If I could see just one political event in my lifetime, it would be a successful general strike in America. I don't know why it is such a hard concept for this nation to wrap its head around...sheer size, demographic differences, etc. But it would be such an amazing thing to see the general public stick it to all these billionaire twits.
there is a economic blackout/strike day on Feb. 28th It has been in the news about. and the is a general strike in the works https://generalstrikeus.com/
I am glad I clicked on this link! I went to the comments to see if anyone pointed out the missing representation in the photo in the article titled "This is us!" The photo on the header at https://generalstrikeus.com/ seems more in line with a movement that hopes to unify people in a popular front to fight back.
"I don't know why it is such a hard concept for this nation to wrap its head around"
because it would involve so many people with extremely different life circumstances and 'tolerances' for putting themselves on the line...There first needs to be a 'thing' for people to coalesce around...A way to have a tipping point number of people who have your back...Its kind of a tautological problem. you need X number of people to get the ball rolling but in order to get the ball rolling you need X number of people. I still believe it will emerge, but there was no way that an organized people's 'resistance' was going to emerge a mere 3.5 weeks into this mess...But I WAS kinda hoping that dem leadership was going to grow a spine...I am currently SUPER disgusted with My Senator Tim Kaine for voting to approve these trash appointees...
The first economic action is very simple-- just one day--and relatively painless. If we can get enough people engaged, it will grow. They have a whole calendar set up. Please plan to participate and share the news.
I just think most people are so caught in the web of never having a consistent source of income they can’t risk it. but man that would be great to see.
Feb. 28th. General strike. Before that, ongoing demos and confrontations, in every state, at all levels. Federal switchboards are flooded with ranting constituents, including me. 3 special elections, in House and 3 in Senate, upcoming! WTP can turn the tide. But only if we cowgirl up!!! Grow a pair! Never give up!
PS WTP also, need more brilliant, Pro Democracy hacktivists, like Anonymous, working against Muskrat's Teenage Mutant Nerds, so, please, if you know any, pass it on. They really have the tekkie stuff, to stop these fascist fucks, on that playing field. In addition, we will need well-trained and pro democratic/ anti fascist, military folks, retired and active, ready to fight, as well as medical personnel, agricultural/ water/ power patriots, etc. True Americans, from all walks of life, organizing, organizing, organizing, NOW!! Never bending the knee! Stop doom scrolling, get off the couch; do what you can, in your town, state and communities! Everyone has something to contribute, I promise you. Think! Our alleged gov reps are cowards and straw men. THEY WILL NOT SAVE US!! Since they're "Obeying in advance", to criminals' DUMPUTINEONAZI MUSKRAT cabal's agenda/ shitty/ unfit noms, etc.! Every little bit, helps. RESIST!! WTP can do this but we must be stronger, braver, smarter and more committed, to freedom, as the enemy has no scruples, nor ethics and is, already, 34% done with implementing their Anti Constitutional, seditious, subhuman agenda, of Project 2025!! FYI: Peter Thiel and his Paypal Mafia, from Aparthied S. Africa, are funding this coup, since they no longer believe in Democracy but only the broligarchy. Who can take him out? THINK!!
“The only kinds of fights worth fighting are those you are going to lose, because somebody has to fight them and lose and lose and lose until someday, somebody who believes as you do wins. In order for somebody to win an important, major fight 100 years hence, a lot of other people have got to be willing — for the sheer fun and joy of it — to go right ahead and fight, knowing you’re going to lose. You mustn’t feel like a martyr. You’ve got to enjoy it.” - I. F. Stone
Chris Hedges - “I don’t fight the fascists because I think we will win. I fight the fascists because they are fascists.”
We are fucked, because we probably can’t turn this around before the hell of climate chaos is unleashed in its sea level rise/migratory hyperdrive. The right wing didn’t kill media; capitalism did.
