[Peace-discuss] Countering Rightward Drift In The United States: This Struggle Is Long Term

[David Johnson]

The "ratchet effect" describes the roles both Republicans and Democrats have
played in moving our politics to the right for the last 40 years.

 

Countering Rightward Drift In The United States: This Struggle Is Long Term

By Margaret Flowers, Popular Resistance. 

November 1, 2020 

| ,  <https://popularresistance.org/newsletter/> Newsletter

This week, people are planning protests across the nation beginning the day
after the election. Some, like Democratic Party-aligned groups and unions,
will only demonstrate if President Trump loses and refuses to leave office.
Trump will fail if he tries because the ruling class has clearly shifted its
support to Biden. Professor Adrienne Pine
<https://popularresistance.org/biden-and-trump-agree-far-more-than-they-disa
gree/> explains this in her analysis of the opposition to Trump. Others such
as issues-based groups, coalitions and community groups are
<https://crimethinc.com/2020/10/27/everybody-out-resources-for-a-season-of-p
ost-election-unrest> planning to take the streets no matter what the outcome
of the election is.

This is good news because a mass mobilization of left and progressive groups
is needed to change the rightward direction in which the United States is
headed. Michael J. Smith's
<http://stopmebeforeivoteagain.org/stopme/chapter02.html> explanation of the
"ratchet effect" describes the roles both Republicans and Democrats have
played in moving our politics in that direction since 1968. In a nutshell,
each time the Republicans moved to the right, the Democrats followed with
the excuse that it's necessary to win votes. This locks in the rightward
motion, opening space for Republicans to move to the right again.

But Smith also writes, "the Democratic Party has assumed the role of
ensuring that the countervailing pressure from the Left doesn't happen. The
party contains and neutralizes the Left, or what there is of it. Left voters
are supposed to support the Democrat, come what may." This is one of the
reasons why the expression "the Democratic Party is the graveyard of social
movements" exists. How do we counteract that?

 

2020 vision on who we are

In a recent episode of Eleanor Goldfield's series,
<https://vimeo.com/user38013203> Deception 2020, she and Eugene Puryear
<https://popularresistance.org/deception-2020-its-not-the-most-important-ele
ction/> discuss why the trope of "this is the most important election ever"
is recycled in every presidential election. It serves as a great distractor
that puts the focus on personalities rather than the broader social context
of where we are. It pits Republican and Democratic voters against each other
while the ruling class plays both sides, putting the most money on the one
that has the best chance of winning. The people hold their noses and vote
for whomever they consider to be the lesser evil while the wealthy class
knows their interests will be served no matter who wins.

The year 2020 has brought into clear focus that we are living in a failed
state and can't afford to be drawn into this distraction.  The number of new
COVID-19 cases surpassed 100,000 in one day. The recession is likely to
deepen into a prolonged depression due to Congress' failure to provide
supports for families and their businesses and farms. The climate crisis is
raging. And structural racist violence goes on in all of its forms while the
Pentagon continues its insatiable consumption of the federal budget leaving
austerity for the rest of us

Instead of being caught up in this "political ping pong", as Kevin Zeese
would call it, we need to focus on these grave issues before us. I learned
some lessons to avoid this ping pong during my involvement with the health
reform process in 2009-10 when we were advocating for national improved
Medicare for all while the Democrats were pushing their version of a
healthcare bill that protected the profits of the health insurers,
pharmaceutical companies and big businesses.

The lesson is best summarized using the acronym "ICU." Think of it as what
is needed, especially in a time of crisis. The "I" stands for independent.
It is important not to tie our issue to the agenda of a political party but
to maintain independence from them while we press for what we need, lest our
struggle be co-opted. The "C" stands for clarity, meaning we must be clear
about what we are demanding. Members of the corporate duopoly will always
try to water our demands down with proposals that may sound positive but are
less than what we need. Look at the Democrat's Green New Deal as a current
example that protects the dirty energy industries and is too little, too
late. And the "U" stands for uncompromising. The ruling class will always
tell us we are asking for too much but we can't compromise on fundamentals
such as health care, housing, education, financial security and an end to
violence against us. These are universal basic needs that nobody should be
denied.

With this 2020 vision, we can mobilize a broad movement that puts forth a
bold agenda of what we need and fights for it, no matter who is elected.
This is how we reverse the ratchet effect. We can look to Chile as a recent
example of a people succeeding in their struggle to reverse the ravages of
neoliberalism. Patricio Zamorano
<https://popularresistance.org/radical-neoliberalism-was-born-and-will-die-i
n-chile/> describes how a similar situation to what we face, great
inequality and injustice, drove people to mobilize despite severe repression
and win the right to remake their Constitution.

