Phase 4.2: I’d like an order of nuance with a side of patience, please? Hold the attitude.
The more we speak in absolutes the more likely we get it ‘absolutely’ wrong. Keep an open mind and you will avoid both.
When I was working on a collaborative writing project, I would say, the quality of a writer is not measured in their ability to have good ideas but in their ability to let go of the bad ones.
Honestly, I would say that to comfort struggling collaborators…
But that could be true of anything and it is never more true than when dealing with leadership because the truth is… every leader is going to get it wrong from time to time… it’s what we do when we realize we were wrong that counts and for some its a matter of if we can even realize it.
But what does it mean to be a ‘leader’?
After years of cartoons and Marvel movies, folks think of characters like Captain American who tell the team what to do and that manifests in the real world as the person who holds the megaphone or leads the rally.
I’ve seen folks try to kill each other to be the one that holds that megaphone.
And I'm over here like… “you know you can just buy one too, right?”
The point is that leadership isn’t defined by who or what you lead but by how you lead. This may seem like semantics but I’ve seen so many folks try to lead and fail because they forget that the first thing they lead is themselves.
Most folks think it starts with a discussion about how many followers they have, and others think it starts with how you speak about things…
But it starts with how you think about things because that defines your approach… and your approach can be anything if you have an endgame but for the sake of this article the approach is about being positive.
Does that mean you sacrifice your moral obligations?
No, of course not… Actually you can safely assume I won’t ask that. Maybe in person but not in these articles.
This is about setting an example, be the leader that you want to see.
It is so critical, especially during COVID, as a leader in this movement, which I can assume that if you are reading this then that’s who you are, that you keep a positive attitude and reflect that in how you speak and type.
If folks are going to call themselves ‘progressives’ or ‘leftists’ or wtf ever it is now then they have to keep in mind the goal is basically to end suffering and encourage both individual and group growth, extrapolate that as you wish.
So, we have to encourage that with our words, actions, and policy.
That is what it means to be a leader… you start there and it can be anything.
Because I got some more good news… it’s working.
Some old acquaintances of mine took the same idea from Phase 1 & 2, which is about creating pressure to influence change, and really ran with it.
Corbin, Saikat, and Zack did some good work here. I’ve had issues with two out of three of them in the past but that’s almost water under the bridge when they lay out a clear plan and put their money where their mouth is.
And we know they got that money. #poke
This is a good example of how applying pressure works even faster when you get creative with how you do it and this is still relatively simple.
Any of you could recreate it and use it to leverage your Senator… Start looking into local radio buys now.
I’ll probably breakdown the process more specifically in a later article.
What it all comes down to is these events where politicians ‘change their minds’ don’t happen organically, they are manufactured and I cannot stress enough the importance of taking initiative.
They made a commercial, put it on the radio, and it got folks’ attention… and that was enough to get Manchin to change course.
It’s that simple.
Imagine what would happen if we all did this?
This is why I brought up the importance of staying positive because this all ties together… as things do.
We have to keep hope alive to make this all work and that starts with how we think about ourselves and immediately relays into how we communicate.
The more positive we are, the greater hope we maintain…
Because…
Hope is the fuel for inspiration.
Inspiration triggers initiative.
Taking initiative creates change.
Without hope, inspiration, and taking initiative there will be no change.
And in these dark times, your community needs you to be the activist leaders and fulfill the obligation to negotiate their demands into law with the politicians as part of our social contract in the direct action triangle.
Direct action is a process that involves organizing within a network of…
Community
Activism
& Government
The Community works together to support each other and itself.
The Activists step up to create answers and make demands for the community.
And Politicians legislate those demands into laws.
Choose words that inspire change and create new leaders.
I’m far from perfect, inevitably someone is going to pull up tweets of me railing on someone I lost my patience with, and honestly…
That’s okay… and not just when I do it, barring prejudice based tropes.
We all make mistakes and it’s what we do when we realize it that matters.
And even Politicians who make mistakes can legislate our demands into law.
We have to be understanding that they make mistakes, just like us.
A good example of that being fulfilled is another demand to cross off our list.
It’s not shiny, and it is sad… but it is necessary.
Congresswoman Cortez continues to surprise me, I hope to sort out our issues one day but until then she serves as a beacon for progressives in Congress.
Repeating her and others' successes is a matter of staying positive and…
… !!! WTF, ARE THOSE MITTENS!?!?!?!
I don’t think I’ve seen anything ever be as pervasive as the mittens memes the last week… it is everywhere! Even in some places that it shouldn’t be…
I’ve seen every movie star, folks who slandered Bernie, vocal conservatives, even Amazon made one…
That Amazon one really made me and others stop for just a second in bewilderment.