That said, and as others have noted here, general strikes/boycotts are our only path to avoiding the iceberg. Sick-outs, strikes, refraining from all purchases and travel for one day, would be a good place to start. Why not May 1, the international worker appreciation day of solidarity? Then build on that. Another two-day event in June, three-day in July, etc., until the capitalist class feels it in the wallet, and enough fear of worker/socialist revolution drives them and the political class to codify FDR’s second Bill of Rights, along with HJR-54, the constitutional amendment to eliminate corporate personhood and the concept of money as speech.
My only concern is that you're underappreciating the power of the right wing media ecosystem. Yes, MAGAs will suffer, personally, from the gutting of the federal government. And yes, they will look for an explanation. But they will turn to Fox News and the rest of the propaganda machine, be told that it's because [insert some absurd reason that shifts the blame to "the left" or immigrants here], and then they will believe it. It's come to the point where there does not seem to be a limit to how outrageously absurd the justification or rationale for GOP misconduct can be: The MAGA crowd will swallow it.
Yes! Daily press conferences, I think this is a really important way to get a different perspective out there. I was reading something yesterday, and this was brought up as well.
Well put, Sean. I share your concern. I'll speak to the part that hits closest to home. Hamilton writes, "Latinos who voted for Trump who will find themselves and their families targeted by his anti-immigration agenda." This is anecdotal, but I'm already seeing pro-Trump Latinos rationalizing, drawing lines between them and those targeted, while members of their community get carted off. We mustn't underestimate the tremendous human capacity to justify an existing worldview.
This is it. I cannot get through to my male family members. At all. They aren’t even on Fox News anymore but much more right wing media. Most of the die hard trumps are and they think Fox News is too leftist.
I'm probably being a bit of a Pollyanna here, but I imagine the 'backlash' against Trump by Trump supporters will ALSO map out onto backlash against the RW media as well...These are the organizations that had been lying to them all these years. The entire ecosystem will fold once that tipping point happens
"Trump and Elon Musk are like two guys with six-shooters trying to hold a thousand people hostage. They only win if everyone thinks they are too strong to rush."
This is easy for me to say, since I retired from working for the government 8 years ago, but what if FEDERAL workers in particular refused to cooperate? I'm not even thinking of a strike--what if they collectively agreed to refuse to obey illegal or outrageous orders, and to back each other up in that refusal? This could in particular include refusal to process illegitimate terminations, RIFs, or reassignments.
Or to put it differently, what if we stopped thinking of Trump as the next Hitler, and started thinking of him as Yertle the Turtle?
I was going to post something about the abandonment of the left, but I wonder if what I consider the left is what almost all of us want. Namely, peace, an end to western support of genocide, addressing bread and butter issues like cost of living, food prices, housing, etc. and taking effective environmental action, and inclusivity/solidarity.
Those of us who want these things, whatever we choose to call ourselves, have been abandoned by Republicans, Democrats and most parties in the west. Even the ones that call themselves the left are pandering to the extremely wealthy, championing their interests and supporting war and genocide.
How do we rally and find representation? If we do, I think we'll have so many with us.
IMO the best way forward is for this 'movement' to be spearheaded by the progressive caucus among dem leadership at the state AND federal level...Beginning from within an extant infrastructure saves a LOT of time, money and energy...However it happens its going to be a populist movement with a few central figures to 'rally' around...Remember how AOC and Bernie Sanders became rock stars RIGHT out of the box when they first showed up...
Personally I'd like to see AOC or Jasmine Crockett actually cut their terms short and focus on organizing efforts OUTSIDE of Washington...But the small chance that we will have elections in 2 years makes that not such a good idea right now. But as it is, we have no power in DC so in a way their talents are wasted there..
It sure seems that way, Eric. It truly makes me wonder when people are accusing 'the left' of certain things who they're actually referring to. In the west, the left hasn't had much legitimate representation for a very long time.
