I very much like the thoughts! Go one beyond. Flip the script. Fed workers facing layoff or laid off could stay at work or march back to work, with public support, and simply not leave! Sit In. Continue to deliver services. Let the public know!! Don’t meekly go home. Don’t feel defeated. Make them physically remove you. And like in the 1930s, get your friends and your union to help you to stay at work, on the job.
Let’s make it happen, Eric! I really want to see FUN at the center of this movement. Working locally on building coalitions and it is slow work, but we need a massive anti fascist people’s front, a labor rainbow coalition.
Let's try this: an organization/network intended to rapidly connect and inspire a broad range of US citizens to act in favor of preserving Social Security, implementing Medicare For All, and possibly other widely popular policies, for the sake of the policies and also for the sake of helping to coalesce mass popular action.
Strategy: Individual people as members/affiliates affirm one or more policies, starting with insisting on preserving Social Security. These individuals pledge to favor/choose businesses/organizations that publicly affirm (on their web sites/publications/premises), and maybe materially support, the specified policies. Businesses and organizations join and proclaim their affirmation/support for policies, motivated by pure motives and/or commercial advantage.
Take a word of advice from someone with deep, broad personal experience with a sociopathic narcissist like Donald Trump—you will NOT make him back off via confrontation. In fact, the more pressure put on him, the more dangerous and likely to resort to violence—and I mean literal violence—he will become.
I fully agree these huge rallies need to be used to organize and prepare, but this unfortunate tendency I see of the main response being confrontation and mass protest isn't going to work. I wish it were otherwise, but they rely on massive levels of media coverage to have any real effect because they're a tool for encouraging others to become part of the movement. It's a given that coverage is not going to happen, or will be twisted into reinforcing the gaslighting it's a bunch of rebellious kids and "domestic terrorists".
This isn't the 19th or the 20th century. What worked against the Vietnam War won't work now for the simple reason the audience comprises people who think they know everything because "Google". Unfortunately, was Will Rogers mourned 90 years ago, “The problem ain't what people know. It's what people know that ain't so that's the problem.” To which I would add "…and what they don't know they don't know". Unless we plan on that understanding, we're just going through the motions.
I know that, like far too many victims of Reagan's Education Reform™, young people are unable to compose a coherent sentence that makes clear just what it is they're asking. Not your fault.
Yeah I'm also not hugely convinced that this approach would guarantee a win, but Blanc is correct that Bernie/AOC should be creating organizers instead of just passively mobilizing. RIP Jane McAlevey, we still need everyone "on the left" to deeply understand the difference. Organizing is our only way forward even if there's no guarantee of a win against these people.
I would suggest a good first step would be to stop accepting the establishment vocabulary that slaps on the “leftist” label knowing they’ve firmly established it as the dichotomous opposite of “MAGA”. We’re working with a deeply gaslit population indoctrinated by experts, and that’s going to be a major obstacle unless we learn how to get around it.
I agree with Varn that the left is too obsessed with trying to get messaging right. We need organizing skills a lot more than skills related to using the right words. If messaging is in an organizing context cool. If it's just more internet stuff it doesn't matter.
It’s not about the messaging. It’s about how the messaging is presented. And people are so addicted to repeating their cherished ideological scripts they refuse to even consider that using the other side’s language just reinforces the propaganda the other side already has installed, ready to trigger resistance and outrage at the drop of the cue-word.
Brilliant work here. I have also suggested that DSA chapters holding townhalls on Medicare for all would be a good thing to do in helping to define the primary terrain in 2026.
Excellent ideas. Bernie has been asking people to mobilize in every one of his rallies. We the People are the only ones capable of bringing down the oligarchs. Bernie has a sound fair plan (not just a concept of a plan) to restore our economy. Bernie is one of the few remaining honorable, law abiding politician in America. Check on his Wednesday April 9, rally live on YouTube.
I found the Trump diehards don’t want to convince me of anything, because they won. In their minds, Trump would never hurt America, we are just escalating what he is thinking, he would never do (what he is actually saying)…..ugh
Not the central point of your piece, Eric, but I’m curious what’s driving you to characterize Bernie and AOC as now leading the party in general, rather than just their historic, left activist base(s)? Not disagreeing necessarily, just interested to hear your take.
You know what’s funny about America? Not ha-ha funny—nervous laughter funny. Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez get up every morning, shovel the truth into a microphone, and half the country still sits around like, “Gee, I wonder what they mean by ‘Fight Oligarchy’…”
FIGHT. OLIGARCHY. It’s not a Sudoku puzzle, folks. It’s not a secret handshake. It’s a neon sign in the desert flashing STOP LETTING BILLIONAIRES RUN YOUR LIFE.
And people are still like, “Shouldn’t Bernie do a few more town halls?” No! He’s 82 and yelling louder than your uncle on Facebook. AOC’s practically doing TED Talks in Congress, and you still need a push?
You want change? Here’s a revolutionary idea: change something. Organize. Educate. Broadcast. Mobilize. FIGHT. There. You got your syllabus, professor.
Quit waiting for politicians to be messiahs. They’re not the second coming, they’re the starting pistol. And the race is against corporate feudalism, not each other.
So stop looking for the message. You’re holding the damn megaphone. Use it.
I very much like the thoughts! Go one beyond. Flip the script. Fed workers facing layoff or laid off could stay at work or march back to work, with public support, and simply not leave! Sit In. Continue to deliver services. Let the public know!! Don’t meekly go home. Don’t feel defeated. Make them physically remove you. And like in the 1930s, get your friends and your union to help you to stay at work, on the job.