Folks’ natural reaction to the meme's misuses has been borderline outrage, but I think everyone is missing a real opportunity.
Most Progressives think that because Biden is President that Bernie’s agenda was off the table forever but as he takes on the Chairmanship of the Senate Budget Committee he stands to introduce whatever he wants however he wants…
With one limitation…
Will he have your support and will you help build more of it?
I guess that’s two actually but you get the point.
Even the conservative press is saying that Bernie could have the laugh last … btw, do not endorse the article, but it makes a broader point which is Budget Reconciliation is on the table for the Progressive Agenda.
And look at Bernie right now, he turned his mittens meme into physical dollars for groups in Vermont. That’s real money.
This is a perfect example of creating reactive change that I wrote about in previous phases.
He didn’t plan the situation, but when the moment arose he stepped up and used it to prioritize support for groups that do direct action.
That’s leadership.
He didn't plan to have a good idea, he made the most of a bad one someone else gave him. How we react can be more important than our planned action.
And I’ll tell you what…
Folks are missing a real opportunity with this meme.
Bernie is proposing a bold agenda for COVID recovery…
And were going to need all the help we can get.
Don’t loath or repel the folks who share the meme but didn’t support him in the primary… use it to build support for his agenda right now.
Plus, when it comes to liberals, they want Biden to look good after Trump, and Bernie’s proposals might be the only way to make that happen.
And if you’re looking for BOLD you can count on Bernie Sanders.
Coming strong out of the gates, maybe a little too strong but we can all see Bernie rallying the troops, we should answer his call.
In an earlier Phase, I explained how we envision our future should be bold because it can be anything, and Bernie did as Bernie does, he set the tone.
Go big, or die trying.
He presented a plan that as the Senate Budget Committee Chair he was willing to use the Budget Reconciliation process to push through a radical, as in for everyone, relief agenda that was nothing short of bold.
In line with that thinking, Democrats should use Budget Reconciliation to show dominance in the Senate and the Republicans will come to the table right away or they will get nothing for four years.
And with the nature of 20 Republicans being up for reelection, the time is now to make more bold moves or Progressives will have to make them for them.
Excuse me… ahem, 19 up for reelection … as they drop like flies.
We started at 22… so that’s quite a change already and it's still January.
We can do a lot of damage in the next 18 months.
Trust me when I say that I am excited about the opportunity.
Bernie very openly stated that history says, if Democrats don’t use this opportunity then Democrats will lose in the midterms.
I’m going to do something I won’t do a lot in these articles…
Disagree with Senator Sanders.
Because I don’t think Bernie is entirely correct on this one, not to say that they won’t lose elections and that his statement isn’t historically accurate but never have we had a movement as we have now that has successfully unseated incumbents.
Not in 40 years, maybe more.
Democrats won’t lose in Nov…
Well, maybe Manchin if I have my way, but…
The Establishment will lose their primaries if they don’t heed the Senator’s advice.
I have said before that Neoliberal Democrats sometimes would prefer not to win, there is simply more money in it and less work but the same lobbying influence.
So, if that were true then there would be no incentive to listen to Bernie.
Losing enough seats to be out of power is in their better interests because that way they can hide their fake populism behind ‘roadblocking Republicans’.
That’s why it's more important than ever that we wipe these folks out in Primaries… Then we can safely hold our majority if they refuse to take action.
And wipe out their legacy at the same time.
Everyone in Politics is replaceable, it has existed before us and it will most likely exist after us but what we do with this time is what matters.
Can you be grateful when there is much to be ungrateful about?
If we can’t be grateful for the good things that are happening then we don’t give Biden and his team any incentive to acquiesce to our demands.
If we can differentiate between rewarding them for good things and punishing them for bad things then we will get more good things.
New administrations are like dogs, you have to train them.
Just hold on to that outrage, I have a point, new admins are fresh and new…
Folks will say that they will do whatever they want which is partially true. Sure, if left to their own devices they will pee on the furniture… Just look at Trump in the Whitehouse…
Seems forever ago already.
However, teams are made of people and people have triggers, there is no avoiding it… when you reward positive behavior you will get it back.
And just to be clear, people are NOT dogs and that was not my implication, individually they deserve to be respected but when you put them in a group then ‘pack mentality’ quickly takes over, it is simply inevitable.
And that makes it predictable.
When you don’t reward the good behavior at all then it doesn’t give you any power to change the things you are unhappy with…
Because you haven’t established the initial context that creates boundaries.
