-tions for E xxon.T he right conflatesthe FirstAm end-m entargum entwith itscuckoo beliefthatclim ate changeisa hoax,butE xxon has a differentgoal:to protectitspublic im age.E xxon needs to be perceived as a goodcorporate citizen,and in 2016 a good corporate citizendoesntdeny clim ate change.

O n the other hand,no one fam iliarwith E xxonshis-tory would underestim ate the resources itbrings to thisbattle.AsSteve C olldocum ented in P rivate E m pire,Exxonhaslong exercised politicalpowerand globalreach m ore

akin to thatofa nation-state than ofa corporation.A nd itisascalculating and tough asitism ighty and rich.W hena jury awarded $5 billion in dam agesfor the E xxon Valdezoilspill,the com pany foughtthe decision to the very end.T he w orld had seen the tragedy unfold on television theoil-drenched seabirds,the idled fishing boats butE xxonsim ply refused to acceptguilt.Instead,lawyersfiled appealafterappeal,dragging outthe proceedingsfor20 years.Bythe tim e Exxon finally paid up in 2009,the dam ageshadbeen whittled dow n to a tenth ofthe originalam ount.

E xxon willfightthisnew battle even m ore ferociously,for the E xxon K new scandalposes an im m easurablygraverthreat.E xxonspotentialexposure on theValdezspill

wasa $5 billion fine,a sum itcould have paid with ease.Bycontrast,E xxon K new could involve hundredsofbillionsofdollarsin dam ages,enough to bankruptthe com pany.Italso com eswhen the worldsgovernm entshave com m it-ted to phasing outE xxonsproductsoverthe nextdecades.T hese twin threatsendangernotm erely E xxonsrevenuebutitsvery identity asa com pany thatm ade itsnam e bypulling oiloutofthe ground.For E xxon,thisisshapingup asa fightto the death,and the FirstAm endm entoffersscantprotection againstthat. M A R K H E R T S G A A R D C

OMMENT

E X X O N Y

T HE N U M E R S

977Yearin w hich anExxon scientistwarned top ex-ecutives oftherisks ofclim atechange drivenby fossilfuels

23CExxon experts1978 estim ate ofthe increase inaverage globaltem perature ifthe CO 2in theatm ospherewere to double

5MAm ountthatExxons foun-dation gave toorganizations

questioningthe clim ate sci-ence betw een1998 and 2005

S in n in

B attles

a N ew

oe

Laura Flanders

{page 18}wasfunded by a

generousgrant

from the Pulitzer

C enteron C risis

Reporting.T he

N ationw ould

like to thank

the C enterfor

m aking this

article possible.

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T h e N a t ion 5ay 2 3 3 0 , 2016

lives in A m sterdam and is m arried to a D utch freelancer, explain s:Y ou

get a lot back [for you r taxes]h ere. G oo d scho ols. A ffordable u n iversity.

D em ocratic socialism w orks.

S till, yo ur bo yfriend w ill m ake his life and you rs m uch easier by

taking care ofth is. L ike alcoh olism , chron ic in deb tedness can b e a path-

olog icalpattern. A n d also like alcoh olism , its on e th ath e can overcom e.

F irst, he sho uld join D ebtors A no nym ous. H e m ay resist, h aving

quit drinking w itho ut such a program , but do your best to get him to a

m eeting. A ltho ugh I alw ays recom m end p sycho therapy, un derstanding

w hy h e doesnt w ant to p ay his taxes w on t actually pu t tho se returnsinto their stam ped envelopes. D ebtors A nonym ous m em bers people

w ho have suffered from such p rob lem s them selves w ill

n ot on ly help h im figu re ou tw h y he en gages in this self-

destructive behavior, bu t w ill sit do w n and help h im ,

step by step, to file an d pay h is taxes and to figu re o ut

ho w he can avoid this problem in the future. T hey w ill

set go als w ith him and follow up , even daily ifn ecessary.

S om e practical points: T he I R S w ill help your

bo yfriend d evelop a paym ent plan, so h e w on t have

to com e up w ith all the m oney now . H e shou ld also

in vestigate w h eth er h is state h as a volun tary-disclosure program , says

Jonathan M edow s, a N ew Y orkbased C PA for freelancers; if so, he

m ay be able to get the pen alties w aived. M edo w s also stresses that you rbo yfriend sho uld startp aying 2 0 1 6 qu arterly taxes no w , so h e w on t get

beh ind again.

A bo ve all, says M edow s, w ith the tou gh -love exasperation of som e-

on e fam iliar w ith freelancers and ou r m any n euroses, H e needs to stop

bellyaching , suck it up , and m ove forw ard.

s k i n g f o r

a F r i e n d

Li

za

Fea th er ston

e

D ear Liza,Help! My boyfriend wont pay his taxes. Its beensix years since he had a full-time job, and eversince he went freelance in 2010, he has not beenable to complete his 1099s.

There a re a few reasons for this. F or one thing,he feels somehow that hes getting cheated, becausehis quite siza ble reimbursements required for hisjob have been lumped in with income. (Ive ex-plained to him that he just needs to write off these

expenses, but he wont listen.) Also, he struggledwith a pretty heavy alcohol a ddiction tha t, tha nk-fully, he finally took care of about six monthsago. And now he owes so much (over 10,000!)that hes just overwhelmed by the whole thingand cant bear to face it. Ive tried pleading withhim, nagging him, offering to do his tax es myself,etc., and also tried pleading/nagging/yelling toget him to see a psychotherapist, to no avail. (Hequit drinking all on his own, miraculously.)

We dont have any shar ed accounts, so Im notpersonally responsible in a ny way, but Im just sofearfu l about what bad things might happen if he

doesnt take care of this problem that I dont knowwhat to do. F earing the IR S

D ear Fearing,

axes force us to con fron t ou r relation sh ip to

m oney. N o w onder theyre overw helm ing

O ur feelings about m oney can stem from our

upb ringing; perhaps your boyfriends parents w ere

sting y, or else o bsessive ab ou t h ou seho ld bu dg eting

in w ays that felt con trollin g.

I f w ere po litical, taxes m ay also ign ite o ur rage at

th e state, especially the A m erican system . I stare at

m y pile of 1 0 99s and w onder:W hy are m y tax dol-lars fun ding w ar and destruction ? H ow about decent

scho ols, clean en ergy, an d en din g h un ger?

A lso, freelancers taxes are a pain in the ass. N ot

on ly m ustw e track ou r expen ses, b ut the system feels

rigged against us: I n N ew Y ork, for exam ple, the

self-em ploym en t tax is brutally regressive. F reelan c-

ers in G erm any and H olland tell m e that, in tho se

cou n tries, th e process of payin g taxes is no better for

self-em ployed w orkers, perhaps even m ore on erou s.

B ut like other m idd le-class peop le in E urope, they

find th eir tax do llars return ed to them in the form of

un iversalp ub lic services. T h is eases the pain of pay-

in g. Julie P h illips, an A m erican freelance w riter w ho

T a xe d a n d S e n t

Questions?Ask Liza atTheNation.com /article/asking-for-a-friend

I L L U S T A T E D B Y JOA NNA NE ORSKY

7/25/2019 The Nation - May 23, 2016

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T h e N a t ion M ay 2 3 3 0 , 2 0 1 6

Ialm ostvoted forBernie Sanders.A fterall,in im portantwayshispoliticsare closertom ine than H illary C lintons are,and hiscam paign for the W hite H ouse isinspir-ing.So w hy notputm y tiny grain ofsand

on hisside ofthe scale in the prim ary?U nfortunate-ly for electoraldem ocracy,I neglected to read theinstructions on m y absentee ballot,which clearlystated thatithad to be postm arked the day beforethe actualprim ary,and thusm issed m y chance tovote.In the end,I m arked m y ballotforH illary and

m ailed itanyway,figuring N ew York C itysBoardof E lections is so dysfunctional thatm aybe they would countitby m istake.

W hy didnt Bernie getm e? W ell,thereselectability:I justdontbelieveAm ericansare ready for a 74-year-oldself-described socialistwith a long far-leftC V who would raise theirtaxesbyquite a lot.By the tim e the R epublicansgotfinished w ith him ,hed be the lovechild ofRosa Luxem burg and the Aya-tollah K hom eini,and then its hello,PresidentT rum p.T heresthe question,too,ofhow

m uch Bernie could actually accom plish. W ouldhe m ake an effective president,asI think H illarywill allthe m ore so now thatshesbeen forced tosee thata significantpartofthe D em ocratic elector-ate isto herleft?

