General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsGreen Party's Jill Stein completely flip-flops on Brexit--first supported, now opposes
The original, pro-Brexit statement:
https://web.archive.org/web/20160625005659/http://www.jill2016.com/stein_calls_britain_vote_a_wake_up_call
The vote in Britain to exit the European Union (EU) is a victory for those who believe in the right of self-determination and who reject the pro-corporate, austerity policies of the political elites in EU. The vote says no to the EUs vision of a world run by and for big business. It is also a rejection of the European political elite and their contempt for ordinary people
The Brexit vote is one more sign that voters are in revolt against the rigged economy and the rigged political system that created it. People want change and they will get it one way or the other.
The austerity policies pushed aggressively by the EU bankers in the wake of the 2008 economic collapse has harmed the economies of European nations. It has also led to the kind of divisions between the working class and immigrants that fueled the Brexit. The increase in anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim and anti-refugee sentiment expanded because of the EU's economic policies, and was a key driver in support of the UK's departure from the European Union. Counterproductive austerity policies, cuts in government spending and loss of government jobs having created similar hateful, nationalist rhetoric promoted by my Republican opponent Donald Trump.
We must build a culture of inclusiveness and respect, and challenge the anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim pronouncements of demagogues who divide and distract us from the real source of economic distress the economic elites throwing us all under the bus.
Government spending and job creation has historically led the United States out of recessions. I have proposed a Green New Deal which would fund a green energy transition and create millions of jobs. I also call for cancelling student loan debt as we did for Wall Street after it crashed the economy in 2008. Liberating the younger generation to lead the way to a new economy is perhaps the most powerful stimulus package imaginable. The divisions promoting hateful xenophobia will not occur if the economy grows from the bottom, the wealth divide shrinks and people see hopeful futures.
The challenge now is to expand the political movement in the United States, Britain and beyond, that opposes austerity and the rule of bankers including destructive corporate trade agreements like the Trans Pacific Partnership and the TTIP. We must also defend the rights of workers and immigrants, and adopt sustainable economic policies that lift up the quality of life for all while transitioning to 100% clean energy as an urgent priority to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. And we must reject the catastrophic military adventures that have caused so much of the immigration crisis to start with, while simultaneously bankrupting our economies.
We will continue to work with our fellow Greens in the UK who are already leading the way in Britain, and with Green Parties throughout Europe and beyond, to promote these urgently needed changes in all countries.
Britain has spoken for much of humanity as it rejects the failed vision of a world that prioritizes profit for the few amidst hardship for the many. Now we must build on this momentum. Together we can create a world that works for us all, that puts people, planet and peace over profit. #ItsInOurHands
And what's currently on her website, showing her new-found lack of support for Brexit:
http://www.jill2016.com/stein_calls_britain_vote_a_wake_up_call
In reality, immigrants are themselves refugees from neoliberal militarism and economic domination and have been forced to flee their homelands in search of safety and economic survival.
The only answer to this crisis is truly progressive policies fair trade agreements, economic equality and security including the right to a job at living wages, health care and education as human rights, the cancellation of student debt, and respect for the needs and rights of immigrants. We must honor diversity and stop causing the immigration crisis through predatory economic and military policies of neoliberalism.
In order to achieve progressive policies that can address the growing crisis, we must also demand real democracy, both in the EU and the US. Only then can we begin to create an America and a world that works for all of us, that puts people, planet and peace over profit.
Before the Brexit vote I agreed with Jeremy Corbyn, Caroline Lucas and the UK Greens who supported staying in the EU but working to fix it, because the EU has many problems. They also recalled the problems that existed before the EU between European nations. The EU was created to fix those problems.
The Brexit vote should be a wake-up call to the EU -- they need to do more to respect democracy at the national level; serve the interests of the people by controlling transnational corporations, not empowering them; and protect the environment, not allow big business profits to come before the environment. As progressives we need to explain that the neoliberal policies of the EU are weakening workers, creating an expanded wealth divide as well as creating an environment where racism against immigrants can flourish. We also need to make clear it is the militarist policies of the US and NATO that is causing the migrant crisis. I still support Corbyn's, Lucas' and the UK Greens' view and hope the EU hears these concerns because they exist in many nations. If they do not fix the EU, it could fall apart.
Also see statements from European Greens https://europeangreens.eu/news/responses-f-our-member-parties-uk-referendum-results
Tsk tsk, Jill.
geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)range from ambivalent to supportive of the Brexit whereas the globalists tend to be appalled by it.
Stein couldn't figure out which group she wanted to pander to.
Ghost Dog
(16,881 posts)I strongly support the work of the Green parties of Scotland and of England and Wales in working with progressive forces for a new European democracy to stand against both neoliberalism and neofascism
BlueMTexpat
(15,373 posts)by not clearly informing them about how Brexit would actually affect them. Their lukewarm support for Remain is partially accountable for the result. Except for Jo Cox perhaps. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jo_Cox Jo Cox was worth at least ten or Corbyn.
