A few recent developments have again highlighted a tension in left politics. One is the public shaming of Trump administration officials, calling them out in venues like restaurants, a tactic encouraged by at least one Democratic congresswoman. Another is a never-say-die mobilization against Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, a campaign that is supremely unlikely to succeed and would, if it did, simply lead to someone else at least as conservative being appointed. A third are calls to abolish ICE, the agency that has been deporting the undocumented, an event about as likely to happen in the near future as the Congress abolishing Trump golf courses.
So, what is the point of calling for such bootless initiatives? …
Street action–say, the Women’s March, protests of the Muslim Ban at airports–can be effective in drawing attention to a topic, but only if it transitions to the grunge work of organizing votes. A major problem with expressive politics by itself is that, even if does mobilize supporters, it also mobilizes opponents. Marching down the street, yelling against your enemies, will stir up the other side. Going door-to-door with clipboards is likely to be ignored.
It’s all about votes. Even the corrupt money in politics corrupts largely by helping the corrupted get votes. CONT.
Claude Fischer