And, right now, there is a lot to be unhappy about but we must create change.
We cannot surrender to the fear that it’s impossible and let the existential dread we all feel become a self-fulfilling prophecy of inaction that makes all of those ney sayers right…
Because they aren’t right, yet.
Of course, we won't get it all…
If we win even ONE fight we would have lost otherwise then it was worth it, it only takes one.
So, let’s dig in… it makes it all a lot easier to cope with if you see it all as one big pie with many pieces. Eventually, each of us can handle our own piece then the movement can successfully navigate the pie.
And who doesn’t like pie?
When I asked folks to volunteer for Biden for the general, it wasn’t because I thought he would be some bastion of guidance or otherwise lead us in a manner that didn't include multiple levels of austerity…
I did it because I knew that they would try to use austerity and there is no way to effectively deal with the two crises we are faced with, the COVID Pandemic and the economic crisis that is affecting every aspect of our lives, with anything remotely close to austerity.
Neoliberal Democrats have never had the Whitehouse with modern social media and there was a time when I believed they wanted to lose because they knew it wouldn't survive the exposure it offers either.
So, we forced them to win… either they govern effectively or this is how we get folks to vote differently in the primaries.
I wanted this to be different, I wanted Bernie, but they’ve put us in a corner.
And real leaders aren't crafted, they are cornered.
It is impossible to discuss anything without speaking to the threat millions of families are under as they face eviction at a time when rents should be frozen.
We do have a temporary eviction freeze but it extends to few renters and the state’s and county’s individual protections go much further but even then they have limits… and they aren’t much.
This is a new plan that California is putting forward but it still gives the landlord the choice to not accept the 80% offer and does basically nothing unless Landlords want to suddenly act in the public’s best interest but anyone who has seen rental prices knows that they don’t care about the public.
Without extreme federal intervention, more evictions are coming.
I cannot express in words how humiliating and embarrassing the eviction process can be, I was personally served with an eviction five months ago in the county with the strongest restrictions and they still came with no clear warning to remove us from our home after telling us not to move.
I wanted folks to understand what it’s like so I livestreamed it, you can watch it here → https://bit.ly/3c8QVSd
No one should have to go through that, during a Pandemic or anytime.
It’s simply inhumane.
Even with all that, I’m a lucky one because I had family to go to and I don’t have any major health issues that require constant medical care… The millions of families who have lost their jobs aren’t so lucky.
Millions of people are suffering with no hope in sight.
The solutions aren’t impossible, our politicians simply lack the courage.
We are going to have to get clever.
Most are familiar with the ‘Carrot and Horse’ analogy…
By dangling the carrot in front of the horse you move the cart.
The ‘Carrot’ is not something you naturally have, it must be crafted.
But just like Dogs, and why I used this metaphor earlier, not to be offensive … administration years are longer than normal years.
So, what is just a single year to you is ten in administration years…
So, if you spend an entire year dismissing them it feels like ten to them.
Would you respond well to someone who has been rude to you for ten years?
We have to try a more nuanced approach… and quickly craft a carrot before that first year gets away from us and the clock is ticking.
Because if we don’t do something different then we will only get austerity.
Here are a few examples…
Now, technically this first one would hypothetically be considered a further subsidy to keep the ACA functional but this is essentially throwing money away… I call this ‘spending dollars to save pennies.’
It is an ineffective way to distribute aid.
But is still vastly better than this monstrosity.
I have a hard time even taking this seriously as it is, however, there is a foundation here for something that could be brilliant.
We have a giant baby boom coming and we need to prepare resources to ensure those children are the next generation of Americans prepared to take on the new and residual challenges we face right now.
But this is a far cry from what we need…. far, far, far cry…
Lots of crying.
But even as we cry, you can peek through the tears and can see some good things are, in fact, happening.
We have to put some of these in the “win” column… and then push for more.
Now all of this seems great but the reality is that none of this is really progress except the pipelines and the prison ban which has so many caveats, technically its a good thing but it certainly doesn't do what is being advertised, in most cases, this is simply resetting but not even to zero.
This chart on the left perfectly describes what I’m attempting to say, though compared to Trump it seems better, we’re not even back to the levels before Obama left office.
Folks are going to say all kinds of absurd things about ‘patience’ and ‘100 days’ to slow progress but we just watched a President force through a hateful agenda using any means necessary.
When they were pushed back by the courts it was often because of their infringement on human rights not whether the method of their passing was legal, though that did happen as well…
Trump really was a mess.
But we can both say that Trump was bad and that Biden is also trying to use Austerity with half measures to protect investments.
