Whereas the existential threat of the global climate and ecological crisis we face, unlike any in human history, requires socialists to make this a central terrain in our struggle for a better world and against a racialized capitalist system profiting from extraction, exploitation, and domination.

Whereas the Green New Deal (GND) is a flexible and popular framework for transformative state climate and environmental action, not a particular bill or predetermined set of policies.

Whereas, DSA adopted resolutions in 2019, 2021, and 2023 to prioritize fighting for an ecosocialist Green New Deal as defined by DSA’s democratically adopted GND Principles;

Whereas in 2023, the GNDCC launched the Building For Power (B4P) campaign to train and support DSA chapters to fight for state and municipal GND-style reforms in coalition with unions and other mass working-class organizations behind a common vision of an emancipated, democratic, and sustainable society;

Whereas, the GNDCC has provided dozens of trainings, workshops, mass calls, webinars, and policy briefs for at least 85 chapters in support of the B4P strategy; 

Whereas, chapters around the country have adopted B4P campaigns and successfully built significant relationships with organized labor and propelled socialists in office, including Milwaukee’s Power to the People, Chicago’s Fix the CTA, Louisville’s Get on the Bus, NYC’s House the Future, and more; 

Whereas, the GNDCC, as all national bodies, has submitted a report going into further detail on activity within the past two years;

Whereas by coaching chapters to run B4P campaigns, the GNDCC can help build DSA’s capacity to respond to a second Trump administration by developing strong chapters that can execute strategic campaigns; 

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Be it therefore resolved the GNDCC is rechartered as a national DSA priority commission until the 2027 DSA Convention, and is tasked with continuing its work training, coaching, and supporting chapters with Building for Power campaigns. 

Resolved that the GNDCC will continue to train and organize DSA chapters to run and win legislative campaigns and labor and ballot demands for reforms that shift structural power to the working class by building public sector and organized labor capacity—like expanded mass transit, democratized and decarbonized public energy, green social housing, and green public spaces and facilities.

Resolved that the GNDCC will continue to support the development of chapter capacity by providing campaign-oriented training, coaching, resources, and educational materials and facilitating cross-chapter coordination as part of a larger unified strategy.

Resolved that the GNDCC will continue to emphasize collaboration with other DSA national bodies on overlapping campaign and policy areas, especially via mass political education events. Specifically, GNDCC will work with the NPC’s Trump Administration Response Committee (TARC) to incorporate, where strategic, B4P and the GNDCC’s ongoing work into the messaging and tactics of DSA’s national response to the Trump administration.

Resolved that the NPC will appoint the 11-member GNDCC within 60 days of the start of the NPC term, to serve a term of two years until the 2027 National Convention. The outgoing GNDCC will solicit applications and the NPC will appoint candidates based on the capacity, skills, and knowledge needed for carrying out this campaign.

Resolved that the GNDCC will maintain such subcommittees and processes as needed to fulfill the campaign’s objectives. 

Resolved that the NPC will commit resources to the work of the campaign, particularly coaching, training and growing DSA chapters engaged in work within its umbrella. Such resources shall include, at least, the following:

• Staff, technical, and other support for campaign fundraising and merchandise, as reasonably needed and requested by the GNDCC;
• Budget funds necessary to support digital tools and resources for campaign organizing;
• Access to DSA member data and other resources as reasonably needed and requested by the GNDCC.

The post 2025 GNDCC Priority Committee Resolution appeared first on Building for Power.

Welcome to your quick glimpse into some of the work of the chapter over the past couple of months, prepared for the Little Red Letter #135. The I-94 Fight Continues Organizers kept the pressure on after our joint event with Our Streets to shine light into MNDOT’s opaque and undemocratic process at the January Political […]

Author’s Note: This article was written and initially posted to slack prior to the vote for endorsement in the Mayoral election, however due to the author’s laziness it was not finished in time for the prior newsletter. Because the thrust of the article is caution against the socialist electoral project taking executive offices, rather than […]

Statement from the Madison Area DSA Executive Committee on the Detention and Deportation of Pro-Palestinian Students, Faculty, and Staff

As scholars, faculty, staff, students, and members of the University of Wisconsin-Madison community, we members of Madison Area DSA condemn the immoral and unlawful kidnappings of our colleagues and neighbors from universities across the U.S. Our colleagues and peers have been targeted for opposing Israel’s genocide in Palestine in yet another display of the United States’ escalating fascism. These targeted detentions and disappearances are part of efforts to destroy scholarship in the United States, to force alignment with Zionist foreign policy, and to punish those who dare step out of the carceral, white supremacist, Zionist line.

