Kshama Sawant to Live Stream Socialist Response to SOTU

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

I thought this was kind of deserving of its own thread...

http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2014/01/28/kshama-sawant-to-live-stream-socialist-response-to-the-state-of-the-union-address
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lh7LBtrBq1g

So... that's five SOTU responses, now?  Six?

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

Excellent. She should be president but the reactionary Constitution sadly doesn't allow it.

[H. Ross Peron]

I'll be watching this...

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

It's starting.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

It begins. She's stating the blunt facts and demolishing Obama's chicanery already.

[H. Ross Peron]

It begins. She's stating the blunt facts and demolishing Obama's chicanery already.

She's also denouncing the Keystone XL pipeline...

[Vosem]

Kshama Sawant's destructive ideology belongs firmly in the past.

[Zioneer]

Kshama Sawant's destructive ideology belongs firmly in the past.

Sure, just like Reagan's.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

It begins. She's stating the blunt facts and demolishing Obama's chicanery already.

She's also denouncing the Keystone XL pipeline...

I oppose the gung-ho attitude towards it as a handout to oil companies but I'm not entirely convinced by the kneejerk opposition to all resourse extraction.

Still, a brilliant address by a brilliant woman.

Kshama Sawant's destructive ideology belongs firmly in the past.

You know she's not a capitalist, right?

[Vosem]

Kshama Sawant's destructive ideology belongs firmly in the past.

Sure, just like Reagan's.

His original, 1940s-1950s ideology? Certainly.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Reagan's response to Sam Donaldson (September 1982), on whether he shared any blame for the ongoing recession

[Zioneer]

Kshama Sawant's destructive ideology belongs firmly in the past.

Sure, just like Reagan's.

His original, 1940s-1950s ideology? Certainly.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Reagan's response to Sam Donaldson (September 1982), on whether he shared any blame for the ongoing recession

No, I mean his awful, trickle-down, cold warrior, and unethical arms-dealings ideology.

[bgwah]

Excuse me while I barf.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

For those who missed it

[Vosem]

Kshama Sawant's destructive ideology belongs firmly in the past.

Sure, just like Reagan's.

His original, 1940s-1950s ideology? Certainly.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Reagan's response to Sam Donaldson (September 1982), on whether he shared any blame for the ongoing recession

No, I mean his awful, trickle-down, cold warrior, and unethical arms-dealings ideology.

Ah. You should've expressed yourself clearer in that case

Well, the 'cold warrior' part of his ideology definitely belongs to the past -- after all, the Cold War is over . And I'd have to support an end to unethical arms deals as well -- ideologically speaking, all arms deals should be ethical. So we definitely have points of agreement.

[Zioneer]

Kshama Sawant's destructive ideology belongs firmly in the past.

Sure, just like Reagan's.

His original, 1940s-1950s ideology? Certainly.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Reagan's response to Sam Donaldson (September 1982), on whether he shared any blame for the ongoing recession

No, I mean his awful, trickle-down, cold warrior, and unethical arms-dealings ideology.

Ah. You should've expressed yourself clearer in that case

Well, the 'cold warrior' part of his ideology definitely belongs to the past -- after all, the Cold War is over . And I'd have to support an end to unethical arms deals as well -- ideologically speaking, all arms deals should be ethical. So we definitely have points of agreement.

Well most people think "conservative, trickle-down economics" when they think of Reagan, not his Democratic years.

And you're just getting technical. What I mean by Cold Warrior is the gung-ho "toppling lefty national governments is fine, even if they're democratically elected" attitude, and what I mean by arms deals is Iran-Contra.

[TNF]

Kshama Sawant's destructive ideology belongs firmly in the past.

4 edgy 5 me

[Vosem]

Kshama Sawant's destructive ideology belongs firmly in the past.

Sure, just like Reagan's.

His original, 1940s-1950s ideology? Certainly.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Reagan's response to Sam Donaldson (September 1982), on whether he shared any blame for the ongoing recession

No, I mean his awful, trickle-down, cold warrior, and unethical arms-dealings ideology.

Ah. You should've expressed yourself clearer in that case

Well, the 'cold warrior' part of his ideology definitely belongs to the past -- after all, the Cold War is over . And I'd have to support an end to unethical arms deals as well -- ideologically speaking, all arms deals should be ethical. So we definitely have points of agreement.

Well most people think "conservative, trickle-down economics" when they think of Reagan, not his Democratic years.

True, but educated people would consider his whole biography.

And you're just getting technical. What I mean by Cold Warrior is the gung-ho "toppling lefty national governments is fine, even if they're democratically elected" attitude, and what I mean by arms deals is Iran-Contra.

Well, when a democratically elected government begins to oppress its own people, subvert the rule of law/democracy, and act aggressively towards its neighbors, I would have to say the option of toppling it is one that should be considered as a response, though it should never be the primary one. (During the Cold War, the chief consideration was, of course, which broad international ideology that government was in favor of; such is no longer really relevant in 2013).

Iran-Contra was not an ethical arms deal, so I would agree with you that trading arms with fundamental-religious, Iran- or Iran-style regimes certainly does belong in the past.

[Cassius]

Pah.

[Redalgo]

Councilor Sawant's response was better than I expected, especially given her alignment with SA rather than the relatively moderate SPUSA. The rhetoric about major parties being subject to "corporate masters" is the same tired, off-base rubbish I grow weary of hearing from self-described Marxists, however, and it seems to me their worldviews reflect the thinking prominent during struggles of a century ago. So many socialists have been slow to respond to changes in the world - slow to learn from recent human experiences, refine their ideas accordingly, and find ways to inspire support.

I do agree with her on a number of points - don't get me wrong. The need for more parties in politics is glaringly obvious, as is the Obama Administration's part in contributing to ongoing environmental problems and injustices perpetuated under the current economic system. Neither major party seems likely to abandon or even seriously deviate from capitalist branches of liberal thought, nor are any of the President's proposals for the upcoming year going to accomplish more than serving as stopgaps in lieu of meaningful solutions that go to the heart of why so many people are facing serious financial difficulties.

Still, respectfully, Comrade Sawant's response to the SOTU barely felt more satisfying to me than the SOTU itself.

[Marokai Backbeat]

Very little of what she said, aside from stating herself as a Socialist which goes without saying, was actually all that controversial.

[The Free North]

Excellent. She should be president but the reactionary Constitution sadly doesn't allow it.

What?

[TNF]

Excellent. She should be president but the reactionary Constitution sadly doesn't allow it.

What?

She was born in India.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Excellent. She should be president but the reactionary Constitution sadly doesn't allow it.

What?

She was born in India.

Not that someone with her views would have a shot at the White House even if she were a natural born US citizen.

[Redalgo]

Not that someone with her views would have a shot at the White House even if she were a natural born US citizen.

I could see her getting 0.5% of the popular vote, though even with that I am being very generous, ya.

[Indy Texas]

Kind of OT but I read that she is an Indian immigrant. India has had a very strong communist presence in its political system since independence and, unlike in East Asian countries, India is a democracy and this was not imposed on them by China or the Soviet Union as it was in places like Afghanistan or Indochina.

Any idea why communism has such an appeal in India? (It seems like this is more of a Hindu thing since Pakistan, since independence, has mainly been dominated by conservative anti-communist and/or Islamist political parties. During the Cold War, the US regarded Pakistan as a more reliable, pro-American ally for this reason, while viewing India with suspicion.)