Corbin, you are spot on with this. I'm a 64 year old White guy who is afraid of what my son's and grandson are going to live through in their lives without radical change. Much as I respect what Pelosi accomplished as Speaker, it's time for her and the other entrenched old guard to get the hell out of the way and go count their millions. Let the young hungry progressives have a chance to fix things. You and @Jess Piper should team up for a speaking tour. She's been pushing much of the same issues in Missouri.
Israel isn't the problem. The Israeli government is the problem. Just like America isn't the problem. The American government is the problem. I am proud to be an American Jew, and embarrassed by the governments currently holding power in both Washington and Jerusalem. Don't conflate the nation with the government.
Maybe you should take a long, hard look at public opinion polls in Israel. They reveal that the present Likud enjoys support ranging from 64% to 83%, depending on the issue. A substantial majority of Israelis believe there are no innocents in Gaza.
Israel government and Israel are the problem and the Democrats fear of the Israel is the total killer of the Dems chances of winning big. Take a close look at Booker, he is basically what Lincoln freed decades ago. HE IS OWNED BOUGHT AND PAID FOR. Yes he talks shit when it is meaningless. Fetterman is another!
Democrat leadership can't distinguish itself from Trump on Israel support and therefore ends up directing their main blow at their progressive wing (Mamdani, AOC, etc...) rather than at Trump. It's up to Israelis to draw that line on the Gaza war. They put Netanyahu in power. They can take him out. The international community has already spoken.
I sincerely know the risk of saying this, but the easiest thing to do is to unite against a common enemy. But, instead of choosing a superfluous soap box to stand on or targeting a single individual or group, choose the real enemy: Lack of Integrity. Science could help by itemizing the long-term fallout from having leaders, from parents on up to president, operate from lack of integrity leading to our current pathological stress. Politicians who speak truth and refuse to "play the game" are what I look for. Life is not a game. Politics is about how we choose to govern ourselves, and that is not a game, either. The country of the supposed "free" playing games with people's lives is how we got into this mess where freedom is now lost to so many and in so many ways. Playing games with unwritten rules and unsuspecting victims is likely the foulest form of integrity destroyed. Out of that lack of integrity we now have an abundance of incompetence masquerading as superiority. Integrity with Competence as both our Gold and our Bottom Line, you might say, is something all but the wicked could get behind. And, it is the wicked who have made too many believe that integrity is not possible. I call hogwash. We all could and should.
Integrity, huh? Okay. You brought it up. In order to do this, we need to shed religion. Religion is the problem. The other alternative is to go full hog religious cult like MAGA, but that really isn't the Democratic Party. We can't play in the middle with religion. Religion makes good people say and do bad things. Christianity, indeed all of the Abrahamic religions, are not a true moral code. Take Christianity as an example given it's our heritage here. Christianity breeds three moral archetypes: Radical Jesus (Lord of Lords King of Kings); Milquetoast Jesus (Sermon on the Mount); and Why Bother Jesus (Bible as Metaphor). The first four commandments have no moral intuition. And to make things worse forever, the Bible cannot be edited.
BTW, science is not going to do anything for us politically. We need to find a new ethic if we want to go down the path of integrity. #thepillars.org
well ? we need to all stand together and protect the jews in Israel! Even if they are perpetrating genocide. Killing Babies in drug&alcohol induced frenzies is necessary to eliminate the Palestinian threat to Israels existence!
All of the Abrahamic religions are going to be the downfall of humanity. I DO NOT AGREE WITH YOU. Perhaps you should move to Israel and then use your dollars to pay for their healthcare.
Progressives out here building talent shows while the Right is busy building temples of power. Every cycle we crown a new messiah, then toss them into Congress like a lone lamb and expect them to flip the whole system solo. It's not martyrdom we need—it's monastic coordination. A choir, not a soloist. A movement, not a mosaic of vibes.
MAGA rolls deep. Tea Party brought torches. Meanwhile, we bring poems and podcasts to a knife fight.
To every beautiful, bright-eyed candidate mentioned—stop pretending your campaign is an indie film and start acting like you’re forming a covenant. Share a platform. Bless each other’s names. Show the people you can govern together before you even get the keys.
Because otherwise, y’all just birds chirping alone in different trees while the hawks keep circling.
We also have to realize the brains behind the Republican party (if you can call it that) has been masterminding this since Roosevelt. They do not want a middle class, and they certainly don't want taxes, Social Security or Medicare/aid. Trump is just egocentric enough to move full speed ahead (cuz he thinks he is god), and they learned from the failed Tea Party.
Absolutely, Debra. The Right has been playing the long game since the New Deal, and they’ve been meticulous. While progressives tend to get caught up in personalities and poetic outrage, the architects behind the GOP have been quietly dismantling public trust in government institutions, stacking the courts, and building think tanks to churn out policy like an assembly line. The Heritage Foundation didn’t just show up yesterday.
And you’re right—Trump’s not the mastermind. He’s the blunt instrument. But the hand wielding him has a blueprint. They learned from Goldwater. They adapted after the Tea Party. Now they’re running a full-blown theocratic corporate coup with voter suppression as the welcome mat.
Meanwhile, we’re out here arguing over whether it’s spiritually oppressive to canvas in swing states.
Time to trade vibes for vows. Strategy is not the enemy of authenticity. And solidarity isn’t a buzzword. It’s infrastructure.
1. Trump is the avatar and the vehicle. He is not the "mastermind" of anything, as you note, and everyone should know that.