Since March 1, 2025, at least four students have been arrested by ICE in scenes akin to kidnappings or Schutzstaffel-style disappearances: on video, masked ICE officers whisk Rumeysa Ozturk away, as a bystander asks, “Is this a kidnapping?”

On March 8, ICE arrested Mahmoud Khalil, a leader in the Columbia University student protests against Israel’s genocide in Palestine, from his family’s apartment in Columbia student housing without being charged for any crime. Khalil is being held in the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center.

On March 9, ICE searched the home of Yunseo Chung’s parents in an attempt to find her. Chung is a Columbia student and was present in Barnard College sit-ins. Chung has since filed a lawsuit alleging that “the administration is demonstrating a ‘pattern and practice of targeting individuals associated with protests for Palestinian rights for immigration enforcement.’”

On March 17, Badar Khan Suri, a postdoctoral scholar and instructor at Georgetown University, was detained by ICE. Suri was “approached by masked men outside his home.” Like other students targeted by ICE, Suri is accused of supporting Hamas–Suri’s lawyer argues that Suri is “being punished because of the Palestinian heritage of his wife–who is a U.S. citizen–and because the government suspects that he and his wife oppose U.S. foreign policy toward Israel.”

On March 25, plainclothes ICE agents arrested Rümeysa Öztürk, a scholar at Tufts, off the street without providing any identification–the encounter, which was captured on video, looks like a kidnapping. Although Öztürk was granted a petition to be held in Massachusetts, ICE transferred her to Louisiana. A DHS spokesperson accuses Öztürk of “supporting Hamas,” without providing evidence.

These incidents are not isolated. Students continue to be detained by ICE, including one University of Minnesota Twin Cities student on March 27, 2025. By the time this statement is published, it will surely be woefully out of date as our peers, neighbors, and colleagues continue to be targeted and kidnapped. As we wrote this letter, unjust arrests were made on UW-Madison’s campus at a protest against former US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield. Just days later, UW announced that students and staff in our community are victims of visa termination.

It is clear that this anti-immigrant, white supremacist, Zionist tendency seeks to punish scholars for taking the moral stance. Many targeted academics, including Mahmoud Khalil, are being held in the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center. This prison is owned by a private corporation, and is known for its unsafe and inhumane conditions. Accusations of mistreatment are many: “In 2016 alone, three immigrants died within six months. Following a fourth death in 2017, the Department of Homeland Security’s Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties concluded that inadequate medical care contributed to “multiple deaths; sexual assault allegations have “plagued” the facility; prisoners are served unlabeled and expired foods.

As abolitionists, we extend solidarity with targeted scholars held in Jena, Louisiana, and elsewhere: imprisonment and cages are the violent arm of these efforts to silence activists and scholars, punish the poor, and exploit labor from the oppressed. 

As scholars, we understand that detentions are an attack not only on individuals, but on the pursuit of knowledge itself. There is no neutral scholarship, and we extend solidarity to our colleagues and neighbors who have been and continue to be targeted for challenging carceral, white supremacist, Zionist structures and motivations.

As socialists, anarchists, communists, and moral human beings, we believe the right of free speech should never be infringed. We believe that no-one should ever be imprisoned for acts of speech and peaceful protest. We believe that anyone who speaks out against genocide and hate should be lifted up, not denigrated as supposed terrorists.

The true cause of terror in American communities right now is this expanding fascist wave we see: this intentionally illegal abduction of citizens and scholars by masked agents must end. We demand: Hands off our colleagues, and hands off our communities!