Part of the answer is sim pler,though: Berniedidntask form y vote.O h,you can go to hisweb-site and find a page ofboilerplate setting outhisgeneralcom m itm ents to wom ens rights:H es infavor of equalpay,reproductive rights,the E RA,the V iolence AgainstW om en A ct,childcare forall,and so on a laundry list,indeed,ofthe causesdearto the heartofthose often derided by hissupport-

ersasbourgeoisfem inistscontentwith increm entalchange.I am aware,too,thatBernie hasa good vot-ing record on those issuesin C ongress.Buttheresa difference between som eone who votesthe rightway,and som eone who introduceslegislation andcham pions the issue.H e neverconvinced m e thatgenderissues,specifically the persistentsubordina-tion ofwom en in every area oflife,w ere ofm uchconcern to him .T here were allthose little tells.Pooh-poohing Planned Parenthood and N ARAL asestablishm ent when he didntgettheirendorse-m ent.A rguing forparentalleave because itallow sanew m otherto stay hom e and bond with herbaby

instead ofassom ething thatbenefitsfathersaswell,

and som ething thatwom en need in orderto workand advance on the job. D oubling dow n on theidiotic quip by hissurrogate,K illerM ike (A uterusdoesntqualify you to be presidentofthe U nitedStates),w ith the pseudo-lofty pledge N o one haseverheard m e say,H ey guys,letsstand togethervote fora m an.I would neverdo that,neverhave.Is there a word for som eone whose entitlem entis so vast,so deep,so historically em bedded,andso unconsciousitincludesthe beliefthatthey gotwhere they are by a resolute devotion to fairplay?

Itsnotreassuring thathisseniorcam paign staff,likehislong-tim e politicalinner circle,isalm ostentirely white and m ale.

In a long cam paign,everyone saysunfortunate things. But these andother rem arks suggest that when itcom esto gender,he justdoesntfeethe burn. T he problem is less thatBernie focuseson classand econom icinequality than thathe doesntseem tounderstand thatthe econom y,like so-ciety generally,isstructured by gender

and race.Equalpay isgreat,butifw om en and m en

are funneled into different kinds of work by raceand gender,with m ensjobs valued m ore becausem en are valued m ore,and ifwom en are hobbledeconom ically by doing m ostofthe dom estic laborand having to contend with prejudice againstwork-ing m others to boot,equalpay alone doesntsolve the problem . Itwould have been greatif Bernie had given am ajorspeech abouthisplansto m ake wom enslivesbetter safer,fair-

er, less dom inated bym en.Instead,he givesevery sign of believ-ing that his basic pro-gram a $15 m inim umwage, free public col-lege, breaking up thebig banks,single-payer health insurance isquiteenough.T hose are allgreatand im portantgoalsin fact,the $15 m inim um wage willbenefitm orewom en than m en.Butthey do notspeak directlyto the rage and fed-upness thatso m any wom enin every class,justly feel.Bernie showed a sim ilar

blindness to the specific harm s of racism , but

W hy D idntB ernie GetM eH e could have had m y vote.B ut he never really asked for it.

K a t h a P ollit t

T he problem islesshisfocusoneconom y than thathe doesntseem to

understand thatthe econom y isstructured bygender and race.

H O M E E C O N O M I C S

Abortion:Not ust aSocia l Issue

L

imiting safe ab ortion ac

cess can and does cau se

women to su ffer eco

nomically . P oor women, esp ecially

t ose liv ing in ru ral areas, face

dire ch alleng es wh en in need of

rep rodu ctiv e h ealt serv ices. T h ey

mig h tliv e in p laces wh ere clinics

are h ard to g etto, t ey mig h tnot

h av e insu rance, or p erh ap s t eir

insu rance doesntcover ab ortions.

T rav eling to clinics can b e oner

ou s as well: W omen may h av e to

arrang e for time off from work ,

mak e do wit ou ta p ay ch eck , or

find money for ch ildcare, trans

p ortation, and accommodation.

T h e G u ttmach er Instit te

rep orted t at6 9 p ercentof

women are forced to p ay for an

ab ortion ou tof p ocket. B ased

on t e av erag e costs p resented

in t e st dy , some of t ese

ex p enses can b e sig nificant

C ostfor t e p rocedu re:

485T ransp ortation and

trav el related ex p enses:

184 6 )L ostwag es for missing work :

198 25 )C h ildcare costs:

57 10 )A few women in t e st dy p aid

3 ,500or more for t e p rocedu re alone.

W omen also rep orted t at

t ey h ad to delay p ay ing t e rent,

b u y ing food, or p ay ing t e u tilit

b ills in order to cov er t e costof

t e p rocedu re. A s K at a P ollitt

writes in h er colu mn t is week ,

ab ortion access is inex tricab ly

tied to g ender eq u it and eco

nomic op p ort nit for women.

Natalie Pattillo

7/25/2019 The Nation - May 23, 2016

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7/25/2019 The Nation - May 23, 2016

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T h e N a t ion M ay 2 3 3 0 , 2 0 1 6

thanks largely to Black L ivesM atter,has m oved a littlefurthertoward integrating race into hisanalysis.

At74,you are who you are.Bernie isa traditionalclass-based leftistforwhom fem inism isa distraction.A bortion,ashe told R olling S tone,isa socialissue. W om ensm entaland physicalhealth,theireconom ic survival,theirability todeterm ine the shape oftheirow n livesasm en do,isa socialissue?T he clearim plication isthatreproductive rights(like

gunsand L G BT rights,which he m entions in the sam ebreath)are secondary considerations,im pedim entsto w in-ning broad supportforhispopulisteconom ic proposals.Ican go to the com m entsectionsofAlterN et orT he N ation and getthatview any day from the bros,butI reallythoughtwed be furtheralong with a white m an who wantsto lead a m ovem entin a party thatism ajority fem ale andovera third people ofcolor.

AfterIndiana,the G O P looksm ore likely than everto

nom inate a racist,xenophobic m isogynist of staggeringcrudenessand m endacity.Ifelected,T rum p would consultwith the conservative H eritage Foundation on Suprem eC ourtnom inations.W e could welllose whatrem ains ofa century ofprogressforwom en,workers,L G BT peopleand people ofcolor,including the rightto vote itself.

T rum p understands very wellthatracism and sexismare crucial com ponents of the nationalistic insurgence

he wantsto lead;he appealsopenly to som e ofthe dark-estim pulsesin ourpoliticalid.Itism ore than disturbingthatBernie paysso little attention to these dangers.H eschanged the debate within the D em ocratic Party by show -ing thatm illions of voters wantm ore than increm entaltechnocratic tinkering with growing inequality.ForthatIm grateful.Butwhen itcom esto dealing with the R e-publicansin N ovem ber,I dontthink Bernie getsthe awfulreality were facing.H illary does.

B e r n i e i s

a t r a d i t i o n a l

l e f t i s t f o r

w h o m f e m i

n i s m i s a

d i s t r a c t i o n .

F ellow T raveler sWell hello, oe, what do you know?Got any patter for my vaudeville show?I cant believe youre asking me, Ted,

When that nest of Muslims is knocking em dead.Should I reuse my carpet-bomb line

Say Ill make the Mexican border sands shine?Great. Or trump that with a Latino-ISIS axis?Y ou knowIsnt that whats driven up taxes? Y ES!! After all, Have you no decency, sirHas long since stopped being a slur!

dru mroll, rimsh ot, h ook ]

D R A W I N G B

E dw ard S orel

P A T T E R B

P rudence C row ther

Ted C ruz,like Joe M cC arthy,shufflesoffthe stage

7/25/2019 The Nation - May 23, 2016

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G O R G E O U S L Y C O M P L E XE X P O S E S T H E S C R S O F N O T B E L O N G I N G .

L a u ra lu m , t h a lo .c o m

ConcannonP ro u t ion s

C O M I N S O O N T O S E L E C T C I T I E S . C H E C K A R T B A S T A R D C O M

F O R D E T A I L S

A N G E LIK A FIL M C EN T ERCO R N E R O F H O U S T O N & M E R C E RS T R E E T 8 00 -F A N D A N G O #27 0 7A N G E L I KA F I L M CE N T E R .CO M /N Y C

LIN C OL N P LA Z A C IN E M A SB R O A D W A Y B E T 6 2N D & 63 R D S T R E E TF O R T K T S - L IN CO L N P L A ZA CI N E M A .CO MM O R E I N F O C A L L (212)7 5 7 -228 0

O PE N S FRI . /2 0 I N N E W Y O R K

Y ou can bastardizeeverything else in your life, but

I Y O COMPR OMISEWITHY O R AR TWH BEAN

A TIST? R O B E R T C E N E D E L L A , A R T IS T

Y O LLLO EIT

INSTANTL C O L IN C O V E R

M IN N E A P O L I

S TA R T R IB U N

7/25/2019 The Nation - May 23, 2016

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T h e N a t ion0 M ay 2 3 3 0 , 2 0 1 6

Afterthe L abourPartyselectoralde-feat in Britain lastyear,the partyssm all left caucus debated whetherit should stand a candidate for theleadership atall.Som e feared defeat

would expose justhow sm allthe caucusw as.O thersinsisted thatsom eone needed to atleastraise the ar-gum entsagainstanti-austerity and fora progressiveforeign policy to counterthe narrative thatL abourhad lostbecause itwastoo progressive.