2. Stop with the right "playing the long game." This is wrong. It's this simple- they have the money. They use it, and have been using it, to have partisan media outlets and political infrastructure (ALEC). Every progressive knows the same things and would be doing them- if they had the money. The right does and the left does. That's it.
3. It's easy to be on the side with existing power and money.
4. It's easy to be on the side of cultural dominance and privilege.
5. It's hard to be on the opposite side with less money, even if what you want to do has majority support.
PG, your take completely ignores the actual historical record.
The Right didn’t just “have money.” They had a coordinated strategy, starting with the 1971 Powell Memo, which explicitly called on conservatives to build long-term influence through media, education, the courts, and politics. That memo helped launch organizations like the Heritage Foundation (founded 1973), the Cato Institute (1974), and later, the Federalist Society (1982).
ALEC wasn’t just created because someone had extra cash. It was built to systematically write legislation for Republican lawmakers across all 50 states. This is one of the most effective long-game strategies in modern politics. Meanwhile, groups like Focus on the Family and the Council for National Policy turned churches into political machines, distributing voter guides and funneling donations.
Evangelicals were mobilized intentionally after Roe v. Wade. It wasn’t because of sudden religious outrage. It was because strategists like Paul Weyrich saw abortion as the most effective wedge issue to unify conservative Protestants and Catholics under a single voting bloc.
This was a decades-long plan with documented steps. It wasn’t just about money. It was about infrastructure, message discipline, and relentless coordination.
To say the left would “do the same thing if they had the money” is ahistorical. We’ve had wealthy donors. What we haven’t had is the same centralized, long-term execution. That’s the difference.
The money enabled all that. It STARTS with the money. That money pays for the people who know how to do this stuff to....do this stuff. That money allows them to start a Heritage Foundation, a Federalist Society, all of it. That money allows them to exist with a staff and resources.
We've had wealthy donors? No. We've had wealthy people who have donated to CAMPAIGNS for candidates, which is completely different. And we should know by now, while some wealthy people have progressive views, a lot of that has to do with access and having their phone calls taken.
There are no billionaires that are looking to support a progressive media network or a progressive political infrastructure, outside of George Soros perhaps. Why is that? Because the end result of such things is higher taxes on the rich, more regulation, and them having less wealth than they do now.
Nearly all of our progressive donors are rich first, and anything else second. Prime example- Tom Steyer. The money he spent on his failed presidential campaign would have gone a lot farther if he put it towards a political infrastructure. Either he was blind to it, his ego came first, or he wanted to fight climate change without raising his taxes. (All of the above could also apply)
You know why every progressive cause is lacking for money here? Because the people behind the causes either have no money for this, or are more moved to directly help their causes as opposed to pay consultants and lobbyists. I suspect the women behind abortion rights rather take their limited funds and help poor women than a bunch of DC politicos and their $200 meals.
It shouldn't be either/or but that's the difference between having oligarchs on your side and not.
PG, I respect your frustration, but your response leans entirely on assertion without backing it up.
You say “it STARTS with the money”—but you cite no source, no historical example, no timeline. Just vibes.
Meanwhile, I laid out a documented strategic chronology:
The Powell Memo (1971) explicitly called for a coordinated ideological offensive.
That led directly to the creation of institutions like the Heritage Foundation (1973), Cato Institute (1974), and Federalist Society (1982).
ALEC was not a spontaneous byproduct of wealth—it was an intentional legislative factory, distributing cookie-cutter laws to statehouses across the country.
Paul Weyrich didn’t “just have money.” He orchestrated the deliberate weaponization of abortion as a wedge issue to unify disparate religious factions.
None of that came from rich people casually tossing money around. It came from a strategy to institutionalize power. Wealth enabled it, yes—but coordinated vision sustained it.
You write off “progressive donors” as absent or selfish. But again—no citations. No breakdown of philanthropic trends. No analysis of funding flows. Nothing. Just: “They don’t do it because they don’t want higher taxes.” Which might be true in some cases, but you’re offering speculation where I’m offering history.
And let’s be clear—there are progressive funders who’ve backed infrastructure:
George Soros built the Open Society Foundations.
The Sandler Foundation helped launch ProPublica and Center for American Progress.
The Wyss Foundation funds environmental and electoral infrastructure.
What’s missing isn’t money—it’s coordination, message discipline, and multi-decade vision.
That’s the gap. That’s the difference. And that’s what the Right executed while we were chasing campaign cycles and vibes.
If you want to argue that progressive billionaires are too selfish to do it right—fine. But don’t erase the actual strategic work the Right did just because it makes the problem harder than “they had more cash.”
Entryism is the only way to make real change in a first past the pole electoral system that guarantees 2-party dominance. I'm consistently impressed with your pragmatic progressive politics and strategic vision. Was happy to see a similar attitude at Knox DSA last night, rather than the "AOC isn't radical enough" caucus that won their last convention. Hoping the Mamdami victory will help them see that they can easily make DSA candidates into Democratic nominees if they do the work. If they are willing to build coalitions with other progressive Democrats, they might even start a movement.
Send this to every progressive Democrat running for office. The GOP plays long ball. Would Marge Greene have any sway if MAGA Republicans didn't have her back? I doubt it. She's gross but she's supported by an entire movement. They're corrupt and ugly to their core but they stick together like a nasty little gang of MAGA thugs.
