The arrogance and brutality of empire are not repealed when they temporarily get deployed in a just cause.
Michael KazinWhat is work going to look like in the future? How are Democrats going to be able to give people a sense that they can have good jobs, or if they don't have good jobs, maybe they have to have universal basic income - we have to have a longer discussion about the future. This is not just an intellectual exercise; it's an exercise about giving people hope.
Michael KazinTrump's dividing us. Yes, but people were already divided; Trump just expressed that division. And we have to find a way to, within a very heterogeneous party, even though we're the minority, we're a much more diverse party, of course, than the Republicans are. How do we talk about universal programs, have a universal message, and make sure we're talking about recent immigrants and non-immigrants, African-Americans, Latinos, LGBT people, as well? To me, that is a serious problem.
Michael KazinWe have to think about what the future is going to look like for people. People are afraid of robotization; they're afraid of globalization; they're afraid of all these things. And Trump's solution to that is: shut the borders; America first; everything's got to be made here, which is of course, not realistic - in his own companies everything's not made here at all - but I think we have to engage in issues that do cross these demographic boundaries.
Michael KazinI hate to say, I kind of hope so, in the sense that, yes, Donald Trump will be terrible, but I want the Republicans just to remain divided. It's not good for the country, but I think in the end I want people to realize what a terrible guy this is, and I'm afraid that that's not going to happen if somehow he resigns or somehow gets impeached and we have Pence instead.
Michael Kazin