https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdPOAKsK_mY
Transcript:
a group of moderates called the New Democrat Coalition, which is the largest block of Democrats in the House
He's blaming his own party's progressive wing for Donald Trump's big victory
But the real problem with the the left and the Democratic party these days, culturally, is we don't want you
We don't want you.
We don't want you
You wear queers for Palestine t-shirts
Try beating a Republican, not beating some guy in the Bronx
This is the closing argument to the project that we've been working on since the start of the year
The foundation of the people's platform
Five non-negotiables of the left
Three to earn back the trust of the American people to win back the country and two more to salvage our democracy and our planet
Five non-negotiables.
A progressive flag planted firmly in the ground
So, here's my opening statement and the thesis that I'm here to defend
The Trump administration is the culmination of a 70-year neoliberal plan to divide the population and place the wealth of the nation and the levers of power into the hands of the few
The dystopian doctrine that drives this agenda is rooted in fear born from economic procarity.
As such, the opposite holds true as well
Everything positive in this world is attainable when a population lives in economic security and has satisfied the most basic needs
We need a politics centered on achieving this goal before we can broaden our horizon
And to accomplish this, we have to use the tools at our disposal.
Which means we have to take over the most functional political apparatus available, the Democratic Party
Our little contribution to this plan is simply to provide structure and clarity because this is how we win
We know what Donald Trump is capable of
By extension, we now know what the Republican party is capable of
The Republican party lit the runway and cleared Donald Trump for takeoff.
So, it's time to leave them behind
No more bridges
No more olive branches, no compromises or amends
Now, that is the most radical thing that I have to say
The most provocative thing I have to say, however, is this
This makes the Democratic establishment the single greatest threat to this agenda
MSNBC talking heads, pod saveave bros, establishment relics like James Carville, Bill Maher boomer types, and third-wave Democrats are uniting around a few dangerous themes to sideline progressives
So earlier this year, the
third way think tank even hosted a comeback retreat designed to diagnose what's wrong with the Democratic party
Now, you can read the summary for yourself
I'll leave it in the notes, but let me offer a few key findings
their words
My response, move away from identity politics
Yeah
Uh Kla Harris didn't run a campaign on identity politics, nor did Joe Biden, for that matter.
But Republicans did reduce far-left influence and infrastructure
They already killed primaries
Not sure what else they're looking to accomplish
Embrace moderation, individualism, and masculinity
Yeah, that would be the libertarian platform
Also, that's crude, sexist, and stupid
Shift messaging away from handouts
They list things like student loan forgiveness and universal basic income as quote handouts, by the way.
And they encourage more use of the words like opportunity and empowerment
These are Republican talking points that the Clinton Gore New Democrats adopted with disastrous results
Integrate with the business community
You're going to love these suggestions
This one has subheadings like quote stop demonizing wealth and corporations and engage with business podcasts like earn your leisure that reach the aspiring class.
Aspiring class is their euphemism for a working class that wants to succeed, not receive handouts
More Republican talking points
Be pro-piration and capitalism in a smart way
Now, this includes have a prosperity gospel aimed at the working class
You get the picture
Understand that this is essentially the unified platform that has existed on a seamless continuum from Reagan to Biden.
Trump is the pusfilled symptom of this diseased thinking, the manifestation of social and economic policies that have attacked the underpinnings of liberal democracy
He's the inevitable culmination of the festering anger of the poor and the working class
The only logical response to a system that is foreclosed on economic mobility, the alpha and omega of discontent.
To be clear and awake in this moment is to understand that this is the Rubicon, the Maginino line, the two paths diverging, whatever you want to call them
Either we follow this down the well-worn path toward a fascist dictatorship already in plain sight, by the way, with the eradication of due process, the disappearance of student visa holders, the elimination of poverty relief programs, attack on public education, and assault on free speech.
Or we provide another vision that delivers us
What will not work for this nation, its institutions or inhabitants, is the same mediocre polite defense of the neoliberal era system that resulted in economic procarity, environmental disaster, mass incarceration, and extreme political and social stratification
The choice is not new.
It's renewed
The Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798, Ordinance of Secession in 1861, the Wall Street push of 1934
The American multiverse is brimming with what might have been if not for the better angels of liberalism
And this much I know, the third way Democrats are not them
How can you defend the status quo when we're living with the fruits of it
The five non-negotiables of the left is an attempt to lay a foundation for something new with the concrete and steel of what is tried and true.