We can say all of that and still say that this is a good thing too…
Yes, technically, it is still a half measure as well but this is an example of working within the constraints of the Executive Order.
We’re going to need to see a lot more of these.
If Biden wants to be remembered as a populist then he’s going to have to do a lot more to prove that he’s here to protect people and not corporations that have been incorrectly classified as people.
Come talk to me when a corporation serves a jail sentence.
And though he did sign a few more executive orders the problems start to overwhelm them, even for someone who’s advocating positivity.
Though, technically, since we have seen some traction in that direction but not an answer to the ‘kids in cages’ problem, but this will at least stop future kids being taken in future situations. That’s something worth rewarding.
But we have to immediately move on to the next step in that process.
Like many of the solutions so far, this will stop future bleeding but still does nothing yet for the wound that’s still bleeding, all over the border.
It’s so important to understand where each of these issues stands because if you don’t speak from a constantly evolving position then you are not going to convince the folks that they need to take your side and the fight.
You simply will not activate them.
Activists are the only ones that can point to the bleeding.
Either the politicians respond or we replace them with someone who will.
But they simply won’t respond to us if we don’t point both the good and the bad.
Because we’re already seeing an alarming pattern beginning to emerge.
It’s not just disappointment surrounding promises that were made the last few months, which stretch from student debt to the full $2000 relief check.
There is a pro-war, pro-occupation agenda coming to fruition and we have to push as hard as possible to make known their proposed course before we take it, if we even can.
In a way, we’re lucky that the 9/11 for Biden’s presidency (fingers crossed) will be the rioting at the capital and thought it will trigger a fight over public surveillance.. which btw clearly the patriot act doesn't work, we should get rid of that … it at least means we are not on a fast track to war in other countries.
I assure you that the moment there is an opportunity they will find any excuse to drop bombs in some desert where innocent civilians will get killed.
That same blind attack is hurting folks here at home.
Insulin should be free.
Trump is so bad that they forgot he did at least one good thing.
And this melting shitberg flows right into the COVID plan.
As excited as I am to have a president that has a plan that actually includes testing… it’s not really appropriate for 2021.
You can read the entire plan here → https://bit.ly/3qSnuYC
I desperately wanted Trump to adopt something just like this last year, but now after all this time it hasn’t improved or changed as the damage the virus is doing has only increased.
It’s Trump’s plan with masks and testing… It’s still so basic that it's really not that different and I find that extremely discomforting.
Speaking of not that different…
I cannot stress enough how dangerous reopening schools early is.
This is simply about protecting investment and has zero to do with kids.
If the kids are at home then so are parents, less gas is being used, less space is being rented, more UI benefits paid out, and fewer returns on investments.
The most shocking thing is that this is seen as a problem that needs fixing by our politicians when we need to be paying folks to stay home.
Any plan that focuses on reopening physical school before the Pandemic is under control WILL KILL FOLKS. There are no if’s about it.
The only acceptable plan is to start with…
- Invest into making online learning more accessible.
- Remove federal testing.
- Help get folks online that can’t.
- Make broadband a utility, wireless expansion.
- Hire mental health workers for student depression.
- Collaborate with teachers on new ways to teach digitally.
- Only restart physical school when Teachers Unions say it is safe.
- Reimagine our schooling for the next century, it could use an update.
Articles like these are real, but putting whole families at risk is unacceptable.
There should be a lot of very serious talk about organizing a general strike around teachers if they are forced to go back to in-person teaching in those 100 days if the pandemic is not under control… I don’t see how it could be.
Our future depends on US thinking outside the box.
When dealing with situations like shutdowns on this scale, there is a real opportunity to reshape our future and make the necessary changes that would put America back into a competitive spot in world markets.
At the moment our inability to create more scientists, doctors, and other technical science positions is the difference between simply recovering and prospering, this is not a problem that can be solved quickly.
We need to get real smart, real fast because things look like they could be getting far worse before they get better.
It’s not that we just can’t stop the Pandemic, it's actually picking up speed.
None of these article’s headlines require my commentary.
And this is why Biden said this…
But again, for all his failures… it is still a vast improvement over the batshit nutterino we got from the Republicans. We can both be unhappy with Biden for some things, happy about others, and still think we are better off with the Republicans out of power…. because it’s true.
You have to take your wins where you can if nothing else for your mental sanity and if you ever doubt it, just remember that this article exists.
The more you think about that the angrier it will make you.
How many people died because of that fake data?
And we still have plenty of Republican politicians who are in power that propose equally disjointed and ineffective plans as Trump.