First, let's stop this right now. The GOP is not "playing long ball." I fume every time I see this.
They have more money. Period. That money comes directly from the oligarchs. It also comes from the oligarchs underwriting the political infrastructure (i.e. ALEC) that helps them. And from underwriting all the right wing propaganda media they have, from Fox News to AM radio to the rest.
That's what they have that we don't. It's easy to see why. The entire point of the right wing/GOP is to have the oligarchs pay less in taxes, have less regulation over the industries they own, and accumulate more wealth. It works because they "invest" millions and get back billions from it. They've been doing it for over 40 years. And it hinges on a bunch of voters in the Bottom 90% voting against their economic interests in favor or their identity politics and cultural interests.
Marjorie Taylor Greene is a complete idiot but a useful idiot for them. She gets the attention of resentful people as dumb as she is, just like both Trump. Both of them appeal to morons with cultural grievances that don't understand how things work or what is really happening. They are easy to rile up and easy to get their votes with all the rest in place.
It's the opposite for progressive Democrats. They're going AGAINST the oligarchs, which also means they are going against their money. The people that are progressive are educated and accurately informed: that also makes them the minority in this country. They are standing up for out-groups, which is clearly the opposite of MTG and Trump pimping for in-groups with privilege. It's a totally different game.
Great perspective. I think you are correct. Perhaps we are asking too much of the Democratic human. Perhaps, we start with one purple state and take it over. WI, MI or PA seem like good places to start.
Also, I think the Democratic voter needs to wake up. Many of you have moved from states like WI, MI and PA. We have an over abundance of Democratic voters in deep blue states. Time to move back home.
BTW, I am voting blue in TX but am from CA. The shit hole tech industry forced me out of the San Francisco Peninsula.
Establishment Democrats (whose platform should say, "status quo") aren't really liberals. They are just a few notches above (former) conservatives. They are relying on not haveing to change at all, once Trump has gone too far. Their platform will be "Let's get back to normal."
Foundational elements of movement building are partnership building and collaboration. The GOP understand that and have been successful in building a far-right populist movement in this country even though they are the minority. The Democrats talk a good game but can’t deliver on much of anything even when in power because they don’t understand the foundational elements of movement building. They’re more concerned with preserving their individual political careers.
Great analysis as always. I’m wondering what value system underlies progressives’ failures here, when compared to Republicans who have several times now made-over their party (Tea Party, MAGA). Why are progressives so meek and mild when the rubber meets the road, ffs? God I hate being on this losing team. 😭
We are too rational, skeptical and diverse for our own good. Unity means letting go of things and perhaps we are just too selfish. Things that we need to rid ourselves of include Religion, Nihilism, Seniority for Seniority’s sake, and (drum roll please) a little of our empathy. The last one is important because we have to be strategic. Strategy can be ugly sometimes. Instead, we kill our own. Al Franken is one example of this. Not allowing AOC to be ranking member of Oversight is another. BTW, Subservience to AIPAC is not a good strategy.
One root cause could be Republicans’ worship of individualism, a kind of don’t-tread-on-me defiance that empowers them to flout politeness and norms, whereas liberals and leftists are obsessed with inclusion and correctness and often fall prey to deference politics, which the elites have now totally captured. The level of vote-shaming and in-fighting on the left right now is insane to me. MAGA seems impervious to the same kind of group shaming and neurotic self-analysis that the left traffics in regularly. They’re not afraid to overstep, and overstepping is what’s required to challenge the party machine.
It starts at the top and if the bigwigs won't do something now, then the politicians on the ground better get off their butts and start building that cohesive movement.
It's a two way street. Recall that LBJ agreed with MLK but told MLK to go out into the real world and make him do it. We voters have become too apathetic and soft. I'm not blaming the voters for everything, but it is a dance and not a spectator sport...if one wants to win.
I strongly encourage everyone I can do sign up for mail-in ballots if it's too hard to get to the polling area, offer rides to those more comfortable with in person voting or who need to register(although you can do that at the DMV here), mentioning how the election results affect them personally especially anyone on Social Security and I tell them point blank that because of their not voting we're in this mess because they could have made a big difference.
Corbin, does this mean that you see no value in the Oligarchy Tour and the coalition they are building? They are actively getting people to run, training them how to win and mentoring them to work together. We have both worked on campaigns, they are intense and little time to get out of your silo. I agree they need to coordinate on message and cross endorse. In the end, if you aren't in the same geographical area, your messaging may need to meet your constituents needs.
I think your critical analysis is warranted, as you note many of the wrongs; but your argument wouldn't be countered by including the counterfactual but bolstered by it - look at how DSA runs coalitions together that very effectively and actually took down the IDC in New York or how Rhode Island progressives ran slates last cycle. Some candidates /are/ doing it - just not at the Congressional level at the level we need.
I just do not get why the core issue, the all-pervading problem, we face today - wealth (and power) inequality - isn’t the priority we all work on together. Many people don’t even know about this horrible reality. One friend recently told me that wealthy people pay 70% taxes and are therefore good for us.
We scramble around working on this or that project and then they destroy it with the blink of an eye. Many of us are too naive, and/or spineless, to even consider the gut-wrenching reality we now face.
Nothing is going to change until the top 1% who hold OBSCENE amounts of wealth and power (btw, the wealthiest man would need about 13,000 years to count his money) are stopped from enacting the pervasive destruction they unleash on our world - in the name of their selfish addictions, their very entitlement to all beings’ blessings.