“What do politics have to do with me? I’m not an immigrant, or a black person, or a Muslim, or a Jew, or gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or a woman, or an old person, or a young person, […] or a student, or union member, or artist, or journalist, or scientist, or a public employee. I don’t breathe the air or drink the water; I don’t live in a coastal region that will be affected by sea level rise or an arid region that will be affected by drought or fire. I don’t like chocolate, wine, or coffee, or other commodities that will no longer be available due to climate change. I’m not mentally ill, pregnant, disabled or currently being shot at, so… what do politics have to do with me?”

– Nato Green, political comedian and labor organizer, “What do politics have to do with me?” from “The Whiteness Album”

 

Avoiding political conversations is an understandable self-preservation instinct for many. In organizing circles this impulse must be avoided to openly discuss meaningful pathways toward productive action. In an organizing body as new as Salt Lake DSA, these conversations are complicated by two main issues: 

• there is no comprehensive, baseline socialist vision with which all membership is guided by, and
• as such, there is no unified goal for SLDSA to move toward, allowing space for conversations to devolve from “us vs. the problem” to “me vs. you”.

Note that this specific devolvement is usually what makes people averse to these conversations in the first place. Our politics are how we see our personal values show up in the world, so any disagreement can feel like an attack on one’s moral compass. That conversation isn’t worth that risk. However, if we provide foundational political education for the chapter and actively connect our projects to the politics of Salt Lake, we can collectively move forward on a vision of SLDSA as a party-like organization. We can create a socialist Salt Lake City by helping members find confident humility in their political stances. 

The overall goal of the [Draft] Prioritization of a Politicized Salt Lake DSA resolution (what a mouthful) is to identify a distinct political vision for the Salt Lake DSA chapter. This would take place in two broad phases. The first step is to provide members a space to form and refine their own political ideals. This means facilitating discussions and identifying chapter-wide values. The second step is to tangibly work towards these ideals within Salt Lake City; this is where we learn how to act as a political body. 

If we are able to do this, SLDSA will be better at engaging members, affecting change in our locale, and bringing the socialist message to fruition. The political education we provide would be a source of confidence for those still understanding the wider systems we are up against; connecting the education to immediate issues in Salt Lake would exemplify these systems in action to newer members; in turn, our members (and those generally interested in socialism) can look to us as a way to visualise what socialism looks like in practice.

As a whole, DSA is looking to build towards becoming a recognized party in the United States. As the democratic party continues to fail workers, and people are becoming increasingly desperate for alternatives to the two-party system, it is crucial that our chapter carries its weight in becoming a credible alternative. After the 2024 election, Salt Lake DSA has become overwhelmed with new members. This means we now have the luxury of various perspectives; our new membership is composed of people with varying degrees of political knowledge and understanding of civics. But this is a double-edged sword. With such variation, we lack a political vision within the SLDSA chapter, complicating member engagement. Without a solidified platform that establishes a vision of DSA within Salt Lake, members are not likely to understand the importance and nuance of being an intentional political body. 

By addressing the issues outlined above, we will be able to provide members with the tools to form and express their own political stances, discuss these issues together as an organizing body, and move forward on actions that intentionally match our principles as a socialist organization. Ultimately, the goal of prioritizing items that increase our politicization is to aid SLDSA in becoming a strong, public-facing organization within Salt Lake City.

 

Politicizing DSA in Words and Principle

“How can I know what I think till I see what I say?”

– Graham Wallas, professor of political science and author of “The Art of Thought”

 

Standardizing political education amongst the chapter will allow members the opportunity to define their personal politics and build confident humility in these discussions. Building out our members’ vision of socialism will give SLDSA an understanding of how to move as an organized class. Determining the pathway ahead can only be done through providing a platform for budding socialists to interpret and envision a world without capitalism. 

The actual methods for providing education and gathering feedback from members on their political visions will have to vary in ways that respond to the needs of the chapter. One such method is already in the works: SLDSA has just passed a resolution to Restart the Socialist Night School Program. This will be a great way for us to understand how the chapter actually views socialist ideas and for us to discuss how these ideas show up in the world at large. However, the Socialist Night School is unlikely to cover ground with all of the chapter and can only cover so much information per session. To make up the difference and truly deepen our understanding of socialism, we will need to consider a variety of methods: Include a Civics 101 somewhere in the onboarding process, conduct internal townhalls with leadership, create a platform of local issues with members’ input, etc. 