You know, I've talked a lot about the false confidence of the Democratic establishment with the DNC in particular who tasted victory in the modern era due exclusively to a recession-driven crisis response among voters
a littleknown governor from Arkansas who came to power in the post Gulf War recession and spent eight years doing the bidding of the Gingrich GOP under the cloak of magical new democrat thinking.
The result was nothing less than catastrophic for the middle class and black Americans who were subsumed by the yoke of the criminal injustice system
Barack Obama promised to deliver the nation from the depths of the Great Recession, which itself was the direct result of the deregulatory frenzy of the Clinton administration and worsened by the gross incompetence of another Bush regime.
But he came to power because of the recession
The lackluster poverty alleviation of the Obama years led to widening inequality and discontent among the working class
And you know what
There's little doubt in the minds of any realist that Trump would have been reelected to a second consecutive term had he not been responsible for the utter mismanagement of a global pandemic and a shock recession.
Once again, the Democratic establishment believed its own press that their political genius gave us the presidency again
The veil of that logic fell in pretty short order when Donald Trump once again took the oath of office
So, let me be clear
The DNC is bad at its job because it can only take back the presidency during times of crisis.
A singlepayer health system, opposition to NAFTA, campaign finance reform, eliminating tax loopholes for the wealthy, increasing taxes on corporations, a living wage
These were core platforms of candidates from Jerry Brown and Dennis Cassinich to Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders
all legitimate candidates who were mocked and sidelined by centrist Democrats in the establishment who offered not a single bold policy on the left and governed through giveaways to the right.
There's one key difference between the Democratic Party and the GOP that runs through the entirety of the neoliberal era
The Republicans have a true ideology and when they're in power, they work diligently to bring it to life
For the Democrats, power is the goal
This is why and how the country has shifted to the right.
I want you to imagine the past 70 years as one long game of tugofwar
For stretches of time, the Republicans dig in their heels and tug the rope with all their might
They [ __ ] up things for the working class, strip the middle class of its wealth, and drive us into a recession
And then they rest
And they gather their steam for another coordinated pull.
The Democrats, meanwhile, hold the line while the Republicans rest before the rope tears the flesh from their hands when the Republicans pull again
Each time the GOP makes a little more progress
What's maddening is that this was the playbook of left activists before the neoliberal era
America's always been a conservative enclave, steeped in racism and and prone to fits of xenophobia.
And for decades, if not centuries, suffragettes, union members, civil rights leaders, feminists, anti-war demonstrators, and LGBTQ activists held the anchor position on the rope and did the heavy pulling for the rest of us
Along the way, they scored countless small victories that culminated in programs like Medicare and Medicaid, a 40-hour work week, anti-child labor laws, reproductive rights, disability rights, the right to organize, protected speech, universal franchise, and the freedom to love and marry whomever you
choose
These are the ties that bind a society together
Delivered by those who were beaten by batons and bloodied by water cannons
Bired from their jobs and excommunicated from their places of worship
Ostracized by their friends and families, hunted and imprisoned by their own government
Job one is to admit defeat.
own up to the reality that we have abregated the responsibility handed to us by these warriors to preserve what they often died defending
Because in this admission, we can more readily identify that the time to hold the line has passed
It's time to dig in our heels and pull the rope
Not only can we build on the backs of the brave souls who came before us, but we can borrow tactics from those who have defeated us.
Just as the Koch brothers studied the revolutionary tactics of Lenon to use against the left in this country, we can borrow from them
Take Project 2025
Project 2025 is as brazen as it is comprehensive
And the only reason we have access to it is because of their hubris
The ideologues behind Project 2025 revealed their hand under the assumption that they were about to achieve total victory.
Otherwise, this document wouldn't have seen the light of day
They knew victory was imminent and were therefore confident that they could write the final chapter of the white supremacist manifesto that started in earnest in 1954 with the passage of Brown v
Board of Education
This is when the rope of neoliberalism was first pulled.
The think tanks, the dark money groups, Christian fundamentalist organizations all worked in concert over a 70-year period to deliver us here
The documentation exists like an evil schematic despite their attempts to hide it over the decades
Take over oil fields of other countries
Pillage their labor and natural resources
Voter disenfranchisement here at home.
Take over schools and churches
Shut down disscent
Hoard wealth
Incarcerate black people
End posy commentatus
Chill speech
Keep poor people poor
Put billionaires in charge
Eliminate regulations
Protect corporations
End DEI practices
Vilify immigrants
Keep boardrooms white and male
Make Congress Christian, but do it all without saying it.