We must stop hiding from this unbelievably awful core reality and work together to do………. I DON’T KNOW WHAT. They are already so entrenched in self-serving power……. The only power we have is as a group. That is why they’re attacking us so viciously, so openly now. They’ve been working underground for 4-5 decades at least. Many people actually believe they are trying to help us; while the people that really are trying to help us are in fact the ones hurting us and even drinking the blood of babies!!!! (Who the F*** would even believe that. WHO the F*** even thought of that idea. Certainly not liberal or progressives. We’re too busy trying to help all of us.). They’ve been pitting us against each other, taking away the ability for us to thrive (and even survive), and scaring us to death (literally).
We have the protests, which may not last long now that they’ve brought out armed militias. But we do have powerful, extensive protests. We also need to get people educated NOW, in ways that compliment the protests and really drive home the bitter truth! Like commercials showing these thieves saying the horrible things they say. Calling us lazy, worthless losers that didn’t take everything from everybody in the brilliant ways they did. The years of taking away pensions, personal savings, bankrupting through obscene health care bills, giving us pennies to use our money, stifling our COLA raises while simultaneously raising the cost of living……. There’s just too much for me to even remember.
Enough with the separate efforts to build something we all want and need. And then react in surprise that they have destroyed, yet again, another incredible program to help all beings.
They are killing us AND themselves. It’s time to stop them
Bravo! The nicest thing someone can say to me is, "You aren't a real democrat." I DON'T WANT TO BE. Since I watched Bernie get screwed by the DNC and Clinton machine who still had a hard on when Joe ran and suddenly went from last place to first after Clyburn's endorsement (puh-leeeez), I have been leery of how elections really work. We have an opportunity to watch up close and personal if we zone in on the NY mayoral election. Mamdani has an awesome grass roots base knocking on doors and really talking to the people, so I hope that will do it and start the movement you say (and I agree) we need.
I also think the corporate media is complicit in subtly startin narratives (like "Mamdani doesn't have the $$$$ to beat Cuomo, or "Democrats HAVE to fix the country; what alternative do we have") that convince people not to "waste a vote" come primary season. When I think of the number of rig jobs taking place in this country (all to keep the rich in place) it makes me sick.
Progressives don't gain power because of ONE SIMPLE FACT. The Top 1% controls both political parties and all of Main Stream Media. Top 1% controlled puppets are in control of all key decision making. Even if a progressive wins a local election they are shunned and ostracized by the CORRUPTED BIG DONOR TOP 1% political establishment. Like BIG MONEY BIG CORPORATE DONOR TAKER Nancy "dushbag" Pelosi did to AOC, Bernie and the squad. They just gain more power every day. Started in 1980 with Reagan and the final nail in the 99% Proverbial Coffin was the Citizens United Case in 2010. They control the media, the message, and all major legislation. They rig the system to benefit themselves. TheBIG BEAUTIFUL SCAM gave the the 99% what we already had, Expiring tax breaks from the 2017 TAX BILL. The Top 1% held us hostage so they could DOUBLE DOWN on the TAX Breaks the top 1% received in 2017 which CONVENIENTLY FOR THE TOP 1% WERE NOT SET TO EXPIRE. We got nothing more but a few breadcrumbs. To top that off the TOP 1% WALL STREET / FEDERAL RESERVE Sanctioned 14 Million Illegal Alien Invasion costs to HOUSE, FEED, CLOTHE, MEDICAL COSTS and Transportation costs all over the country at the 99% Taxpayers EXPENSE as they LOWERED their own taxes. How much more theft of our wealth can the the peasants take from the TOP 1% KINGS? It's the perfect plan. The TOP 1% KINGS controlled Republicans lower the TOP 1% Taxes. The TOP 1% CONTROLLED DEMOCRATS raise the 99% Raise Taxes, Fees, and surcharges. The stupid peasant Democrats argue with the Stupid Peasant Republicans blame and fight with each other while the Kings ruling class Hide in the shadows and STEAL EVERYTHING using their Political Puppets to do their dirty work. A CIVIL WAR or a real 3rd Party are the only way to gain power back. #ThePitchforksAreComing
I agree it's the top 1% and their money in politics thanks to Citizens United. That top 1% includes many Democrats, but I think it's more accurate to say it's the 10%, not just the 1%. I think they've been able to control the party in spite of the many attempts by Dem activists and voters to reform it. It goes back to Carter, a mild liberal, being beaten down by the 1%. And Johnson's War on Povery was beaten down by wealthy Dems, as well. I worked in agencies funded by the WoP that were crushed by local Dem leadership in major Dem cities. Johnson himself beat back a major black-based voting reform that demoralized black activists. It doesn't help that labor unions are so conservative, either. A third of the workforce works as non-employees at least part-time, but unions are bound and determined not to ally with them.
Corbin, you are spot on with this. I'm a 64 year old White guy who is afraid of what my son's and grandson are going to live through in their lives without radical change. Much as I respect what Pelosi accomplished as Speaker, it's time for her and the other entrenched old guard to get the hell out of the way and go count their millions. Let the young hungry progressives have a chance to fix things. You and @Jess Piper should team up for a speaking tour. She's been pushing much of the same issues in Missouri.
Yes! Retire! They have their millions (and have had the limelight for long enough) No more Diane Feinsteins!
Israel is the Democrats’ Achilles heel.