O nce the caucus resolved in favor of stand-

ing a candidate,the nextchallenge w asto find acandidate.T here were few takers.W hataboutifI stand? asked Jerem y C orbyn,aconsistent socialist standard-bearerover severaldecades.T he questionwas initially m et with silence. Butwhen nobody else cam e forward,C orbyn gotthe nod.T hen cam e thefinaltask:getting on the ballot.Forthat,C orbyn needed 35 m em bersofParliam ent to nom inate him .W ithjusthoursto go before the deadline,he was stillseveralsignatures short.

W ith seconds left, his supporters rounded upsom e parliam entarians who didnt supporthimbutvoted forhim anyway,justso the party couldhave the fullestdebate possible.

N obody least ofallC orbyn assum ed thathe would w in the debate,letalone the election,with one ofthe largestm ajoritiesofany L abourleader.

T he trajectory of C orbyns ascent the un-likeliness, pace, and im pact of it; the breadth,depth,scale,and insurrectionary nature ofit isem blem atic of a broader and growing trend inm uch of the W estern world.In different ways,

and to different extents,itis reflected in BernieSandersscam paign for the D em ocratic nom ina-tion,aswellasthe rise ofPodem osin Spain,theL eftBloc in Portugal,and Syriza in G reece.(T hefactthat Sanders is allbut certain to lose is ir-relevant.W hatisrem arkable isthathe everhad achance,no m atterhow slim .)

Allofthese politicalm ovem entsare,ofcourse,differentin theirow n way.Som e,like Podem osandSyriza,are relatively new form ations,expressing thehope for a different kind ofpoliticalengagem ent.O thers the challengesby Sandersand C orbyn inparticular are fronted by olderm en w ithin estab-

lished institutionsand blend nostalgia foran aban-

doned social-dem ocratic agenda with the youthfulenergy of a generation that speaks the languageofclass alm ostasfluently asitdoes thatofiden-tity.Som e are the productofm ovem entsthathavegrown outofthe m ostrecentcrisis;othersare try-ing to create m ovem entsin orderto sustain them .

Butallhave thisin com m on:T hey have cre-ated electoralspace on the leftwhere few believeditwaspossible to thrive,letalone w in.In so doing,they have surprised both them selves and theirm oderate opponents,upending the politicalcer-

taintiesofa generation.T hisnew situation poseschallengesforeveryone.

Fora generation,the liberalestab-lishm entclaim ed thatradicalagendaswere self-indulgentprecisely becausethey could not win. W e want tochange peopleslives, wentthe m an-tra of T ony Blair,BillC linton,andany num ber of social dem ocrats inbetween. But we cant do that ifwere notin power,and we cantgainpower with a radicalagenda. T hisof course, becam e a self-fulfilling

prophecy:N o one w illvote forthose radicalpoli-cies,so we w ontofferthem ;since they werentoffered,no one couldvote for them . Pret-ty m uch everythingcould be justified onthe basisthatthe otherlotwere m uch w orse.

T his logic no lon-ger holds. In anynum ber of theoreti-cal general-electionm atchups, Sanders

has outshined H illaryC linton against bothD onald T rum p andT ed C ruz,with doublehernationallead in the polls.T hough Sandersfaresworse againstJohn K asich,this adm ittedly crudeyardstick stillsuggestshed w in in N ovem ber.

In the U nited K ingdom ,despite hostile m ediaa parliam entary party in revolt,and considerableself-inflicted wounds,C orbyn has,in the lastcoupleofm onths,started to lead in the occasionalopinionpoll.Syriza won reelection in G reece;the L eftBlocispropping up the social-dem ocratic governm entin

Portugal;Podem osisnow a seriousforce in Spain

T he d ysof

st nding for office

in order to shift

the deb te or just

m ke pointm y

be over. T he point

h s been m deunm ist k bly.

O u r o m e n t o f T r u t h

T he lefth sproven itselector lstrength. T h ts new ch llenge for everyone.

G a ry Y oun geN E W M E D I A

AthensLive

Arou p of y ou ng jou rnal

ists wants to ch ang e

t e way t e world sees

G reece. T h e creators of A t ens

L iv e started ou trep orting stories

ov er Faceb ook and T witter, b u t

t eir new p rojectis a h ig h

q u alit online daily newsp ap er:

y ou r indep endenton t e

g rou nd sou rce for stories, news,

and imag es from A t ens and

t rou g h ou tG reece. In E ng lish .

G reeces mainstream media

ou tets h av e b een widely accu sed

of k owtowing to t eir

owners corp orate

and p olitical interests.

In J u ne 2 0 1 3 , t e

t en conserv ativ e

led g ov ernmentsh u tdown t e

state b roadcaster and fired its

2 ,6 0 0 staffers, cau sing t e h ead

of R ep orters W it ou tB orders to

declare t att e entire [G reek ]

media sy stem mu stb e trans

formed. B u tov er t e p astt ree

y ears, t e media climate h asnt

imp rov ed. L asty ear, G reece

drop p ed 5 0 p laces on t e W orld

P ress Freedom Index ; itnow sits

at8 9 , b eh ind all of W estern E u

rop e and mostof S ou t A merica.

T h e team b eh ind A t ens

L iv e, a mix of G reek and interna

tional rep orters, h as lau nch ed acamp aig n on t e crowdfu nding

site Indieg og o to raise money

for initial op erating costs, eq u ip

ment, and t e dev elop mentof

a web site. W e wantto sh ow

ev ery one t atb eing su ccessfu l

is a m atter of collectiv e will and

commu nit su p p ort, rat er t an

corp orate will and p olitical su p

p ort, say s A t ens L iv e editor in

ch ief T assos M orfis. T o h elp ou t,

y ou can donate atIndieg og o

.com/ p rojects/m ak eat ensliv e.

J essica C orb ett

M a k e A t h e n s L iv e

7/25/2019 The Nation - May 23, 2016

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T h e N a t ion 1 1ay 2 3 3 0 , 2 0 1 6

PoorMary PatChristie.Youknow she hasashiv underthatshawl.Dontdo it,dontdoit,dontdo it,

shesthinking. JeffS harlet,w riter JeffS ha rlet,du ring T rum psnotorious speechaccusing H illaryC linton of playingthe w om ancard;C hristie w asstand ing be hindhim , loo king pa ined

t h a t c o u l d , i f i t j o i n s f o r c e s w i t h a n o t h e r r a d i c a l p a r t y

U n i t e d L e f t ) , e c l i p s e t h e l o n g - e s t a b l i s h e d S p a n i s h S o c i a l -

i s t W o r k e r s P a r t y .

T h i s e l e c t o r a l r e v i v a l o n t h e l e f t i s i m p r e s s i v e , b u t

h a r d l y d e c i s i v e . N o n e o f t h i s m a k e s v i c t o r y l i k e l y , l e t

a l o n e i n e v i t a b l e i n m o s t c a s e s . B u t i t d o e s m a k e t h e s e

c a n d i d a c i e s v i a b l e a n d t h e i r a g e n d a s q u i t e e v i d e n t l y

p l a u s i b l e . I t b e l i e s t h e c l a i m V o t e f o r B e r n i e a n d y o u l

g e t T r u m p . T h a t l i n e o f r e a s o n i n g w a s a l w a y s m o r e o f

a t h r e a t t h a n a n a r g u m e n t . B u t i t d o e s n w o r k e v e n a s a

t h r e a t n o w . T h e f a c t s s i m p l y d o n s u p p o r t i t ; i n f o r m e d

c o n j e c t u r e c a n n o l o n g e r s u s t a i n i t .

S o t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t h a s t o o w n i t s p o l i t i c s . I f i t w a n t s

t o b a l a n c e b u d g e t s o n t h e b a c k s o f t h e p o o r o r d e r e g u -

l a t e i n d u s t r i e s t o f i l l t h e p o c k e t s o f t h e r i c h , i t w i l l h a v e

t o m a k e i t s c a s e . I f , u l t i m a t e l y , i t d o e s n s e e k a s o c i e t y

t h a t i s f a i r b u t o n e t h a t i s m e r e l y a b i t l e s s u n f a i r , t h e n i t

s h o u l d s a y s o r a t h e r t h a n h i d e b e h i n d t h e o s t e n s i b l e w i l l

o f a n e l e c t o r a t e t h a t h a s b e e n o f f e r e d n o o t h e r c h o i c e . I f

w h a t m a s q u e r a d e d a s p r a g m a t i s m w a s r e a l l y p r i n c i p l e i n

d r a g , t h e n i t d e s e r v e s t o b e o u t e d .

