Dark Qiviut

Ro Khanna was absolutely right to call out the Senate Parlimentarian for having so much power to advise against giving 32 million Americans more of a wage. Jayapal was right to call out this shit excuse then and now after the ruling, too. Poverty is a policy choice. Establishment Dems and the Biden administration are fighting twenty times harder to try to get one Republican to confirm Neera Tanden than to raise the wage. It's one thing to fight equally hard for both. But to surrender the fight on the wage is stupid. Voters care more about the results than the process; they want the folks they voted for to get the job done, and they need help NOW. If Biden and Harris care about raising the minimum wage and helping millions of desperate Americans, then the VP should overrule Elizabeth MacDonough and dare Manchin and Sinema to go against her and their constituents. If nothing gets done and the excuse they give to their constituents is the Parlimentarian ruled against it on technicality, you're only telling them you care more about your career and your donors than the people who voted for you, and you don't deserve to be in politics. Unless the Republican Party splinters into two, Dems will LOSE in 2022 and/or '24 if popular progressive legislation like the minimum wage increase doesn't get passed, and they'll deserve it.

So deliciously aggressive. XD On another note, Savali, Danielle, Mondaire Jones, and the Sunrise Movement are all on point. When people complain that progressive politicians are activists are pressuring Biden and claim that they should "wait," they're telling them "Lower your head, be a follower, or go home." They don't want to hear anyone pushing the president, VP, or their cabinet protest and demand them to do better. The last time activists quieted and waited after a Dem was elected, then-Citigroup exec Michael Froman had already suggested potential picks for Obama's cabinet, but it was too late for activists to respond. The Squad and the Sunrise Movement comprehended this mistake. Biden's currently vetting people into his cabinet, and several serious contenders are corporatists and/or have ties to Big Oil: Rahm Emanuel for Transportation Secretary. The most corrupt corporate Democrat in the last thirty years. Cedric Richmond as a liaison between climate crisis activists and Big Business. He's taken more than $340K and about $149K from the Big Oil and Big Chemical, respectively, to lie and deny the deadly pollution from factories killing people in his district; and he voted with Republicans to increase fossil fuel exports, oil pipelines, and a GOP bill to scale back Obama's more stringent fracking regulations. Heidi Heitkamp for USDA. As senator, she accepted more than $640K, ~$725K from lobbyists and voted against cutting greenhouse gases. An alternative to Heitkamp — in the same Mother Jones link — is Ohio Rep. Marcia Fudge, who progressive activists and Rep. Clyburn support. LA Mayor Eric Garcetti for HUD. This blog has a long list of why he's disqualifying, including increased gentrification in Black and brown neighborhoods, harassing the homeless population (which has grown under his tenure), refusing to build public and affordable housing throughout the city, and shutting down COVID testing centers as cases rose. Michael McCabe is both on Biden's transition team and a potential FDA pick. While working for DuPont, he defended their use and dumping of an extremely toxic chemical, C8, into the WV Appalachians and fought off Bush's EPA from regulating its use and potentially forcing them to spend a fortune cleaning up the water supply. That's why they're calling for and protesting for Biden to be bold and act now. If you "wait," it's already too late. The cabinet is every bit as important as the president, if not more so, because they indicate the direction the president will take in his policies. Defeating Trump isn't even 1% of their battle. The rest of it began the day after Election Day and the minute news organizations called the election for Biden. As for Trump's attempt of a coup and the runoffs, organizations and politicians can walk and chew gum at the same time. They can support the runoffs, raise awareness of Trump's (and the fascists') threat of a political coup, and pressure Biden-Harris simultaneously. In the 1980s, the late James Baldwin had a response to those who told him to "wait" for progress, and his words ring true more than thirty years later. Neither the planet nor tens of millions of people can afford to wait. Bold leadership is needed now. Holding them accountable and putting the heat on them reminds them they're watching and will put pressure on him.