Israel isn't the problem. The Israeli government is the problem. Just like America isn't the problem. The American government is the problem. I am proud to be an American Jew, and embarrassed by the governments currently holding power in both Washington and Jerusalem. Don't conflate the nation with the government.
Maybe you should take a long, hard look at public opinion polls in Israel. They reveal that the present Likud enjoys support ranging from 64% to 83%, depending on the issue. A substantial majority of Israelis believe there are no innocents in Gaza.
Israel government and Israel are the problem and the Democrats fear of the Israel is the total killer of the Dems chances of winning big. Take a close look at Booker, he is basically what Lincoln freed decades ago. HE IS OWNED BOUGHT AND PAID FOR. Yes he talks shit when it is meaningless. Fetterman is another!
Exactly !! & why is that ? Because our politicians have all been bought & paid for !!
I would have to disagree that anyone has bought AOL and others on the Squad nor Jamie Raskin nor Katie Porter
Nor quite assuredly Jasmine Crockett!
Needed: A broad line between Israel’s people and its government. I haven’t heard it.
Democrat leadership can't distinguish itself from Trump on Israel support and therefore ends up directing their main blow at their progressive wing (Mamdani, AOC, etc...) rather than at Trump. It's up to Israelis to draw that line on the Gaza war. They put Netanyahu in power. They can take him out. The international community has already spoken.
I've been saying almost the same thing for over twelve years. True progressive candidates need to be united under one banner, one brand that gives them the clout that only numbers can confer. My method is the CFAR (Contract For American Renewal). What do you think of this? ... https://johnrachel.substack.com/p/the-contract-for-american-renewal ... https://johnrachel.substack.com/p/the-cfar-is-a-game-changer ... https://johnrachel.substack.com/p/talk-is-cheap-if-youre-an-establishment
CFAR has the potential to be a big grassroots fundraiser for those who sign the contract, something that is needed for all progressives.
Building trust, building support. Creating a real bond between candidates and voters!
I sincerely know the risk of saying this, but the easiest thing to do is to unite against a common enemy. But, instead of choosing a superfluous soap box to stand on or targeting a single individual or group, choose the real enemy: Lack of Integrity. Science could help by itemizing the long-term fallout from having leaders, from parents on up to president, operate from lack of integrity leading to our current pathological stress. Politicians who speak truth and refuse to "play the game" are what I look for. Life is not a game. Politics is about how we choose to govern ourselves, and that is not a game, either. The country of the supposed "free" playing games with people's lives is how we got into this mess where freedom is now lost to so many and in so many ways. Playing games with unwritten rules and unsuspecting victims is likely the foulest form of integrity destroyed. Out of that lack of integrity we now have an abundance of incompetence masquerading as superiority. Integrity with Competence as both our Gold and our Bottom Line, you might say, is something all but the wicked could get behind. And, it is the wicked who have made too many believe that integrity is not possible. I call hogwash. We all could and should.
Integrity, huh? Okay. You brought it up. In order to do this, we need to shed religion. Religion is the problem. The other alternative is to go full hog religious cult like MAGA, but that really isn't the Democratic Party. We can't play in the middle with religion. Religion makes good people say and do bad things. Christianity, indeed all of the Abrahamic religions, are not a true moral code. Take Christianity as an example given it's our heritage here. Christianity breeds three moral archetypes: Radical Jesus (Lord of Lords King of Kings); Milquetoast Jesus (Sermon on the Mount); and Why Bother Jesus (Bible as Metaphor). The first four commandments have no moral intuition. And to make things worse forever, the Bible cannot be edited.
BTW, science is not going to do anything for us politically. We need to find a new ethic if we want to go down the path of integrity. #thepillars.org
There was a time when religion ruled the world, it was called the dark ages.
well ? we need to all stand together and protect the jews in Israel! Even if they are perpetrating genocide. Killing Babies in drug&alcohol induced frenzies is necessary to eliminate the Palestinian threat to Israels existence!
What?
All of the Abrahamic religions are going to be the downfall of humanity. I DO NOT AGREE WITH YOU. Perhaps you should move to Israel and then use your dollars to pay for their healthcare.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHCFtmszTY0
Progressives out here building talent shows while the Right is busy building temples of power. Every cycle we crown a new messiah, then toss them into Congress like a lone lamb and expect them to flip the whole system solo. It's not martyrdom we need—it's monastic coordination. A choir, not a soloist. A movement, not a mosaic of vibes.
MAGA rolls deep. Tea Party brought torches. Meanwhile, we bring poems and podcasts to a knife fight.
To every beautiful, bright-eyed candidate mentioned—stop pretending your campaign is an indie film and start acting like you’re forming a covenant. Share a platform. Bless each other’s names. Show the people you can govern together before you even get the keys.
Because otherwise, y’all just birds chirping alone in different trees while the hawks keep circling.
With righteous mischief and revolutionary grace,
We also have to realize the brains behind the Republican party (if you can call it that) has been masterminding this since Roosevelt. They do not want a middle class, and they certainly don't want taxes, Social Security or Medicare/aid. Trump is just egocentric enough to move full speed ahead (cuz he thinks he is god), and they learned from the failed Tea Party.
Absolutely, Debra. The Right has been playing the long game since the New Deal, and they’ve been meticulous. While progressives tend to get caught up in personalities and poetic outrage, the architects behind the GOP have been quietly dismantling public trust in government institutions, stacking the courts, and building think tanks to churn out policy like an assembly line. The Heritage Foundation didn’t just show up yesterday.
