Organizing, Building Alliances, Voting a Political Animal in Extreme Times

Works in Progress Volume 29, No. 7 Serving the Olympia community and the cause of social justice since 1990. January 2019 Two pivotal years ahead: Organizing, building alliances, voting Max Elbaum ting in place policies that will simul- but it will lack any of the substance. 1980s. It infused the anti-Trump mo- taneously ensure a cheap labor force tion with dynamism and inspired re- The next phase of our long-haul strug- blocked from fighting for its rights Build on 2018 gains cord numbers to vote against the GOP. gle for a radically different world will and provide Trump’s “base” with a Resistance to every aspect of this Here’s a small sampling of the charac- be extremely ugly and extremely con- dehumanized scapegoat to blame agenda will be needed in the streets, ter and scale of activity that provides sequential. on picket-lines, in the courts and in a foundation to build on: the battle for public opinion The danger we face for the next two years. This E The Texas Organizing Project (TOP), The special danger stemming day-in, day-out confrontation with its strong base among Lati- from the 2016 capture of the Re- nos and African publican Party by white national- Americans, went ism and Trump’s drive toward a If the Trumpists retain power all out in the most racialized authoritarian state has populous red state. given rise to a surge of popular the US might retain the TOP deployed at resistance. That outpouring has trappings of democracy, but it one time 575 staff, combined militant street protests reached 882,000 with large-scale electoral engage- will lack any of the substance. voters, knocked on ment. The GOP’s loss of control 300,000 doors, and of the House of Representatives was key in flip- this year and Republican losses in will build to the 2020 election, ping two congressional seats and various state contests puts some where ending GOP control of electing three DAs, putting Texas check on the administration’s ca- the White House must be the squarely on the map in the fight pacity to implement its agenda. top priority both for minimiz- against mass incarceration. Breakthrough victories by numer- ing further damage and prepar- E The progressive state table in Florida, ous progressives – including many ing a new cycle in which pro- which ranges from the Dream De- women of color and several social- Photo by Lindsey Dalthorp gressives can start driving the fenders to Florida New Majority and ists – along with increased strength country’s agenda. SEIU, pushed through Prop 4, which in the social justice movements for their continuing hardships; restored voting rights to 1.4 million that pushed them forward are signs The growing strength and maturity of formerly incarcerated people. E Abandon diplomacy in favor of mil- today’s social justice eco-system offers that the US left is emerging from years E Collaboration between the Working of marginalization. itary force and give aid and comfort hope of meeting this challenge. The to racist authoritarian regimes and progressive wing of the anti-Trump Families Party and New Georgia But the racist Right still holds the main leaders worldwide. majority consists of a loose alignment Project in Georgia, the leadership levers of national power. The Trump- No one should underestimate the of social justice organizations rooted in parts of Stacey Abrams’ cam- ists remain determined to hrestructure danger of this package. It adds up to especially in communities of color, paign by people from the Move- society in ways that have huge nega- imposing an “everything-for-the-Rich” and among youth, women, the labor ment for Black Lives Electoral tive consequences for the vast majority economic arrangement and a semi- and environmental movements, and Justice section, the fact that the of people in the US, but especially for apartheid “solution” to the “problem” the LGBTQ community. This sector National Domestic Workers Alli- those most disadvantaged and vulner- of a growing people of color popula- threw itself into the 2018 electoral fray ance deployed the largest indepen- able. Key elements of their agenda in- tion via an authoritarian regime. If the in ways not seen since the Rainbow dent field operation in that state - clude: Trumpists retain power the US might Coalition/Jesse Jackson surge of the 4Pivotal years, page 15 E Gutting economic and social wel- retrain the trappings of democracy, fare programs that benefit poor and working class people and destroy- since sold out to the powers that be ing the labor movement; and from which little can be expect- A political animal in ed), and because a small progressive E Doubling down on climate change denialism, dismantling already in- beachhead was gained by the election adequate environmental protec- of social democrats and women of col- tions and turning energy policy extreme times or, including the first Muslim women (and public land) over to the fossil to be elected to Congress. John Bellamy Foster A beachhead in the 2018 election fuel industry; The biggest danger that Trump repre- The essence of politics in E Reinforcing racism by ending Jus- The question of my political work fol- sents, though, is to the planet and the community tice Department Civil Rights en- lowing the November 2018 elections future of human civilization, as his My own politics, however, are not forcement, further militarizing the is a difficult one for me to answer, as policies are designed to speed up glob- generally aimed at electoral politics or police, reversing policies designed US electoral politics rarely have any al warming resulting from the burning political reform and regulation—or in- to break the school-to-prison pipe- direct impact on what I do, and cer- of fossil fuels. The current strategy of deed limited to the United States. Aris- line for people of color, giving free tainly not mid-term US elections. An the Trump White House, the billion- totle famously said that human beings rein to nakedly white supremacist exception, in my case, was the No- aire class, and the fossil fuel industry, are political animals. Political activity thugs and expanding racist voter vember 2016 elections, which led me taken together, seems to be to smash in this sense extends far beyond the suppression mechanisms; to write my 2017 book, Trump in the attempts to address climate change state, and beyond electoral politics, E Reversing gains made by women White House: Tragedy and Farce. That until it is too late to act, in which case and is related to community, going all over the last 40 years with special work raised the issue of the dangers they can go on burning fossil fuels all the way from the personal to the glob- emphasis on attacking abortion associated with Trump’s rise to politi- the way to oblivion. al. Politics thus rightly encompasses cal power and the rapid spread of neo- rights; The November 2018 elections thus all of our social actions. Fighting rac- E Stacking the judiciary with right- fascist tendencies in the United States, ism, sexism (patriarchy), and LGBTQ defined by the alliance between big took on greater importance than usual wing toadies and undermining in the context of countering a malign oppression are all crucial—along with what remains of a free press; capital and a largely white (and racist) the class struggle, without which real lower middle class. Trumpism (even if the instrument E Demonizing immigrants and put- was a Democratic Party that has long 4Extreme times, page 12 Page 2 Works In Progress January 2019 Works In Progress Works in Progress (WIP) is a com- Special events munity newspaper based in Olympia, Dear Reader, Tenants of the South Sound Washington and published monthly. January marks the beginning of a new Weekly meetings to plan for a February The paper was established by the Thur- January theme and cover year for Works in Progress, our volun- event. If you are a tenant and would like ston County Rainbow Coalition which Political Work to help organize, please join Tenants of published the first issue in May 1990. teers and our readers. We continue the South Sound Membership group. Stimulated by the successful French Contact us through Facebook, email at Our mission. The aim of WIP is to con- to look for new members of the team protests, but recognizing that our [email protected], or front injustice and encourage a partici- that each month pulls together stories demands are very different, friends phone (360) 602-1392. patory democracy based on justice in and photos that make up another is- of WIP and volunteer staffers put on Semicircle reading group the economic, political, environmental sue of this local, print news journal. and social realms and across classes, these fluorescent vests because—like January 9 and 23. At Last Word WIP has been around for 25 years. races and genders. the people of France—and every other Books With your help, we’ll continue for ___ listen to local writers share creative How WIP is produced. WIP depends country—we are in a disaster zone! (your number here) more years. and/or personal work every 1st and 3rd on a volunteer managing editor, sup- Wednesday. Want to be a feature? Mes- ported by the Publishing Committee, to Our demand is to confront the disas- Reporters, writers, stringers. We’d sage our email address: olysemicircle@ see to the accomplishment of nearly all ter of rising inequality (exacerbated gmail.com love to add reporters and stringers— organizational, administrative and edi- by our economic system), the elimina- Advocacy Training torial tasks.

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