There simply is not enough vaccine for this to work and even if there were it would be prohibitive on multiple levels. Republicans are particularly out of touch in regards to any sense of humanity, empathy, or basic arithmetic.
Primaries are going to happen fast and some are already happening.
Local races, city council and such, are great warm-ups for races that run in the next few years… Remember a big part of this isn’t just getting folks into office, but keeping them there too. So, running for higher office can kick you out of your current seat if the elections overlap and you lose.
But if you are in a local race and want to go for a Federal or State seat, your risk is low as long as your districts overlap, everything can be used to build up your presence in your district.
It’s so important right now that we find the nuance to both accept our wins and take our losses … in many situations, there can be no solution for many issues as folks are hard to replace or move to new positions, but in politics, that’s not true.
This is why we have primaries and we have a full year and a half to educate the public about solutions available to them including replacing these MFers with an activist presence who will work with the community to negotiate solutions…. because never was there a time where we need it more.
Now let’s not act like we don’t at least have some politicians who want to look like they are helping… Not her in the picture, the other ones.
‘Look like they are helping’? Isn’t that not what we want…?
That’s true but we can’t control almost anything after it’s done but before it is finished there is unlimited possibilities as to what a policy can be.
The truth is that the public at large is to blame for not achieving this sooner.
This is why we need to come together more than ever to create momentum.
Yes, there are a million distractions and we don’t educate folks on the process well enough anymore in school…
However….
The outcome is no different… and the solution hasn’t changed.
The reality of the process is far too complicated for the average person to follow and consequently, only lobbyists massage the process from start to finish because they are paid to follow through with every step.
In order to achieve the gains we seek, the general public has to understand this process, as well as the lobbyists, do because right now, no one can lobby.
We have a moment to play a game of catch up and get the public involved in the day to day minutia that establishes if we all survive or not.
Luckily where we start is very straightforward.
The House should be focused on the next Relief bill…
While the Senate should be focused on the Impeachment Trial…
Expect it to drag out longer than the last time.
Republicans are especially good at dragging their feet.
I cannot express in words what a pain McConnell is and will be through this, I suggest maintaining pressure on him and Manchin the entire time and it will make everything easier down the road and that means saving lives.
Normally the Chief Justice oversees the trial but he wants nothing to do with it, and I’m unsure how to interpret that other than the death threats and attacks other judges faced last year were really intense.
So, instead of the president pro tempore of the United States Senate which is usually the longest-serving member of the majority party, Patrick Leahy from Vermont, will oversee the trial.
What could go wrong?
So, that’s the FIRST DAY.
And the actual trial won’t start until February 9th…
I still hope Rudy will give us all the joy of being part of the defense…
But until then we get this clown show to deal with.
It seems like their goal is a potentially unenforceable censure that MIGHT prevent him front holding office.
This seems like a way to just not use our time to build power and convict Trump… Also, two Senators high on our list to replace.
But what I do know is that Republicans have so little leverage that they have restored to wild ideas like these… they keep this up and they are going to get primaried by their own side. Which means someone even crazier.
This is the equivalent of digging up a body to convict it of a crime…
Actually, let’s not give them any ideas.
What we do have though is a little bit of a ‘turtle and the hair’ moment.
Senate Repubs would be crazy not to convict Trump.
If he starts a new party then he risks splitting the Republican vote… which sounds great to me but I’d rather convict Trump.
The Republicans are already falling apart and if we can make gains in the ’22 elections with the 20… er, 19 Republicans up for reelection in the Senate then it is all but assured that we can both beat the Republicans in ‘22 AND convict Trump.
Ensuring he can’t run again is the only way they can stop him from starting his own party and the only way to do that is to convict him for his crimes.
I’m confident we can convict him simply because of this…
This may seem petty or insignificant but this is an important part of the Presidency from a historical perspective. He probably heard the word “China” and panicked until the project was shut down, but believe it or not, this has historical significance… If he had done this and Melania had written her own thank you letters then conviction might be a different story.
It’s amazing how the littlest things are actually the tipping point with major issues, countries have fallen for less.
But this behavior speaks to an overall pattern of decision making that once out of power, he won’t have enough friends for folks to have compassion or sympathy for him…
And why should they?
Like usual, Rand Paul wanted to take that concept and put it to a test.
5 Republicans joined Democrats to kill Sen. Rand Paul’s push for dismissal.
• Susan Collins • Lisa Murkowski • Mitt Romney • Ben Sasse • Pat Toomey
It’s not 17, but it’s a start.
The press was trying to spin it as having less support than it does in an effort to kill public support. They want more Trump, because its good press dollars.