That's where the discipline comes in
How do they pull it off
The southern strategy never disappeared
They just refined it
America first, God and country, the American dream
You know, there are only two ways to advance a social, political, and economic agenda
Through fear and procarity, or optimism and security
The white nationalist playbook running the GOP relies on the former.
A progressive vision for the future rests firmly on the latter
For the GOP, staying on message helps blind the masses to your true intent and makes even the worst policies sound rational
When a population is in constant economic procarity, they are susceptible to messages of fear because they exist in that fear
They live in it.
The fightor-flight response that triggers dopamine
The desire to break out of your circumstances is made easier when there's someone to blame
America first
First, they shipped your jobs overseas and then they opened the border to let immigrants take them at home
We need to put America first by cutting taxes on the job creators, God and country.
Our kids don't go to church
They live in the basement
They're addicted to porn
Drag queens are turning the kids gay
Everyone's speaking Spanish today, but Chinese tomorrow, the Muslim at the corner store, Jews that run Hollywood, and commies from China
They're taking everything from us.
It's time to put God and country before everything else
And get rid of the immigrants and infidels and the American dream
Look, families are falling apart
You're working two jobs and still paycheck to paycheck, taking home less and paying out more
It's because black kids get free Ivy League education
Trans people get promoted over the good kids.
Illegal immigrants are stealing all the welfare benefits
It's time to get rid of woke DEI nonsense and make the American dream a reality for real Americans
Simple platitudes dipped in fear that scapegoat others
You know, on the left, we have goals, too
reproductive rights, free speech, LGBTQ rights, indigenous rights, pathways to citizenship, stopping the funding of genocide with our tax dollars, eliminating the cap on social security deductions, expanded social safety nets, free and fast public transportation, nationalizing the energy
grid, imposing extreme regulations on factory farms, breaking up monopolies, the right to organize, an end to homelessness, addiction and recovery support, ending mass incarceration, Student loan forgiveness, free public college, a wealth tax, closing the carried interest tax loophole, voting access, a meaningful work guarantee, affordable housing options, universal healthc care coverage, progressive taxation, net zero carbon emissions, closing foreign military bases, police reform at home, greater consumer protections, clean water, breathable
air, free and fair elections, and getting money out of politics
Did I miss any
Does that cover like half of what drives you
A quarter, 100%
No matter where you fall along these lines, something obvious should emerge when you examine the Democratic Party platform
With the exception of soft language about climate change resilience, admonitions that billionaires pay their fair share, and that we need to make things more affordable, the Democratic Party never uttered anything as specific as what we just said
Not one
Not one
in this century
In fact, here's what I remember from the Harris campaign most recently
She owned a Glock, wanted to create a firsttime home buyer tax credit that no one understood
Democracy was on the ballot
We need to secure the border, but Republicans won't let us
Trump's a monster, and we need more joy.
But you know what
Things are fine, and they're getting better
Come on
People like Carville, Chuck Schumer, Hakee Jeff, all the centrist Dems and pundits will talk about the need to be practical and rational
Don't spook the moderates with your socialist nonsense
They'll tell you we need to suppress left visions in order to appeal to a broader constituency.
Who
They concede that there's a messaging problem, not a policy problem
If we could just convince people that we're better at governing than Republicans are and that they're better off than they think
I mean, can you think of anything more [ __ ] patronizing
The self diagnosis of the party isn't that they aren't good enough
It's just that you don't get it.
Then they retreat into familiar talking points
The worst of which is saying we need to stop with the purity tests
What is politics if not a purity test
That's what this is
One person's purity test is another person's platform
To win in this game, believe it or not, you got to stand for something and be pure in your intentions.
The Republicans have one
They've administered an actual purity test to their candidates for 40 years
Yeah
It's called the Taxpayer Protection Pledge, promoted by Americans for Tax Reform, an organization founded by Grover Norquist in 1985
Republican candidates are asked to sign this pledge to oppose any and all efforts to increase marginal tax rates for individuals and corporations and oppose efforts to eliminate tax deductions
Again, pretty simple.
See, Republicans know that the balance of their agenda flows directly from this one critical concept
If they can hoard all the money, they can buy and sell politicians like so many nickels and dimes
You know, Democrats often accuse Republicans of moving the goalpost and changing the rules, but they're only half right.
Republicans constantly change the rules
It's true, but they do it by keeping the goalpost in place
In fact, it's precisely the firmness of the pledge, the goalpost that allows them to change the rules
What's astounding is that the pledge is made to constituents, not even to the party
It's a pledge to the many to protect the few.