B u t , s i m i l a r l y , i t f a l l s o n t h e r a d i c a l l e f t t o t a k e i t s e l f

f a r m o r e s e r i o u s l y . W h e n i t c o m e s t o e l e c t i o n s , i t c a n n o

l o n g e r a c t l i k e t h e d o g t h a t c h a s e s a c a r o n l y t o e n d u p

c o n f o u n d e d w h e n i t a c t u a l l y c a t c h e s t h e v e h i c l e . T r u e ,

t h e r e m o r e t o p o l i t i c s t h a n e l e c t i o n s a n d m o r e t o e l e c -

t i o n s t h a n j u s t w i n n i n g . B u t t h e d a y s o f s t a n d i n g f o r o f f i c e

i n o r d e r t o s h i f t t h e d e b a t e , b r o a d e n t h e b a s e , o r j u s t m a k e

a p o i n t m a y b e o v e r . T h e d e b a t e h a s s h i f t e d ; t h e b a s e h a s

b e e n b r o a d e n e d ; t h e p o i n t h a s b e e n m a d e u n m i s t a k a b l y .

R a d i c a l s n o w h a v e t o t a k e y e s f o r a n a n s w e r a n d d e -

c i d e h o w t o e m p l o y t h e e l e c t o r a l s t r e n g t h t h e y e m a r -

s h a l e d . H a v i n g c l e a r e d p o l i t i c a l s p a c e t h r o u g h t h e b a l l o t

b o x , t h e l e f t m u s t n o w d e c i d e h o w t o b u i l d o n i t .

E

TE

S

T W E E T THT

T E W O M A N C A R D

S o i f p l a y i n g t h e w o m a n c a r d r e a l l y

I s e n t r e n c h e d n o w i n H i l l a r y p l a n s

S h e a b a r g a i n : H e r p r e s i d e n t p a y c h e c k

W i l l b e 1 0 p e r c e n t l e s s t h a n a m a n .

Hand in Hand

S N A P S H O T M O H A M A D T O R O K M A N

A tan A prilcerem ony inaug urating N elson M and ela S qu are in R am allah, a P alestinian m an tou ches the statue of theS ou th A frican freed om figh ter, a g ift from the city o fJo han nesb urg.B efore the cerem on y, p osters arou nd the citybo re M and elas w ords: W e kn ow too w ellthat our freedo m is incom plete w ithou t the freed om of the P alestinians.

ThePowersThat e

BACK ISSUES 1956

n hisreview ofT h e P o w er lit eby C.W rightMills,published

in these pagesinMay 1956,the soci-ologistRobertLyndw rote thatpow ertakesm any form s,ranging from affec-tion and spontane-ouspersuasion at

one extrem e toorganized forceatthe other.Oneobservesitin ac-tion in persons,insm allgroups andlarge organizations,in classes,in insti-tutions,in w holesocieties.Millsseespowerasbasicallyin institutions, andespecially in theBig Three:the eco-nom ic,the politicaland the m ilitary.

From each ofthese,m en em erge atthetop .Together,they com prise theAm erican elite.In theirpersons,in inform alandform alinteraction,understandingsare reached andcrucialpolicies thatcontrolthe countryare launched intoeffective action.

ButLynd,thefatherofthe his-

torian and activist

Staughton Lynd,added a slightcaveat:Millsiscorrectin insist-ing thatpow erdoesnotinhere inpersons,and thatitisnotprevail-ingly a conspiracy.To analyze pow erundercapitalismasa conspiracyofpersons,ratherthan the w eightedm ovem entofcir-cum stancesin a

given society,be-littlesthe realitiesofpow er.Butcanone escape facingthe reality that,historically,capital-ism m eansand hasalw aysm eantthatthe w hole institu-tionalsystem hasbecom e weightedso that,like loadeddice,eventstend torollw ith a bias thatfavorsproperty?

R ichard K reitner

C a lvin T rillin

D ea line P oet

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T h e N a t ion

T H E ES T A B L IS H M EN T W hat s

Everyone attacksit,butno one can clearly identify whatitis.

by M I C H A E L A ZI N

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T h e N a t ion 1 3ay 2 3 3 0 , 2016

In t h is ferociously part isan an d id eologically dividedc o u n t r y t h e r e i s a t l e a s t o n e b i g t h i n g o n w h i c h m o s t A m e r i c a n s

w h o c a r e a b o u t p o l i t i c s a g r e e : W e h a v e a n e s t a b l i s h m e n t a n d

w e o u g h t t o d i s s t a b l i s h i t . B e r n i e S a n d e r s c l a i m s h e i s r u n n i n g

a g a i n s t t h e D e m o c r a t i c v e r s i o n ; H i l l a r y C l i n t o n c o u n t e r s t h a t

S a n d e r s i s t h e e s t a b l i s h e d o n e s i n c e h e h a s s e r v e d i n C o n g r e s s f o r a q u a r t e r

o f a c e n t u r y . C o n s e r v a t i v e s w h o m e v e r t h e y b a c k f o r p r e s i d e n t r a i l a g a i n s t

a W a s h i n g t o n e s t a b l i s h m e n t t h a t s u p p o s e d l y c o n s p i r e s i n s o m e s u i t e o n

K S t r e e t o r i n a b a c k r o o m o f t h e C a p i t o l t o a n o i n t R e p u b l i c a n n o m i n e e s

f o r p r e s i d e n t a n d s c u t t l e l a w s t o s h r i n k t h e f e d e r a l g o v e r n m e n t . I n M a r c h

a r e p o r t e r f o r M c C l a t c h y t r a v e l e d t h r o u g h o u t m i d d l e A m e r i c a a n d m a d e

w h a t h e d e e m e d a m o m e n t o u s d i s c o v e r y : t h e d e e p e s t d i v i d e w r o t e D a v i d

L i g h t m a n i s n o t b e t w e e n t h e t w o p a r t i e s o r t h e i r m o s t c o m m i t t e d f o l l o w -

e r s . I t b e t w e e n U s a n d T h e m t h e p e o p l e v e r s u s T h e E s t a b l i s h m e n t .

O n e s h o u l d r e s p e c t t h e a p p e a l o f t h i s p o p u l i s t i d i o m . A t t a c k s o n t h e E s -

t a b l i s h m e n t l i k e t h o s e o n i t s m a l e v o l e n t c o u s i n s t h e s p e c i a l i n t e r e s t s a n d

t h e W a s h i n g t o n i n s i d e r s c a n i n s p i r e c a m p a i g n s a n d m o v e m e n t s t h a t v o w

f r a y . S o o n o n e h e a r d a b o u t a s t r a i g h t e s t a b l i s h m e n t t h a t

e n f o r c e d a n t i d r u g l a w s a m a l e e s t a b l i s h m e n t h o s t i l e t o

f e m i n i s m a n d a d i z z y i n g v a r i e t y o f p o l i t i c a l e s t a b l i s h m e n t s

t h a t k e p t v a r i o u s g r o u p s d o w n . I n 1 9 6 4 P h y l l i s S c h l a fl y

b o o k - l e n g t h a t t a c k o n t h e k i n g m a k e r s o f t h e R e p u b l i c a n

P a r t y E a s t e r n E s t a b l i s h m e n t s o l d o v e r 3 m i l l i o n c o p i e s

a n d h e l p e d w i n t h e G O P n o m i n a t i o n f o r B a r r y G o l d w a -

t e r . I n 1 9 8 0 H o w a r d Z i n n A PeoplesH istoryoftheU nited

States c l a i m e d t h a t t h e E s t a b l i s h m e n t h a d h o o d w i n k e da n d b r u t a l i z e d t h e v a s t m a j o r i t y o f A m e r i c a n s t h r o u g h o u t

t h e h i s t o r y o f t h e c o u n t r y a n d y e t h a s b e e n u n a b l e t o

k e e p i t s e l f s e c u r e f r o m r e v o l t . Z i n n b o o k w h i c h h a s s o l d

o v e r 2 m i l l i o n c o p i e s d e fi n e d t h i s e l i t e n o m o r e s p e c i fi -

c a l l y t h a n d i d R o v e r e e s s a y . Y e t f e w i n t h e r a d i c a l s c h o l a r -

a c t i v i s t l e g i o n o f a d m i r e r s s e e m t o c a r e .

P e r h a p s i t a g o o d t h i n g t h a t S c h l a fl y Z i n n a n d t h e i r

i l k d i d n o t t r y t o d e fi n e t h e s o u r c e o f e v i l t o o c l o s e l y . T h e

h i s t o r y o f m o d e r n p r e s i d e n t i a l p o l i t i c s h a s d e b u n k e d t h e

n o t i o n o f a s h a d o w y a n d w e l l - fi n a n c e d e s t a b l i s h m e n t t h a t

h a s t h e a b i l i t y t o g e t i t s w a y . M o s t i n d u s t r i a l i s t s a n d b i g

i n v e s t o r s o p p o s e d W o o d r o w W i l s o n e l e c t i o n i n 1 9 1 2

a n d 1 9 1 6 a l l f o u r o f F D R v i c t o r i o u s c a m p a i g n s a n dH a r r y T r u m a n c o m e - f r o m - b e h i n d t r i u m p h i n 1 9 4 8 .

