He's always been predictable: crony capitalism: good....socialism: bad.

He promoted a rightwing tilt to economics

Never understood his allure

And plenty of other neoliberal shitbags as well!

Campaign and got tickets to the final night of the convention when he was formally nominated. I was so excited to listen to his memoir. But when he got to the Larry Summers part, I just couldn’t finish the book. His nomination was such a disappointment.

here on DU when Summers was nominated. I don't think anyone on the left actually trusted him. He certainly was no Jared Bernstein.

Summers convinced Obama not to do more aggressive Bank reform.

"Larry [Summers] and Christy agued that in light of mounting losses at Citigroup and Bank of America, it was time for us to consider preemptive nationalization -- the kind of strategy that Sweden had ultimately pursued when it went through its own financial crisis in the 1990s. ... In response, Tim pointed out that Sweden -- with a much smaller financial sector, and at a time when the rest of the world was stable -- had nationalized only two of its major banks as a last resort, while providing effective guarantees for its remaining four. An equivalent strategy on our part, he said, might cause the already fragile global financial system to unravel ... .. ... Some on the team suggested that we at least take a more aggressive posture toward Citibank and Bank of America. ... (I would later invite two groups of outside economists -- one left-leaning, the other conservative -- who'd publicly questioned our handling of the crisis to meet me in the Oval, just to see if they had any ideas we hadn't already considered. They didn't.)"

From "A Promised Land"

Obama says if he went back in time he'd make the same choice because nationalizing banks, stretching the definitions of criminal statutes to try to prosecute bankers, letting the big banks collapse might've made things much worse, "Worse for the very folks I'd be purporting to save." He wasn't going to take that chance.

And they aren’t just pals of Epstein.

has come up many times in discussions about his tight relationship with Epstein.......

Same with Bill Gates..........whose wife hinted at the fact that she had told her husband many times over five years to quit associating with Epstein....which he didn't, according to her, and she finally divorced him.

You can be sure that Epstein's customer list included a number of Dems........

in any way.

Epstein knew a LOT of people, and those relationships had nothing to do with his criminality with children.

Innuendo or "guilt by association" ISN'T evidence of anything.

He'd be just another fish among them all. By putting himself out there as a centrist new Democrat. Neoliberal he's a big fish in a little pond... although that pond is growing... and it will be to the harm of the party. If we wanted RINO policies we'd be GOP. The democrats have to get back to their FDR roots if they want the people's trust again. Stop playing the austerity game with our lives and propping up the rich. I love Obama, but I sincerely hope he's the last Neoliberal we have as president. But I'm a long time progressive so I guess I'm on an opposite side of most people. Although it seems progressives are making a comeback.

“But I'm a long time progressive so I guess I'm on an opposite side of most people. Although it seems progressives are making a comeback.”

I don’t think so. I think you (and I) are merely on the opposite side from most people with money and influence. It is madness to shift to the center on account of Trump imo. It will be infuriating if MTG or Hawley runs as a populist opposite to a centrist dem and wins.

... was, and always will be an irredeemable piece of shit.

As always.

Iraq, medicare, regulation, on and on and on and on. "The Left was right"

You'd think someone would notice and act accordingly. But even the Democratic Party and many Democratic websites push "the left" away and take our vote for granted.

I've always loathed Larry Summers.

Even if it bears the stamp of Varoufakis' embellishment, the mention of "their version of the truth" and the "sacrosanct rule" of the insiders reflects an attitude we are all familiar with. Summers really was a chief enforcer of that rule and one who worked to capture any rising stars, for the safety of the flock.

The Democratic Party sidelined us for my entire adult life - since Reagan. And that’s how we got this fascism. I’m glad the party is waking up again.

There have probably been others, but the progressives have been correct almost every time.

That really isn't saying much: those who think we should put up a fight against the fascists are correct more often than those who refuse to take a stand on anything. It is a low bar.

Didn’t he? That does change the personality..any kind of damage to the brain.

E.g.: Someone who was fairly assertive may become relatively more docile/pliant and so on..

In a normal world, we should never have elected somebody with his medical condition. But the candidates the GOP has been offering up are just terrible in many cases. This was very much a lesser of evils scenario. But he should have been removed from office by now because of his obvious problems.

It explains Jeffries versus AOC. It explains Cuomo versus Mandani. It explains Martin versus Hogg.

Unfortunately it means that we don't just have to overcome the Trump regime, but we also have to get past the Dem Insiders club. And the sad thing is that the insiders just don't care that much. Clinton has his foundation. Obama has his legacy. Martin has his convention regulars, and all the political consultants who are actually more valuable when we are out of power than when we are in power.

That insiders crap was terrible wasn’t it?

It’s histrionic and cliche. Was he twirling his moustaches while saying it?
Who talks like that? How are these morons even our evil elites?

I demand better dialogue from our evil elites! If they are running roughshod over us all, we should at least get higher quality shit than crap
reminiscent of the type of movie script I would scoff at as unrealistic.

Summers really was a pustule.

And don’t get me started on his even creepier side .

That shit is why I am a card carrying MeToo supporter. Fortunately, even at the worst school I worked at, I never came across this type of creep.

They exist even in academic science sadly (Walter Lewin, Geoff Marcy, Kanury Rao, Giridhar Madrass etc), but I have been fortunate enough to not come across them.

Thankfully, most academic scientists (in the natural sciences anyway) are pretty implicitly feminist in my experience. Dr Fauci or Francis Collins are closer to the norm than this type of ghastly person. Typically understated and that’s easier. I like my woke and feminist understated. The same way I feel gleeful when the right or centre is this much of a chestnut bts.

Economics is right leaning as a field..less reality based..it really is all of a piece. I remember thinking even back when he made those comments about women in science “But you don’t even work in a real science. You are a damn economist.”

We were

They aren’t leftists by any means. They’re capitalists, ruling class enablers, and that’s why Summers was in there, to promote the interests of his class.

Until we figure out that we need to rid this party of these “insiders” and get back to representing the working class, we’re never going to solve any of these problems.

n/t

Something about him - what is it? Pompous? Disingenuous? Arrogant? A basic ewww! Why did he get so much cred?

because we voiced our opposition to Summers. And that was just because of his economic policies.

there doesn't seem to be any 'there' there. Also, now we're bashing Obama? Really?