This cult-like feelalty to the tax pledge has enabled the wealthiest few in the country to amass fortunes, which in turn has given them the ability to purchase our democracy and change the rules of the game
Thankfully, people are waking up once again to the reality of this situation thanks to the blatant authoritarianism of this administration.
Bernie and AOC are traversing the country on their stop oligarchy tour and packing arenas in red states
Even Republicans are roasting Republicans at GOP town halls
But what has my full attention right now is the young vice chair of the DNC named David Hog who is rattling the establishment's cage by pledging to primary Democrats in safe blue districts.
smart safe blue districts when the Democrat is not committed to progressivism
Well done
This is the inside person we need with a strategy to win the moment
Similar to the Justice Democrats movement that produced candidates like AOC, Summer Lee, Primila Gyipol, Greg Khazar, Ayanna Presley, Rashidita Talib.
David Hog's pack is called Leaders We Deserve and it's committed to raising $20 million for the 2026 primaries
So, if you're going to support a political action committee, this is the one
Of course, it runs a foul of our fourth non-negotiable to get money out of politics
But that's why number four is a postcycle initiative that I conservatively believe will take 20 years to accomplish.
As we pointed out in the original episode that we did on it, 20 years to unwind something that took 180 to achieve isn't bad
You got to start somewhere
On that note, this is as good a time as any to conclude with the actual five non-negotiables and make my closing argument final for this approach.
Everything until now has been a prologue to contextualize a worldview
And if you're still with me, then you're either curious or you concur
To stand behind the concept of the five non-negotiables, there are only two foundational suppositions that you have to be willing to accept
Third parties cannot win federal elections in the United States and economic security is the primary determinant of political success one way or the other.
On the first point, I don't believe that third party efforts are for not
My contention stated clearly again in a separate episode is that the two major parties have deliberately and completely shut down this route in the United States
So this is a reflection of reality, not desire
On the second point, the progenitors of the neoliberal movement recognized that they can only rob the fortunes of the masses and destroyed democracy if the vast majority of us lived in economic procarity.
Economic insecurity breeds fear
Fear breeds antagonism and individualism
It sets us against one another and corners us like rats
Likewise, collectivism is attainable when human needs are met easily and consistently
This is the only sociological concept that must be agreed upon
Thus, my call is to refrain from third party efforts on the federal level in order to take over the democratic apparatus from within much the same as the neoliberals did with the GOP.
Concrete and widespread messaging of our demands
three to meet the foundations of the hierarchy of human needs in the short term and two to preserve our democracy and planet in the long term will give clarity of purpose to the initiative
These five non-negotiables can then serve as the pillars of the people's platform.
[Music] Housing first represents a fundamental shift in addressing homelessness
Providing permanent housing to people experiencing homelessness before addressing other issues like unemployment or substance abuse
This model pioneered by Dr
Sam Saris in 1992 has proven remarkably successful whenever properly implemented.
Studies consistently show 85 to 90% of participants remained housed after their first year with 75 to 80% maintaining housing after 5 years, far outperforming traditional approaches
The economic benefits are equally compelling
Communities implementing housing first see an average savings of 10 to20,000 per person annually through reduced emergency services, lower incarceration rates, and decreased crisis intervention.
Health outcomes also improved dramatically with emergency room visits dropping by approximately 40% and significant improvements in mental health stability and chronic condition management
The true drivers of America's homelessness crisis are structural, severe affordable housing shortages, stagnant wages, inadequate social safety nets, and the growing treatment of housing as an investment vehicle rather than a basic need.
Housing first isn't a one-sizefits-all solution
It's housing first, not housing only, but it represents a proven cost-effective foundation for addressing the complex challenges of homelessness
As AI and automation threaten to transform the job market at unprecedented speed, the United States faces a potentially catastrophic disruption to employment.
Unlike previous technological revolutions that played out over generations, AI could automate approximately 50% of work hours within just 5 to 10 years
Goldman Sachs projects up to 30 million jobs disappearing in the next decade in the US alone with knowledge and service sectors being particularly vulnerable
A government sponsored civilian labor corps would combine the elements of the New Deal's civilian conservation corps with contemporary needs providing living wage employment and benefits to anyone willing and able to work
Projects could
include climate resilience projects, elder and child care, affordable housing construction, ecological restoration, and more
essential work with high community value but low profit incentives that the private market won't adequately address and is therefore non-competitive to private industry
A job isn't just a paycheck.