Let’s make it happen, Eric! I really want to see FUN at the center of this movement. Working locally on building coalitions and it is slow work, but we need a massive anti fascist people’s front, a labor rainbow coalition.
Let's try this: an organization/network intended to rapidly connect and inspire a broad range of US citizens to act in favor of preserving Social Security, implementing Medicare For All, and possibly other widely popular policies, for the sake of the policies and also for the sake of helping to coalesce mass popular action.
Strategy: Individual people as members/affiliates affirm one or more policies, starting with insisting on preserving Social Security. These individuals pledge to favor/choose businesses/organizations that publicly affirm (on their web sites/publications/premises), and maybe materially support, the specified policies. Businesses and organizations join and proclaim their affirmation/support for policies, motivated by pure motives and/or commercial advantage.
Take a word of advice from someone with deep, broad personal experience with a sociopathic narcissist like Donald Trump—you will NOT make him back off via confrontation. In fact, the more pressure put on him, the more dangerous and likely to resort to violence—and I mean literal violence—he will become.
I fully agree these huge rallies need to be used to organize and prepare, but this unfortunate tendency I see of the main response being confrontation and mass protest isn't going to work. I wish it were otherwise, but they rely on massive levels of media coverage to have any real effect because they're a tool for encouraging others to become part of the movement. It's a given that coverage is not going to happen, or will be twisted into reinforcing the gaslighting it's a bunch of rebellious kids and "domestic terrorists".
This isn't the 19th or the 20th century. What worked against the Vietnam War won't work now for the simple reason the audience comprises people who think they know everything because "Google". Unfortunately, was Will Rogers mourned 90 years ago, “The problem ain't what people know. It's what people know that ain't so that's the problem.” To which I would add "…and what they don't know they don't know". Unless we plan on that understanding, we're just going through the motions.
So Liz, what do you know cause…
I know that, like far too many victims of Reagan's Education Reform™, young people are unable to compose a coherent sentence that makes clear just what it is they're asking. Not your fault.
Yeah I'm also not hugely convinced that this approach would guarantee a win, but Blanc is correct that Bernie/AOC should be creating organizers instead of just passively mobilizing. RIP Jane McAlevey, we still need everyone "on the left" to deeply understand the difference. Organizing is our only way forward even if there's no guarantee of a win against these people.
I would suggest a good first step would be to stop accepting the establishment vocabulary that slaps on the “leftist” label knowing they’ve firmly established it as the dichotomous opposite of “MAGA”. We’re working with a deeply gaslit population indoctrinated by experts, and that’s going to be a major obstacle unless we learn how to get around it.
I agree with Varn that the left is too obsessed with trying to get messaging right. We need organizing skills a lot more than skills related to using the right words. If messaging is in an organizing context cool. If it's just more internet stuff it doesn't matter.
It’s not about the messaging. It’s about how the messaging is presented. And people are so addicted to repeating their cherished ideological scripts they refuse to even consider that using the other side’s language just reinforces the propaganda the other side already has installed, ready to trigger resistance and outrage at the drop of the cue-word.
Brilliant work here. I have also suggested that DSA chapters holding townhalls on Medicare for all would be a good thing to do in helping to define the primary terrain in 2026.
Excellent ideas. Bernie has been asking people to mobilize in every one of his rallies. We the People are the only ones capable of bringing down the oligarchs. Bernie has a sound fair plan (not just a concept of a plan) to restore our economy. Bernie is one of the few remaining honorable, law abiding politician in America. Check on his Wednesday April 9, rally live on YouTube.
The rich started the class war. This is how we'll win it.
https://open.substack.com/pub/salmun/p/how-we-win-the-war-b4a?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=jt2di
I found the Trump diehards don’t want to convince me of anything, because they won. In their minds, Trump would never hurt America, we are just escalating what he is thinking, he would never do (what he is actually saying)…..ugh
Please Bernie continue your great work
I would like to see them out Marching with the people! That would be so amazing!
FAKE NEWS
It will only work as long as they have private jets
It’s Bernie and AOC now. Let’s not be agest or sexist
Not the central point of your piece, Eric, but I’m curious what’s driving you to characterize Bernie and AOC as now leading the party in general, rather than just their historic, left activist base(s)? Not disagreeing necessarily, just interested to hear your take.
If Bernie doesn’t drop the whole AIPAC thing he is going to destroy any chance we will ever have of democratic socialism and his life’s work.
They already are a mass movement and we need to increase, expand, and continue this through to midterm elections and beyond!
You know what’s funny about America? Not ha-ha funny—nervous laughter funny. Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez get up every morning, shovel the truth into a microphone, and half the country still sits around like, “Gee, I wonder what they mean by ‘Fight Oligarchy’…”
FIGHT. OLIGARCHY. It’s not a Sudoku puzzle, folks. It’s not a secret handshake. It’s a neon sign in the desert flashing STOP LETTING BILLIONAIRES RUN YOUR LIFE.
And people are still like, “Shouldn’t Bernie do a few more town halls?” No! He’s 82 and yelling louder than your uncle on Facebook. AOC’s practically doing TED Talks in Congress, and you still need a push?
You want change? Here’s a revolutionary idea: change something. Organize. Educate. Broadcast. Mobilize. FIGHT. There. You got your syllabus, professor.
Quit waiting for politicians to be messiahs. They’re not the second coming, they’re the starting pistol. And the race is against corporate feudalism, not each other.
So stop looking for the message. You’re holding the damn megaphone. Use it.