And you’re right—Trump’s not the mastermind. He’s the blunt instrument. But the hand wielding him has a blueprint. They learned from Goldwater. They adapted after the Tea Party. Now they’re running a full-blown theocratic corporate coup with voter suppression as the welcome mat.
Meanwhile, we’re out here arguing over whether it’s spiritually oppressive to canvas in swing states.
Time to trade vibes for vows. Strategy is not the enemy of authenticity. And solidarity isn’t a buzzword. It’s infrastructure.
1. Trump is the avatar and the vehicle. He is not the "mastermind" of anything, as you note, and everyone should know that.
2. Stop with the right "playing the long game." This is wrong. It's this simple- they have the money. They use it, and have been using it, to have partisan media outlets and political infrastructure (ALEC). Every progressive knows the same things and would be doing them- if they had the money. The right does and the left does. That's it.
3. It's easy to be on the side with existing power and money.
4. It's easy to be on the side of cultural dominance and privilege.
5. It's hard to be on the opposite side with less money, even if what you want to do has majority support.
PG, your take completely ignores the actual historical record.
The Right didn’t just “have money.” They had a coordinated strategy, starting with the 1971 Powell Memo, which explicitly called on conservatives to build long-term influence through media, education, the courts, and politics. That memo helped launch organizations like the Heritage Foundation (founded 1973), the Cato Institute (1974), and later, the Federalist Society (1982).
ALEC wasn’t just created because someone had extra cash. It was built to systematically write legislation for Republican lawmakers across all 50 states. This is one of the most effective long-game strategies in modern politics. Meanwhile, groups like Focus on the Family and the Council for National Policy turned churches into political machines, distributing voter guides and funneling donations.
Evangelicals were mobilized intentionally after Roe v. Wade. It wasn’t because of sudden religious outrage. It was because strategists like Paul Weyrich saw abortion as the most effective wedge issue to unify conservative Protestants and Catholics under a single voting bloc.
This was a decades-long plan with documented steps. It wasn’t just about money. It was about infrastructure, message discipline, and relentless coordination.
To say the left would “do the same thing if they had the money” is ahistorical. We’ve had wealthy donors. What we haven’t had is the same centralized, long-term execution. That’s the difference.
Gotta disagree here.
The money enabled all that. It STARTS with the money. That money pays for the people who know how to do this stuff to....do this stuff. That money allows them to start a Heritage Foundation, a Federalist Society, all of it. That money allows them to exist with a staff and resources.
We've had wealthy donors? No. We've had wealthy people who have donated to CAMPAIGNS for candidates, which is completely different. And we should know by now, while some wealthy people have progressive views, a lot of that has to do with access and having their phone calls taken.
There are no billionaires that are looking to support a progressive media network or a progressive political infrastructure, outside of George Soros perhaps. Why is that? Because the end result of such things is higher taxes on the rich, more regulation, and them having less wealth than they do now.
Nearly all of our progressive donors are rich first, and anything else second. Prime example- Tom Steyer. The money he spent on his failed presidential campaign would have gone a lot farther if he put it towards a political infrastructure. Either he was blind to it, his ego came first, or he wanted to fight climate change without raising his taxes. (All of the above could also apply)
You know why every progressive cause is lacking for money here? Because the people behind the causes either have no money for this, or are more moved to directly help their causes as opposed to pay consultants and lobbyists. I suspect the women behind abortion rights rather take their limited funds and help poor women than a bunch of DC politicos and their $200 meals.
It shouldn't be either/or but that's the difference between having oligarchs on your side and not.
PG, I respect your frustration, but your response leans entirely on assertion without backing it up.
You say “it STARTS with the money”—but you cite no source, no historical example, no timeline. Just vibes.
Meanwhile, I laid out a documented strategic chronology:
The Powell Memo (1971) explicitly called for a coordinated ideological offensive.
That led directly to the creation of institutions like the Heritage Foundation (1973), Cato Institute (1974), and Federalist Society (1982).
ALEC was not a spontaneous byproduct of wealth—it was an intentional legislative factory, distributing cookie-cutter laws to statehouses across the country.
Paul Weyrich didn’t “just have money.” He orchestrated the deliberate weaponization of abortion as a wedge issue to unify disparate religious factions.
None of that came from rich people casually tossing money around. It came from a strategy to institutionalize power. Wealth enabled it, yes—but coordinated vision sustained it.
You write off “progressive donors” as absent or selfish. But again—no citations. No breakdown of philanthropic trends. No analysis of funding flows. Nothing. Just: “They don’t do it because they don’t want higher taxes.” Which might be true in some cases, but you’re offering speculation where I’m offering history.
And let’s be clear—there are progressive funders who’ve backed infrastructure:
George Soros built the Open Society Foundations.
The Sandler Foundation helped launch ProPublica and Center for American Progress.
The Wyss Foundation funds environmental and electoral infrastructure.
What’s missing isn’t money—it’s coordination, message discipline, and multi-decade vision.
That’s the gap. That’s the difference. And that’s what the Right executed while we were chasing campaign cycles and vibes.
If you want to argue that progressive billionaires are too selfish to do it right—fine. But don’t erase the actual strategic work the Right did just because it makes the problem harder than “they had more cash.”
That’s not analysis. That’s resignation.
