Work To Be Done

 
So there is work to be done to make them (resistance organizations)  better. It best proceeds from joining with Indivisible and others on the local level and forming an ongoing campaign structure, one that can invite others to take part in the local leadership.
 
Carl Davidson,
https://carldavidson.substack.com/p/leftlinks-weekly-for-feb-21-2025?
Left Links.
The country is still divided after one month of Trump in power. But the numbers today are more like 45% for Trump and 55% anti-Trump, or even 40% over 60%. Rachel Maddow did an excellent survey last night, Feb. 20, on MSNBC, if you want the details. This means the Trump-Musk regime is still strong, but now we have the wind at our back. There is a progressive majority out there, and it’s starting to wake up. But it’s still not organized as well as it needs to be. Still, now we have an edge.
So, who are the current leaders of the 50501 insurgency? Our best estimate is three components. First is a combination of Indivisible, Our Revolution, and the Justice Democrats, all outgrowths of the Bernie campaigns that combined electoral work with mass actions.
Second, it is a militant minority and a critical force of young people. Many of them appear to be based in the ecological Sunrise movement, and a variety of NGO advocates for Black rights, reproductive rights, immigrant rights, and queer rights. The usual suspects on the ultraleft—Party of Liberation and Socialism, several factions of DSA, Workers World, the Revolutionary Communist Party (RCP), and Socialist Alternative—all seemed to have been caught flat-footed by the erupting events. Some jumped in to go with the flow, while others covered them with some restraint, trying to figure out where they might fit in or not.
The third component was labor or a section of it. The most obvious were the federal workers being thrown out of their jobs, the AFGE, and other unions. They have formed a wide and informal ‘Federal Unionist Network’ or FUN to mobilize for the protests. Others are Nurses United and the Communications Workers, both longtime backers of Bernie, plus the Working Families Party, and the Progressive Democrats of America.
The exact components and size of the 50501 protests, naturally, have varied from state to state. But several things are held in common. First, the main blow is against the Trump-Musk regime and fascism, combined with a wide defense of democracy. Groups are free to bring whatever demands and banners they like, but this is the main thrust. Second, they insist they are not interested in civil disobedience at this point, peaceful or otherwise. They want no confrontations with the police. Third, while critical of those Democrats still sitting on their hands, they welcome them to change and join the fight, along with dissident independents and GOPers as well.
So there is work to be done to make them better. It best proceeds from joining with Indivisible and others on the local level and forming an ongoing campaign structure, one that can invite others to take part in the local leadership. Especially important are Black Women’s groups, others fighting for people of color, and a wider range of labor organizations. Additional ocal churches should also be invited, along with student representatives from every local school and college campus. Finally, link up horizontally with similar campaigns in every nearby city so as to be able to mobilize statewide.
While this work is hard and ongoing, it requires little fuss. It’s all in tune with the emergent motion and direction.
What’s harder is building the organizations of the left. This takes some understanding, the most basic of which is ‘knowing the time of day.’ We are in a nonrevolutionary situation, not on the cusp of revolution. We fight for reforms or to reverse policies. We are on the defensive, not the offensive, and are likely to be so for some time. Even if we are in DC or our state capitals, it is not time to ‘storm the Winter Palace.’ 
Here it helps to make use of Gramsci’s distinction between ‘the war of position’ and the ‘war of movement.’ The first is where we carry out a struggle to build up our forces at the base and take ‘strong points’ in all the institutions of civil society—unions, churches, schools, community groups, and the like. The second is where the adversary is very divided and weakened, and we can and do enter a period of ‘dual power,’ where we take governing positions from the other. While these can be separated in time, it’s also worthwhile to view them as inter-connected, a ying-yang of sorts, where moments of a tactical ‘war of movement’ can take place within a strategic ‘war of position,’ and vice versa.
Let’s turn back to building the left, or the organizations of socialism. This period requires two magic weapons: a clipboard (with signup sheet and pens) and a business card (or introductory brochure or even a newspaper, a rarity these days). We do not go to events or protests without these, and we make persistent use of them when we are there. Don’t just gather with friends. Get out of your comfort zones. Talk with people you don’t know. When appropriate, get their emails and other info. Give them yours. If you find someone very close, ask them to join or come to your next meeting. As sales managers always tell their new sales people, ‘After your presentation, don’t forget to ask for the order!’
These discussions are one place where ‘going on the offensive’ is vital. We refuse to let our adversaries frame the debate. We are not interested in a discussion of how to trim government waste. We are interested in defining and determining what people need and then properly getting the government to meet those needs. We reject Reagan’s idea of the worst words in the English language, ‘I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.’ We are not ‘antigovernment,’ we are against the bloodsucking vampire class of billionaire capitalists using it against us. Every step of the way, we should reject the arguments they would like to have—such as who are the deserving and undeserving poor, or who are good immigrants and bad immigrants—and counterpose those we want to have—we have the means to do away with poverty, so who does its continuation serve? Or why are people around the globe being forced to move, and how can we help and welcome them? We are all capable of doing radical education, the key link in building organization. Just never forget the educators must themselves be educated.
And sources on our Resist Fascism site.
 
Defeat Fascism/Fight for Democracy
List of opportunities: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cRIJsSJwtF72ckJ8QLQu5cDCGnoeh5OIIjwqRkDKdBg/edit?usp=sharing