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Nov 8, 2024

Dem Senator Has Moment Of BRILLIANCE

Sen. Chris Murphy admits Sen. Bernie Sanders was right about Democrats and economic populism.
  • 9 minutes
What I think is most important is that we not kid ourselves. This is not a moment for small changes or reforms. This is a moment for a fundamental rebuild of the left. First of all, we are not listening to the people we claim to represent. We claim to be the party of the working class, the party of poor people. [00:00:20] And yet we let interest groups and think tanks tell us what those people need. Americans are exhausted by a neoliberal economic order that has consolidated power in the hands of the few. Yes, yes, that is true. That is true. [00:00:38] It only took a disastrous election for the Democratic Party, for Democratic Senator Chris Murphy to say out loud what we've all been thinking, what the real problem within the Democratic Party has been. And so now all of a sudden, you're hearing this, you know, [00:00:53] typically centrist, milquetoast politician saying out loud what the truth is. And hopefully he stays on message. Hopefully he doesn't forget this message because this is the root of the issue. The real problem with the Democratic Party. So in an election postmortem thread on X, Murphy also wrote we don't listen enough. [00:01:12] We tell people what's good for them. That is so true. And when progressives like Bernie aggressively go after the elites that hold people down, they are shunned as dangerous populists. Why? Maybe because true economic populism is bad for our high income base. [00:01:31] Ding ding ding ding ding ding. We have a winner. And that was certainly reflected in the demographics who supported Kamala Harris over Donald Trump. Those making under 50 grand a year in household income overwhelmingly supported Donald Trump. Those making $100,000 or more overwhelmingly supported Kamala Harris. [00:01:49] So when we talk about the working class realignment, we're not necessarily talking about what the two candidates represent. I don't think Donald Trump is necessarily better for the American worker than Kamala Harris would be. But the realignment is where the voters are flocking to. [00:02:06] And Donald Trump managed to make a more persuasive case for himself as a representative of the working class, as opposed to Kamala Harris. Yeah, so three things. Number one on all of this, he's 100% correct. And seeing an establishment Democrat be correct is stunning. [00:02:22] I seen it only a couple of times in 22 years of doing this show. So look at that. Way to go, Chris Murphy. An incredibly rare feat where you're totally, correcting your political analysis of what went wrong in the Democratic Party. Okay, so that's us being fair. Credit where credit is due. [00:02:39] Now, I will tell you what I think is going to happen next. The Democratic Party will not listen to this one bit. They will not turn around one inch. They will go right back to serving those corporate elites, their high income donor base. They won't do any of the things that Chris Murphy's talking about. [00:02:57] And the third part of what I need to tell you is, I believe that Chris Murphy will turn around and join the establishment Democrats. And in fact, if anyone does what he suggests today, he will fight them. Okay. I could be wrong. [00:03:12] And I would love for him to prove me wrong. But in about a quarter of a century covering this, that has been the pattern. Every single time. So right after, like a debate or that goes terribly like the Biden debate or the election, they have a moment of clarity that lasts 24 hours to a week, and then [00:03:31] it's wiped away from the record books. They never talked about again. Memory holds. And if you tell Chris Murphy this three years from now, as he's fighting tooth and nail against a populist candidate in the primaries, he'll probably tell you, - I never said that. - Oh, really? [00:03:47] Okay. Well let's listen, Chris. Okay. We've got you on X, we've got you on video because you put yourself on video. So let's show you a little more from his post on X. We're going to sear this in everyone's memory and we will bring it back Chris. [00:04:05] We will bring it back. Take a look. Democrats need to understand that Republicans start by examining the way that people are actually feeling, and then matching policies to the way that that they're feeling. Democrats need to start doing the same thing. [00:04:21] If we did that, we would pick bigger fights. We would be a more populist party. We would name the corporations and the billionaires that are screwing people, and we would take it to them. Now, that's something that the Harris campaign did not do. [00:04:38] And frankly, when leaders in our party like Bernie Sanders do it, they