Violence is Not Legitimate Political Discourse!

A little over a week ago, our political and media establishments were “rocked” by the Republican National Committee’s endorsement of the violent, attempted coup on January 6th, declaring it “legitimate political discourse,” and censuring Republican Representatives Kinzinger and Cheney for serving on the Congressional investigatory commission. It was a classic “mask-off moment” for the Republican party, an event happening increasingly frequently, where their anti-democratic tendencies were on full display. Yet despite these repeated, terrifying warnings signs of our failing democratic system, the feckless Democratic party and mainstream media, can’t seem to even acknowledge the danger, let alone pursue serious action. Case-in-point, just one day before the RNC refutation of American democracy, President Joe Biden told Senator Mitch McConnell that he was a man of honor and his friend! Now, a mere 10 days later, Democrats are back to treating the Republicans as colleagues engaged in good faith disagreement, rather than the radical insurgency they have become. Meanwhile, the “news anchors” credulously swallow this tale, as if they had indeed been born yesterday. It’s a display of cognitive dissonance rivaling Trump at his best. Thankfully, in this case the American people’s memory is longer than their leaders’, and they aren’t fooled by this chicanery. They remember what happened last year, and they’ve seen the actions of the Republican and Democratic parties since. Unsurprisingly it has left many feeling frustrated by the present and worried for the future. Do you approve or disapprove of the actions of those who forced their way into the Capitol? Approve: 17% Disapprove: 83% How Violent were the events at the capital? Extremely: 64% Somewhat: 22% Not very: 14% Should Congress continue its investigation into the events at the US Capitol on January 6th? Yes: 71% No:28% Events at the Capitol on January 6th were… A sign of increasing political violence: 68% An isolated incident: 32% U.S. Democracy today (Dec 2021) is… Threatened: 66% Secure: 33% Those who have been following these emails won’t be surprised that once again the people have proven more prescient that their purported leaders. What’s especially impressive here, is that despite the perpetual haze of propaganda, American’s can correctly identify just where the rot in our democracy lies: Earlier you said you felt democracy was threatened. What threatens it? The influence of money in politics 83% The potential for political violence 68% People trying to overturn or change elections 66% Most people don’t have a say 62% An avalanche of Americans realize that money in politics is a root cause of the fissures appearing in our democratic system. The iron grip of the donor class chokes out serious political discourse, denying the country both desperately needed material relief and the pursuit of justice in ruling class. As long as there is money to be extracted from the American people today, the system keeps chugging along, uncaring of the consequences tomorrow (see also the looming conflict in Ukraine). To shore-up our crumbling democracy will take action and organizing not just in electoral and issue politics, but in the economic sphere as well. The donor class only speaks the languages of money and power, and it will take an economic cudgel of commensurate size to stand against their corrupting influence. So, join us each week on Tuesday, as we build a United Protest Movement which can outlast the donor class, and reinvigorate our democracy! #DSOT #UPM