Entryism is the only way to make real change in a first past the pole electoral system that guarantees 2-party dominance. I'm consistently impressed with your pragmatic progressive politics and strategic vision. Was happy to see a similar attitude at Knox DSA last night, rather than the "AOC isn't radical enough" caucus that won their last convention. Hoping the Mamdami victory will help them see that they can easily make DSA candidates into Democratic nominees if they do the work. If they are willing to build coalitions with other progressive Democrats, they might even start a movement.
Send this to every progressive Democrat running for office. The GOP plays long ball. Would Marge Greene have any sway if MAGA Republicans didn't have her back? I doubt it. She's gross but she's supported by an entire movement. They're corrupt and ugly to their core but they stick together like a nasty little gang of MAGA thugs.
First, let's stop this right now. The GOP is not "playing long ball." I fume every time I see this.
They have more money. Period. That money comes directly from the oligarchs. It also comes from the oligarchs underwriting the political infrastructure (i.e. ALEC) that helps them. And from underwriting all the right wing propaganda media they have, from Fox News to AM radio to the rest.
That's what they have that we don't. It's easy to see why. The entire point of the right wing/GOP is to have the oligarchs pay less in taxes, have less regulation over the industries they own, and accumulate more wealth. It works because they "invest" millions and get back billions from it. They've been doing it for over 40 years. And it hinges on a bunch of voters in the Bottom 90% voting against their economic interests in favor or their identity politics and cultural interests.
Marjorie Taylor Greene is a complete idiot but a useful idiot for them. She gets the attention of resentful people as dumb as she is, just like both Trump. Both of them appeal to morons with cultural grievances that don't understand how things work or what is really happening. They are easy to rile up and easy to get their votes with all the rest in place.
It's the opposite for progressive Democrats. They're going AGAINST the oligarchs, which also means they are going against their money. The people that are progressive are educated and accurately informed: that also makes them the minority in this country. They are standing up for out-groups, which is clearly the opposite of MTG and Trump pimping for in-groups with privilege. It's a totally different game.
Great perspective. I think you are correct. Perhaps we are asking too much of the Democratic human. Perhaps, we start with one purple state and take it over. WI, MI or PA seem like good places to start.
Also, I think the Democratic voter needs to wake up. Many of you have moved from states like WI, MI and PA. We have an over abundance of Democratic voters in deep blue states. Time to move back home.
BTW, I am voting blue in TX but am from CA. The shit hole tech industry forced me out of the San Francisco Peninsula.
Establishment Democrats (whose platform should say, "status quo") aren't really liberals. They are just a few notches above (former) conservatives. They are relying on not haveing to change at all, once Trump has gone too far. Their platform will be "Let's get back to normal."
Foundational elements of movement building are partnership building and collaboration. The GOP understand that and have been successful in building a far-right populist movement in this country even though they are the minority. The Democrats talk a good game but can’t deliver on much of anything even when in power because they don’t understand the foundational elements of movement building. They’re more concerned with preserving their individual political careers.
Great analysis as always. I’m wondering what value system underlies progressives’ failures here, when compared to Republicans who have several times now made-over their party (Tea Party, MAGA). Why are progressives so meek and mild when the rubber meets the road, ffs? God I hate being on this losing team. 😭
We are too rational, skeptical and diverse for our own good. Unity means letting go of things and perhaps we are just too selfish. Things that we need to rid ourselves of include Religion, Nihilism, Seniority for Seniority’s sake, and (drum roll please) a little of our empathy. The last one is important because we have to be strategic. Strategy can be ugly sometimes. Instead, we kill our own. Al Franken is one example of this. Not allowing AOC to be ranking member of Oversight is another. BTW, Subservience to AIPAC is not a good strategy.
One root cause could be Republicans’ worship of individualism, a kind of don’t-tread-on-me defiance that empowers them to flout politeness and norms, whereas liberals and leftists are obsessed with inclusion and correctness and often fall prey to deference politics, which the elites have now totally captured. The level of vote-shaming and in-fighting on the left right now is insane to me. MAGA seems impervious to the same kind of group shaming and neurotic self-analysis that the left traffics in regularly. They’re not afraid to overstep, and overstepping is what’s required to challenge the party machine.
It starts at the top and if the bigwigs won't do something now, then the politicians on the ground better get off their butts and start building that cohesive movement.
It's a two way street. Recall that LBJ agreed with MLK but told MLK to go out into the real world and make him do it. We voters have become too apathetic and soft. I'm not blaming the voters for everything, but it is a dance and not a spectator sport...if one wants to win.
You're preaching to the choir on that one.
I strongly encourage everyone I can do sign up for mail-in ballots if it's too hard to get to the polling area, offer rides to those more comfortable with in person voting or who need to register(although you can do that at the DMV here), mentioning how the election results affect them personally especially anyone on Social Security and I tell them point blank that because of their not voting we're in this mess because they could have made a big difference.
Corbin, does this mean that you see no value in the Oligarchy Tour and the coalition they are building? They are actively getting people to run, training them how to win and mentoring them to work together. We have both worked on campaigns, they are intense and little time to get out of your silo. I agree they need to coordinate on message and cross endorse. In the end, if you aren't in the same geographical area, your messaging may need to meet your constituents needs.
I think your critical analysis is warranted, as you note many of the wrongs; but your argument wouldn't be countered by including the counterfactual but bolstered by it - look at how DSA runs coalitions together that very effectively and actually took down the IDC in New York or how Rhode Island progressives ran slates last cycle. Some candidates /are/ doing it - just not at the Congressional level at the level we need.
