The Terrible Cost to Democrats and American Society of Ignoring Thomas Frank’s Warnings

Corbyn’s strongest supporters in his run for leadership of the Labour Party were the young. Corbyn knew that the young were the strongest demographic group opposing BREXIT.  Corbyn could not support BREXIT without destroying the base of his support.  Corbyn knew that if BREXIT were approved it was likely that Scotland would vote for independence.  If Scotland became an independent nation it would be a major electoral advantage to the Tories in what remained of the UK by removing one of the most reliable bases of progressive voters.  Corbyn also knew that the Scots were among the strongest opponents of BREXIT.  If he campaigned for BREXIT he would destroy any chance that Labour had to reverse its virtual electoral destruction in Scotland at the hands of the SNP if BREXIT were rejected.  Corbyn also knew that many members of his shadow cabinet were sympathetic to New Labour, ambitious to replace him as party leader, and intense opponents of BREXIT.

Politically, Corbyn had only bad options on BREXIT.  Prime Minister David Cameron’s BREXIT gamble was a self-inflicted wound, but Corbyn never wanted a referendum on BREXIT.  Corbyn is simply collateral damage from Cameron’s failed gamble.

Cohn’s column returns to the parallel he sees between the effect of the New Democrats and New Labour’s policies.  Note that he does not use the name of either political movement and he never openly acknowledges their anti-worker policies and rhetoric even though he uses that rhetoric.

Cohn continues:

But in much the same way that immigration and nationalism proved to be more persuasive to the more secular European working class, European-style populism — now embodied by Donald Trump — could do additional damage to the Democrats in many parts of the United States.

The parallel is striking. The European center-left, like Democrats in the United States, have embraced lower taxes, free trade and immigration over the last few decades.

Note Cohn’s description of the New Democrats and New Labour’s policies in the second paragraph.  Cohn erases from history the defining policies of New Democrats and New Labour – the destruction of effective financial regulation, supervision, and prosecutions and the resultant epidemics of fraud and abuse led by elite bankers caused the financial crisis and the payment protection insurance (PPI) scandal in the UK.

The New Democrats and New Labour did not embrace “free trade.”  They embraced deals that gave CEOs exceptional leverage to prevent effective environmental, financial, and safety regulation and increased leverage against their workers.  Those deals were drafted and negotiated largely by corporate CEOs for the benefit of corporate CEOs.  The key to the deals is not “trade,” much less “free trade,” but the kangaroo, non-judicial arbiters that can bankrupt smaller nations that dare to protect their citizens and workers’ health and safety through law and regulation.

The New Democrats did not embrace “lower taxes,” they embraced greatly reduced government services and protections and an eroded safety nets.  Some of them even embraced the Republicans dramatically lower taxes for the wealthiest Americans, even hedge fund billionaires.  Collectively, the New Democrats and New Labour’s policies were designed to swing sharply against the working class and labor in favor of the wealthy, particularly financial elites.  The policies were accompanied by rhetoric reviling labor and the working class.  Those policies transformed America and the UK, harming labor and the working class while making the wealthiest far wealthier.

Cohn is correct to warn the New Democrats that they have pushed huge numbers of the working class to such despair and anger that they have lost their support.  But if you want to understand why that happened you need to read Tom Frank, for you will never learn it by reading writers like Cohn.