We now call the opposition to Trump the Resistance
For Star-Wars based, and electoral reasons, I have often been calling it the Rebellion
Even before the election, Bernie Sanders most visibly (but also many unheralded others) described much of the necessary work as the Revolution.
I realize now that these are not three names for the same thing: they are three distinct, yet complementary essential components of the progressive movement going forward.
The Resistance is the short-term component. It comprises the current actions against the Empire; the actions that are designed to blunt its most immediate and catastrophic atrocities day by day. The Indivisible strategies, The congressional calls and town halls, the protests, the Injustice Boycott, etc... are leading examples of this.
The Rebellion is the electoral component of the movement. The ballot box still remains THE medium-term means of toppling the empire and creating the new republic. Getting rid of congressional and state-level republicans and replacing them with progressive democrats across the board (where possible), and then finally taking the white house in 2020 are the key goals of the Rebellion.
The Revolution is the long-term component. Local elections have both rebellious and revolutionary components insofar as we can channel our energy into making Major long-term changes in our communities and local political culture. State and local lobbying on long-term legislation, and turning the injustice boycott into a permanent movement of using our consumer and investor dollars to build community wealth and economic power are its leading examples. Also, the long-term development of organizational and movement infrastructure is key here.
We're bursting at the seams in the Resistance, and the Rebellion is gaining steam with special elections, especially in this wonderful community of Daily Kos. But if my own community’s experience is anything to go by, the Rebellion is still weaker than it should be given the huge outpouring of anti-Trump energy. And the Revolution, I would argue, is positively languishing. You might respond "but that can wait! All our energy needs to be put into stopping Trump!"
But it can't wait. All three components of the movement have to be robust and healthy for the whole movement to flourish the way it needs to. We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to harness unprecedented passion and energy. Every day, even every hour count when it comes to turning that energy into long-term community building.
Much great work is being done for the Rebellion, especially here at Daily Kos. The outpouring of support for special election candidates, especially James Thompson and Jon Ossoff has given me great hopes for this movement and this country. State Level/Local level groups, such as the Prince WIlliam Progress Coalition, and candidates such as Ken Boddye, have done great work highlighting the battles to retake state legislatures.
I worry, however, that Kos is a bit of an outlier, and even here, the money and attention might sometimes get a bit over-funneled to the top, notably to Jon Ossoff. This diarist, for example, ably pointed out the concerns associated with over-saturation of calls to the district, and I fear that will happen again during the runoff. I encourage people to follow Flippable to see what other races can use calls that would otherwise fly under the radar.
The revolution requires your participation. For these next 4 years, nothing good is going to come out of the federal government, but in blue, and even some purple states, we can channel our energy towards long-cherished legislative dreams, on everything from immigration, to reproductive justice, to labor rights, to environmental protection, and countless other issues. As we’ve just recently seen in Illinois, good progressive candidates and their supporters can take over countless municipal governments in state after state. We can create real, local, civic participation like it has never been seen before.
Allow me to highlight a few of the groups that are doing this. One of the most visible, and certainly my favorite, is the Movement For Black Lives. Other amazing groups include The Dream Defenders, the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, The Climate Justice Alliance, The Center for Popular Democracy, and countless others. Please share some of your favorites in the comments!
And most importantly, we can change our economies. We can support and develop local businesses, ethical businesses, businesses with community and cooperative ownership. We can create real, radical, economic democracy if we channel our energy and values right, and make a lasting change that will benefit all of us. I’ll be sharing many posts in the future that will highlight examples of this.
CAVEAT: this post is an general admonition. Many of you are doing ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL WORK, in fact far better than I am. If elements of this post might imply otherwise, please do not take it as a rebuke to you, but rather a broader calling to the progressive community.