When conservatives speak of "the left" they mean anyone who's not a conservative Republican. They truly believe that people like Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, and Joe Biden are "the left" oftentimes they even say "the far left" or call them "socialists" or even "communists". It's completely at odds with reality but it's what they believe. They make no distinction between "liberals" and "the left". As far as what I'd call the actual left and it's lack of representation in politics. There are a few exceptions such as Rashida Tlaib and depending on the day one or two of her other "squad" mates and Bernie, despite how bad he was in the early months of the Israeli genocide in Gaza. On the local level there are DSA-affiliated electeds in Chicago, New York City and a few other places. The reason there aren't more is that the US electoral system is completely corrupt (Citizens United) and has many other intentionally anti-democratic features (the existence of the Senate, gerrymandering) that make it very hard for left candidates to win
“The Left” has abandoned class politics and materialism and is entirely focused on gender studies and other culture wars, with the predictable results.
IMO, that's not the left. The Democrats aren't left and even traditional labour parties are no longer left. They're now all behind neoliberalism, which is all about privatization and funnelling money that should go towards the well-being of people and planet to the rich.
I agree that’s why I put “the left” in quotes. But it’s what passes for leftism these days. I am personally going back to the source of anti-authoritarianism in Tolstoy and Voltaire to renourish my soul in these dark times.
The single most effective recourse available at this time is for everybody NOT to vote for a Republican for any office whatsoever. For the "innocent" ones-- and there are quite a few-- it would let them know that they are identified with a fatally tainted party and they should leave. Don't mind about the effect on the guilty. Local Republicans might be very kind, ethical and well-intentioned, but a lot of them are not-- we have an extremely educated but unethical man running for a position here-- Rotary, Boards of Directors sort of guy-- but a proven chaos-driven MAGAT. I can converse with him quite easily, but when he's in the company of other GOP politicians, his Mr. Hyde emerges-- and that's the case with almost all of them... Spread the word-- Vote Green, Democrat, Socialist, Progressive, Little Yellow Dog or Communist, but DON'T vote Republican, ever!
I am deadly serious. They have been selling the working class out to the oligarchs for decades now.
They got you Trump, AGAIN, instead of #M4A and other concrete material benefits. They lie to you about fiat money (read up on #MMT), the Ukraine war and Palestine. They support genocide, censorship and surveillance.
BOTH PARTIES ARE TRASH - tools of Empire, the wealthy and powerful, filled with neoliberal and neoconservative corrupt warmongering grifters.
Joe, I hope you are active in a local political committee! Unfortunately, your advice is pretty sound. Our two-party system makes it possible for both of them to betray their base, just in different ways. It takes about $8 billion to establish another party, so you have a choice-- either engage with one of the variants out there or, per Michael Moore's advice after "SiCKO," infiltrate the Democratic Party (just be sure to bring a lot of friends).
I think we passed the point where we could still vote our way out of this quite a while ago, but the very least people can still do is to not provide their consent to be governed by the duopoly. Unfortunately even that is apparently still too much to ask, given that 154+ million USians once again voted for the people that continue to destroy their society.
Very well said, Hamilton. The number of intelligent commentators advancing this same message is encouraging. History shows, however, that the wealthy who want to stay in power will use whatever force is necessary to do so. If the majority want to overcome, they’d better be prepared to meet the threat. This will not be a battle of words.
I would also love to see a general strike. Unlike unions in say France it’s almost impossible for US unions to wildcat due to the legality of their contracts. The same thing that gives them protection and legitimacy also hampers them.
making striking illegal is ITSELF unconstitutional NO matter WHAT spin the RW fascist SCOTUS puts on it...
Illegal to strike?
so what?
then break the law...
What are they going to do to you when they NEED your labor...There is a reason that the NYC sanitation dept strikes are ALWAYS successful...especially in the summer..lol
I support the broad direction here: despair is unhelpful, success is possible, coalition is valuable. But the math here is wrong and leads us to tactics that address the wrong problem.
Trump currently has higher approval ratings than disapproval ratings, and favorability is neck and neck. He is viewed more favorably than he was on election day. The current political opposition is not the majority.
