United States | News & Politics

Which speaks to a much greater problem regarding Sanders: he dropped the chance to build a movement and parallel platform and instead just became a sheepdog for Clinton, Biden, and Harris. He was a useful lightning rod for the popularity of social spending policies and getting debt off the backs of the vast majority of people, but only served as a lightning rod, not turning it into organizing or strength. Just like Obama disassembled his electoral team to use party insiders and lose the 2010 midterms, Sanders gave away his donor list for a song and left his ground game operation hanging until they fucked off and did their own things.

This is why any turn to the Democratic party is a death knell and why we need the exact opposite approach to building the left. The heart of left strength is organizations, of people workinh to educate one another, recruit, and engage in action according to an independent political program that does not wane or falter just because one old guy capitulates to Democrats. There needs to be hundreds of people ready to replace any "important" figurehead or candidate or politician, they must be jettisonable as needed and beholden to members' will, not donors'.