The half of the country that isn’t gloating over mass deportations may be at the most mobilizable moment in their entire life.
But the problem is this is just not true. Deportations have between 60-66% approval. So it’s not half of the country opposed, it’s a third. And of this third, most of them are in a position of defeat and shock, not in a position to fight and mobilise, which is why the resistance to Trump is much more subdued this time round. The very uncomfortable truth is that Trump’s policies (and Trump to a certain extent) are just that much more popular than they were eight years ago, and the Democratic party’s mandate is not and never has been to stand up for human rights, it’s to win elections. When standing up for human rights was popular, the Democratic party was prepared to work with these unions, civil rights groups and NGOs. But this was always a very unhealthy marriage used to launder the Democrat’s image. Now that this is unpopular, the Democrats aren’t going to waste their political capital on pesky things such as “human rights”. These unions, civil rights groups and NGOs sold out for almost nothing in return. Many on the left, as far back as 2008, were warning these groups about the consequences of getting into bed with Democratic party as a shortcut to achieve their goals, but unfortunately not many listened.
But the problem is this is just not true. Deportations have between 60-66% approval. So it’s not half of the country opposed, it’s a third. And of this third, most of them are in a position of defeat and shock, not in a position to fight and mobilise, which is why the resistance to Trump is much more subdued this time round. The very uncomfortable truth is that Trump’s policies (and Trump to a certain extent) are just that much more popular than they were eight years ago, and the Democratic party’s mandate is not and never has been to stand up for human rights, it’s to win elections. When standing up for human rights was popular, the Democratic party was prepared to work with these unions, civil rights groups and NGOs. But this was always a very unhealthy marriage used to launder the Democrat’s image. Now that this is unpopular, the Democrats aren’t going to waste their political capital on pesky things such as “human rights”. These unions, civil rights groups and NGOs sold out for almost nothing in return. Many on the left, as far back as 2008, were warning these groups about the consequences of getting into bed with Democratic party as a shortcut to achieve their goals, but unfortunately not many listened.