Nothing that he is currently doing is out of line with what he said he would do, and he won the vote. Why would the groups listed here change their loyalties because of that? Why would law enforcement who voted for Trump, despite his encouragement of the January 6th insurrectionists and his clearly stated intention to pardon them, oppose him because he did what he said he would do? Why would women who vote against reproductive rights, with easy access to the knowledge that this forces ten-year-olds to carry pregnancies to term and results in the deaths of women, stop doing so?
People's politics are not primarily determined by their self-interest. If they were, the Republican party would not have won any presidential elections in the last 50 years. Trump's actions have made the lives of people from all walks of life worse and will continue to do so - but we can't count on that automatically increasing political opposition. We have to make that happen.
We face a larger problem than Trump and Musk. A majority of Americans are willing to abide the dissolution of democracy and the rule of law if it feels like winning. A majority of Americans are more interested in cruelty to their enemies and identification with power than they are interested in policies that care for their neighbors. (And this is a bipartisan problem - witness the flood of Democratic opinion pieces after the election treating the human rights of Palestinians, people who cross borders, and trans people as playing cards, and if the left just swapped out its hand of positions for a better one, Democrats would win and all would be well.)
Trump is the figurehead for a genuine political will. If he was not, the election results would have been very different, he would face bipartisan opposition from Congress, and he would not be able to do what he is currently doing.
Changing this is the project. Mobilizing the opposition, whether it's currently a majority or not (it's not, but we could make it so) is a key step in that project, but it's not enough; we need to change people's hearts to widen the opposition.
If Dems started holding daily press conferences & being direct about the harm that Trump has caused as well as as offering solutions to fix those problems, Dems could sbatch up all those persuadeables. They can't rely on the media or those disillusioned with Trump to automatically switch parties. Dems need to act like they want to win. This is their opportunity right now.
Not a majority yet. The plurality are so alienated from "official" politics that they don't even bother with the most minimal political activity: vote. They will nevertheless be negatively affected, and some enter political activity, per Nolan's explanation.
The Democrats are also a minority. They will remain so as they will never break with the oligarch donors. However their plebeian social base is of course very agitated. These must be united with the non-voters who enter political life, and with MAGA voters - not the MAGA social base of lumpen-capitalist grifters, con artists, Music Men, Elmer Gantrys and Tom Sawyers, a very different thing! - who break out of the cult spell due to similar bad experiences.
This means the Democrats' social base must fight tooth and nail against the Democratic Party leadership, at the city, state and federal levels.
The Democratic Party "apparatus" will be the primary barrier to realizing this potential majority.
The Democrat Party CANNOT be reformed from within. I don't why people keep clinging to that delusion. It's like trying to reform the company you work for, and that private corporation in this case is the DNC.
from the other side of the world I add my thoughts…….organise resist protest. Do not give in to despair, people around the world stand with you all. This is a global fight against tyranny of any kind, no room for hate only action
If I could see just one political event in my lifetime, it would be a successful general strike in America. I don't know why it is such a hard concept for this nation to wrap its head around...sheer size, demographic differences, etc. But it would be such an amazing thing to see the general public stick it to all these billionaire twits.
there is a economic blackout/strike day on Feb. 28th It has been in the news about. and the is a general strike in the works https://generalstrikeus.com/
I am glad I clicked on this link! I went to the comments to see if anyone pointed out the missing representation in the photo in the article titled "This is us!" The photo on the header at https://generalstrikeus.com/ seems more in line with a movement that hopes to unify people in a popular front to fight back.
"I don't know why it is such a hard concept for this nation to wrap its head around"
because it would involve so many people with extremely different life circumstances and 'tolerances' for putting themselves on the line...There first needs to be a 'thing' for people to coalesce around...A way to have a tipping point number of people who have your back...Its kind of a tautological problem. you need X number of people to get the ball rolling but in order to get the ball rolling you need X number of people. I still believe it will emerge, but there was no way that an organized people's 'resistance' was going to emerge a mere 3.5 weeks into this mess...But I WAS kinda hoping that dem leadership was going to grow a spine...I am currently SUPER disgusted with My Senator Tim Kaine for voting to approve these trash appointees...