I just do not get why the core issue, the all-pervading problem, we face today - wealth (and power) inequality - isn’t the priority we all work on together. Many people don’t even know about this horrible reality. One friend recently told me that wealthy people pay 70% taxes and are therefore good for us.
We scramble around working on this or that project and then they destroy it with the blink of an eye. Many of us are too naive, and/or spineless, to even consider the gut-wrenching reality we now face.
Nothing is going to change until the top 1% who hold OBSCENE amounts of wealth and power (btw, the wealthiest man would need about 13,000 years to count his money) are stopped from enacting the pervasive destruction they unleash on our world - in the name of their selfish addictions, their very entitlement to all beings’ blessings.
We must stop hiding from this unbelievably awful core reality and work together to do………. I DON’T KNOW WHAT. They are already so entrenched in self-serving power……. The only power we have is as a group. That is why they’re attacking us so viciously, so openly now. They’ve been working underground for 4-5 decades at least. Many people actually believe they are trying to help us; while the people that really are trying to help us are in fact the ones hurting us and even drinking the blood of babies!!!! (Who the F*** would even believe that. WHO the F*** even thought of that idea. Certainly not liberal or progressives. We’re too busy trying to help all of us.). They’ve been pitting us against each other, taking away the ability for us to thrive (and even survive), and scaring us to death (literally).
We have the protests, which may not last long now that they’ve brought out armed militias. But we do have powerful, extensive protests. We also need to get people educated NOW, in ways that compliment the protests and really drive home the bitter truth! Like commercials showing these thieves saying the horrible things they say. Calling us lazy, worthless losers that didn’t take everything from everybody in the brilliant ways they did. The years of taking away pensions, personal savings, bankrupting through obscene health care bills, giving us pennies to use our money, stifling our COLA raises while simultaneously raising the cost of living……. There’s just too much for me to even remember.
Enough with the separate efforts to build something we all want and need. And then react in surprise that they have destroyed, yet again, another incredible program to help all beings.
They are killing us AND themselves. It’s time to stop them
Bravo! The nicest thing someone can say to me is, "You aren't a real democrat." I DON'T WANT TO BE. Since I watched Bernie get screwed by the DNC and Clinton machine who still had a hard on when Joe ran and suddenly went from last place to first after Clyburn's endorsement (puh-leeeez), I have been leery of how elections really work. We have an opportunity to watch up close and personal if we zone in on the NY mayoral election. Mamdani has an awesome grass roots base knocking on doors and really talking to the people, so I hope that will do it and start the movement you say (and I agree) we need.
I also think the corporate media is complicit in subtly startin narratives (like "Mamdani doesn't have the $$$$ to beat Cuomo, or "Democrats HAVE to fix the country; what alternative do we have") that convince people not to "waste a vote" come primary season. When I think of the number of rig jobs taking place in this country (all to keep the rich in place) it makes me sick.
Progressives don't gain power because of ONE SIMPLE FACT. The Top 1% controls both political parties and all of Main Stream Media. Top 1% controlled puppets are in control of all key decision making. Even if a progressive wins a local election they are shunned and ostracized by the CORRUPTED BIG DONOR TOP 1% political establishment. Like BIG MONEY BIG CORPORATE DONOR TAKER Nancy "dushbag" Pelosi did to AOC, Bernie and the squad. They just gain more power every day. Started in 1980 with Reagan and the final nail in the 99% Proverbial Coffin was the Citizens United Case in 2010. They control the media, the message, and all major legislation. They rig the system to benefit themselves. TheBIG BEAUTIFUL SCAM gave the the 99% what we already had, Expiring tax breaks from the 2017 TAX BILL. The Top 1% held us hostage so they could DOUBLE DOWN on the TAX Breaks the top 1% received in 2017 which CONVENIENTLY FOR THE TOP 1% WERE NOT SET TO EXPIRE. We got nothing more but a few breadcrumbs. To top that off the TOP 1% WALL STREET / FEDERAL RESERVE Sanctioned 14 Million Illegal Alien Invasion costs to HOUSE, FEED, CLOTHE, MEDICAL COSTS and Transportation costs all over the country at the 99% Taxpayers EXPENSE as they LOWERED their own taxes. How much more theft of our wealth can the the peasants take from the TOP 1% KINGS? It's the perfect plan. The TOP 1% KINGS controlled Republicans lower the TOP 1% Taxes. The TOP 1% CONTROLLED DEMOCRATS raise the 99% Raise Taxes, Fees, and surcharges. The stupid peasant Democrats argue with the Stupid Peasant Republicans blame and fight with each other while the Kings ruling class Hide in the shadows and STEAL EVERYTHING using their Political Puppets to do their dirty work. A CIVIL WAR or a real 3rd Party are the only way to gain power back. #ThePitchforksAreComing
I agree it's the top 1% and their money in politics thanks to Citizens United. That top 1% includes many Democrats, but I think it's more accurate to say it's the 10%, not just the 1%. I think they've been able to control the party in spite of the many attempts by Dem activists and voters to reform it. It goes back to Carter, a mild liberal, being beaten down by the 1%. And Johnson's War on Povery was beaten down by wealthy Dems, as well. I worked in agencies funded by the WoP that were crushed by local Dem leadership in major Dem cities. Johnson himself beat back a major black-based voting reform that demoralized black activists. It doesn't help that labor unions are so conservative, either. A third of the workforce works as non-employees at least part-time, but unions are bound and determined not to ally with them.