While we learn to navigate the surge in membership, we will need to be flexible in addressing the varying degrees of political education. If we can adapt accordingly, SLDSA will be able to unify membership behind a shared goal, increasing member retention and our ability to meaningfully address capitalist issues in Salt Lake. 

It is possible to use the upcoming Mayday Convention as a way to gauge the feasibility of various approaches. However, as we are a month out from convention and leadership is still navigating the membership surge, I believe we will have to be explicitly mindful of capacity. One way we can approach this would be to hold a handful of “focus groups” which discuss what ways members want to increase their political knowledge and identify common principles within the chapter. It is arguable if all this is worthwhile in the face of capacity issues. We’re already working on ballot initiatives, community building, and carrying out political campaigns. We’re already doing the work. So what would actually change with the chapter? 

 

Politicizing DSA in Action

Identifying, and subsequently aligning, SLDSA’s principles with the actions we take as a chapter will help membership trust our motivations and allow us to be a united, public-facing organization. We can look to National DSA’s ability to navigate both reformist and revolutionary tactics for inspiration. Identifying techniques National has used, and applying principles identified within SLDSA to these techniques, we can begin to put our money where our mouth is.

At various levels, DSA chapters are experimenting with a two-tiered endorsement system: endorse democratic candidates on specific issues, and endorse explicitly DSA candidates running on a DSA platform. This is a necessary tool for us to learn to utilize within our chapter. Through projects like the Trans Sanctuary City Outreach campaign, we can begin to identify city council members, legislators, and other types of representatives who hold similar values to those identified in SLDSA. From these reps, we can pick out potential mentors who can help us run candidates of our own for municipal positions. While we work through National’s playbook on taking action, we can also begin to activate our base by using our identified platform to:

• release political statements on Salt Lake-specific issues 
• host more public-facing town halls like our SLDSA town hall in December and recent “Don’t Mourn, Organize” event

If we are able to utilize these different actions correctly, we can expect two main effects: membership engagement will increase (whether that be gaining new members or increasing member retention/involvement), and SLDSA will have a larger impact on the local political scene. We first achieve this by gaining membership trust. If we spend the time giving members the tools to identify and express their politics, listen to their collective concerns, and then move forward with actions which address those concerns, we will be one of only a handful of genuinely effective organizations within SLC. This will lend us an air of credibility with the wider public. From there, we can use public statements and town halls to clarify the political goals of each action we take. This is where we distinguish ourselves from reformists, even when utilizing reformist tactics. Through these actions, SLDSA will be able to successfully convert from a generic leftist NGO into a credible alternative to the two-party system within Salt Lake City. 

 

So, Politicize Me!

“The personal is political, and the political is personal”

-Anne Koedt and Shulamith Firestone, prominent writers and theorists of the Second Wave Feminist Movement

 

There’s something I believe is truly critical about this moment in time that keeps getting lost in the chaos: People are looking for solutions. While many leftists have seen the system’s pathway for decades (if not centuries), the working class is on the brink of collective class consciousness in the search for said solutions. At this time, people don’t want to just accept the lesser of two evils or settle for some reform. After decades of removing curriculum on civics from education, expanding ways in which legislators receive donations from billionaires (i.e. SuperPACs), and deliberately dividing people through curated algorithms, people are understanding that every aspect of our society has been intentionally crafted to dull us out of engagement. Anything and everything that is worth discussing has been put behind a wall of “too political to discuss”. So please, politicize me. Let’s talk.

The increased difficulty of having these conversations is intentional and we need to lean into it while we have the eyes and ears on us. Providing political education, hosting discussions over Mayday Convention, learning to work with representatives, and overall engaging in civics as socialists are the ways we offer ourselves as a solution to the working class. As we approach convention, both locally and nationally this year, I want to encourage open conversations and flexible minds as we navigate various approaches to a politicized Salt Lake DSA. 

 

References

Camejo, Peter. 1970. “Liberalism, Ultraleftism or Mass Action.” https://www.marxists.org/archive/camejo/1970/ultraleftismormassaction.htm (March 23, 2025).