*taps mic* Is this thing working? *hears feedback*

Local and congressional races matter. Aside from the General and the Senate, I'm paying attention to some local races throughout the country. Portland mayor: Current mayor and police commissioner Ted Wheeler won the primary in May, but didn't hit 50% +1 to avoid the general. Because of the cops' sheer brutality on the protesters, his race is now a tossup. His competitor? An Antifa-indentified Democrat named Sarah Iannarone, who was recently endorsed by Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty (after rescinding her endorsement of Wheeler last month) and Bernie Sanders. LA County DA: Jackie Lacey, the incumbent, has a history of scandal ever since she took over the job. LA has a massive mass incarceration problem; Lacey has seeked the death penalty and harsher sentences to people of color; earlier this year, her husband pointed a gun at BLM protesters and was charged. Many folks that originally backed her, including mayor Eric Garcetti and Ted Lieu, swapped endorsements to her challenger, former San Fran DA George Gascón, instead. Gascón has the progressive contingency and California governor Gavin Newsom behind him. Texas's 25th District: Current incumbent Roger Williams is being challenged a second time by Julie Oliver, a former healthcare industry employee. Combine her committment to fight for progressive policies like Medicare for All, she rejects all PAC money. So no money from plain PACs, unions, and so on. Here's her story: Nebraska's 2nd District: Aside from being one of only two states that breaks state delegates down by districts, there's a big fight for the Congressional seat. The incumbent, Republican Don Bacon, squeaked out a win by two points against Kara Eastman, a progressive with the backing of Justice Democrats. Unlike last cycle, the DCCC is supporting her general run, too. However, not all Democrats are. Brad Ashford, the last Democratic congressman from there, is still sour from Eastman barely beating him two years ago and Ann Ashford (his wife) getting crushed in May; so he endorsed Don Bacon — who beat him for that very seat — instead. TYT called Ashford out for being the corporate traitor that he is.

HUGE bump! After nine long years, I FOUND IT! Now it's time to catch up after trying to find this song for so long!

Shit like this is why the left has a lot of trouble coalescing in politics. Criticizing her in good faith's one thing, but this open cynicism with desire to toss AOC to the side is one reason why the left and progressives have a lot of trouble gaining power and helps validate mainstream Democrats' desire to target Republicans instead. The left/progressives have a really bad habit of "eating their own." Very often, they splinter, don't rally around, and are just too stubborn. Massachusetts had several people fighting for Joe Kennedy's old congressional seat (MA-04), and two progressives (Ihssane Leckey and Jesse Mermell) helped split the progressive vote while Jake Auchincloss, a former Republican, snuck through despite winning less than 25% of the vote. In NY's 16th district, Jamaal Bowman wasn't the only progressive challenging Engel. A dem socialist, Andom Ghebreghiorgis, was also running despite little profile. However, when Bowman was gaining momentum and Eliot Engel claimed he only showed up to his district after hiding in his Maryland home because of a primary, Andom understood he had zero chance of winning. Seeing that progressives needed to rally around one to beat Engel, Andom dropped out and endorsed Bowman, a really mature thing for him to do. By dropping out and openly endorsing Bowman, Bowman capitalized on the momentum needed to win. After lying about Bernie claiming a woman can't beat Trump during the Iowa debates, he and Warren became splintered. Whereas every moderate coalesced around Biden before Super Tuesday, Warren (despite no momentum) stayed in the ticket, and the split very likely helped Biden win in Texas, Minnesota, and Massachusetts. When Warren dropped, she spent more time caring about being on SNL than getting back on the campaign trail and working to help progressives and the rest of her own coalition rally around Bernie, the one the most ideologically closest to her. Yes, it's okay to stick to your morals, and it's okay to be politically pessimistic. But folks like AOC successfully build coalitions to help create power for folks on the left to build. She builds power from within, yet stands up for what's right. She's a progressive leader, and leaders like her generate the coalition and momentum needed to move forward. The Marxist-Leninist I linked above displays a really toxic, openly contrarian viewpoint of politics while putting in little effort to build beyond their own bubble. Why are folks from The Young Turks, Justice Democrats, Sam Seder, Shaun King, and the late Michael Brooks more successful than, say, Jimmy Dore? Because Dore rants into a tunnel and is ready to toss folks away. TYT, Justice Dems, Seder, King, and Brooks openly work to try to make life beyond their comfort zones better. The more you rant into the bubble, the more it feels good, so you wanna do it more. Talking and screaming into a void, Twitter wars, and public ownage of a person with an opposing political ideology make great momentary stress relief, but it's extremely cheap. Yes, it's much easier to smash your keys as you type and become the Fred Figglehorn of politics, but it's another to exit your bubble, put your biases aside, listen to others, and persuade. How do Bernie, Warren, Jayapal, AOC, and the rest of The Squad build their clout in the first place? By listening and coalescing to find common politics. Lefty babblers, wealthy blue-checkers living in multi-million-dollar glass houses, and centrist vote shamers on Twitter share one thing in common. Ranting, yelling, and ratioing others may feel good in the short term, but what does it do in the long haul? Nothing. This Burger King of politics accentuates discord that indicates little desire to help understand conflicting viewpoints. Over the long haul, persuasion is so much more rewarding. Listen to other people's shoes, offer your viewpoint, and work to help them buy into it. This informative roundtable from The Michael Brooks Show understands how the internet can consume you and create such a bubble that it can mask your ability to think for yourself. Think about why Rhode Island progressives and Ed Markey were so successful this cycle. Ed Markey has a moderate record, including voting for NAFTA, the Crime Bill, and Iraq War. So how did he convince two warring progressive factions to support him for the primary? Because Markey listened and worked with them. Being from Massachusetts, he was a proud and open Warren supporter in the presidential primary, and she in turn endorsed him back for the primary earlier this month. Plus, he worked with AOC to draft the Green New Deal, co-led Bernie Sanders' fight to make single-payer Medicare for All a reality, and openly worked with the Sunrise Movement to make the nation and world a better place. Bernie was the top choice among the youth, and Elizabeth was #2, and he helped them share a common goal that his ideas and leadership will help the Senate lead a better America than Joe Kennedy. In Rhode Island, it doesn't matter what politics you have. As long as you have a "D" next to your name on the card, the conservative Democratic establishment in the state will welcome and fund for you. Warren and Sanders supporters share one thing in common: Progress will never occur with those political dinosaurs in power. Daniel Denvir, a podcaster and writer for Jacobin magazine, understood this, co-founded Reclaim Rhode Island, and worked with other political operatives there, including the Sunrise Movement, Working Families, DSA, and the new Rhode Island Political Operative, to change the entire political landscape in the state. In one year, these groups swept local seats throughout the state, which you can read and listen here. In short, politics and coalition-building are all about communication. Twitter fights and helping ratio-gaming destroy that communication.