Well said. To clarify, I do know why, I mostly just expressing my frustration with the fact that the barriers exist.
oh I hear ya! I was just riffin' on the theme!
The first economic action is very simple-- just one day--and relatively painless. If we can get enough people engaged, it will grow. They have a whole calendar set up. Please plan to participate and share the news.
done...
I have the page open all the time now and I refresh it to see how much the numbers have grown
I just think most people are so caught in the web of never having a consistent source of income they can’t risk it. but man that would be great to see.
its all about tipping points
Feb. 28th. General strike. Before that, ongoing demos and confrontations, in every state, at all levels. Federal switchboards are flooded with ranting constituents, including me. 3 special elections, in House and 3 in Senate, upcoming! WTP can turn the tide. But only if we cowgirl up!!! Grow a pair! Never give up!
PS WTP also, need more brilliant, Pro Democracy hacktivists, like Anonymous, working against Muskrat's Teenage Mutant Nerds, so, please, if you know any, pass it on. They really have the tekkie stuff, to stop these fascist fucks, on that playing field. In addition, we will need well-trained and pro democratic/ anti fascist, military folks, retired and active, ready to fight, as well as medical personnel, agricultural/ water/ power patriots, etc. True Americans, from all walks of life, organizing, organizing, organizing, NOW!! Never bending the knee! Stop doom scrolling, get off the couch; do what you can, in your town, state and communities! Everyone has something to contribute, I promise you. Think! Our alleged gov reps are cowards and straw men. THEY WILL NOT SAVE US!! Since they're "Obeying in advance", to criminals' DUMPUTINEONAZI MUSKRAT cabal's agenda/ shitty/ unfit noms, etc.! Every little bit, helps. RESIST!! WTP can do this but we must be stronger, braver, smarter and more committed, to freedom, as the enemy has no scruples, nor ethics and is, already, 34% done with implementing their Anti Constitutional, seditious, subhuman agenda, of Project 2025!! FYI: Peter Thiel and his Paypal Mafia, from Aparthied S. Africa, are funding this coup, since they no longer believe in Democracy but only the broligarchy. Who can take him out? THINK!!
HEAR HEAR!
“The only kinds of fights worth fighting are those you are going to lose, because somebody has to fight them and lose and lose and lose until someday, somebody who believes as you do wins. In order for somebody to win an important, major fight 100 years hence, a lot of other people have got to be willing — for the sheer fun and joy of it — to go right ahead and fight, knowing you’re going to lose. You mustn’t feel like a martyr. You’ve got to enjoy it.” - I. F. Stone
Chris Hedges - “I don’t fight the fascists because I think we will win. I fight the fascists because they are fascists.”
We are fucked, because we probably can’t turn this around before the hell of climate chaos is unleashed in its sea level rise/migratory hyperdrive. The right wing didn’t kill media; capitalism did.
That said, and as others have noted here, general strikes/boycotts are our only path to avoiding the iceberg. Sick-outs, strikes, refraining from all purchases and travel for one day, would be a good place to start. Why not May 1, the international worker appreciation day of solidarity? Then build on that. Another two-day event in June, three-day in July, etc., until the capitalist class feels it in the wallet, and enough fear of worker/socialist revolution drives them and the political class to codify FDR’s second Bill of Rights, along with HJR-54, the constitutional amendment to eliminate corporate personhood and the concept of money as speech.
Great idea! I love the momentum and anticipation it would build.
There’s already a first day to buy nothing scheduled on February 28th. Join us! https://theonecalledjai.com/
Thanks. Don’t agree with all of the demands, but definitely a piece of the puzzle needed in developing people power.
My only concern is that you're underappreciating the power of the right wing media ecosystem. Yes, MAGAs will suffer, personally, from the gutting of the federal government. And yes, they will look for an explanation. But they will turn to Fox News and the rest of the propaganda machine, be told that it's because [insert some absurd reason that shifts the blame to "the left" or immigrants here], and then they will believe it. It's come to the point where there does not seem to be a limit to how outrageously absurd the justification or rationale for GOP misconduct can be: The MAGA crowd will swallow it.
