How the noble, virtuous left was lost in the 1990s—but found its way again

[C C]

How the left was lost in the 1990s—but found its way again
https://www.thenation.com/article/politi...-analysis/

EXCERPT (Naomi Klein): . . . I came of age in the ’90s, and my first steady job in journalism was as editor of a small left-wing magazine that subsisted on atrophying subscriptions and crashing arts grants and was, in those years, perpetually on the verge of publishing its last issue. [...] I often pictured us—the relatively small and marginal group that still identified as leftists in those days—as jamming our foot in the heavy door of history so that the full weight of neoliberal power would not succeed in slamming it shut completely.

[...] Most limiting of all, the Cold War’s anti-communism had rooted itself so deeply in the collective imagination in those years that, even when many of us did start defining ourselves as anti-capitalist, we remained fearful, for far too long, of articulating a coherent vision for a postcapitalist world: one ecologically rooted, feminist, democratic, decolonial, and socialist.

There were exceptions, of course—people still willing to talk of socialism and revolution.

[...] The good news is that the left has changed too. It is no longer a ragtag crew of anachronistic die-hards. Its analysis is becoming more mainstream and its numbers are vast. Left leadership is finally as diverse as it always should have been, with a new vision and boldness flowing from hard-won experience at the front lines of capitalism’s many barbarities... (MORE - missing details)

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Did Twitter suppress Covid lockdown protests? Elon Musk should find out
https://thefederalist.com/2022/12/12/did...-find-out/

As Twitter’s anti-democratic tactics are revealed, the public needs to know whether one of our most basic rights was also subverted: the right to protest peacefully.

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The Red Wave that wasn’t: How GOP leadership snatched defeat from the jaws of victory
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/...t-wasnt-2/

EXCERPT: The discontent goes beyond just the final vote tallies in states where Republicans fell short, Bovard told TAC. “He [McConnell] has the power to, sort of, control who gets elected. He has a very specific type of senator he wants to elect and that’s someone who’s going to not challenge him.”

Because of the sheer scale of GOP campaign money that McConnell controls, “members sort of feel compelled to support McConnell because of all the money he’s dumping into their races,” Bovard said.

“It’s a feudal situation. The Senate has become very feudal. It’s McConnell and a bunch of serfs, basically,” Bovard said... (MORE - missing details)

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The weird Republican turn against corporate social responsibility
https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environme...onsibility

Companies say they want to acknowledge environmental impacts. Republicans are mad about that.

[Syne]

Yes, McConnell did pick and choose who got significant campaign funding, but the Republican primary voters are the most at fault. They picked more exciting candidates over the stable candidates with a solid track record. The Trump voters went for people more like Trump...willing to insert foot in mouth without any sense of campaign strategy or political acumen. For example, no one should have been touting something as divisive as a nationwide abortion ban. They should have just reiterated the Supreme Court decision. It's now a matter for each individual state. But people running for Congress decided they wanted to jump on that grenade. At the very lease, Republicans need to learn Democrat incrementalism. You don't tell them your end goal until your right at the precipice. You actually deny it, right up until the last minute.

Corporations choosing ESG over shareholder profits are essentially shirking they're fiscal responsibilities in favor of their politics. Aside from greenwashiing, ESG can also serve as a cover for fraud.