LIBERAL BETRAYALS

CAITLIN JOHNSTONE—Anyone who’s ever shared anti-establishment ideas on social media will immediately recognize this as identical to accusations which come from the pussyhatted #Resistance crowd of brainwashed MSNBC liberals, who accuse anyone who questions establishment narratives of being a paid troll conducting propaganda for the Russian government. These “How much is the CCP paying you for this?” accusations which have been cluttering up my social media notifications for the last 24 hours are indistinguishable from the “How’s the weather in St Petersburg, Ivan?” McCarthyite accusations I’ve been receiving from rank-and-file Democrats for the last three years.

JENNIFER MATSUI—If we define “Russian” during this latest Red Scare as being opposed to war, and not supporting an oligarchy or its neoliberal agenda, then ‘guilty as charged’. I’m a Russian. You probably are, too, if you hold certain beliefs that contradict the official corporate State/DNC narrative – particularly the one put forward by ‘The Resistance’. This elite cadre of party flacks and wine cave dwellers are merely resisting grassroots opposition to Trump since it actually has a chance of succeeding.

JOAQUIN FLORES—For Corbyn and Labour, it was the worst outcome since 1935. Dangling concern over this kind of defeat in front of Sanders is meant to push him closer to the establishment center of American politics. But this ‘concern’ isn’t coming from Sanders’ camp, but from those in or close to the DNC establishment who don’t like Sanders. Those folks in turn break-down into roughly two camps: those who think he will ultimately defeat Trump but push forward a social democratic agenda that threatens a solidified cultural shift and change of the tax codes for the very same elites in charge of the DNC, and then those who think his agenda is too radical to defeat Trump.

ERIC ZUESSE—The basic distinction is class, not ethnicity. The cause of all these wars — not only international but also civil conflicts — is the unlimited greed of the wealthiest. Ethnicity is merely used by them in order to expand their own wealth.

PAUL C ROBERTS—I agree with Saker that Trump’s impression of the good condition of the US economy is largely a mirage produced by official statistics that have long been unreliable. The bad data fed to Trump is not his fault. I also agree with The Saker that the truth in Trump’s letter is its characterization of the impeachment.