Demoncrats

JONATHAN COOK—AOC’s invitation to the Met Gala, and her acceptance, is just another stage in her cooptation by the elite. The brashly outspoken rookie politician of a few years ago has been gradually tamed into the more “responsible” politician looking to claw her way up the Democratic party career ladder.

She is becoming a parody of her old self. The rhetoric of political protest on the campaign trail in the 14th congressional district has – once put to the test – morphed into the empty spectacle of protest by a Congresswoman increasingly comfortable hobnobbing with the rich and famous.

She is becoming part of the very elite she supposedly disdains. She is a celebrity politician, just as Raducanu is a now celebrity tennis player. She plays to the camera because there is nothing more to her actions than performance and pageantry. And in these, at least, she can excel.

Declares “socialist” AOC: “We are watching Cubans rise up and protest like never before. We offer our solidarity and condemn the antidemocratic actions initiated by President Díaz-Canel.” (Due to backlash, the tweet mysteriously disappeared.)

GLENN GREENWALD—Investigating possible crimes — such as leaking classified information — is the job of the Justice Department. To accomplish that, FBI agents and prosecutors often obtain personal communications records about their suspects. But invading the communications records of journalists, as both the Obama and Trump DOJ did, can create serious threats to press freedom and the possibility of abuse and retaliation. The same is true for invading the communications records of members of the legislative branch, particularly ones hostile to the president. An investigation is certainly warranted to determine the propriety of these subpoenas.

But like so many politicians before them, Schiff and Swalwell have zero credibility to object to this targeting. When it comes to ordinary Americans, both have been long-time champions of expanding domestic spying powers and blocking efforts at reform designed to curb abuses of the type they claim took place here.

“If we want to have Black liberation, we have to abolish capitalism to do that,” said Kandista Mallett, an activist and columnist for Teen Vogue magazine who authored a recent column titled, “The Black Elite are Obstacles Toward Black Liberation.” “Especially when we look at all that’s unfolding with Black Lives Matter now, it’s important for us to have a class analysis and to recognize that capitalism is just as much a threat to our communities as white supremacy,” said Mallett. 

DANNY HAIPHONG—New York, as was the case for the rest of the United States, failed to contain the pandemic. Cuomo now champions a new narrative that conveniently blames the victim and erases his corporate crimes against humanity. In a press conference on November 18th , the brains behind “New York Tough” declared “If you socially distanced and you wore a mask and you were smart, none of this would be a problem. It’s all self-imposed. It’s all self-imposed. If you didn’t eat the cheesecake, you wouldn’t have a weight problem.” The mantra that we are all in this together only counts when Cuomo and his donors look good. When problems emerge, the fault for the spread of COVID-19 falls on the shoulders of workers and the oppressed people who have been left without a semblance of a social safety net to survive this moment of crisis.