MoveToAmend.org | Also, has the Democratic establishment sealed our fate?

Sunday, December 17, 2023

I left this comment on a Substack comment. The original poster basically said elections aren’t going to save us. Direct action, general strikes, civil disobedience, and applying real pressure on politicians will.

I think he’s right, but I’m skeptical about our ability to successfully pull off any of those things.

A site he mentioned, MoveToAmend.org is worth checking out.

From me:

The Democratic establishment is consistent in several areas. Chief among them: striving and aiming for the middle instead of aiming for the top (and then still missing when they take the shot); propping up and prioritizing mediocrity over progress; refusing to scout for new talent (really, Dems? In this whole, entire nation on the verge, there’s not one single person you can find who just might resonate with the people more than Biden? Not one person rises to the top for you? C’mon!); and an inefficient, ineffective, roll-over-and-take-it commitment to over-compromising and relinquishing all command and control. It’s not a compromise when you just outright surrender. It’s not a compromise when you acquiesce to extremists and enablers holding hostage our country, our economy, our policies, our safety, or our rights. It’s weakness. And they do it over and over and over.

I know Biden’s record has been mostly good. But that’s just it. It’s “good.” Most of the time. We’ve slightly moved the needle to the left a couple of areas. But it’s not enough. It’s hardly noticeable. It’s easily forgettable.

We need, my God do we need, better than “good” right now. Not Biden. Not another Clinton. Not Harris. And not a mushy moderate who’ll keep reaching over the aisle with a hand extended only to have it lobbed off with a bloody axe. How many hands have we lost now, Dems?

Quit listening to people like James Carville, who are mired in outdated strategies and who tell you the people don’t want progress. That the people don’t want you to fight back. Quit listening to him and listen to the actual people. Hold a focus group for Chrissakes, and don’t fill it with idiots. Find a new strategy, quit taking advice and direction from conservative pundits who are out of touch, stop courting the lite Republican vote, and find us a candidate who will get their hands dirty, fling some long overdue mud in the GOP’s face, move our country forward to match the progress actual first world countries have made, pry our rights back from the GOP’s grubby, twisted stronghold, tell the GOP “no, we’re not doing it your way anymore - period.” If you have to, shout it. Shout it over their bickering and gerrymandering and court stacking and fossil fuel burning and putting bullets ahead of children and putting forced births ahead of everything and dismantling of regulatory agencies and lobbyist worshiping and sycophancy and nationalism, etc.). Speak loudly and also carry a big stick and for once in our lifetime, mean it.

Find someone who will fight fire with fire.

Do. Better.

…But they won’t. And that’s where you’re right; elections will not save us. It’s going to be up to us to apply pressure and demand action. But here’s where my cynicism comes in.

Because good luck getting a general strike off the ground when we’re too busy working from home and fighting with our racist uncles at Thanksgiving. Good luck overcoming voter suppression and disenfranchisement. Good luck getting a protest with enough people in enough places at the right times to matter. (I really thought the March for Our Lives movement was going to do it. Nope.) And good luck getting anyone to notice civil disobedience. Half of us can’t even define it anymore.

In so many ways, I really just fear we’re doomed, at least in the short term (i.e. for the next 2-3 generations). It’s not a good fear to have. 😞