“Electoral College | Civics 101 | PBS LearningMedia.” https://utah.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/electoral-college-civics-101/electoral-college-civics-101/ (March 23, 2025).

Graham Wallas. 1926. The Art of Thought. http://archive.org/details/theartofthought (March 25, 2025).

Green, Nato. “What Do Politics Have to Do with Me?”

“Leninism vs. Marxism – What’s the Difference?” This vs. That. https://thisvsthat.io/leninism-vs-marxism (March 23, 2025).

Nadeem, Reem. 2022. “As Partisan Hostility Grows, Signs of Frustration With the Two-Party System.” Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2022/08/09/as-partisan-hostility-grows-signs-of-frustration-with-the-two-party-system/ (March 25, 2025).

Npec, Dsa. 2023. “What Is Socialism?” DSA Political Education. https://dsa-education.pubpub.org/pub/what-is-socialism/release/6 (March 25, 2025).

“Ocasio-Cortez Tops Democrats’ Poll on Reflecting Party Values.” https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5198380-ocasio-cortez-leads-democrats/ (March 23, 2025).

“Platform – Seattle Democratic Socialists of America.” https://seattledsa.org/platform/ (March 25, 2025).

Reform & Revolution. 2025. “Reform & Revolution.” https://reformandrevolution.org/ (March 25, 2025).

“Sarah NPC Platform.” Google Docs. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MV9yskPsKXo7XDSzUfwdNFwlnz2l7pReCKam4Cr0Qe0/edit?tab=t.0&usp=embed_facebook (March 23, 2025).

“Super PAC – Ballotpedia.” https://ballotpedia.org/Super_PAC (March 25, 2025).

The post Politicize Me! The need to prioritize a politicized Salt Lake DSA first appeared on Salt Lake DSA.

Thorn West: Issue No. 229

State Politics

• The California State Senate has restricted press access to legislators, while in both chambers of the legislature, a large number of bills under consideration are designed to shield information from the public.

• Former Los Angeles area Congressman, Xavier Becerra, who also served as President Biden’s Health and Human Services Secretary, has joined the pool of high-profile Democratic candidates vying to be Governor Newsom’s successor in 2026.

City Politics

• Following a Los Angeles Times California Pubilc Records Request, the Mayor’s office asserted that it was not obligated to release texts sent by Mayor Karen Bass during the immediate response to the wildfires. Now, the Times is suing the city.

• Mayor Bass and a contingent of councilmembers traveled to Sacramento to request help from the state in making up what is projected to be a billion dollar budget shortfall. The city council is also proposing the creation of a citizen’s budget advisory group.

• The city council voted to expand the Fair Work Week ordinance to include fast food workers. The ordinance entitles workers to receive their work schedules 14 days in advance, in addition to other protections, and originally only applied to retail workers.

NOlympics

• An angry tirade delivered by Councilmember Tim McCosker during a council session has drawn attention to the “backroom deals” that have diverted many of the 2028 Olympics venues out of the city.

Transportation

• Earlier in the month, lawyers for Metro, the transit authority that oversees public transit across LA County, argued that Metro projects within city limits do not have to comply with Measure HLA, a citywide safe streets ballot measure. This week, Metro unveiled a redesign of Vermont Avenue that adds dedicated bus lanes, but does not include bike lanes, which would not be HLA-compliant.

• Metro is currently considering several proposals for a public transit alternative to the 405 freeway. Transit activists are advocating for underground heavy rail. This week, community meetings about the project were abruptly cancelled. A subsequent update from Metro asserts that they will be rescheduled.

Housing Rights

• The LA County Board of Supervisors has voted 4–0 to strip over $300 million from the budget of the Los Angeles Homelessness Authority (LAHSA), which administers homelessness services for both the city and county. The county will instead administer the funds through a new County-only agency. Mayor Bass and several councilmembers, including recently elected DSA-LA councilwoman Ysabel Jurado, opposed the move. LA Public Press spoke with several unhoused people about their experiences and frustrations with LAHSA. Today, the CEO of LAHSA resigned, citing the county’s decision as the motivating factor.

Environmental Justice

• CalFire has released a new draft of the fire hazard zone map for Southern California. The new map unsurprisingly expands the area in Los Angeles County zoned as hazardous.

