Re: Trump organizing legal version of January 6th
"Anthony Teso via groups.io" <[email protected]> Mon, 03 Aug 2026 22:29:14 -0700
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--DaNuBa2B24xQiwciZBuV Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable John, About the process: I didn=E2=80=99t realize you read in digest form, so I t= ake back my earlier suggestion about your silence. On the main issue, you= =E2=80=99ve brought up something important, but I think you=E2=80=99ve take= n the wrong lesson from it. The story about the two canvassers is the strongest part of your post. But = if you look closely, these two committed members were doing exactly what th= eir organization asked, yet they couldn=E2=80=99t connect ICE deportations = to wider democratic rights. You see this as a lack of understanding that ca= n be fixed with warnings and explanations. I see it differently. Their pers= pective wasn=E2=80=99t smaller than yours by accident or because no one exp= lained it to them. It came from the work they were doing. They were canvass= ing for a city council seat. Electoral campaigns have their own way of deci= ding what counts as an issue=E2=80=94what a councilmember can actually deli= ver, what polls well, and what won=E2=80=99t cost endorsements. A federal e= ffort to suppress voting doesn=E2=80=99t make it through that filter, not b= ecause canvassers are narrow-minded, but because the campaign structure lea= ves it out. They gave you an honest result from the system. That=E2=80=99s why I don=E2=80=99t think more explanation is the answer, ev= en if it=E2=80=99s urgent and correct. Messages that aren=E2=80=99t backed = by an organization just become opinions. You could convince those two young= members of your analysis completely, and I think you could, since they see= m serious. But next Saturday, they=E2=80=99ll still be out canvassing with = the same materials, because nothing about their actual work has changed. Aw= areness that doesn=E2=80=99t have a structure to live in doesn=E2=80=99t la= st. It just becomes something people used to agree with. You mention raisin= g it in DSA and building opposition caucuses=E2=80=94yes, and I=E2=80=99ve = been arguing something similar for a while. But a caucus organized around h= olding the correct position on democratic rights will be absorbed within tw= o convention cycles, and the absorption will feel like success while it=E2= =80=99s happening: your resolution passes, your language goes into the plat= form, your people get onto committees, and the practice underneath is unalt= ered. The caucus that survives contact with the apparatus is the one built = around commitments that have real consequences. Not just "we believe X," bu= t our elected people are bound by group decisions and report to the group; = they stand for recall; they take the median wage of the workers they repres= ent; they vote no on the following specified things no matter what the coal= ition needs that week. Discipline isn=E2=80=99t just housekeeping after goo= d politics. With the pressure the organization creates, it=E2=80=99s the on= ly thing that keeps the politics from quietly turning into a career. This gives your Oakland candidate something more useful than just a speech.= Instead of only raising the issue, he should publicly promise, ahead of ti= me, to take specific actions a councilmember can actually do and that a hos= tile federal government would notice: no city funds, no city data, no city = staff, no jail access, no license-plate reader feeds, no fusion center invo= lvement, and a promise to vote against any funding that would reopen any of= these. He should also agree to be recalled if he breaks this promise. This= makes your issue a public test for the campaign and gives those two canvas= sers a clear script to use at the door, because it names something concrete= their candidate will do, not just something bad happening far away. It als= o does the wider work your explanation couldn=E2=80=99t: a worker who under= stands why the city shouldn=E2=80=99t share its data has understood the dem= ocratic rights issue in the only way it currently matters to him. It=E2=80=99s the same in unions, and I think the opportunity here is bigger= than you suggest. Non-cooperation language, rules about no entry without a= judicial warrant, contract protections for members who are detained or dis= appear, and a defense committee with a phone tree that actually gets used= =E2=80=94these are bargaining demands and commitments you can file complain= ts about, not just resolutions. They give an opposition caucus a real reaso= n to exist that leadership can=E2=80=99t just absorb by agreeing, because a= greeing would actually cost something at the bargaining table. And they cre= ate the exact connection to immigrant workers=E2=80=99 organizations that a= ny real resistance will need. On pessimism: It's reasonable to worry concerning the timeline, but I=E2=80= =99d suggest making sure you=E2=80=99re measuring the right thing. If you j= udge success by whether people agree with you at chapter meetings, it will = seem hopeless, and you=E2=80=99ll just be tracking short-term moods. But if= you look at whether you=E2=80=99ve built anything that limits what your el= ected people can do under pressure, then two hard years that lead to one bi= nding commitment and a group that enforces it is not a failure. That=E2=80= =99s most of what we can actually achieve right now, and it=E2=80=99s the o= nly thing that will still matter if our warnings turn out to be right. Tony -- Tony -=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#42764): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/42764 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/120549500/6024700 -=3D-=3D- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. #4 Do not exceed five posts a day. -=3D-=3D- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/10173629/6024700/1441833971= /xyzzy [[email protected]] -=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D- --DaNuBa2B24xQiwciZBuV Content-Type: text/html; charset="utf-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable <div> <div style=3D"text-align: left; margin-top: 0.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em;"><= span>John,</span></div> <div style=3D"text-align: left; margin-top: 0.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em;"><= span>About the process: I didn’t realize you read in digest form, so = I take back my earlier suggestion about your silence. On the main issue, yo= u’ve brought up something important, but I think you’ve taken t= he wrong lesson from it.</span></div> <div style=3D"text-align: left; margin-top: 0.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em;"><= span>The story about the two canvassers is the strongest part of your post.