 

Violence on the rise

One reality we must prepare for is the continued rise in right wing violence
no matter who wins the election. If Trump wins and people continue to
struggle to end the injustices we face, right wing extremists will be
emboldened by a president who encourages them. If Biden wins, they will be
angered at what they view as a threat to the gains they have made and may
lash out.

In light of this, communities need to organize to be vigilant to what is
happening around them and to be proactive in creating structures that
provide safety and mutual aid, particularly for those who are most
vulnerable.

We live in an
<https://popularresistance.org/left-democrats-abandon-struggle-for-the-worki
ng-class-to-the-right/> era of great polarization. This is expected because
it goes hand in hand with great inequality and it often precedes moments of
social transformation. Think of it as heightening the contradictions and
forcing a choice. Who are we and how do we want our society to be?

George Lakey
<https://popularresistance.org/how-to-build-a-progressive-movement-in-a-pola
rized-country/> puts the polarization into historical context. Almost one
hundred years ago, when extreme polarization existed in Europe, some
countries moved to fascist dictatorships while others moved to socialized
democracies. The difference was how the people organized and mobilized.
Lakey suggests a road map.

If people who consider themselves left or progressive fail to organize and
mobilize, we may go the way of a fascist dictatorship no matter who wins
this presidential election. If Trump wins, he may do what others have done
by trying to further consolidate his power into an authoritarian state. If
Biden wins, and he continues the neoliberal and repressive policies that
have marked his 47 years in elected office, then the conditions will be
created in 2024 or beyond for another Democratic Party loss and an opening
for a right wing leader who is more effective than Trump at consolidating
power.

Either way we must mobilize and protect our rights. While most of our
organizing will take place outside the electoral system because that is
where we have power, it will also be necessary to focus on preserving
whatever democratic rights exist and strengthening them.

 

Protecting and improving the election process

As flawed as the electoral process in the United States is, it is the system
we currently have. Fair election and third party activists have been working
to change it for decades. Now, as it is on so many issues, the major
problems with that system - voter suppression, lack of transparency and the
process for choosing a president - are more evident.

While the United States has never been a democracy, in fact a look at the
founding of the country shows the ruling class who wrote the Constitution
were afraid of it, the people believe in democracy. Focusing on democratic
rights in this election will bring people together and build momentum to
change the system.

Focusing on what President Trump says is a distraction. Recall that Trump
was
<https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/trump-won-t-say-he-ll-accept
-election-results-i-n669801> also saying that he would not commit to
accepting the outcome in the lead up to the 2016 election. The Democrats and
the groups aligned with them are amplifying fears to drive voter turn out,
and it seems to be working. The
<https://news.gallup.com/poll/323210/voters-enthusiastic-anxious-2020-campai
gn-ends.aspx> latest Gallup Poll finds almost 70% of registered voters are
enthusiastic about the election, which is an increase from the 50% who were
enthusiastic in 2016 and similar to 2008 levels. This is highest among
registered Democrats.

Five Thirty Eight
<https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/both-candidates-might-fall-short-of-27
0-electoral-votes-on-election-night-but-how-close-might-they-get/> predicts
that due to the electoral process in a few states, for example Pennsylvania
is not allowed to start counting mail-in ballots until Tuesday, and the way
the states are looking right now, neither of the major party candidates
could reach the required 270 electoral votes on election night. It could
take a few days.

This is not cause for panic. Instead, let's take a collective deep breath
and watch for problems with the process in our states. Documenting these can
be used to challenge and improve the process for the next round. Already,
people have been
<https://popularresistance.org/pandemic-transforms-people-into-voting-rights
-activists/> challenging the election process with more than 300 lawsuits
filed in 44 states.

There is a small chance that President Trump will be re-elected. If that
happens, it will be critical to respect that result. To reject an outcome of
the election process we have opens the door to a breakdown of that system
and a vacuum that could threaten the hope of building more democratic
structures.

Remember, no matter what happens on November 3, our struggle goes on. It is
a long term struggle against deeply entrenched structures of racism,
capitalism, colonialism and imperialism that will have successes and
failures. Our best chance for a better future is to keep our eye on the
world we hope to create and keep working toward that goal.

 

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