It's a source of dignity, purpose, and social integration serving as a preventive measure against political extremism and social instability
The United States spends approximately 20% of its GDP on health care, double what other developed nations spend per capita, yet has shorter life expectancy, higher infant mortality, and leaves tens of millions uninsured or underinsured.
The private insurance industry alone has revenue in excess of $1.5 trillion
While administrative costs consume approximately 13% of private insurance spending compared to, get this, just 2% for Medicare
Medicare for all would establish a national health insurance program providing comprehensive coverage to all US residents, including all medically necessary services without premiums, deductibles, or co-ayments.
The program would prohibit private insurance from selling coverage that duplicates Medicare benefits while allowing supplemental coverage for non-included services
Multiple economic studies project annual savings of 5 to600 billion through reduced administrative costs, negotiated pharmaceutical prices, and streamlined billing.
A crucial component of this implementation would have to also be a civilian labor corps to absorb workers displaced from the insurance industry as AI increasingly threatens these jobs
Anyway, Medicare for all represents not just a policy change but a fundamental shift in how we view health care
Health care as a human right rather than a market commodity.
The movement to remove money from politics represents a long-term constitutional battle that may take decades to achieve
The current campaign finance system developed over many years
From the 1976 Buckley valo decision establishing that political spending is protected speech through the 1978 First National Bank of Boston v.
extending this protection to corporations and culminating in the 2010 Citizens United decision that effectively eliminated restrictions on corporate political spending
The only viable solution is a constitutional amendment that would one limit speech protections to natural persons negating Citizens United.
Two, prohibit all non-individual spending on candidates or election issues
Three, allow Congress to determine federal campaign spending limits
Four, restore individual donation caps
Five, limit self-funded candidates
And six, require full transparency for all political donations
Pursuing this amendment requires first implementing the other non-negotiables to build popular support and to eliminate economic procarity so that we have a happier population.
Then we can get Godfather on them
Present the Republicans with the choice
either accept the amendment or face aggressive progressive taxation returning the top marginal tax rates to the 1950s levels
The science is overwhelming dating back to Ununisfoot's 1856 discovery of carbon dioxide's heat trapping effect in the atmosphere.
Even the most ardent skeptic of climate science should be taught that in 1990, our military predicted extreme weather, drought, flooding, sea level rise, and increased conflict over scarce resources due to what they observed
Private industry, including fossil fuel companies like Exxon, have been aware of these risks since at least the 1970s, but actively misinformed the public to protect their interests.
Mobilizing for a net zero emission future with simultaneous large-scale initiatives requires a wartime level preparedness and budget
We know what has to be done
But we must also contend with the reality that the next few decades we're going to live with the results of what we failed to accomplish in the past few
That's just how science works.
So to bridge the gap, we propose a climate trust to fund present and future initiatives with the same funding mechanism and sacrosan fiduciary responsibility as social security and it would bind the two together
In addition to lifting the cap on social security deductions to fully fund the social security trust in perpetuity, the approximately 6% tax of earnings above $400,000 per household would go toward the climate trust.
generating approximately $240 billion annually
Dispersements would be required to be made annually and overseen by an independent commission
With a robust capital account, policymakers would be emboldened to pursue the radical reforms today that we need to achieve a net zero carbon emission future and provide for climate refugees who will be victims of our past misdeeds.
You know, crafting the message is just one small part of the transformational politics that we need to turn back the tide of fascism
Restore our democracy and preserve the planet
But there's power in singing from the same himnil because it elevates our voices collectively
And so messaging is important.
I've said from day one of this podcast that we cannot know where we are if we don't understand from whence we came
Understanding where we're going though, it's another matter
When you're lost and you're unsure of where you're headed, it's human nature to follow the map that's given to you
People yearn for direction, for clarity
And if one side is screaming at you constantly, this is the way.
This is the way, at the top of their lungs, and the other side is just saying, no, it's not
I don't know which way to go, but that's not it
At some point, if you're desperate enough, you're just going to follow the loudest voice
The more clear and direct it is, the better
The Republicans offered theirs in Project 2025.
Well, guess what
It's 2025, and we're following it to the letter
If we sit back and wait for them to fail, as Democrats like Carville and Jeff and Schumer and all the establishment Democrats suggest, then we're seeding victory to them already
Here's the thing
They're not going to fail
They can't
How can you fail if failure is the goal
They're trying to tear it all down.
The only way to navigate out of this is to chart a clear and direct path forward
And so, my friends, I humbly offer you the five non-negotiables of the left, the foundation of the people's platform
Your end of the lesson