Populist Patriotism

A short one this week. Also, no newsletter next week: Happy 250th America!

On patriotism and populism. A new organization for blue-collar candidates. All eyes on Pennsylvania (again). And, are Democrats overlooking AI anxieties?

Plus, I was invited on the Factually! podcast with Adam Conover.

Below you’ll find a range of news and views that concern working-class politics today. Many are written by research associates and friends of the Center for Working-Class Politics.

Michael Kazin has a good read in The Atlantic:

On the eve of the 250th anniversary of the nation’s independence, more Americans on the right than on the left say they feel patriotic. Recent polls show that a majority of Democrats are “proud” of the country only when a president of their party is in the White House. And many progressive activists and historians see the founding of the nation as a tragedy for Native Americans and enslaved people instead of the glorious fight for liberty that conservatives insist it was. Why love a country founded in conquest and exploitation that remains deeply unequal today? After the terrorist attacks of September 11, Noam Chomsky dismissed patriotism as the political elite’s way of telling citizens ‘‘You shut up and be obedient, and I’ll relentlessly advance my own interests.’’

That attitude is deeply flawed as a way to understand history, as well as a serious political error.

One way to rebuild a progressive patriotism is through a more thoroughgoing critique of globalism and a positive assertion for domestic popular sovereignty. Nothing about this should entail xenophobic or chauvinistic appeals. Just the simple admission that the nation-state remains the only political organization capable of delivering both our democratic and economic ideals. Attempts to dissolve or otherwise bypass the nation have resulted in less, not more, popular control; weaker, not stronger, working-class organization; and far greater inequality.

Patriotism versus globalism seems like a solid enough foundation to build on. Why not?

Looks like another new political action committee has started with the express intent of recruiting blue-collar candidates:

We’re the Blue Collar Brigade — a coalition of working-class candidates joining forces to bring real voices to Congress and take back the majority. We’ve spent our lives punching a clock, standing on picket lines, and fighting for the people who keep this country running.

Bob Brooks, Kayla Berg, Sam Forstag, Brian Poindexter, and Randy Villegas are featured. Hey, we know those guys.

And for more on Brooks CNN caught up with some PA voters:

A new survey was just published on AI anxieties:

The poll shows that 73 percent are “concerned” that AI will lead to job losses in the United States, while 62 percent worry it could “affect their own job, household income, or jobs of people close to them”; 58 percent think it will hurt working-class families overall. Among the jobs that a majority said AI would hurt are truck drivers; retail and service workers; office and administrative workers; and writers, designers, and other creative workers.

Here’s me talking about the need for a jobs agenda: