2813 - The Liberalism "Revolution" & The "End" Of History w/ Luke Savage & Rana Abdelhamid

Emma hosts Luke Savage, staff writer at Jacobin Magazine, to discuss his new book The Dead Center: Reflections On Liberalism And Democracy After the End Of History.  Then, Emma is joined by Rana Abdelhamid, candidate for Congress in New York's 12th Congressional District, to give us an update from the campaign trail. Luke and Emma begin by looking at what the "end of history" means, and how this period, that they were both born into, came to establish a ubiquity of neoliberalism’s status quo in the wake of the fall of the Soviet Union and the decline of fascism. They dive particularly into the assimilation of liberals, particularly in the US and UK, into the ideology following the decade of the 80s that saw overwhelming conservative success, looking to Tony Blair and his ability to both channel the zeitgeist of the status quo, and present himself as a transformational figure. This leads them to the Obama era, marking the beginning of the end of the “end of history” in the wake of the financial collapse, and the “ideological universalism” that he employed to fit himself into the center of history and culture, bolstering his transformational status while committing to his conservative politics. They then briefly touch on the role of other political staples of early 2000s culture, such as The Daily Show and the West Wing, and how they created this belief in a commitment to systems, with a cultural rejection of the right, that simply is not a plausible way for politics to function. They wrap up the interview by looking at the role of liberal incompetence, and how the Democratic party in the US manages to consistently act as though they have no power over the system that they control, and the role this played in first bolstering the Bush administration’s inadequacy, then pushing Obama’s inaction, and finally helping Trump’s candidacy along, even pushing forwards his role in 2024. Then, Emma talks with Congressional candidate Rana Abdelhamid on serving NY-12, committing to a progressive agenda that serves her constituents, and how it feels to take on an incumbent that actively looks away from her own district. Emma also dives into Biden’s vocal support of workers’ collective bargaining, particularly in the Amazon case, Chuck Todd apologizes for broadcasting such nonsense, and Jen Psaki does her best to remind people that it was JUST verbal, he’s not going to actually do anything about it.

And in the Fun Half: Emma is joined by Brandon and Matt as Emma does all she can to fend Dave from Jamaica away from online sports betting, Candace Owens calls out those mentally unstable adult predators, as she puts her trust in those attempting to legalize child marriage in Tennessee. Rep. Raul Ruiz goes in (though not all the way) on the gas and oil industry’s disaster capitalism with the invasion of Ukraine, Steve from Audubon discusses Disney and the right’s homophobia,  and Sean Hannity subtly calls for the execution of George W Bush. Gregory from OK gives us some exciting updates on his campaign, Matt touches on the influence of American neoconservatism on Putin’s Russia, and Eddie from Ft. Worth discusses not being pro-murder, plus, your calls and IMs!

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