If for nothing else, Leavers should feel thoroughly ashamed that even Jo's assassination couldn't galvanize them to question why anyone would believe that Brexit was a good idea.
pampango
(24,692 posts)I don't consider them to be globalists, though they were appalled by Brexit.
geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)opposition to it by refusing to make policy arguments against it. His job was to oppose it, and he barely went through the motions, because he's from the Paleo left faction inside labor that thinks the EU is a neoliberal cabal.
pampango
(24,692 posts)Bernie Sanders has said he wants the United Kingdom to remain a member of the European Union.
His comments come after both President Obama and Hillary Clinton urged the British people to vote in favour of EU membership at the June 23 referendum.
Senator Sanders, who is fighting Clinton for the Democratic nomination for president, told NBCs Meet The Press on Sunday he wanted to let the British people make their own decisions.
I think the European Union obviously is a very, very important institution, he said. I would hope that they stay in, but thats their decision.
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/bernie-sanders-says-he-hopes-britain-votes-to-remain-in-the-european-union_uk_571d4aaae4b077f671e7fc61
I have not seen the NYT op-ed you referenced. Perhaps he walked this statement back as they say in politics.
Advising us to ignore what Corbyn says because you know what is in his heart is not very convincing.
If Corbyn's opposition to Brexit was 'just going through the motions' in your view, the support for Brexit from Boris Johnson, Nigel Farage, Donald Trump and a majority of conservative voters was quite unequivocal. If Johnson becomes the next Conservative prime minister, Brits may well see the UK become a "neoliberal fantasy island" (Johnson's words).
Regardless of what is in Corbyn's heart, the majority of Labour, young, minority and liberal voters voted to Remain in the EU. They sound like Bernie voters in the US.
geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)...
Could this rejection of the current form of the global economy happen in the United States? You bet it could.
...
During my campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, Ive visited 46 states. What I saw and heard on too many occasions were painful realities that the political and media establishment fail even to recognize.
In the last 15 years, nearly 60,000 factories in this country have closed, and more than 4.8 million well-paid manufacturing jobs have disappeared. Much of this is related to disastrous trade agreements that encourage corporations to move to low-wage countries.
Despite major increases in productivity, the median male worker in America today is making $726 dollars less than he did in 1973, while the median female worker is making $1,154 less than she did in 2007, after adjusting for inflation.
...
Lets be clear. The global economy is not working for the majority of people in our country and the world. This is an economic model developed by the economic elite to benefit the economic elite. We need real change.
But we do not need change based on the demagogy, bigotry and anti-immigrant sentiment that punctuated so much of the Leave campaigns rhetoric and is central to Donald J. Trumps message.
We need a president who will vigorously support international cooperation that brings the people of the world closer together, reduces hypernationalism and decreases the possibility of war. We also need a president who respects the democratic rights of the people, and who will fight for an economy that protects the interests of working people, not just Wall Street, the drug companies and other powerful special interests.
We need to fundamentally reject our free trade policies and move to fair trade. Americans should not have to compete against workers in low-wage countries who earn pennies an hour. We must defeat the Trans-Pacific Partnership. We must help poor countries develop sustainable economic models.
His only critique of Trump and the Leave campaign is of tone, he actually agrees with their substance. His solution is to start a trade war with the developing world (including India, China,presumably Mexico) while helping them 'develop sustainable economic models"--whatever that means.
As far as Corbyn is concerned, he refused to appear with Cameron to promote the remain campaign and generally was conflicted about the whole thing. He and Sanders are part of the "underdevelopment" school of leftwing thought that believes the best thing the US/UK can do for everyone else is to refuse to trade with them.
pampango
(24,692 posts)I agree with Sanders on his analysis and position on this. He did not write anything in that OpEd that contradicted what he had said back in the article from May.
With respect to Corbyn, you may be right. I would like to hear him state his position rather than try to 'read the tea leaves' to figure out what he really believes.
I see that Thomas Piketty resigned as a Corbyn advisor in frustration with the latter's ineffective performance as a Remain advocate. Piketty did not speculate on whether Corbyn's ineffectiveness was due to him being conflicted on the issue or that he is just not a good campaigner.
geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)Indeed--the central substantive point of Sanders's piece--"close the ports" economic nationalism--is almost perfectly aligned with Trumpism and Team Leave.
If he sees a problem with the Brexit in terms of policy as opposed to the rhetoric used by some of its supporters, he's hiding it.
I read the article not knowing his position on the Brexit, and came away thinking he was for it.
Corbyn is an old-school anti-NATO, anti-US, anti-EU hard leftist. He opposed the UK's entry to the European Union in the 1970s and has on multiple occasions said he'd be open to a Brexit under certain circumstances.
He even said that his enthusiasm for staying in the EU was around a 7/10.
pampango
(24,692 posts)Bernie explicitly stated he was for Remain. From his later explanation in the OpEd he is probably something like a 7/10 for Remain also.
geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)pampango
(24,692 posts)for Brexit at this time might be going from the frying pan into the fire with an invigorated Right emerging from Brexit's success. He may have preferred for a later, 'liberal Brexit' to come when liberal forces were the driving force which might result in a more liberal post-Brexit UK than what looks likely to emerge now.