This is why Dems need to hold daily press conferences & communicate what Trump is doing, how it's hurting Americans & what Dems have to offer instead.
Yes! Daily press conferences, I think this is a really important way to get a different perspective out there. I was reading something yesterday, and this was brought up as well.
I believe they are, but Fox won’t show them.
That’s what I’ve been thinking since day one
Well put, Sean. I share your concern. I'll speak to the part that hits closest to home. Hamilton writes, "Latinos who voted for Trump who will find themselves and their families targeted by his anti-immigration agenda." This is anecdotal, but I'm already seeing pro-Trump Latinos rationalizing, drawing lines between them and those targeted, while members of their community get carted off. We mustn't underestimate the tremendous human capacity to justify an existing worldview.
It’s the Nazi playbook. Always and again, look how the Nazis did it to predict what the Coup Klux Klan twins will do next.
This is it. I cannot get through to my male family members. At all. They aren’t even on Fox News anymore but much more right wing media. Most of the die hard trumps are and they think Fox News is too leftist.
Exactly. To them, reality is a choose your own adventure story.
I'm probably being a bit of a Pollyanna here, but I imagine the 'backlash' against Trump by Trump supporters will ALSO map out onto backlash against the RW media as well...These are the organizations that had been lying to them all these years. The entire ecosystem will fold once that tipping point happens
We can only hope!
I think that enough MAGAs will be hurt by what Trump republicans are doing that even some will have to admit they're wrong.
"Trump and Elon Musk are like two guys with six-shooters trying to hold a thousand people hostage. They only win if everyone thinks they are too strong to rush."
This is easy for me to say, since I retired from working for the government 8 years ago, but what if FEDERAL workers in particular refused to cooperate? I'm not even thinking of a strike--what if they collectively agreed to refuse to obey illegal or outrageous orders, and to back each other up in that refusal? This could in particular include refusal to process illegitimate terminations, RIFs, or reassignments.
Or to put it differently, what if we stopped thinking of Trump as the next Hitler, and started thinking of him as Yertle the Turtle?
I was going to post something about the abandonment of the left, but I wonder if what I consider the left is what almost all of us want. Namely, peace, an end to western support of genocide, addressing bread and butter issues like cost of living, food prices, housing, etc. and taking effective environmental action, and inclusivity/solidarity.
Those of us who want these things, whatever we choose to call ourselves, have been abandoned by Republicans, Democrats and most parties in the west. Even the ones that call themselves the left are pandering to the extremely wealthy, championing their interests and supporting war and genocide.
How do we rally and find representation? If we do, I think we'll have so many with us.
IMO the best way forward is for this 'movement' to be spearheaded by the progressive caucus among dem leadership at the state AND federal level...Beginning from within an extant infrastructure saves a LOT of time, money and energy...However it happens its going to be a populist movement with a few central figures to 'rally' around...Remember how AOC and Bernie Sanders became rock stars RIGHT out of the box when they first showed up...
Personally I'd like to see AOC or Jasmine Crockett actually cut their terms short and focus on organizing efforts OUTSIDE of Washington...But the small chance that we will have elections in 2 years makes that not such a good idea right now. But as it is, we have no power in DC so in a way their talents are wasted there..
hard call
The Democrats haven't called themselves "the left" in a long time. In fact they go out of their way to attack the left
It sure seems that way, Eric. It truly makes me wonder when people are accusing 'the left' of certain things who they're actually referring to. In the west, the left hasn't had much legitimate representation for a very long time.
When conservatives speak of "the left" they mean anyone who's not a conservative Republican. They truly believe that people like Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, and Joe Biden are "the left" oftentimes they even say "the far left" or call them "socialists" or even "communists". It's completely at odds with reality but it's what they believe. They make no distinction between "liberals" and "the left". As far as what I'd call the actual left and it's lack of representation in politics. There are a few exceptions such as Rashida Tlaib and depending on the day one or two of her other "squad" mates and Bernie, despite how bad he was in the early months of the Israeli genocide in Gaza. On the local level there are DSA-affiliated electeds in Chicago, New York City and a few other places. The reason there aren't more is that the US electoral system is completely corrupt (Citizens United) and has many other intentionally anti-democratic features (the existence of the Senate, gerrymandering) that make it very hard for left candidates to win
Similar to what it's like here in Canada, and in other western nations, I believe, Eric.
