Astonishing and I think under-remarked levels of projection, illusion, and tailing of the Sanders audience on the left .
Are they more suseptible to socialist books, ideas and organizations?
How about proletarian books, ideas, and organizations?
It reminds me of the lefties who tailed after Jesse Jackson's audience's in 84 and 88: a form of the left kidding itself and also a left get-rich-quick scheme.
And in my free-associating way, recalling some things noted in this 2010 article:
....Among the participants were large numbers of professionals, small business people, and other middle-class layers, as well as office workers and students. “Well over 200,000 people” turned out for the event, according to an unofficial account by the Parks Service. The day set a new record for use of Washington’s Metrorail system with 825,000 trips—475,000 more than an average Saturday. Some 10,000 came from New York City on free buses provided by the Huffington Post.
....Most organized political groups working the crowd were pro-Democratic Party, such as Naral Pro-Choice America and Barack Obama’s Organizing for America. Among them, however, were campaigners for the Socialist Workers Party candidates, who received a wide range of responses, reflecting a heterogeneity of political views and outlooks.
“Didn’t you listen to the speaker?” commented one passerby. “This is a rally for moderates.” Several others made similar remarks. Dozens were interested in the socialist campaign, and stopped to talk, subscribe to the Militant, and buy books on revolutionary politics. (See article on front page.)
Many expressed frustration with the Democratic Party, President Barack Obama, or the state of the economy. “We thought Obama was going to do something different on the war, for immigrants,” said Tanya Tinsley, 47, a physical therapist and among the small percentage of Blacks at the rally. “He should move a little more to the left and he would get some support.”
“We need Obama to be what he said he would be,” said Tinsley’s friend Nadine Brown, 48, from Queens, New York, who was an event planner before she lost her job. “I want to go back to work, but I don’t want to go from $100,000 to $20,000 a year.”
“It’s hard to find a job today. I would like to go to graduate school and become a librarian,” said Cairty McCarthy, 23, who recently graduated college with an English major and works part-time at Best Buy for $9 per hour.
A common thread was aversion to the coarsening of political discourse and factionalism in bourgeois politics, as well as the interest in reactionary conspiracy theories—manifestations of the deepening economic and social crisis of capitalism. “We need to take it down a notch,” said Ali Arman, a telecommunications engineer. “Politics has gotten ugly.”
One handmade sign simply read, “Relax, everything will be O.K.” But what seemed to lay under the facetious tone and mockery that marked the rally was unease about the future and idle hope that it will all stop, turn around, and everything will be as it was.
The Militant - November 15, 2010 -- ‘Moderates rally’ held in D.C. ahead of elections
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