This was a preliminary vote and Dems didn't need Republicans at all, so though they are trying to spin as bad for a conviction, I see it the other way.
It’s just the start.
Holding them accountable doesn't stop there…
Even though the House is passing the orange football to the Senate they are still weighing how to handle those that aided the rioters.
This is really not something to go to sleep on, if we forget about this these traitors will get off with no punishment.
When old folks run our government they needed to have daily reminders set to take their pills, why would prosecuting seditioners be any different?
Keep pushing on this and while you do you can still support both Cori Bush’s Bill to investigate and hold them accountable as well as Jamal Bowan’s COUP act to investigate capital police for their various issues… various is being kind.
Jamal Bowan’s Investigation of Capital Police -> https://bit.ly/39w0Cr7
Cori Bush’s Bill to potentially remove members-> https://bit.ly/3oJGOXu
We should both be pushing to hold these clowns accountable but we should also be pushing back on increased security measures at the capital, once the risk has returned to normal, that might prevent protesting.
We already have the resources but they simply were not used effectively, or at all.
We cannot let the same establishment that introduced the failed Patriot act to continue down that ineffective and overly restrictive path.
I just want to stop everything and take a second to talk about Rashida.
I've been friends with her for three years on Facebook, since right before she was elected… and that’s not a brag, I have a point… I mean IT IS a brag but that’s not the point… She not only has a really cute puppy… but…
We see AOC and now Cori gets tons of fan fair… and they deserve it… I’ve been friends with them on FB that long too #MoreBrags, the point is that for all the fanfare the other fantastic Congresswoman gets, Rashida, deserves just as much and sometimes even more.
We talk a lot about who to run for POTUS in the next round and again AOC’s name comes up, but as far as I can tell she is in line to be Speaker if we continue to replace incumbents with activist progressives. So, her moving around doesn’t make any sense nor does going for the Senate seat.
But Rashida is high on my list, if not the entire list, of folks that we should be taking a serious consideration over running for POTUS one day.
“Impeach the Motherfucker” is easily the boldest first move for anyone, let alone a member of congress. She understands people, how to connect, how to canvas, and I am constantly humbled by her activism and determination.
Don’t tell her I said this, but I made significant adjustments to my canvassing strategies after watching her teams win in ’18.
Really amazing stuff.
And we're going to need ‘more amazing’ to deal with this horseshit.
Now, this all brings us back to talk about the filibuster…which does not exist in the constitution and is considered a racist tool by many folks who have taken the time to study how it has been used.
If nothing else it can be used to stall pretty much anything.
Killing the filibuster is about whether we think we can gain ten more seats, use budget reconciliation, and never lose control of the Senate again.
So, can we win ten seats in ‘22? … Maybe… and its a BIG maybe.
If Trump starts a new party and rips the Republicans in half? …
Probably.
We can still use Budget Reconciliation AND WE SHOULD but it still has limitations… We can test those but that’s risky business…
Even removing the filibuster is a risky move because we rely on it when we are in the minority… so it asks the real question…
Can Progressive dig in, make this happen, ignite nonvoters, and wipe out Republicans…? Move forward the Progressive Agenda as the dominant decision-making process for policy?
Because we have a REAL opportunity right now that we may not see again in our lifetimes.
But it only works if we can make electing activists part of the modern-day zeitgeist…. We do need more AOCs and Rashida's and Coris…
But they don’t look like them, they look like you.
And if we don’t step up then we have to deal with this.
While it’s nice that Schumer is showing some backbone finally, just like Bernie, he also, believe it or not, get’s his power from the people.
And, no, this is not some long game to shill for Schumer.
The thing about taking corporate money is that you can get elected but it doesn't come with the power to change things.
That’s why so many politicians are jealous of Bernie, it's not the money or the policy or the memes…
Okay, maybe the memes.
It’s that he has you.
His power comes from folks like you stepping up and being leaders, starting initiatives, taking action, running for office.
And if everyone does that, then we can safely kill the filibuster.
If everyone wants to be lazy assholes and do nothing then we have to keep this clearly racist institution in place…
So, what’s it going to be?
We can’t say that you want to fight white supremacy and then be offered to remove one of the biggest racist obstacles that is slowing progress?
Folks CANNOT complain that progress is impossible if they are going to leave us out in the cold when opportunities for reactive change present themselves.
That’s the whole point of all of this, right?
That’s what we can learn from the Bernie meme or, at least, what Bernie did.
Having a positive attitude allows you to be advantageous when the opportunity presents itself…
The third jar, … vial… whatever it is, perfectly represents the movement as it stands.