I think you're right about anyone who's not a conservative Republican in a lot of people's minds though.
“The Left” has abandoned class politics and materialism and is entirely focused on gender studies and other culture wars, with the predictable results.
IMO, that's not the left. The Democrats aren't left and even traditional labour parties are no longer left. They're now all behind neoliberalism, which is all about privatization and funnelling money that should go towards the well-being of people and planet to the rich.
I agree that’s why I put “the left” in quotes. But it’s what passes for leftism these days. I am personally going back to the source of anti-authoritarianism in Tolstoy and Voltaire to renourish my soul in these dark times.
https://generalstrikeus.com/ one is being organized
thanks for this!
awesome...signed up!...and you can keep track of the # of signees
Everyone needs to follow Helen's lead and c/p this in all your regular social media haunts
that's what baby likes to hear!!!!!
Time to organize. End the doom scrolling. Forwarding the endless torrent on Facebook is not real opposition. Build community coalitions
As always, the organizer sees the opportunity and speaks the truth: “Don’t Mourn…Organized”. Now, more than ever.
I agree, Mike.
Check out ThePeoplesUnionUSA.com and join us for the first economic blackout on February 28th!
The single most effective recourse available at this time is for everybody NOT to vote for a Republican for any office whatsoever. For the "innocent" ones-- and there are quite a few-- it would let them know that they are identified with a fatally tainted party and they should leave. Don't mind about the effect on the guilty. Local Republicans might be very kind, ethical and well-intentioned, but a lot of them are not-- we have an extremely educated but unethical man running for a position here-- Rotary, Boards of Directors sort of guy-- but a proven chaos-driven MAGAT. I can converse with him quite easily, but when he's in the company of other GOP politicians, his Mr. Hyde emerges-- and that's the case with almost all of them... Spread the word-- Vote Green, Democrat, Socialist, Progressive, Little Yellow Dog or Communist, but DON'T vote Republican, ever!
Also don't vote Democrat, ever.
I am deadly serious. They have been selling the working class out to the oligarchs for decades now.
They got you Trump, AGAIN, instead of #M4A and other concrete material benefits. They lie to you about fiat money (read up on #MMT), the Ukraine war and Palestine. They support genocide, censorship and surveillance.
BOTH PARTIES ARE TRASH - tools of Empire, the wealthy and powerful, filled with neoliberal and neoconservative corrupt warmongering grifters.
Joe, I hope you are active in a local political committee! Unfortunately, your advice is pretty sound. Our two-party system makes it possible for both of them to betray their base, just in different ways. It takes about $8 billion to establish another party, so you have a choice-- either engage with one of the variants out there or, per Michael Moore's advice after "SiCKO," infiltrate the Democratic Party (just be sure to bring a lot of friends).
Thanks, sockpuppet.
I think we passed the point where we could still vote our way out of this quite a while ago, but the very least people can still do is to not provide their consent to be governed by the duopoly. Unfortunately even that is apparently still too much to ask, given that 154+ million USians once again voted for the people that continue to destroy their society.
Very well said, Hamilton. The number of intelligent commentators advancing this same message is encouraging. History shows, however, that the wealthy who want to stay in power will use whatever force is necessary to do so. If the majority want to overcome, they’d better be prepared to meet the threat. This will not be a battle of words.
I would also love to see a general strike. Unlike unions in say France it’s almost impossible for US unions to wildcat due to the legality of their contracts. The same thing that gives them protection and legitimacy also hampers them.
https://generalstrikeus.com/ being organized
making striking illegal is ITSELF unconstitutional NO matter WHAT spin the RW fascist SCOTUS puts on it...
