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Happy New Year to all the Jimmy Dore stans! I hope you enjoyed the epic rager you threw in my mentions last night.
Apologies to my followers, most of whom have no idea who this dude even is, but it looks like I’ve got a bit of tidying up to do, so… [sighs, rolls up sleeves]
This whole Zergling rush began when I linked to a clip of Jimmy Dore from the afterparty of the Force The Vote Town Hall, where he flies completely off the handle and starts screaming “fuck off” at his fellow panelist @BenSpielberg — a person who *is on his side* on M4A and FTV.
Even Jimmy knows he was out of line in this clip — he later apologized to Ben for his outbursts. But this is par for the course for Jimmy Dore — he has a long pattern of exploding at his friends and colleagues. Anyone who has followed his career knows this is what he does.
So I posted a tweet pointing out the obvious — that if we are serious about trying to pass Medicare For All, it’s a mistake to elevate a loose cannon like Jimmy to be a spokesperson for the movement.
I’ve posted similar sentiments before, but this one got RT’d and QT’d by some Dore supporters with a lot of followers, and… well, you can probably guess the rest.
Any time Jimmy Dore fans get wind of anyone criticizing their hero, the responses are always exactly the same. It doesn’t matter what argument is being made or who is making it, these guys have this boilerplate at the ready…
“Jimmy Dore was mean, so now I don’t think poor people deserve health care.”
Look — I grew up in Canada. I have experienced, first-hand, the benefits of single-payer health care. I want that for everyone. I have been a single-payer supporter ever since the day I moved here.
Look — I grew up in Canada. I have experienced, first-hand, the benefits of single-payer health care. I want that for everyone. I have been a single-payer supporter ever since the day I moved here.
I promise you, it’s possible to believe in single-payer and also think Jimmy Dore is a poor spokesperson for it.
“It’s about the policy. Stop making this about Jimmy Dore.”
Yes, that was precisely my point. I’m glad we agree! But Dore himself, and many of his fans, are actually quite insistent about making this all about Jimmy Dore…
Yes, that was precisely my point. I’m glad we agree! But Dore himself, and many of his fans, are actually quite insistent about making this all about Jimmy Dore…
… to the point where their litmus test for whether you “really” support M4A is whether you are on board with Dore personally. So if you agree that we shouldn’t center Jimmy in the M4A debate, you might want to have a word with them. (You can find them all over my mentions.)
“You probably have adequate health care.”
For years I didn’t. I do now, thanks to my union! And I’m well aware of how fortunate that makes me. Health care is a human right and the U.S. health care system is monstrous and inhumane.
For years I didn’t. I do now, thanks to my union! And I’m well aware of how fortunate that makes me. Health care is a human right and the U.S. health care system is monstrous and inhumane.
I’m just a jagoff jazz musician, but I’ve been doing whatever I can to advocate for single-payer ever since I arrived in the U.S. 20 years ago.
“Just admit you want poor people to die”
Yes, that’s right, anyone who criticizes Jimmy Dore is an Enemy of the People.
(I’ll just note here that Dore’s preferred candidate in the Democratic Primary did not support Medicare For All.)
Yes, that’s right, anyone who criticizes Jimmy Dore is an Enemy of the People.
(I’ll just note here that Dore’s preferred candidate in the Democratic Primary did not support Medicare For All.)
“Why aren’t you full of rage?”
Oh, I am. 355,000 Americans are dead in this plague. My entire field has been shut down since March, and we’re going to be feeling the repercussions for years.
Oh, I am. 355,000 Americans are dead in this plague. My entire field has been shut down since March, and we’re going to be feeling the repercussions for years.
Tying health insurance to employment has always been monstrous — during a pandemic it’s positively sadistic. But I don’t see how yelling at my friends and allies to go fuck themselves would help anything.
“Stop tone policing!”
Movements make choices about who they elevate to represent them. There are better choices and worse choices.
Movements make choices about who they elevate to represent them. There are better choices and worse choices.
If we’re going to make progress on Medicare For All, we have a lot of hard work ahead — work that involves organizing and persuading and building coalitions with people who don’t agree with us on absolutely everything.
Rage is cathartic. I get that, we all get that. But the Red Lantern theory of politics — that you can just conjure things into existence if you’re angry enough about the status quo — isn’t real.
