After mulling what happened with Halter over, I've come to a few realizations:
- The closing of the polls was dirty pool. Lincoln didn't win clean. That's not a valid civics decision. That comes with some consequences for the Coin Operated Democrats*
Update: A contributor said they had not heard that before. Let's fix that :)
*A Coin Operated Democrat is one who keeps the seat warm for a Progressive.
Some of you guys are not gonna like what I'm about to write. That's ok, push it back in the comments, and sell me. That's the right way to do this. The wrong way is to get personal about it.
We need to start having this debate regularly, and it needs to be vigorous, if we are to find where the movement center of mass is.
- The real politics are people vs corporations. I have zero doubt now, and the clincher was Coin Operated Democrats playing dirty pool to defeat Halter, who I believe had a solid shot at winning his Primary. HCR should be all that is required to know this, but just in case it's not, having the party leadership support the corporate deals over the will of the people is flat out hostile to the very people that put it there in power.
Had they not done that, and Lincoln won, I would be ok with supporting the party going forward. That's a civics decision, and that means progressives simply have more work to do. No worries there. Game on.
Screwing Halter like that isn't a valid civics decision. It is an abuse of power, and that's a crime against the people. There is no sugar coating it. We the people got fucked on that election, and our own party did it to us, because they fear corporations more than they do us.
Think about that, and know that real change is only going to happen when we present a greater cost for defiance than the corporations do.
- There isn't a meaningful difference between most Democrats and Republicans on the economic issues. Quite simply, one either believes the people come first, or not. Additionally, one is either honest about that, or a liar.
I'm a progressive, and I believe we the people agree to self-govern because we are better able to enjoy our freedom that way. Our government permits business, again so that we are better able to enjoy our freedom that way. The desire for profit drives innovation, which betters our lives, freeing our time and energy to live them, not toil for mere survival.
If those corporations are growing hostile, and we are not better off for their efforts, the burden for addressing this lies with the people. That's us, and our movement.
- It is time to let the people know the difference between a Progressive Democrat, and the rest of Washington.
- Corporations enjoy the majority support in Washington right now. Most importantly, the NORMS in play favor them, not us. They have the courts, they have most of the media, they have Washington, and they have many nations, all buying into the simple idea that if big business is doing well, the people will be doing well.
- That is quite simply not true.
- Our movement is the only center of mass that I see having anywhere near the potential to check those hostile norms. If we don't grow, differentiate ourselves and get the support of more of the people, nothing we believe in is going to happen.
I believe this absolutely. Anything else is a happy distraction or coping device we can use to live with the shit being done to us, and in our name.
To be perfectly clear, I know what is at stake. The SCOTUS is already very toxic. We need some shot at the next picks, and so the party must endure. I get that.
- It is entirely possible to be 100 percent honest about this while growing our movement. It's not necessary to enable the crimes against the people for the greater good. We can push back on that, while at the same time growing our base of popular support, organizing and such.
What that means is we don't let a Republican take our seats. We suck it up and get it done. But we do so in an honest way. I can't live with anything else.
So I hope she wins. I'll help her win, but I'm also going to tell people why. SCOTUS is why. If the next coupla picks go corporate, it's over for us. Our cause dies for 50 years or more, and we might as well just pack it up and go home. So she's gotta win.
But, I will no longer sugar coat Coin Operated Democrats. We can grow the Progressive support, and we don't have to lie, and we don't have to cheat, and we don't have to steal.
We can do this again and again and again. Posting up Halter was a damn good idea. Now that we understand how things are going to go, we know the work we have to do, and that clarity is worth a lot.
When we do this again, we can put that message out there, and if we do that, when they cheat, lie, steal, our position will only grow stronger.
If they are going to screw the people, make them own it. Where I come from, we don't take that kind of shit. Time to start putting daylight on this, while at the same time telling people how it's got to go.
Elect more Democrats, because the alternative is grim. Elect better Democrats because we the people won't tolerate a government that isn't serving us as it should.
So that's the alternative. The solution is to just be honest, keep the Dems in power, but make the Coin Operated ones own their deeds. We can do that. People will understand that, where they don't understand blind loyalty yielding no change. We progressives can tell that story, and grow, keeping the party viable because we must, not because we believe in it being just and true.
When we do this, people have an alternative. They can know helping us to build gets them closer to reform they need, and that's big. Without us standing up and differentiating ourselves, people become jaded, trapped, helpless. We can empower them, and build on each event like this, solidifying their resolve.
Friends help friends vote Progressive.