largely get shamed or shunned as dangerous populists. Maybe that's because if we actually were fighting billionaires, if we were actually engaging in true populist economic ideas, [00:04:53] it would hurt our coalition, which these days tends to be higher income people who don't want the status quo fundamentally upset. Yeah. That is that is true. Let's see how long he continues supporting that message. [00:05:08] I want to give you one other tweet from his thread, because I think it also touches on another issue. And guys, I don't think that the problem with the Democratic Party is either or right. Some people are focusing on the lack of care that the Democratic Party has shown to working class voters. [00:05:24] Others want to focus on, you know, the extremities of the, you know, identitarian left. I think both ended up being an issue for Democrats. But Chris Murphy says, let's go to graphic three. Real economic populism should be our tentpole. [00:05:40] But here's the thing. Then you need to let people into the tent who aren't 100% on board with us on every social and cultural issue or issues like guns or climate. So the argument here is, you know, there might be some differences on some [00:05:55] other policies, but in regard to economic populist proposals and, you know, efforts, we need to make that the centerpiece of the Democratic Party and broaden our coalition of individuals who want to change the status quo [00:06:13] on behalf of the working class in America. - Yeah. - So I couldn't agree more with him. And and so I'm going to keep coming back to this because he said it. And it's the first time I've ever seen an establishment Democrat say this clearly. [00:06:29] Right. So that's what's going to make it more amazing when he does the opposite. Because then we'll know. He knows definitively. He knows for sure. He said it so clearly there. Right. So Chris. Yeah. And by the way, I'm if you're a true populist, you don't kiss the ass of the [00:06:48] powerful and be like, oh, Senator Murphy, I would love to have tea with you. Oh my God. No. Hey, Chris. Okay. You want to be a real guy, do the thing that you're saying, okay? I'm betting that you won't. And so it would be, would be great to shut me up, right? [00:07:03] Yeah. And then you deliver on that, and I have to come out here and eat humble pie and tell everybody. Oh, my God, I was so wrong about Senator Murphy. What a great representative of the people of Connecticut. He fought so hard for you guys. He he followed through on his word, but he won't. So here's what's going to happen next cycle. [00:07:19] Him and everyone, just like him outside of Bernie will come and go. No, no, no, guys, we just need a better messenger. So that means a different corporate robot. This corporate robot, Kamala Harris, is a little malfunctioning. The earlier corporate robot should have been retired earlier, [00:07:35] you know, needed to be recalled. So. But we got a new corporate robot, and his name is Pete Buttigieg, and he's going to be great. He's like, the idea that people just could be a populist is hilarious. Hilarious, right? But that's exactly what they'll do. [00:07:51] And if it's not Buttigieg, it'll be Gavin Newsom or another corporate robot just like that, right? And in fact, you want to talk about shamed and shunned. I mean, nobody's been more shamed and shunned in media and by Democrats and mainstream media more than the right wing, way more than the right wing. [00:08:06] Right. And so those guys who have shamed and shunned me, will they then go, hey, you know what? Jake's got a point. I mean, he has they have the largest online network, period, let alone certainly the largest one on the left. ET cetera. You know what? We're going to take them. What they're saying in the account. We're going to take what Bernie is saying into account. [00:08:23] No chance of that 0% chance. And Chris, if you're really going to do it the next time eight Democratic senators vote against $15 minimum wage, as they did when Bernie proposed that amendment at the beginning of the Biden administration, your job is to call them out, but you will not, because those [00:08:41] are your beloved, cherished colleagues. Instead, you'll pretend that that was not corruption. That's my prediction. I'll give you a shot, Chris. I'll give you a shot. Especially on the shutting up thing. Let's see. That would be fun for everyone. You'd be the first person in America to do it. Okay, so all you got to do, it's the easiest thing in the world. [00:09:00] All you got to do is keep your promise. Deliver. Yeah. That's it. Thanks for watching The Young Turks. Really appreciate it. Another way to show support is through YouTube memberships. You'll get to interact with us more. 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The Young Turks: November 11, 2024