= But if you look closely, these two committed members were doing exactly wh= at their organization asked, yet they couldn’t connect ICE deportatio= ns to wider democratic rights. You see this as a lack of understanding that= can be fixed with warnings and explanations. I see it differently. Their p= erspective wasn’t smaller than yours by accident or because no one ex= plained it to them. It came from the work they were doing. They were canvas= sing for a city council seat. Electoral campaigns have their own way of dec= iding what counts as an issue—what a councilmember can actually deliv= er, what polls well, and what won’t cost endorsements. A federal effo= rt to suppress voting doesn’t make it through that filter, not becaus= e canvassers are narrow-minded, but because the campaign structure leaves i= t out. They gave you an honest result from the system.</span></div> <div style=3D"text-align: left; margin-top: 0.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em;"><= span>That’s why I don’t think more explanation is the answer, e= ven if it’s urgent and correct. Messages that aren’t backed by = an organization just become opinions. You could convince those two young me= mbers of your analysis completely, and I think you could, since they seem s= erious. But next Saturday, they’ll still be out canvassing with the s= ame materials, because nothing about their actual work has changed. Awarene= ss that doesn’t have a structure to live in doesn’t last. It ju= st becomes something people used to agree with. You mention raising it in D= SA and building opposition caucuses—yes, and I’ve been arguing = something similar for a while. But a caucus organized around holding the co= rrect position on democratic rights will be absorbed within two convention = cycles, and the absorption will feel like success while it’s happenin= g: your resolution passes, your language goes into the platform, your peopl= e get onto committees, and the practice underneath is unaltered. The caucus= that survives contact with the apparatus is the one built around commitmen= ts that have real consequences. Not just "we believe X," but our elected pe= ople are bound by group decisions and report to the group; they stand for r= ecall; they take the median wage of the workers they represent; they vote n= o on the following specified things no matter what the coalition needs that= week. Discipline isn’t just housekeeping after good politics. With t= he pressure the organization creates, it’s the only thing that keeps = the politics from quietly turning into a career.</span></div> <div style=3D"text-align: left; margin-top: 0.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em;"><= span>This gives your Oakland candidate something more useful than just a sp= eech. Instead of only raising the issue, he should publicly promise, ahead = of time, to take specific actions a councilmember can actually do and that = a hostile federal government would notice: no city funds, no city data, no = city staff, no jail access, no license-plate reader feeds, no fusion center= involvement, and a promise to vote against any funding that would reopen a= ny of these. He should also agree to be recalled if he breaks this promise.= This makes your issue a public test for the campaign and gives those two c= anvassers a clear script to use at the door, because it names something con= crete their candidate will do, not just something bad happening far away. I= t also does the wider work your explanation couldn’t: a worker who un= derstands why the city shouldn’t share its data has understood the de= mocratic rights issue in the only way it currently matters to him.</span></= div> <div style=3D"text-align: left; margin-top: 0.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em;"><= span>It’s the same in unions, and I think the opportunity here is big= ger than you suggest. Non-cooperation language, rules about no entry withou= t a judicial warrant, contract protections for members who are detained or = disappear, and a defense committee with a phone tree that actually gets use= d—these are bargaining demands and commitments you can file complaint= s about, not just resolutions. They give an opposition caucus a real reason= to exist that leadership can’t just absorb by agreeing, because agre= eing would actually cost something at the bargaining table. And they create= the exact connection to immigrant workers’ organizations that any re= al resistance will need.</span></div> <div style=3D"text-align: left; margin-top: 0.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em;"><= span>On pessimism: It's reasonable to worry concerning the timeline, but I&= rsquo;d suggest making sure you’re measuring the right thing. If you = judge success by whether people agree with you at chapter meetings, it will= seem hopeless, and you’ll just be tracking short-term moods. But if = you look at whether you’ve built anything that limits what your elect= ed people can do under pressure, then two hard years that lead to one bindi= ng commitment and a group that enforces it is not a failure. That’s m= ost of what we can actually achieve right now, and it’s the only thin= g that will still matter if our warnings turn out to be right.</span></div> <div style=3D"text-align: left; margin-top: 0.5em; margin-bottom: 0.5em;"><= span>Tony</span></div> </div> <div>--</div> <div>Tony</div> <div width=3D"1" style=3D"color:white;clear:both">_._,_._,_</div> <hr> Groups.io Links:<p> =20 You receive all messages sent to this group. =20 =20 <p> <a target=3D"_blank" href=3D"https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/42764">Vi= ew/Reply Online (#42764)</a> | <a target=3D"_blank" href=3D"mailto:[email protected]?subject=3DRe:%20Re= %3A%20%5Bmarxmail%5D%20Trump%20organizing%20legal%20version%20of%20January%= 206th">Reply to Group</a> =20 | <a target=3D"_blank" href=3D"mailto:[email protected]?subject= =3DPrivate:%20Re:%20Re%3A%20%5Bmarxmail%5D%20Trump%20organizing%20legal%20v= ersion%20of%20January%206th">Reply to Sender</a> =20 | <a target=3D"_blank" href=3D"https://groups.io/mt/120549500/6024700">Mute= This Topic</a> | <a href=3D"https://groups.io/g/marxmail/post">New Topic</a> <br> <hr style=3D"width:25%;margin-right:100%">POSTING RULES & NOTES<br /> #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message.<br /> #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived.<br /> #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern.<br /> #4 Do not exceed five posts a day.<hr style=3D"width:25%;margin-right:100%"= > <a href=3D"https://groups.io/g/marxmail/editsub/6024700">Your Subscription<= /a> | <a href=3D"mailto:[email protected]">Contact Group Owner</a> | <a href=3D"https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/10173629/6024700/1441833971/x= yzzy">Unsubscribe</a> [[email protected]]<br> <div width=3D"1" style=3D"color:white;clear:both">_._,_._,_</div> --DaNuBa2B24xQiwciZBuV--