T h e m o d e r a t e R e p u b l i c a n s w h o c a m e t o p o w e r w i t h

D w i g h t E i s e n h o w e r t r i e d t o p r e v e n t G o l d w a t e r f r o m

w i n n i n g t h e p a r t y n o m i n a t i o n i n 1 9 6 4 a n d t h e n f a i l e d

t o s t o p R o n a l d R e a g a n b i d f o r i t i n 1 9 8 0 . M a n y i n t h e

b u s i n e s s w o r l d n o t e s t h e h i s t o r i a n K i m P h i l l i p s - F e i n

t h o u g h t R e a g a n i d e a s o v e r l y s i m p l i s t i c a n d h i s p r o m -

i s e s o f t a x c u t s d a n g e r o u s l y i n fl a t i o n a r y . I n 1 9 9 2 B i l l

C l i n t o n w a s t h e d a r l i n g o f t h e D e m o c r a t i c L e a d e r s h i p

C o u n c i l fi n a n c e d b y s e v e r a l b i g fi r m s . B u t d u r i n g t h e

p r i m a r i e s m o s t o f o r g a n i z e d l a b o r t h e n t h e b a c k b o n e

o f t h e p a r t y s u p p o r t e d o t h e r c a n d i d a t e s . A n d i n 2 0 0 8

B a r a c k O b a m a s n a t c h e d t h e n o m i n a t i o n a w a y f r o m H i l -l a r y C l i n t o n t h e s u p p o s e d d a r l i n g o f D C i n s i d e r s .

I f t h e r e i s a c r a f t y p r o - c o r p o r a t e D e m o c r a t i c e s t a b -

l i s h m e n t a t w o r k i n t h e 2 0 1 6 c a m p a i g n i t b e e n q u i t e

i n e f f e c t i v e . W h y e l s e w o u l d B e r n i e S a n d e r s h a v e b e e n

a b l e t o r a i s e a s m u c h m o n e y a s H i l l a r y C l i n t o n a n d w i n

a s l e w o f c a u c u s e s w h e r e o p e r a t i v e s w h o k n o w h o w t o

w o r k t h e s y s t e m a r e e s s e n t i a l ? A n d i f e n d o r s i n g C l i n t o n

m a k e s a n o r g a n i z a t i o n p a r t o f a W a l l S t r e e t c o d d l i n g

e s t a b l i s h m e n t t h e n w h y d i d t h e C o n g r e s s i o n a l B l a c k

C a u c u s P l a n n e d P a r e n t h o o d t h e H u m a n R i g h t s C a m -

p a i g n a n d t h e S e r v i c e E m p l o y e e s I n t e r n a t i o n a l U n i o n

a l l c o m e o u t f o r h e r ? T h o s e g r o u p s w o u l d b e t h e c o r e o f

t h e k i n d o f fi g h t i n g c u l t u r a l l y d i v e r s e s o c i a l - d e m o c r a t i cp a r t y t h a t S a n d e r s w a n t s t h e D e m o c r a t s t o b e c o m e . O n

t h e o t h e r h a n d t h e n o t i o n t h a t t h e o n l y a v o w e d s o c i a l i s t

t o s e r v e i n C o n g r e s s f o r a l m o s t a c e n t u r y b e l o n g s t o a

c l i q u e o f W a s h i n g t o n i n s i d e r s i s u t t e r l y a b s u r d .

S o m e t h i n g l i k e a p a r t y e s t a b l i s h m e n t d o e s h o l d s w a y

i n a f e w s t a t e s . I n N e v a d a f o r e x a m p l e i t i s d i f fi c u l t t o

s n a g a D e m o c r a t i c n o m i n a t i o n f o r C o n g r e s s i f S e n a t o r

H a r r y R e i d o p p o s e s y o u . B u t i n m o s t s t a t e s a p e r s o n

w h o c a n r a i s e e n o u g h m o n e y a n d h i r e t a l e n t e d c o n s u l -

t a n t s c a n m a k e a c o m p e t i t i v e r u n f o r n e a r l y a n y o f fi c e .

T h e CitizensU nited r u l i n g f r e e d t h e r i c h t o d o n a t e a sm u c h a s t h e y d e s i r e t o s u p e r P A C s t h a t s u p p o r t t h e p o l i -

t i c i a n s o f t h e i r c h o i c e . D u r i n g t h e c u r r e n t c a m p a i g n i t

To trainones ire onthe Estab-

lishment isto embrace ababy-simpleanalysis ofhow pow er

w orks.

M ichaelK azin istheauthorof W a rA g a i n s t W a r :

T h e A m e r i c a n

F i g h t f o r P e a c e

1 9 1 4 1 9 1 8 ,which willbepublished nextJanuary.H eteacheshistoryatG eorgetownU niversityandisthecoeditor

ofD i s s e n t .

t o t a k e b a c k t h e g o v e r n m e n t f r o m o f fi c i a l s w h o b e t r a y

t h e i n t e r e s t s a n d v a l u e s o f t h e i r c o n s t i t u e n t s . M o s t A m e r i -

c a n s w h o j o i n s u c h i n s u r g e n c i e s a r e n o t legally u n r e p r e -s e n t e d ; t h e y h a v e t h e r i g h t t o v o t e a n d t o o r g a n i z e a g a i n s t

t h e p o w e r s t h a t b e . S t i l l t h e f e e l i n g o f d i s e n f r a n c h i s e m e n ti s g e n u i n e a n d i t h e l p s s p u r t h e m t o t a k e a c t i o n .

B u t l i b e r a l s a n d l e f t i s t s s h o u l d n o t c o n f u s e a u b i q u i -

t o u s t r o p e f o r a s o c i a l a n d p o l i t i c a l r e a l i t y . T o t r a i n o n e

i r e o n t h e E s t a b l i s h m e n t i s t o e m b r a c e i m p l i c i t l y a

b a b y - s i m p l e a n a l y s i s o f h o w p o w e r w o r k s i n t h e p u b l i c

s p h e r e o n e t h a t m a k e s i t h a r d t o h a v e a s e r i o u s d i s c u s s i o n

a b o u t w h a t i t w o u l d t a k e t o t r a n s f o r m A m e r i c a n s o c i e t y .

A l e f t t h a t i s n o w m o r e f o c u s e d o n o u r g r o w i n g e c o n o m i c

i n e q u a l i t y t h a n a t a n y t i m e s i n c e t h e G r e a t D e p r e s s i o n

n e e d s a b e t t e r u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e m a s s i v e o b s t a c l e s t h a t

s t a n d i n i t s w a y .

T h r o u g h o u t i t s h i s t o r y t h e t e r m h a s b e e n f r a u g h t w i t h

v a g u e n e s s g r a n d i o s i t y a n d a b i t o f p u r p o s e f u l m i s d i r e c t i o n .I n 1 9 5 5 t h e B r i t i s h j o u r n a l i s t H e n r y F a i r l i e w r i t i n g i n T heSpectator u s e d i t t o d e s c r i b e t h e w h o l e m a t r i x o f o f fi c i a la n d s o c i a l r e l a t i o n s w i t h i n w h i c h p o w e r i s e x e r c i s e d . I n

h i s c o u n t r y w h e r e m o s t h i g h b u r e a u c r a t s s p o r t e d a n O x -

b r i d g e d e g r e e a n d t h e H o u s e o f L o r d s s t i l l h a d v e t o p o w e r

o v e r s o m e l e g i s l a t i o n t h e l o c u t i o n q u i c k l y c a u g h t o n . T h e

c e n t u r i e s - l o n g e x i s t e n c e o f a n e s t a b l i s h e d c h u r c h t h e

C h u r c h o f E n g l a n d n o d o u b t s m o o t h e d i t s p a t h .

I t d i d n t a k e l o n g f o r o n e o f F a i r l i e c o u n t e r p a r t s o n

t h i s s i d e o f t h e A t l a n t i c t o r e p e a t h i s p e r f o r m a n c e l b e i t

w i t h a d e f t l y s a t i r i c a l t w i s t . I n 1 9 6 2 R i c h a r d R o v e r e a

p r o m i n e n t p o l i t i c a l j o u r n a l i s t w r o t e a l e n g t h y p i e c e f o r

Esquire t i t l e d T h e A m e r i c a n E s t a b l i s h m e n t t h a t p r o -n o u n c e d j u d g m e n t o n w h o b e l o n g e d a n d w h o d i d n o t .

