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.
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