Election Shock and Awe: Is The Clintonite/Obama, Neo-liberal “New Democrat” Party Dead? Has Our Democracy Died Too?

Schools report teachers and students in tears. Some will be holding counseling sessions this afternoon.

I believe that over the next 4 years the system will be so rigged the Democrats will never get back into power. I'm not sure there is a way to counter that for at least the next decade. Only catastrophic governance leading to chaos - but don't forget the brown shirts and paramilitary police, FBI and veterans who supported Trump - they will never turn over power now that they have it.

While neo-liberalism savaged the working class, no group felt its impact more than teachers under the assault of both parties. You’ll notice that basically the only area that Republicans didn’t attack Obama on was education. Our union – AFT/NYSUT/UFT aided and abetted this assault since it began in the mid-80s – led by the Clintons in Arkansas. The opt-out movement was in its own way similar to the Trump revolt – and note how our union and the DOE disparages and tries to suppress it. Many teachers, reacting to the hurried Hillary endorsement and the disparagement of the Bernie movement could not pull the trigger for Trump. Estimates are that 35% of the teachers were either out and out Trump supporters or could not pull the trigger for Hillary. Given the Trump/Republican ed agenda, which will be even a bigger disaster than ed deform, was sad.

I voted for Hillary because the alt was so bad. Those who couldn't in all conscience vote for Hillary should take a good like down the road over the next 4 years and tell my how your conscience feels.

Election Musings

Reality Based Educator:   They'll continue with the elite circle jerk and furiously blame "Bernie Bros" or Greens or "deplorables" instead of looking into the mirror and saying "Why have we embraced neo-liberalism, bringing about the de-industrialization of the country, the financialization of the economy and Trump to the White House?"

Newark teacher under assault, comment on my post declaring I was voting for Clinton (No Third Party Vote for Me)....   I did it. I voted third party. I had never done it before. I couldn't vote for Clinton because I could not sanction another four years of neo-liberal promotion of endless wars, unflinching charter school support and Wall Street coziness. I could not vote for Trump because I am a woman and I would prefer not to end up in a concentration camp. Sorry Norm! I did not have it in me to pull the lever for HRC.....

This was affirmation that Trump could win, which I have been telling people for the past 2 weeks. Even Trump supporters like my brother-in-law was more skeptical than I was. Some estimates are that 35% of teachers broke with their unions to either vote Trump or third party. I voted for Hillary and felt a left movement from Bernie and Warren could move her.

I've heard this sentiment directly from many teachers, most of them women and Bernie supporters. Some were voting for Trump, most 3rd party. My wife and I had lunch last week with 2 old friends, both retired UFTers -- both seemed to be going Trump.  That was certainly an early warning sign. Once again, our union leaders put their money on the wrong horse in the primary where they never gave Bernie a chance - and they are also doing the same in supporting de Blasio who will face an even greater wall of Trumpists in his next election.

The arrogance and slavish support for the Democratic party no matter how much they shit on educators and the mocking of Bernie supporters is coming home to roost.

Maybe we Sanders supporters weren't as crazy as we were told. That's the brightest thought I can muster out of this. Maybe the AFT/ NEA super early endorsement wasn't such a great idea after all.... NYC Educator: http://nyceducator.com/2016/11/holy-fucking-shit.html

I hate Trump and the neo-liberal Democrats. I hate the GOP. The Democrats have mostly abandoned their constituency, which is people who are financially vulnerable, and that includes the middle class, whether you're "white" or not, whether you have education or not.

 . . . email from teacher

Of course our union leaders and the Democrats, instead of blaming themselves, will try to blame people who voted for Jill Stein. Perdido St. School blog touches on that:

Brexit Redux: http://perdidostreetschool.blogspot.com/2016/11/brexit-redux.html

Dem elites and Clinton shills are already taking aim at Sanders people or Greens, blaming Trump's victory on them. As usual with the elites and their functionaries, they miss the truth. And just so we can get the "The Greens did this!" bullshit out of the way: Clinton shills did a lot of mocking this year, first the Sanders people during the primary, then the Trump supporters during the general.
One thing Clinton and her shills never did - try and understand the real pain and terror many in this country feel over their economic futures. A lot of those people sent a big "Fuck You!" to the elites last night, though I think that will come back to bite them in the end.
A Republican president with a Republican Senate and a Republican House is going to do a lot of damage in the short term. Add in all the crazies Trump is sure to bring along - Rudy, Christie, maybe Palin - and it's even worse.
As for the Supreme Court, that strategy Obama pursued doesn't look so hot now either - the chance to transform the Supreme Court is now lost to Dems. Remember that union case that ended up 4-4 after Scalia died? You can bet another case like that one is going to rear sooner rather than later and those automatic dues the union elites lap up will go out the window with Clinton's electoral map to victory.
 

The "Fuck you!" sent last night, as with the one the British sent with Brexit, is going to be a costly one in the end. But I blame Dem elites for this mess - this loss is squarely on HRC and her neoliberal cohorts. This ought to be a wake-up call to Dem elites that neoliberalism must go and the party needs to embrace a true populist agenda.
But I'm under no illusions that Dem elites will learn the correct lessons from this.

This is the chance to remake the Democratic Party into a vision closer to Bernie's but we know that the AFT/UFT leadership will never go along with something too left or progressive. The one good thing about this election is that the Clintons are finally gone from the stage and our leaders will have to find another neo-liberal Democrat to tie itself too.

Cuomo, one of the happiest men in America today, for President in 2020 anyone? Randi and Mulgrew probably already endorsed him behind closed doors.

Heading to the Delegate Assembly today with a hard copy of ed notes to hand out. More later - if I'm not on the way to Canada.