Illegal to strike?
so what?
then break the law...
What are they going to do to you when they NEED your labor...There is a reason that the NYC sanitation dept strikes are ALWAYS successful...especially in the summer..lol
Check out ThePeoplesUnionUSA.com and join us for the first economic blackout on February 28th!
The Ukrainians come to mind. The Arab Spring comes to mind. Hong Congress comes to mind. But the US ?
I support the broad direction here: despair is unhelpful, success is possible, coalition is valuable. But the math here is wrong and leads us to tactics that address the wrong problem.
Trump currently has higher approval ratings than disapproval ratings, and favorability is neck and neck. He is viewed more favorably than he was on election day. The current political opposition is not the majority.
Nothing that he is currently doing is out of line with what he said he would do, and he won the vote. Why would the groups listed here change their loyalties because of that? Why would law enforcement who voted for Trump, despite his encouragement of the January 6th insurrectionists and his clearly stated intention to pardon them, oppose him because he did what he said he would do? Why would women who vote against reproductive rights, with easy access to the knowledge that this forces ten-year-olds to carry pregnancies to term and results in the deaths of women, stop doing so?
People's politics are not primarily determined by their self-interest. If they were, the Republican party would not have won any presidential elections in the last 50 years. Trump's actions have made the lives of people from all walks of life worse and will continue to do so - but we can't count on that automatically increasing political opposition. We have to make that happen.
We face a larger problem than Trump and Musk. A majority of Americans are willing to abide the dissolution of democracy and the rule of law if it feels like winning. A majority of Americans are more interested in cruelty to their enemies and identification with power than they are interested in policies that care for their neighbors. (And this is a bipartisan problem - witness the flood of Democratic opinion pieces after the election treating the human rights of Palestinians, people who cross borders, and trans people as playing cards, and if the left just swapped out its hand of positions for a better one, Democrats would win and all would be well.)
Trump is the figurehead for a genuine political will. If he was not, the election results would have been very different, he would face bipartisan opposition from Congress, and he would not be able to do what he is currently doing.
Changing this is the project. Mobilizing the opposition, whether it's currently a majority or not (it's not, but we could make it so) is a key step in that project, but it's not enough; we need to change people's hearts to widen the opposition.
If Dems started holding daily press conferences & being direct about the harm that Trump has caused as well as as offering solutions to fix those problems, Dems could sbatch up all those persuadeables. They can't rely on the media or those disillusioned with Trump to automatically switch parties. Dems need to act like they want to win. This is their opportunity right now.
Not a majority yet. The plurality are so alienated from "official" politics that they don't even bother with the most minimal political activity: vote. They will nevertheless be negatively affected, and some enter political activity, per Nolan's explanation.
The Democrats are also a minority. They will remain so as they will never break with the oligarch donors. However their plebeian social base is of course very agitated. These must be united with the non-voters who enter political life, and with MAGA voters - not the MAGA social base of lumpen-capitalist grifters, con artists, Music Men, Elmer Gantrys and Tom Sawyers, a very different thing! - who break out of the cult spell due to similar bad experiences.
This means the Democrats' social base must fight tooth and nail against the Democratic Party leadership, at the city, state and federal levels.
The Democratic Party "apparatus" will be the primary barrier to realizing this potential majority.
To show the DNC they were serious, the Democrat base should have voted for Jill Stein. Yes, Jill Stein. I am not kidding.
But they are not serious.
Please listen to this political advice from Lawrence O'Donnell about voting:
https://youtu.be/Rpx8pqGF498
The Democrat Party CANNOT be reformed from within. I don't why people keep clinging to that delusion. It's like trying to reform the company you work for, and that private corporation in this case is the DNC.
https://medium.com/the-jist/the-dismissed-dnc-fraud-lawsuit-explained-85f7a5c26574
It's so unfortunate that it has to come to this.
from the other side of the world I add my thoughts…….organise resist protest. Do not give in to despair, people around the world stand with you all. This is a global fight against tyranny of any kind, no room for hate only action