R o v e r e e a r n e s t r e s e a r c h - h e a v y a n a l y s i s f o o l e d m a n y

r e a d e r s i n t o t a k i n g h i m s e r i o u s l y . T h e y m u s t h a v e s k a t e d

o v e r t h e r e f e r e n c e s t o a l e a d i n g m e m b e r o f t h e D u t c h e s s

C o u n t y s c h o o l o f s o c i o l o g i s t s a n d a n u n o f fi c i a l E x e c u -

t i v e C o m m i t t e e w h o s e m e m b e r s h i p c o u l d b e d e t e r m i n e d

b y h o w o f t e n a m a n n a m e a p p e a r e d i n p a i d a d v e r t i s e -

m e n t s i n o r c o l l e c t i v e l e t t e r s t o T heN ew York Tim esR o v e r e t u r n e d t h e v e r y i m p r e c i s i o n o f t h e c o n c e p t i n t o

a n a l l e g e d v i r t u e . T h e E s t a b l i s h m e n t h e w r o t e c a n b e

t h o u g h t o f i n m a n y d i f f e r e n t w a y s a l l o f t h e m e m p i r i c a l l y

v a l i d i n o n e o r a n o t h e r f r a m e o f r e f e r e n c e . A s i f t o c o n fi r m

t h a t n o n d e fi n i t i o n h i s f e l l o w A m e r i c a n s r u s h e d i n t o t h e

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T h e N a t ion4 M ay 2 3 3 0 , 2016

also p revented an y pu tative R epublican establishm ent from uniting behind a

sing le p residen tialcand idate. A s C hris C hristie and Jeb B ush d em on strated,

if you have one or m ore super PA C s behind you, you can keep running for

m onths, w inn ing n ow here untilthe m oney runs out. A nd superw ealthy in-

dividuals like D onald T rum p, M ichael B loom berg, and M eg W hitm an can

fun d their ow n cam paign s, further un derm ining the ability o f a party elite to

narrow the field. T rum ps ascension h asexposed the m yth of a potent R epub-

lican establishm ent asm uch as the S and ers insurgen cy did for the D em ocrats.

T he sole area of nation alpo liticsin w hich, argu ably, an establishm ent on ceexisted w as foreign p olicy. E xcept during m ajor w ars, m ost A m ericans have

neither the tim e no r the m eans to follow w hats hap pen ing in other nation s,

and they feeln o urgency to do so. D uring the m iddle decades of the 2 0 th

century, this gave the C ou ncil on F oreign R elation s and its w ell-con nected

m em bers extraordinary influ ence. S uch p rom inent figures in the C F R as

H enry S tim son, H arvey B undy, and A llen and John F oster D ulles did m uch

to prom ote intervention on B ritains side in W orld W ar I I . T hen C F R m em -

bers like M cG eorge B undy H arveys son), D ean A cheson, and H enry K iss-

inger played key roles in form ulating U S strategy d uring the firsttw o d ecades

ofthe C old W ar. A nyone w ho read Foreign A ffairs, the C F R S journal, w ouldhave go tten a pretty good sense of the m ain ideas gu iding the action s of the

U S governm ent and its allies.

O n the o ne h and, each m ajor party is a coalition of in-

terestgrou ps and con stituen ciesthatjostle for influen ce. A s

both S anders and T rum p charge, corporate lob byists and

individual billionaires play an outsize role in the p rocess.

Y et if they rou tinely go t their w ay, S ocialS ecurity w ou ld

be a private program by now , and M itt R om ney w ould be

cam paigning for his second term in the W hite H ouse.

I n fact, the m ost critical decision s of state are infl u-

enced by an econom ic dynam ic even m ore pow erfulthanthe acts of a w ell-fin anced group like the U S C ham ber of

C om m erce or ind ividu als asw ealthy asthe K och brothers.

T ho se w ho run bu sinesses covet po liticians and po licies

that give them the con fiden ce to bo rrow and invest w ith

the expectation of m aking profi ts and fueling grow th. A s

the po liticaltheoristF red B lock w rote back in 1 977, B usi-

ness confi dence is based on an evaluation of the m arket

that con siders po liticalevents on ly as they m igh t im ping e

on the m arket. T hat tunnel vision is a big reason w hy

sam e-sex m arriage is no w the law of the land, w hile labor

unions in the p rivate sector struggle to survive.

R ailing against the E stablishm ent also ign ores the

m ass resistance to w ays of thinking that w ou ld have to un -dergird a truly d em ocratic and egalitarian society. T he h op e

that w e can bring abo ut fun dam entalchange b y expo sing

an im m oralcabaland crushing its po w er fails to confron t

the d eep ly held belief in the essential fairness of capitalist

society. T he tenacity of this con viction helps explain w hy

A m ericans keep electing po liticians w ho prom ise a goo d

job to an yon e w illing to w ork hard an d b lam e the breaking

of prom ises on a m ere failure of po litical w ill. T heres a

feedb ack loo p betw een the p oliticaland econ om ic institu-

tions thatsustain inequality and an ideology thatforecloses

alternatives like the socialdem ocracy thatexists, albeitun-

der stress, in m uch of W estern and C entralE urope.

R epub licans w ho prattle on about the E stablish-m ent w ill never attem pt to u ntangle the w eb o f struc-

tures and ideas that sustain w h at they prou dly, if inaccu-

rately, callth e free enterprise system . N or do es B ernie

S an derss bashing of w ealth y insiders get at the real ob -

stacles to ad van cing tow ard a society th atw ould en sure a

decent life to every A m erican .

U n til w e are able to speak m ore realistically abo ut

those o bstacles and w h y they p ersist, protesting th e E s-

tablishm ent w ill ob sess and frustrate u s the w ay A lice

w as by the C heshire C at w hen she asked him for help

find ing h erw ay through W onderland:

W ould you tellm e, please, w hich w ay I ough t togo from here?

T hatdepends a good dealon w here you w ant

to get to, said the C at.

I don tm uch care w here said A lice.

T hen it doesnt m atter w hich w ay you go,

said the C at.

so lon g as I get S O M E W H E R E , A lice

add ed as an explanation .

L ike th at elusive p ortly felin e, the E stablish m en t h as

taken u p residen ce in ou r po litical m ind s, even as its

sub stance van ish es, leavin g n oth in g b eh ind bu t a deri-

sive sm ile.

A n y

s u b s t i t u t e

f o r t h e v a p i d

c r i t i q u e o f

t h e E s t a b

l i s h m e n t

m u s t r e c k o n

w i t h t h e

s t r u c t u r e s

a n d i d e o l o g y

t h a t s u s t a i n

a n u n j u s t

s y s t e m .

B ut the bloo dy debacle in I nd ochina brough t this tidyarrangem ent to a ragged end . A s the jou rnalist-historian

G odfrey H odgson has w ritten, the prolong ed agony of

V ietnam divided and discredited the foreign po licy E s-

tablishm entand , by rob bing itofitsreputation for w isdo m ,

destroyed its infl uence. M any elite D em ocrats sou red on

m ilitary intervention, w hile n eoconservative groups like

the C om m ittee on the Present D anger dem anded a bel-

ligerent po sture tow ard the S oviet U nion and in d efense

of I srael. T he E stablishm ents greatest failure, H od gson

observed, resulted from its indifference to and its lack o f

un derstand ing of the spirit of a leveling age.

W hile it no longer w ields m uch clout, the C F R still

app ears to view current po litics w ith m ore disdain thancom prehen sion . L ast fall, I w as invited to speak abou t

pop ulism , bo th past and present, at the C F R s annual

din ner. I argu ed stron gly that, w hatever their fl aw s, an-

gry protests by ordin ary peo ple are valid exp ressions of

m assdiscon tentth atcallfor an em pathetic respo nse from

tho se in p ow er. T he reception to m y rem arks from the

audience of 3 0 0 or so w ell-heeled m em bers w as m ostly

ho stile or am used. F orm er T reasury secretary R ob ert

R ub in, w ho is currently cochair of the C F R , challenged

th e very n otion th atpo pu lism m igh tb e anything other

than a synon ym for igno rance and dem agoguery.

Any subst it ut e for t he vapid crit iqueof th e E stablishm ent w ill have to reckon

w ith bo th the structures and the ideo log y

that keep an un just system going. T his is a

key insigh t of every m ajor th eorist of po w er

in capitalist societies from K arl M arx to M ax W eber

to C . W right M ills. I n his 1 956 book T hePower Elite,M ills occasionally used the term to d escribe the high er

circles m ilitary, econom ic, and po litical w hich, he

argued, ran the m ajor institution s in A m erica. B ut m ost

peop le, h e em ph asized, accepted the status qu o. I n con -

trast, con tem po rary attacks on the establishm ent m ainly

express fear and resentm ent tow ard insiders. S tatus is an

elem ent of po w er, to be sure, b ut it is on ly a partialon e.