• Dwell interviews Dr. Lucy Jones—who for years advised the city about earthquake preparedness—about climate change resiliency in Los Angeles, including what steps can be taken locally, without the support of the federal government.

The post County BOS Divests From LAHSA + Metro Refuses to Comply With Measure HLA Guidelines appeared first on The Thorn West.

The Trump administration is carrying out a historic power grab. The Republicans are trying to cut taxes for billionaires, gut public services and environmental regulations, destroy unions, and intimidate workers. To distract and divide the working class, the Trump Administration is ramping up deportations of immigrants and attacking LGBTQ+ folks, abortion rights, and racial justice […]

Ronan Farrow’s March 24, 2025, New Yorker article on the case of Sean Williams, one of America’s most prolific sexual predators, exposes more than just individual evil—it reveals systemic rot. For years, Williams drugged, raped, and recorded assaults on dozens of women and children in Johnson City, Tennessee, while local police ignored, dismissed, or even enabled his crimes, according to Farrow’s reporting. Federal prosecutor Kat Dahl’s efforts to hold him accountable were met with obstruction, retaliation, and eventual firing.

Police as Enablers, Not Protectors

From the beginning, the Johnson City Police Department (JCPD) appears to have treated Williams with alarming deference. When Mikayla Evans fell five stories from his apartment—an incident suggesting foul play—officers delayed securing evidence, allowed Williams to tamper with security footage, and left his apartment unsupervised, according to the New Yorker article. Later, when Dahl pushed to investigate rape allegations, detectives are alleged to have shrugged off victims, mocked her concerns, and slow-walked warrants. Their indifference wasn’t accidental; it was systemic.

Williams himself claimed he bribed officers through an ex-girlfriend, Alunda Rutherford, alleging payoffs to avoid scrutiny. While these claims are contested, the JCPD’s behavior fits a pattern: according to the audit by the Daigle Law Group, between 2018-2022 officers failed to even interview suspects in 69 out of 105 rape cases with identified perpetrators, routinely closed sexual assault investigations prematurely, and ultimately paid a $28 million settlement to survivors—a tacit admission of systemic failure.

Class, Power, and Impunity

Business owners like Sean Williams get treated as a special class of people that are better than the rest of us. He wasn’t just some lone criminal—he was a wealthy businessman embedded in local power structures. His depredations were open secrets, his drug trafficking an unspoken perk for those who turned a blind eye. Even while evading arrest, he moved freely, exchanging texts with one prominent real estate agent, according to court records, and selling at least three properties in Johnson City. This is how class operates under capitalism: connections and capital buy impunity, while working-class victims—especially women—are disbelieved, shamed, or ignored.

The police’s contempt for survivors reflects broader societal problems. Victims like Briana Pack and Kaleigh Murray were dismissed as unreliable—too drunk, too traumatized, or too “uncooperative.” When Dahl warned that Williams might be targeting children, Chief Karl Turner brushed her off. Compare this to how police treat petty theft or drug use among the poor: relentless pursuit, brutal enforcement, and prison time. The system punishes regular people while shielding predators who operate with money and influence.

The Failures of “Justice” Under Capitalism

The JCPD’s internal report admitted systemic failures—interrogating victims like they were suspects, closing rape cases without investigation—but no high-ranking officials faced consequences. Instead, the city has agreed to pay $28 million in an attempt to bury accountability under legal settlements.

This isn’t unique to Johnson City. Across the U.S., police departments resist oversight, budgets balloon while social services starve, and survivors of sexual violence are gaslit by the very systems allegedly intended to protect them. The Williams case is extreme but not exceptional—it’s the logical endpoint of a capitalist system where justice is commodified and power and wealth flow to those who already have the most power and wealth.

Johnson City Needs a People’s Budget, Not a Bigger Police Budget

According to the Tennessee Lookout, City Manager Cathy Ball “has had the power to initiate an internal affairs investigation for the past two years that could scrutinize the actions and conduct of those implicated in the Williams case, including herself.”

Instead, Ball ordered any internal investigation be put on hold until the resolution of the class action lawsuit, court records show. That lawsuit is settled. What now?

