SOLIDARITY NOW — Victory Starts With the Left Working Together
Democrats do not have the luxury of being a shitshow anymore
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“Here’s how I explain it — Republicans went to business school, and they make marketing, media, and business plans. Democrats went to journalism school and law school, and they fight among themselves.”—Anne Nelson, at the world premiere of Bad Faith, January 10, 2024
We don’t have the luxury of in-fighting in this moment.
We don’t have the luxury of continuing to be the party of Will Rogers.
“I am not a member of any organized political party. I am a Democrat.”—Will Rogers
We don’t have the luxury of proving Wes Clark Jr correct:
“Asking Democrats to get their shit together and show solidarity is like asking a house cat to file your taxes.”—Wes Clark Jr, writer/environmental activist
To his point, I had lunch with a pair of Democratic politicos recently, and listened to them tell me “Biden’s too old.”
And despite wanting to yell at peak volume across the metaphorical canyons that separate pro-democracy activists with entrenched Dems, I politely stated:
“You do realize the choice is democracy vs fascism? You understand the only thing that stands between a fascist America and democracy continuing is Joe Biden?”
Deer in headlights.
I continued: “Joe Biden is the hope we have against becoming a fascist dictatorship. Everything will be used against him by the Russians. No need to give them more leverage by engaging in Biden bashing. A little strategy please from the left to defeat the very real fascist threat would be good.”
In subsequent conversations on the same topic, I have heard well meaning leftists floating the Idea of Bob.
And despite wanting to yell at peak volume across the metaphorical canyons that separate pro-democracy activists with old school lefties, I politely stated:
“RFKj is a decoy to throw the election to Trump, you get that, right?!”
Deer in headlights.
And then I said: “And by the way, you’d look great in an iron lung.”
Okay, no I didn’t say that, but I wanted to. Bob’s anti-science Russian-spewing bullshittery is so terribly alarming, and that is why I want to encourage the Bette community to message in their pro-democracy circles the following quote from my hero, Jason Stanley, on what the left needs to do in the face of fascism:
“Without solidarity, we’re kind of lost. So in the face of fascism, you have to realize that some of the agenda of the left is not going to be carried over, but you have to save the country from fascism.”
“It’s going to have to be a broad coalition. You’re going to have to draw on the business elite, you’re going to have to explain to the business elite ‘fascism isn’t good for you’. I go back to Plato and say fascism is even bad for the fascists. Tyranny is bad even for the tyrant. ‘Owning the libs’ should not be full politics.”
Saving democracy will require the left reaching across the canyons that divide us — yes, us, we who are on the same pro-democracy side.
We also need to heed Stanley’s words on how to reclaim the working class.
“We have to broadcast the stakes of this election. A politically powerful message is the super harsh train that’s coming down the tracks toward women’s rights. The Democratic party needs to fight that. The basis for that should be women’s rights. Controlling women is gathering the GOP a big base. So the Democratic party has to be very clear that the Republican party is returning to patriarchy as a mainstay. Women have to get there.”—Jason Stanley, Ep86, RadPod
Look, I know that the US is like an old computer system that is in need of deep upgrades, but it’s upgradeable, as my podcast partner High Fidelity — a Silicon Valley technologist — explains.
To demand the deep structural reforms our imperfect democracy needs, we have to have a Democrat in charge. The Republicans are now the Party of Putin, and if you want to know what it’s like under Putin, you should have joined us at yesterday’s Happy Hour. Navalny campaigner Dmitrii Kovegin — who was poisoned for his activism — laid it out.
He explained that people in Russia walk around as if they’re already in prison. He said they can’t really understand reality because they’re fed pathological lies all day. They can’t trust anyone, because they’re surrounded by informants. Business owners can lose their business to the state at any moment, and it’s a surveillance state, with even doctor’s offices wired by state police.
“Putin doesn’t know anything about anger management,” Dmitrii said.
He said the air hangs heavy with despair, hopelessness, and fear due to the constant controls put on everyone.
That doesn’t sound fun.
I want the American dream that my father came here for — I want that promise.
To get it, Democrats have to stand together — stand in the breach, arm and arm, against fascism. Because that’s what it is, as Jeff Sharlet explained to us on Sunday. He, too, is exasperated by the left’s denial about what we are facing and how little time we have.
“We need a popular front.”—Jeff Sharlet, Bette’s Founder’s Day
I wrote about the right’s extreme dark plan, Project 2025, where they literally are telling us what we’re going to lose:
It’s a violent vision, and we need to stop flirting with it.
As David Pepper told us last week:
“It’s Trump vs YOU, and what freedoms are you willing to give up?”—David Pepper, Bette’s Happy Hour
There have always been more pro-democracy Americans, more people who believe in women’s health care rights, and who think book burnings are dumb, and who don’t fall prey to culture wars — which are make-believe dark fairytales funded by a party that has no policies other than giving rich people a hall pass and aligning with oily dictators. As historian and bestselling author of “Democracy in Chains” Nancy MacLean told RadPod:
“There is no more Republican Party of the kind that once existed…future historians will look back in horror at their moral failings”.—Nancy MacLean, RadPod, Ep19
I learned from a friend active in the Civil Rights movement, who said a people divided ensures wreckage, but united, we can move mountains.
Solidarity now.
Yes, it’s time for the left to grow up. We have six months.
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More info about Bette Dangerous - This magazine is written by Heidi Siegmund Cuda, an Emmy-award winning investigative reporter/producer, author, and veteran music and nightlife columnist. She is the cohost of RADICALIZED Truth Survives, an investigative show about disinformation and is part of the Byline Media team. Thank you for your support of independent investigative journalism.
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Begin each day with a grateful heart.
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Illustration courtesy of Steve Brodner. Biden is also saving the whales.
Knocked it out of the park Heidi! A must read for everyone.