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A

R

L

-R

A

P

H

A

E

L

B

L

A

N

C

H

A

R

D

carcely a day goes by w ithout political seismologists offering new evidence to suggest

that thetectonic plates of A m erican p olitics are on the verge o f a profound an d u nsettling shift.

T oo m uch stress has bu ilt up alon g too m any ideological and dem ograph ic fault lines for thing s

to rem ain as they are. W ill 2 0 1 6 be the year of the b ig o ne lon g feared b y som e, eagerly anticipated b y

others A re w e w itnessing a fundam entalrealign m ent of politicalcoalitions, p erhaps even the birth of new

parties A s partof T hats D ebatable, ou r new series on issues that rem ain un resolved o n the left, pu blished

T H A T S D E B A T A B L E

I S T H E P A R T YS Y S T E M A B O U T

T O C R A C K U P ?

7/25/2019 The Nation - May 23, 2016

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T h e N a t ion6 M ay 2 3 3 0 , 2016

sity o f variou s ideological com m itm ents, and a fam ou slym utable public op inion . W hat w e are m ost likely to see

is m ore of the n ew no rm al:incredibly bitter fig hts am on g

plurality-sized group s for total if tem po rary control of

on e of the m ajor parties. W illthis also w orsen gridlock at

the national level, thereby exacerbating the inten sity of

those intraparty b attles and further destabilizing ou r po-

liticalsystem overall? I fthese dyn am icsplay outsim ultane-

ou sly in bo th parties, the m ostun ified side w illtrium ph .

D anielleA llen,aW ashington ost

contributing colum -nist,isa politicaltheoristatH arvard U niversity and theauthor,w ith JenniferS.L ight,ofF rom V oice to I nfluence:U nd erstanding C itizenship in a D igitalA ge(2015).

R I C K P E R L S T E I N

I ts H ap p en in g H erehat are t he pr ospect s for a real ign-m ent of A m erican politics? O n the

D em ocratic side, practically nil. T he

presiden tial fron t-run ner the on e

w ith the endorsem ents of 1 5 out of

1 8 sitting D em ocratic governors, 40 out of 44 sena-

tors, and 1 6 1 out of 1 88 H ouse m em bers is running a

cam paign explicitly opposed to fun dam ental transform a-

tion. H er signature cam paign prom ise no new taxes onhouseholds m aking 2 50 ,0 0 0 or less renders serious

change im possible. T he chance for her opp on ent to w in

the nom ination approaches m athem atical im po ssibility

H e is runn ing as a revolutionary. B ut governing is a

team spo rt. I f, b y som e m iracle, B ernie S anders entered

the W hite H ouse in Janu ary, he w ould do so n aked and

alone in com m and o f a party apparatus less prepared

ideo logically, institutionally, an d legislatively to do great

things than at any other tim e in its history.

O ne side prom ises com petence. T he other prom ises

the im possible. T his is the D em ocratic P arty in 2 0 1 6 .

A nd the R epublicans? T w o presidential cand idates

are left standing . S enator T ed C ruz, b elieve it or no t, isalso a cand idate of con tinuity, the nearly pu re produ ct of

a conservative-m ovem ent P etri dish. H is father w as an

evangelicalpastor from on e ofA m ericas m ostreaction ary

im m igrant com m un ities. C ruz received h is tutelage in the

tho ugh t of M ilton F riedm an and F rdric B astiat w hile

stillin h igh scho ol;h e also m em orized the U S C on stitu-

tion, w as a cham pion d ebater at P rinceton, and w orked

as the con servative m ovem ents all-bu t-offi cial S up rem e

C ou rt litigator in his years as solicitor general of T exas.

H is creepy extrem ism is precisely the extrem ism w e have

kno w n in the R epub lican P arty ever since B arry G old-

w ater in 1 96 4. H is electoral coalition is G oldw aters

w hich, blessedly, in ou r increasing ly yo un ger, brow ner,

It is easierthan ever fordissenters

from the twomajor parties

to find oneanother and

form newcoalitions.

R ick P erstein

D anielle llen

D A N I E L L E A L L E N

C om m u n ication s B rea k d ow n

In 1999, t he l iber t arian part y hel ped t r ansfor m amer icanpo litics by launch ing a cam paign that ultim ately sent hu nd reds of

tho usands of e-m ails to the F ederalD eposit I nsurance C orporation

to p rotest its proposed know you r custom er banking regulation s.

T he F D I C w ithd rew the rules, and the era ofd igitalpoliticsw asbo rn.

R ou gh ly a decade later, social m edia propelled birtherism to the forefron t

of the national conversation, reinstating n ativism as an active ideology in the

U nited S tates. I n 2 0 0 9 cam e the T ea P arty m ovem ent, follow ed by O ccupy

W all S treet in 2 0 1 1 , bo th of w hich drew on n ew online organizing m echa-

nism s to b uild solidarity netw orks around a particular analysis ofsocialreality.T he question for stud ents of A m erican po litics no w is w hether these changes

can drive a fun dam entalrealign m ent of ou r po liticalparties.

T ransform ation s in com m un ication s techn olog y have m ade itm ore po ssible

than ever before for dissenters from the D em ocratic and

R epu blican parties to fi nd on e another and to form siz-

able com m un ities of interest. T he result is low ered bar-

riers to entry for the w ork of po liticalorgan ization , w ith

consequen cesan no un ced d aily in h eadlines about the 2 0 1 6

presiden tial cam paign . I nsurgen t candidates in bo th par-

ties have draw n on the o rganization alp ow er that has de-

velop ed over the past decade w ithin ideo log ically defined

com m unities: D onald T rum p has sum m oned the anger

and xeno ph ob ia of the birthers, B ernie S anders has chan-neled O ccup ys critiqu e of ram pant inequ ality, and T ed

C ruz has m arshaled the forces of the T ea P arty un iverse.

B y attaching other group s of voters to their original, m ore

ideologically concen trated constituen cies, these can didates

have achieved greater success in their respective prim ary

cam paign s than an yon e tho ughtp ossible juston e yearago.

R egardless of w hether they succeed in taking o ver

their parties, these new coalitions have the p otentialto re-

m ake A m erican po liticsifeither the insurgents or the p ar-

ty faithfulare driven to seek refuge in existing third parties

or to create entirely new on es. F or the 2 0 1 6 cam paign at

least, that latter possibility is already foreclosed, so a take-

over (ho stile o r otherw ise) of a third party seem s m orelikely bo th the L ibertarian P arty and the G reen P arty

can place candidates on the b allot in a sign ifi cant num ber

of states. E ven so, o ur fi rst-past-the-post electoralsystem

m akes it very h ard for third parties to challeng e the top

tw o. B arring the em ergen ce of new habits of collabo ration

and alliance form ation am on g sm allp arties, on ly a fun da-

m entalchange to o ur system of voting the introd uction

of proportion alrepresentation , for exam ple w ou ld allow

for a m ore fl uid po liticalsystem to develop .

S peculating on w hat the future ho lds for A m ericas po -

liticalalign m ent requ ires thinking throu gh a com plex ar-

ray offactors:vo ting rules, p oliticaleg os, the tim e horizons

of charism atic leaders, qu estion s of succession , the inten-

on T heN ation . com and occasion ally in these pages, w e asked three scho lars of A m erican po litics to con sider these

questions. A political theorist, a historian , and a political scien tist, respectively, they ap proach the topic not as clair-

voyan ts peering into a crystalball, but as ob servers intent on iden tifying som e of the sub tler forces at w ork in this

un nerving year in o rder to h azard a few gu esses as to w hatit allm eans. Richard Kreitner

7/25/2019 The Nation - May 23, 2016

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T h e N a t ion 1 7ay 2 3 3 0 , 2016

and leftw ard-leaning n ation , m eans itw illb e very hard for

him to becom e presiden t.

T hatleaveso ur orange-m aned w ild card w ho, for the

sam e reason s, w ill also h ave a very hard tim e w inn ing a

presiden tial election . B ut if there is any chance of a fun -

dam entalrealign m ent in A m erican po litics, it w ou ld com e

from the cand idate to w ho m non e of the fam iliar rules ap-

ply. D on ald T rum p has prim ed m illion s of his follow ers to

believe that a corrup t nation alestablishm ent a con spira-cy ofpo liticians, the m edia, and bu siness has stolen their

birthright as A m ericans. T he techn o-sociology scholar

Z eynep T ufekci, stud ying T rum ps social-m edia follow -

ing, notesthathis fans treath im as the sole sou rce oftruth

and authority:I n their view , every unpleasant claim abo ut

T rum p is a fabrication by a cabalthat includes the R epub -

lican leadership and the m ass m edia. R ecently, R ob ert

C o sta an d B o b W o od w ard of T he W ashington PostaskedT rum p w hathe w ould do in h is first1 0 0 days as president.