It can neither decide if it wants to do something positive or negative because it is too busy complaining about the contents of the glass… that’s what it is.
But the reality of the POTUS cycle just ending and Congress being locked in means…
It is what is, and as much as we can talk about changing it … if we want to create change, we have to be clever and figure out how to make it all work as it is while we move to change it.
Because we have a big problem to manage and it’s about relief.
Yikes.
Okay, the check was always supposed to be $1400, but they didn’t manage their messaging properly and are therefore responsible for the full number.
This whole situation is absolutely bonkers.
Not adding the $600 to the $1400 to make it a full $2000 is the difference between Democrats risking the House in 22 and certainly getting pummeled in primaries by progressives… It’ll probably happen either way.
However, if we don’t get folks the full 2k and the $600 Enhanced UI as well as legislation to force states to actually hand out the money, then we are risking setting back our recovery, not just months but years… possibly even a decade.
Not to mention, only Bernie is talking about the tax payment UI recipients are facing… Just when we need our government's help the most they are going to ask for that money back.
That’s before we talk about the outrage of PUA recipients being forced to repay UI benefits when they didn’t understand how to validate their income. This is just more argument for a permanent UBI.
THIS IS ALL JUST AUSTERITY.
COVID might be killing us now but Austerity will be to blame when it kills our future, we know the solution but we lack politicians with the courage, willpower, and empathy to get it done.
The Democrats must pass a full $2000 relief bill as fast as possible.
And it needs to happen in the House.
Now here is your strategic issue in all this…
The solution is actually simple but has a lot of moving parts.
The bill gets written in the Senate as Biden intends… if we can get the full $2000 and the $600 enhanced UI added in the House then this is a lot easier.
Biden wants to get bipartisan support on the relief bill, which is unlikely, but he wants to try…
Fine.
We have to get these elements added in the House or else if the Senate gets the House bill and makes the changes then it has to go back to the House for approval for the changes, then they can make whatever changes then it goes back to the Senate… then assuming it passes, it goes to POTUS.
It’s a lot easier if we get them added in the House.
The House adds it, Senate passes it, Biden signs it.
Trying to pass a bill back and forth through the Senate while impeachment is happening would be a mistake… We could do it, but not well.
The good news is that Biden says he’s open to negotiations on the checks…
But many fear a statement like this from Biden means that he’s going to make it smaller instead of larger and I think that concern is fair.
They mismanaged their messaging during the Georgia runoff and are accountable to the larger amount, if they stick with the $1400 or go lower then no amount of positivity will be able to protect his legacy.
Or the Democrats who let him do it.
And now is not the time to let things all apart, we have so much to do.
Never has the Progressive Agenda been so obtainable in that our government supports it as a philosophy to approach policy.
It starts with these battles right in front of US.
As far as I understand it there are two of these… one is from Biden and it is to raise the minimum wage for federal workers by 2025 and the second, is from Congress and is to establish a Federal $15 minimum wage.
This is a good time to raise the minimum wage.
Corporations are seeing unprecedented profits and since stocks have not been affected by the pandemic, it is safe to argue that we can safely increase wages.
With the nature of PPP loans and how small businesses are being propped up by the Fed, it would simply be a matter of using that process to subsidize the additional wages to establish the increase with maximum haste and increase wages right now.
The pieces are all there to make it happen, maybe even with budget reconciliation because it's an adaptation of an existing program.
Waiting until 2025 does nothing to help us right now…
It is simply not a solution for an Emergency of this scale.
Now we can both say that and recognize it will help folks in the future, by simply prioritizing that we are finally moving the pendulum toward the Progressive Agenda we can maintain a positive outlook.
And now we need to push harder.
Remember, the Progressive Agenda is an idea, not an actual thing.
So, use that freedom to help folks. It is an approach that includes stopping suffering and fostering individual and group growth.
And there is a lot of suffering going on.
Not only is it cruel, but the death penalty is also an ineffective way to distribute punishment. This is not a method that allows those that are incarcerated to do anything to resolve or protect anything we cherish in our society.
Yes, folks should pay for what they have done, but we are better off using them as a deterrent to stop future murders than by trying to make the problem disappear. It also disproportionately affects people of color.
So, it’s a class issue, as well.
I won’t dive too deep into this but there are better ways to achieve justice.
DC is not the only territory that should achieve statehood.
Puerto Rico is right up there, they recently voted to become a state, again.
There are four other territories and then we are capped out…
That means 56 is our limit, so, why not have 52?
And then there’s this… student loans… are they really forever?
The vast majority of the money being loaned is from federally backed loans.
