Dear [PERSON READING THIS],
Tough times.
The American people understand that our economic and political systems are rigged. They know that the very rich get much richer while almost everyone else becomes poorer. They know that we are moving rapidly into an oligarchic form of society.
The Democrats ran a campaign protecting the status quo and tinkering around the edges. Trump and the Republicans campaigned on change and on smashing the existing order.
Not surprisingly, the Republicans won. Unfortunately, the “change” that Republicans will bring about will make a bad situation worse, and a society of gross inequality even more unequal, more unjust and more bigoted.
Will the Democratic leadership learn the lessons of their defeat and create a party that stands with the working class and is prepared to take on the enormously powerful special interests that dominate our economy, our media and our political life? Highly unlikely.
They are much too wedded to the billionaires and corporate interests that fund their campaigns.
Given that reality, where do we go from here? That is the very serious question that needs a lot of discussion in the coming weeks and months.
How do we expand our efforts to build a multi-racial, multi-generational working class movement?
How do we create a 50 state movement, not politics based on the electoral college and “battleground” states?
How do we deal with Citizens United and the ability of billionaires to buy elections?
How do we recruit more working class candidates for office at all levels of government?
Should we be supporting Independent candidates who are prepared to take on both parties?
How do we better support union organizing?
How do we put together listening sessions around the country that intentionally seek input from people who did not vote for Democrats in the last election?
How do we best use social media to build our movement and combat the lies and disinformation coming from the billionaire class and right wing media?
How do we build sustainable and long-term issue-based organizing structures that live beyond individual campaigns?
These are some of the political questions that, together, we need to address. And it is absolutely critical that you make your voice heard during this process.
Not me. Us. That is the only way forward.
In solidarity,
Bernie Sanders
What do we think? Considering all of the selling out he did from 2016 onward, only for none of it to be successful, I think there’s actually a possibility that he recognizes that his “legacy” is in danger. I’m actually so interested in hearing what the Hexbear community has to say about this that I’m legitimately excited to post it lmao
I’ve been thinking there’s a serious split in the Democratic Party between Zionists and anti-genocide progressives. Those Senators that joined calls for an arms embargo and the House Reps that refused to watch Netanyahu speak could split and form a Party. It’d work!
For it to work it would need to peel off a non-trivial number of sitting legislators or governors. Then it would need to tactically contest specific districts. Something like what Bernie has already been doing in VT, or the DSA model of a party within a party.
Still, I think he missed his moment, which was in 2016. Even in 2020 he might have secured the nomination by responding to the Obama coalition calls with a threat to make a 3rd-party run. But at this point his momentum is all gone.
You’re right, they would basically be starting over their momentum from scratch.
The vast vast majority of anti-genocide progressives would, in this current moment, balk at splitting the Party. They believe “if you aren’t at the table, you’re on the menu” and so it’s “better” to be part of a party with Zionists than to strike out on their own. They lack the political will or courage to even attempt such a thing. It’d require an entirely new mass movement of people in the streets, something on the scale of the Black Lives Matter uprisings, to make them feel confident enough in striking out on their own.
That probably won’t manifest until Trump does something the sparks it, and if no one is prepared to take advantage of the energy it’ll just fizzle out again.
I think that the issue of genocide in Palestine has become so culturally relevant that you are correct. It is a very clear dividing line between politically active people that isn’t bridged very often, if at all. Young, politically active people especially are pretty much in two entirely separate camps about it. If you are politically active enough to be an anti-Zionist, you likely don’t have any friends who are zionists (same is true on the inverse).
Am I correct in remembering an article that said Warnock and Ossof both voted to block sales? If I didn’t misread that headline, I found it sorta double take worthy because I assumed those guys were straight party operators.