A few weeks ago my gf and I had a discussion. I have stated that name calling politically is counterproductive. She called me out justifiably for my behavior on social media, where I have used disparaging terms for neoliberals on numerous occasions. Yes, that is hypocritical of me. I promised her I was going to think on my behavior and I have been doing so, long and hard.
She’s not going to like what I have to say at this point.
Most Progressives have become emotionally exhausted from being rational at this point. We’ve been maintaining reason for years. That approach is not doing any good. Our terminology has been subverted. Where we once called ourselves “liberal”, that term is now reviled. It does not mean what the dictionary definition states any more. Now we call ourselves Progressives.
We are not the Progressives of prior years. No, we will not be nice and polite. We will not be told we want too much. We will not accept being called “bleeding hearts” or stay calm as we listen to derisive sneers rejecting “purity tests”. We will not unite under a blue banner because “third parties can never win” in a system rigged against them. Which means rigged against us, the American people. We will not accept shame and blame for 2016. In 2016 we said what we meant and meant what we said. “Never Hillary”.
Yet the DNC did not listen then and they are not listening now.
In 2016, the DNC utilized paid trolls to invade Progressive groups. (I was moderating primary watch groups when they were locked due to porn posted on the site by neoliberal pro-Hillary trolls, then reported by those same trolls.) They are invading Progressive groups again now, leading up to the midterms. There has been an increasing level of activity in the last few weeks which is accelerating and will continue to intensify as November draws near. The DNC and their most hardcore cultist members use the same tactics now as we saw in 2016-
Diversion. Continuous use of anti-Trump rhetoric. Yes, they should be “resisting” Trump. Through policies. Those policies do not exist. So they focus your attention on how bad Trump is. They speak incessantly about Russia, yet still cannot define anything Russia is guilty of, only vague accusations. If Russia affected the 2016 election, the DNC has yet to offer any solutions to prevent the same thing from happening again. No paper trails, election finance reform, changes in voting procedure (that do anything but block potential Progressive candidates). Recently in NY, we saw the same voter suppression that we saw in 2016.
It has been impossible for over two years to have a discussion regarding any issue at all with centrists and have them NOT divert the discussion to Trump and Russia. They have no desire to discuss issues and no goal to prove a point. they just want to “win”. Yet cannot in any way define what they think they are winning.
Demoralization. Telling supporters of third party candidates that “third parties can’t win”. While making certain this is true by utilizing policies that oppress third parties at the polls. Any move toward allowing Independent voters to vote in Democratic primaries? Open debates? Yet by leaving these voters out, oppressing, insulting and invalidating us, they harm themselves in the long term.
If you do not support the “party approved” candidates at any level, you are dismissed just as surely as third party voters.
Personal attacks. Telling Progressive voters we are to blame for Trump and any GOP policies. Direct personal insults. Calling us Russian trolls. Now also calling us Iranian trolls. Told we are not “real Americans”. The problem is that many of their attacks have been heard so many times it rolls off our backs. As newly awakened Progressives join in, they are learning from us, the veterans of many battles.
Misinformation and blatant lies. If a Progressive candidate gains attention and support from the public, there is an immediate attempt to discredit that candidate as a Progressive. There is no question that some candidates claiming to be Progressive are not but the further left the real Progressives go, the greater the attacks become by MSM and within the DNC itself. The one thing the DNC can NOT do? Make the centrist favorites even appear like actual Progressives. It takes only 1 minute of talking, one non-answer to know who they are.
Funding and support of centrists. Within the DNC itself, they fund centrist candidates. In FL, they went as far as holding a fundraiser for a GOP candidate who was facing a Democratic Progressive.
Misrepresentation. All Progressives have encountered one person after another that claims to be Progressive, then does nothing but push voting for Democratic party candidates. Hold your nose and pull the lever. Try discussing issues with that person. The conversation goes around and around in circles, always back to Blew No Matter Who. “I voted for Bernie BUT…”
Let’s make this ultimately and absolutely clear. Many of us followed Bernie but he turned his back on us. No, he did NOT “start” any movement. That movement already existed. He just gave it a figurehead. That movement continues without him. No, we will NOT ignore all the lies and stories about Russia. We will NOT ignore voter suppression and election fraud. We will NOT hold our nose and pull the lever because “but Trump”. Medicare For All will mean nothing if we all wind up as piles of radioactive ash after another rigged election.
The DNC has had nearly two years since the 2016 election to adopt Progressive policies. Instead they have confirmed nearly every nominee for every office Trump has proposed. Handed him powers of AUMF, mass surveillance, censorship and trade agreements. Not to mention a military budget that exceeds every other country on earth combined. Which they just voted unanimously to increase further. They have voted down drug price reduction proposals. Ejected Progressives from the DNC rules committee. Stated in court that they are under no obligation to provide a valid primary race. Changed primary rules to allow the DNC chair to reject any candidate from running that is not loyal to the party. While the party has no obligation to be loyal to the people. Tried to deceive their constituents by claiming they would not take oil industry money, only to change that quietly less than 3 months later. Which can really only indicate that they were waiting for more donations from the oil industry. They openly refuse to support universal healthcare, one of the most popular political issues to have ever existed. They refuse to adopt legalization of cannabis to the party platform, also supported by the vast majority of Americans.
It is now less than two months before the 2018 midterms. Even at this late date, the DNC refuses to move left. Refuses to adopt any Progressive policies at all. Not a single one. In fact, they continue moving further right. They appear to be trying to attract Republican voters while avoiding or directly attacking Progressive candidates and voters. They fight for Conservative votes and corporate money, turning their backs on us. The problem is, this country already has one Republican party. As Jimmy Dore says, give voters a choice between a Republican candidate and a Republican who claims to be a Democrat, the voter will vote for the Republican.
After years of fighting this battle, Progressives have become tired and increasingly angry.
There is no choice remaining but complete division. If we are ever going to have unity on the Left, then we have to unify the LEFT. Which means a complete rejection and separation from the centrists who sabotage and appropriate our movement and terminology for their own selfish purposes. If the DNC wants unity, they MUST move left to join with us. They have less than two months to do so and that has to include solid commitment to Progressive policies. Not rhetoric, not empty promises. We are not here to unify with you. We are here to defeat you.
We can no longer stand down from confrontations. We have tried discussion and education. All have failed. We cannot allow centrists who invade our groups to claim to represent us or agree with us, while trying to deceive and manipulate for their own machinations. We must use methods they understand. Call them out using disparaging terminology which is shameful in our own community. Hillbots. Blew No Matter Who. Cultists. DINO. Neoliberals. The thing to notice about those terms is that they are not offensive unless there is truth behind them.
The time for Progressive passivity is long over. It is time to stop standing our ground and go on the offensive.
Many, if not most Americans will agree. Trump sucks. However, the enemy of your enemy is NOT your friend.