Progressives Still Have Mountains to Climb

It’s no secret that progressives have been waiting on the political sidelines for decades. We’ve watched in horror as Republican and Democratic Presidents alike put a torch to what’s left of Roosevelt’s New Deal. The only time in my middle-aged life when hope for progressive political change was warranted, was during last year’s Democratic Primary.

Bernie got Burned. The proof is in the emails. After waiting decades to find someone who can truly represent us in the White House, we were cheated out of it. It was a sting that progressives will never forget. Nor should they. In my opinion, it was one battle lost in a lifetime without much of a fight.

In the early eighties as conservatives took over the United States, progressives went underground. From there, we witnessed the corporate takeover of the country. We saw the further corruption of our politicians, the rising levels of inequality, the deregulation of the banks, the media and environmental protections. Progressives were virtually powerless. The only liberal voices we had could be found in the music industry and the odd newspaper.

Now, despite Bernie getting cheated, there are those of you who believe, and will always believe, that the responsibility for Clinton’s loss to Trump falls squarely on Bernie Sanders and his supporters. Blame the victim.

I rejoice at this false assertion. It would mean the progressive movement has grown so much from the shadows that it single-handedly put an end to the Clinton Dynasty and the whole of the Democratic establishment. Wishful thinking perhaps, but not true. Clinton defeated herself.

Bernie was responsible for one thing and one thing only: waking the rest of us up. The setback he suffered during the primary was a loss for us all, but he allowed us to do something we haven’t been able to do in decades: fight back!

The Democratic Establishment Front

The battle will no longer be one sided, but it will be one hell of an upward fight on multiple fronts. Progressives have found their voice and aren’t putting up with anything anymore. It starts with the DNC. Progressive Keith Ellison intended to seek the leadership of the Democratic National Committee. However, Obama and the Democratic establishment put forth their own corporate friendly candidate in Tom Perez. A smear campaign against Ellison is all it took for Perez to come out on top.

Progressives, the ones who are still clinging to the Democratic Party anyway, aren’t taking it lying down. Bernie Sanders and the new DNC chairman Perez are touring the country together. How sweet. The problem is, Perez, like Clinton, is terrible at figuring out what the Democratic Party stands for (corporations or people?). So, on the tour, Bernie is getting thunderous applause when he’s introduced, Perez is getting booed, and rightfully so.

Democrats who don’t support single payer healthcare or the middle class must go away. If you don’t fight against money in politics, Wall Street and have hawkish foreign policies, you will no longer receive our support. These used to be basic liberal policies. Luckily, progressive candidates are already coming forward as primary challengers in 2018.

The Republican Front

With the overall rejection of Hillary came the election of a wealthy, privileged, ignorant pussy grabbing racist to the White House. President Trump and Republicans have complete control over the American Congress. So how come Liberals are going absolutely nuts with Russian conspiracies while progressives are relatively calm?

First, progressives are used to not being in power, liberals are not. I can assume liberals are in denial or refuse to take responsibility for their failure. Second, progressives know the most important thing about Trump is the things he does, not might have done.

It is extremely important for progressives to fight back against Trump’s actual policies. We need to talk about them, debate them, ridicule them, and block them when we can. We shouldn’t be paying so much attention to his tweets and the stupid shit he says

Trump himself is a massive distraction. He’s a dumbass. Dumbasses say stupid things all the time, it’s what they do. There are exceptions of course, but most of the time we should not be paying any mind to the things Trump says. I would argue that not even Trump pays attention to what he says, so why the hell should we? It’s not what stupid says, it’s what stupid does.

Progressives need to concentrate on the laws that are being passed, as well as the executive orders being repealed and signed. It is important to keep talking about these issues throughout Trump’s Presidency to remind voters of the terrible things he’s done to the country. Remember, no one cared about his many personal shortcomings in 2016.

The Establishment Media Front

Progressives have come a long way in getting their voices heard of late. Back when I was young, we had virtually nothing. Nowadays, thanks to the internet, we have our own blogs, our own youtube channels, our own online journalists.

While these are important stepping stones or baby steps, it is important for these entities to keep rebelling against the corporate media establishment. By constantly watching CNN, Fox or MSNBC, it is easy to lose sight of what is important and what is real.

Take MSNBC for instance, a channel that used to pride itself on being liberal. Just because they used to promote themselves that way, doesn’t mean they are. They don’t outright lie as much as Fox News for instance, but they mislead with the best of them.

MSNBC is a corporate owned entity and survive and make money based on ratings. That is why they pay the likes of Rachel Maddow $30,000 a day. It isn’t for her journalistic ability, although she was a brilliant journalist at one point in her career. It is because she can draw in viewers…By feeding us mindless gossipy drivel.

If you’ve watched her show since Trump’s election win, you would think, as the Intercept points out, that there is a “Russia connection” lurking around every corner. Maddow has talked about Russia more than every other topic combined as if nothing else Trump has done is important.

We know the Russians hacked the DNC before the election took place. But there is no proof yet that Trump colluded with Russia, so why is she talking about it more than fifty percent of the time? She even suggested that hacking the DNC was an act of war! How irresponsible is that? Meanwhile, her ratings are through the roof. Liberals don’t see it, but Maddow is getting paid to mislead.

If there was a reporter on television who talked endlessly about someone’s shady dealings without providing proof of any wrongdoing, what would you think? Would you think I’m talking about Fox News’ bullshit Hillary/Benghazi coverage? Or, MSNBC’s bullshit Trump/Russia coverage? What is the difference other than your own personal ideology?

I’m picking on Maddow, but she’s hardly alone. The establishment media all praised Trump’s missile attack against Syria and the dropping of a MOAB in Afghanistan. Some things will never change until we force them to.

Defending these overpaid pundits, as I’ve seen all too often on social media, is very counterproductive. They don’t care about you, the truth or anything other than their fat paychecks. They are no different than our establishment politicians.

Fighting the status quo and fighting the establishment is a monumental task. They are but mountains before us that rise seemingly infinitely. But I would argue, in our darkest days, at the onset of a Donald Trump Presidency, we’ve begun our climb.