T he cand idate replied that he w ou ld focus on trade deals.

W hat about econom ic legislation? C osta asked. T rum p

respo nded , B efore I talk abo ut legislation , because I think

frankly this is m ore im portant nu m ber on e, its going tobe a very big tax cut. H e spoke, in o ther w ords, as if tax

po licy isnt a prod uct of legislation , bu t rather gets hand ed

do w n b y presiden tialfi at.

T rum p h asalso ann ou nced the litm us test for his first

S up rem e C ou rt n om inee: a w illing ness to prioritize h is

crushing o f a po liticalrival. I d prob ably app oint peo -

ple th at w ould look very seriously at [H illary C lin ton s]

e-m aildisaster becau se its a crim inalactivity.)

I fT rum p w ins the presiden cy, w ellh ave elected an as-

piring d ictator. I n thateven t, speculation ab out the fate of

the con servative m ovem ent, letalon e the R epu blican P ar-

ty, w ould b e quite beside the po int. B ut if D on ald T rum p

loses the p residen cy, w ell still be left w ith those m illionsof follow ers m any of them violent trained by T rum p

to believe that their A m erican birthrigh t has been stolen

from them on ce m ore. T he on ly thing that w ill stand in

their w ay is the streng th of ou r con stitution alsystem . O ne

m usth op e itproves very stron g ind eed. T he alternative is

a sorto frealignm ent thatn one of us w ant.

Rick Perlstein isthenationalcorrespondentforT heW ashingtonS pectatorand theauthor,m ostrecently,ofT he I nvisibleB ridge:T he Fallof N ixon and the R ise ofR eagan(2014).

D A N I E L S C H L O Z M A N

T h e G reat D ivid eemocr at s and r epubl icans w il l l ikel yspend the com ing decades as they have

the last eigh t: figh ting over the legacy of

the N ew D eal, respectively d efend ing and

assailing its com m itm ents to a rob ust w el-

fare state and a m ixed econom y. I n h is 1 944 S tate of the

U nion address, F ranklin D . R ooseveltcalled for a S econ d

B ill of R igh ts guaranteeing access to em ploym ent, ho us-

ing, m edicalcare, and ed ucation . A con servative coalition

of R epublicans and S outhern D em ocrats stopped those

plans in their tracks. Y etfar m ore than in F D R s tim e, the

parties are divided sharply over his vision. T hatis likely to

continu e, w hatever the shape of thing s to com e.

E arly in the R eagan era, Jam es L . S und quist, an infl u-

entialscho larof partisan realign m ent, ob served thatw hen

the N ew D eal alignm ent is strengthened, the N ew D eal

coalition s are w eakened. T hese fissures have only grow n

starker:T he R oo seveltcoalition broke apartas liberals and

con servatives sorted betw een the p arties. M inorities and

pink-collar w orkers sup planted w hite S ou therners and

N orthern ethnicsin the D em ocratic fold. P arty co alition s,now oriented largely around race, figh tpitched po licy bat-

tles aroun d class. T he D em ocratic P arty has em braced a

version of w hat N orthern liberals ho ped for in the po stw ar

era a party m ore diverse in its leadership and n o lon ger

cem ented to the m ale fam ily w age.

W ith their ow n h ou se largely in o rder, the N ew D eal-

ersproverbial grandch ildren w atch w ith both fascination

and horror the lurid spectacle of a R epu blican P arty w hose

contradiction s have, in the un likely figure of D on ald

T rum p, fin ally com e to the fore. T hatup heavalhas loosed

from their m oo ring s three very different blocs of voters.

T heir allegiances, on ce the d ustsettles, w illd eterm ine the

balance ofpo w er in A m erican p olitics.I f T rum pism prevails and the R epublican P arty be-

com es principally a vehicle for w hite nation alism , D em o-

crats w illw elcom e the refugees:affluen tsub urbanites w ho

tend to be socially tolerant but skep ticalabout redistribu-

tion . F or D em ocrats, such a coalition could b ring back

con gression alm ajorities, bu tthey w ou ld be un w ieldy o nes.

A party sw ollen w ith econo m ic elites w ou ld b ring to the

fore the vexed po litics of revenu e: E xpanding program s

for the D em ocrats disadvantaged constituents w ould

cost the w ealthier on es dearly. T he usualw ork-arou nd s

em ployer m andates, tax credits, and the like m ake iteven

harder to enactp ub lic program s further do w n the road.

I f the R epub licans retreat into a fam iliar shell thatappeals on ly to the likes of T ed C ruz, the less-bigoted

w hite losers from econ om ic dislocation m igh t sw itch to

the D em ocrats. W ith con gression alm ajorities sup po rting

redistributionistp olicies, this new coalition could create a

aniel Schlozman

I f

th e G O P

b e c o m e s

a v e h i c l e

fo r w h i te

n a t i o n a l i s m

D e m o c r a t s

w i ll

w e l c o m e t h e

r e f u g e e s .

aniel Schlozman

new class po litics bu ilt on R ooseveltian un iversalp rogram s, largely redeem ing

the N ew D eals un fulfi lled p rom ises.

F inally, if the R epub licans existing po w er centers K S treet and the

K och bo ardroom m aneuver successfully to defeat the insurgency, the plu-

tocrats w ill retain con trol of the partys app aratus and agenda, even as they

redo uble their efforts to diversify its base, m arketing agg ressively to L atinos

and A sians. U nfortunately for them , as the 2 0 1 6 cam paign h as show n, the

R epub lican b ase has other ideas. Y et even if the p residency rem ains ou t of

reach, the partys leaders m igh t w ellb e content to con trolth e nation alp ursestring s in the H ouse ofR epresentativesand sow tension s am on g D em ocratic

con stituen cies w henever priorities con fl ict:h ou sing versus healthcare, youn g

versus old, race versus class.

G iven the pyrotechnicsof2 0 1 6 , these prognosesm ay seem m undane. A fun-

dam entalrealignm entalong the linesof 1 86 0 , 1 896 , or 1 93 6 , how ever, w ould

require no t just m ovem ent in a few voter blocs or on issues such as trade, but

a chan ge in the basic divide b etw een the partiesco m peting p osition s. T hats a

rem ote prospect. T he N ew D ealstillcasts a lon g shadow , an d party politicsw ill

likely rem ain a battle over the size and scop e of go vernm ent.

D anielSchlozm an,assistantprofessorofpoliticalscienceatJohnsH opkinsU niversity,istheauthorofW hen M ovem ents A nchor P arties:E lectoralA lignm ents in

A m erican H istory(2015).

7/25/2019 The Nation - May 23, 2016

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I v e n e v e r sp en t u ch t i e i n d u bl i n . t h e

feeling in Belfastam ong the people I knew therein the 1980swasthatSouthern Ireland w asa verydifferent place.D ow n there, no British troopspatrolled their streets,no sharp m etalwalls sev-

ered their neighborhoods. N o warring flags, no para-m ilitary parades,no plastic bullets.L ike itornot,D ublinlay on the otherside ofa border.Besides,itwasntwherethe action was the r i,asm y Belfastfriends called itW e didntgo.And so itm ay be the case thatD ublin wasalways jam -packed with protests and people strollingaround on historicalw alking tours butI doubtit.

T hisyearm arksthe centennialofa defining eventinIrish history.T he E aster R ising of 1916 inspired anti-

im perialists the w orld over,from G andhito L enin to

T h e p a rty th a t fo u g h t fo r I rish

in d e p e n d e n c e is n o w le a d in g th ech arg e ag ain st au sterity.

T h e g e n e r a l p o s t o f f i c

in Dublin after the1916 Easter Rising.

b y L U R F L N D E R S

G

e

r

r

y

d

a

m

s

ofSinnFin

campaigningin2016.

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T h e N a t ion 1 9ay 2 3 3 0 , 2016

W . E . B . D u B ois. P ropelled by history, grind ing p overty, a sense ofg rievance,

and the w hiffofpo ssibility, on E asterM ond ay, A pril2 4, som e 1 ,5 0 0 I rish m en

and w om en took up pikes and clun ky rifles and took on the w ar-w orn B ritish

A rm y. T he rebellion w as joined b y radicals and rom antics; secular socialists

and C atholic nation alists; suffragists, nurses, and m illw orkers; po ets and a

countess. L ed by, am on g others, P atrick P earse, Jam es C on no lly, (C oun tess)

C on stance M arkievicz, and D r. K athleen L ynn , the rebels took o ver central

D ub lin and proclaim ed an ind epend ent repub lic. W e declare the righ to fthe

peo ple of I reland to the ow nership o fI reland and to the un fettered co ntrol ofI rish d estinies, they declared. A fter centuries ofdiscrim ination, they p ledged

that in their repu blic, allcitizens w ou ld be equ al. I t w ou ld cherish allof the

children of the nat