Yes, it is a little late in the game to be asking this question, or it would be if I had any expectation of being able to influence the answer. The day of the neolibs is done, but who and what will replace it? Hard to say.
President Obama, by selecting Tim Geithner as Secretary of Treasury and Robert Gates as secretary of defense, not to mention Hillary as secretary of state, tied himself so securely to the “Establishment” that, for many purposes, his administration could have been labeled “Bush III”.
That’s a bit unfair, but only a bit. Obama refused to think outside the box, sought endlessly to cater both to billionaires and the compulsively interventionist military/diplomatic establishment and, perhaps worst of all, followed the Clintons’ bad example of failing to resist the private jet lifestyle. It is, to paraphrase La Rochefoucauld, easier to find a Democrat who has never flown in a private jet than to find one who has made the trip only once.
Of course, Obama did many other things as well, and remains personally popular, but the stunning success of crotchety (crotchety and, well, stupid) old man Bernie Sanders proves how long ago the neolib brand had exceeded its sell date. But what else is there on the shelves?
There’s Bernie himself, of course, but his sell-date may have passed as well. Bernie’s “racism, feminism, whatever! It all boils down to a question of economics” gimmick was a gimmick, a consciously thought-out one, intended unite the left by pretending that the issues that divide it don’t exist. I think voters in Vermont voted for Bernie because they thought he was cute, a quart of Ben & Jerry’s come to life, who would make them feel good without actually, you know, doing anything. Best of all, no calories!
After Bernie, well, there are lots of contenders, but no names, other than Lizzie Warren, who is trying hard, but who also has a sell-date thing. I personally don’t like Lizzie any more than I like Bernie. She strikes me as just another “why can’t my friends and I rule the world” academic and I find it hard to believe her act will travel well outside Acelaland.
The pivotal figure, in the short term, may well prove to be Old Lady Pelosi—though not, of course, as a candidate. Whatever you want to say about Pelosi, she and Chuck Schumer, everyone’s favorite scheming Establishment sell-out, have access to a large percentage of the wealthiest men and women in the country. Even the most passionate social justice warrior can count. We can simply pray that the Democrats will win the House today. If that happens, Pelosi will be the go-between for the “new Democrats” and the old, neoliberal money. As an old-time “San Francisco Democrat”, Pelosi has some, but only some street cred, but lots and lots of cash. If she can tame the SJW crowd to the extent that they’re semi house-broken, well, maybe a “new” Democratic Party can start to learn to walk, though where it will be going I have no idea.
Afterwords
I don’t find much to like among the “new Democrats”, other than their dislike of Trump. (I know they don’t “dislike” him, they hate him. I “dislike” Trump because I think it’s a bad idea to hate people.) I am much to the “right” of most Democrats in my faith in the efficacy of markets and wish Obama hadn’t bolloxed up the neoliberal brand. I also believe that Democrats are still (are, in fact, increasingly) neglecting the rural vote, a phenomenon I discuss extensively here. How they will learn to correct this I have no idea, since all the “advice” is coming from the other side.