One of the biggest dark horses of the House Democratic primary elections is Missouri's 1st Congressional District. William "Lacy" Clay succeeded his father, Bill, twenty years ago, who retired in 2001 after thirty-two years. Two years ago, a Black Lives Matter protester and activist from Ferguson, Cori Bush, challenged Clay with help from Justice Democrats, a progressive organization that primaries corporate, conservative Democrats in favor of progressive ones and the ones who helped Ilhan Omar, AOC, and Rashida Tlaib win Congressional seats. As the first JD, she got 37% of the vote last cycle, losing in a blowout. She returned to primary Clay again, but the Justice Democrats only went after a select few seats, all safe Democrats, rather than bulldoze and hope for the best. Unlike last cycle, Cori Bush was able to fundraise better, have the insurgent Sunrise Movement and DSA in her corner, was on TV a lot more, and had an outside group run by Bernie Sanders's former campaign manager, Faiz Shakir, airing commercials attacking Clay for working against the Obama administration and helping Trump to allow predatory Wall Street firms to steal money from retirees. Signs pointed at Clay possibly being upset in the primaries, and Bernie Sanders and congressman-elect Jamaal Bowman endorsed her. However, the current Squad in the House did not get involved, even though AOC endorsed Bush two years ago. Well, an earthquake hit St. Louis tonight! Cori Bush knocks out the Clay dynasty! The Clay family has represented Missouri's 1st District for over fifty-one years. Bill Clay long retired, but Lacy carried on his father's name. It would be an enormous upset if Cori Bush won. Mission accomplished, and now a leader of the Black Lives Matter movement both in Ferguson and nationwide has representation in Washington. I couldn't be any happier to see one of the best activists and people in the BLM movement now in Congress.