That would be the "Brexit - sure, but not in the current political environment" scenario.
Or he may believe that EU membership for the UK is really preferable. That would be the "The EU is flawed but being in is better than being out" scenario.
At least from what I have read from him, he has kind of left us guessing.
geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)figures, so I should probably oppose it."
pampango
(24,692 posts)scenario. Agreed.
Hortensis
(58,785 posts)Where farther-left leaders are on these things is not something I've paid attention to.
tallahasseedem
(6,716 posts)no thank you...I'll take Hillary any day of the week.
CrowCityDem
(2,348 posts)If you change your mind, say you changed your mind. It looks a whole lot better than getting called out for being a manipulative liar like this.
LeftishBrit
(41,210 posts)msanthrope
(37,549 posts)seaglass
(8,173 posts)I have to say I didn't realize what a dope she is until recently.
ProudToBeBlueInRhody
(16,399 posts)Fuck her. Anti-vax nut.
Daemonaquila
(1,712 posts)This is a problem WHY? People get to change their minds. Of course, those on DU who are planning to vote for her are both (a) not likely to respond to you as discussing non-Dem voting is a violation, and (b) couldn't care less.
NuclearDem
(16,184 posts)with absolutely no acknowledgement that she did so.
It's fine to change one's mind on an issue, but to pretend you held your current position all along is just plain dishonest.
Hortensis
(58,785 posts)that matters so much to me, anyone can change his or her mind. Politicians who expect and exploit ignorance instead of educating, though, are a big part of "the problem." Hope this cost her credibility with more thoughtful Greens.
DanTex
(20,709 posts)Changing one's mind is fine, but replacing a pro-Brexit article with an anti-Brexit one on her website within three days of each other, and both written after the Brexit vote, is veering into Trump territory.
Bad Thoughts
(2,531 posts)Too many hang onto whatever boogie man is being put out there until it is explained to them. Yes, Jill, David Cameron introduced austerity, not the EU.
oberliner
(58,724 posts)At first, she was adamantly in support of closed primaries (which all Green party primaries are). Then she joined up with the whole "all primaries should be open primaries" schtick promoted by Bernie Sanders.
woolldog
(8,791 posts)and is utterly unqualified to be President. What a joke. Maybe try running and winning and doing well with a lower office before trying for President. What hubris.
madinmaryland
(64,933 posts)No way will they have any impact. Just to say the libertarians will probably get the same amount. Libertarians are teabaggers who support tRump.
Jim Lane
(11,175 posts)We seem to be heading toward a general election between two major-party candidates who have record unfavorables. Furthermore, in each party there are substantial numbers of formerly dependable voters who'll have reason to look elsewhere. Most Sanders supporters will vote for Clinton, however grudgingly, but enough will vote for Stein to give the Greens their best non-Nader showing ever (certainly better than the 0.36% they got in 2012). On the GOP side, Republicans who are disgusted by Trump but who can't bring themselves to vote for Clinton will see, on the Libertarian ticket, two former GOP governors. Eccentricities of the platform aside, both Johnson and Weld are, in the eyes of many Republicans, better qualified for high office than is Trump. I predict that the Libertarian Party will have its best showing ever.
I'm assuming that Stein and Johnson get the nominations but these minor parties rate to do well even with other candidates.
DanTex
(20,709 posts)MohRokTah
(15,429 posts)Her supporters are ten times more stupid than Trump's.
sangfroid
(212 posts)So I take it you folks won't be voting Green.
Renew Deal
(81,871 posts)The people that support her don't know anything about her. They just think she is the most Lovett wing candidate. Guaranteed loser is a waste of time and a vote
alcibiades_mystery
(36,437 posts)TNProfessor
(83 posts)Beaverhausen
(24,472 posts)Maybe if she ran for a lower office like congress or state rep. She needs to get some experience.
MADem
(135,425 posts)Dumb as a post, she is.
herding cats
(19,567 posts)Just show them this, and many other similar examples.
They're not serious, and they don't have a bloody clue, and even less of an actual concern as to what's really taking place. They don't need a wind to blow from one direction to the other, a gentle breeze will send them shifting in their stances.
I agree, Jill apparently pretending this was her original stance, is rather pathetic. In appears she thought since hardly any people would know her original stance on Brexit, so it wouldn't be noticed. Which is just sad.
Nye Bevan
(25,406 posts)MADem
(135,425 posts)You'd think they'd talk about that stuff over in Lexington...!
This is typical, though.
Albertoo
(2,016 posts)Farage and Boris Johnson too have now openly flip-flopped.
The very definition of demagoguery. The whole thing is a ghastly mess.
Orrex
(63,224 posts)That's like 37 or 38 votes, minimum.
Bucky
(54,065 posts)They'll do better this year but their ceiling is still about 2%