My understanding is that most of this can be done by Executive Order.
The corps are just middlemen in the same way insurance is in the way of medical care. All we're really talking about is cutting out ‘middle man profit.’
It’s the same thing across the board for almost all progressive policy.
Also, when we make the point that way it simplifies very complex activism into a few simple ideas that folks will get, and that is after all the biggest requirement to all of this, folks have to understand it on a massive scale.
It’s our job as leaders to organize our communication and figure out how to explain it to folks in the simples format possible.
It helps when you have Killer Mike as the face of your project.
Ben Cohen and his delicious ice cream are helping launch a campaign to end qualified immunity which is desperately needed. We won’t get changes from police until they are forced to carry liability insurance and can be held accountable for the lives that are lost while they are on the job…
Which is just a polite way to say “stop murdering people.”
Postal Service is still a mess… not even sure where to start with that one.
That’s on my list of just general outrage and one of the few times I will just yell “fix it” at. It seems simple but as the Post Office doesn’t have elections and THERE IS NO REASON WE SHOULD EVER HAVE THIS ISSUE…
I’m not familiar with the process to unfcuk the post office.
But I'm pretty sure that we need to prosecute Louis DeJoy for just being generally terrible and, essentially, being scrooge by ruining so many folks’ holidays.
Not the biggest comparative concern to folk starving in Yemen, but still, this guy broke the law. Don’t worry we will get to Yemen.
If you are in any of those states and aren’t part of an anti ‘right to work’ organization then you are missing an opportunity to do real good.
It’s a simple idea, it empowers unions and workers… it’s an all-around win.
If you say you support socialism and bringing up the working class then this seems like a no-brainer, get out there and start pushing.
This article from IBM is here because it really speaks to the idea that groups are proposing a ton of ideas and though we might normally throw a corporation under the bus even they are trying to influence policy differently.
Also, I wanted to post something to prove I do not always know everything, the policy proposed in that article is actually over my head…
But the next thing is something I know a lot about.
Lots of folks are talking about how the left should align with the Right.
And if I have learned one thing from politics, it’s this…
If you are standing on the side with the Nazis, then you are on the wrong side.
These folks are bonkers and shouldn't be taken seriously.
And I cannot, in words, establish how batshit the idea is.
The answer is… no… hard no. NO.
Moving on and wrapping this up.
And it's a rough transition from Nazis to the DNC.
DNC elected a new board…Well, ‘elected’ is a kind word.
Though there was technically an election, it was basically an appointment…
They changed the rules to force it through…
Guess they heard you when folks said we should ‘force the vote.’
And it already has some serious baggage.
My biggest issue and we did recently elect some Progressives to the DNC, is that there is zero grassroots representation on that list, and, of course, folk are going to say that they are ALL Grassroot organizer's ‘at heart.’
But that doesn’t amount to what we need at all.
I don’t see how these folks can BOTH do their job of daily governing AND their job of daily making sure the party runs.
This seems like the best way to lose as many seats as possible in ‘22.
That’s the usual DNC leadership, in a nutshell, all wannabe prestige but little substance. But don’t think it can’t change… it can and it will.
Take Bernie’s advice in all this.
Dare them to criticize you for wanting to get real relief, real representation, and a real DNC that represents the people, not corporate donors.
I’ll go into great detail about how to take over the DNC in future articles but this one has gone on long enough.
The real focus though is it’s possible but not if we go it alone.
And we’re going to have to work together because we have decisions like this being made by politicians who are afraid of being recalled.
Right now this is based on numbers going down which they are but that’s happening because money for federal testing dried up and switched to vaccine rollout… Newsom is also facing a recall that has pulled a million signatures or so they claim.
He has basically given up trying to control the outbreaks and with ICUs at 0% the time is now to stay home, wear a mask, and push for survival checks.
AND STOP THE FAMINE IN YEMEN!
I’ll have more on this, but it needs an immediate shift to get food aid to starving refugees. I don’t understand the situation as well as I should but it seems simple enough…
Folks are suffering and we have to find a way to end their suffering without bombs.
Hopefully, we can.
Because our future deserves it and so does theirs.
But it can only happen if you step up…
And be the leader that you’ve been waiting for.
You can follow Don on Twitter at https://twitter.com/TheWordofDon
Phase 1 & 2 → https://bit.ly/35z5Dh9
Phase 3 → https://bit.ly/38BWwhD
Phase 3.5 → https://bit.ly/3nBX0bR
Phase 4 → https://bit.ly/38NStz1
Phase 4.1 → https://bit.ly/38TxYAO