Change won’t come from polite requests. It will take organized tenants, workers, and survivors showing up at town halls, budget meetings, and elections to demand justice.

For a start, we are calling for community-based Town Halls to discuss this issue, as well as future issues, where the Johnson City Commission can listen to us without the strict limits that city commission meetings place on our time and our experiences, where only twelve people can speak for a total of three minutes each. We need to have a say in what happens next.

But transparency and dialogue are not enough. There is also the question of money. At the time Dahl filed her federal civil complaint in June 2022, the city budget granted police $15,526,561 of the General Fund. The current city budget, drafted by Ball’s office last year and approved by our current mayor and three of our sitting commissioners, increased that figure to $19,370,928. That’s a raise of nearly four million dollars for a police department whose malpractice is set to cost us tens of millions more, to say nothing of the harm it facilitated.

The choice before Johnson City is about priorities.

We demand the Johnson City Commission freeze the police budget and invest funds where they belong: in public trauma care for survivors, affordable housing to stabilize families, and mental health responders and mediation teams that replace police where appropriate. These aren’t radical ideas—they’re what happens when we put victims before wealthy business owners.

Change won’t come from polite requests. It will take organized tenants, workers, and survivors showing up at town halls, budget meetings, and elections to demand justice. The money exists. The power exists. The people must come together and demand it.

When fascism ascends, the conventional opposition often proves surprisingly ineffective, even complicit. This paradox becomes comprehensible when we understand not just political theater but the underlying material interests at play.

The established opposition shares more with its supposed adversaries than with the working people it claims to represent. Both mainstream parties ultimately serve as different management teams for the same economic system. While they disagree on methods and rhetoric, they agree on fundamentals: the primacy of profits over people and the necessity of maintaining existing class relations.

This explains why resistance proves tepid. Meaningful opposition to fascism requires challenging concentrated power—both political and economic. Yet the liberal donor class, its leadership’s personal wealth, and its institutional inertia all align against such confrontation. They fear genuinely popular movements more than they fear their ostensible rivals.

Historical evidence confirms this pattern. In Weimar Germany, the right-liberal German People’s Party and left-liberal German Democratic Party supported various authoritarian consolidations in the name of anti-Communism. The former backed the declaration of martial law in Prussia that helped clear the way for Hitler’s rise, and the latter’s deputies even backed the Enabling Act that granted Hitler dictatorial powers in 1933.

In Italy, liberal parties sought accommodation with Mussolini rather than alliance with labor movements. In Chile, centrists undermined Allende before embracing Pinochet. In each case, property proved more sacred than people.

The theatrics of political conflict mask this deeper unity. Congressional hearings produce sound bytes but rarely consequences. Speeches condemn excesses while budgets fund them–witness Biden’s expansion of prison facilities. Legal challenges drag through courts staffed by identical interests. Electoral campaigns promise transformation but deliver continuity.

Meanwhile, those proposing systemic change—democratizing the economy, redistributing power, prioritizing human needs over profit—are branded dangerous extremists. This framing serves a dual purpose: it distances the opposition from more forceful alternatives while positioning them as the reasonable middle ground in a fabricated spectrum.

The left is particularly threatening because it names the root causes that mainstream discourse obscures. It connects political authoritarianism to economic dominance. It reveals how “normal politics” laid the groundwork for fascist acceleration. It demonstrates that defending democracy requires extending it into workplaces, communities, and economic planning.

The liberal opposition’s vulnerability stems from its contradictions. It cannot mobilize popular energy without raising expectations it has no intention of fulfilling. It cannot articulate a compelling alternative while committed to the system generating the crisis. It cannot build effective solidarity while serving interests fundamentally opposed to collective power.

Most crucially, it cannot win by seeking the approval of institutions already compromised. Courts packed with ideologues, media owned by billionaires, electoral systems designed to diffuse popular will—these will not save us. Yet the opposition remains institutionally incapable of moving beyond these channels.
In this light, the demonization of the left serves a critical function. By positioning leftists as equally extreme as fascists, the opposition justifies its own inadequate middle path while delegitimizing the very forces most committed to substantive resistance.

The lesson is clear: we cannot outsource our defense to those who benefit from the same system as our opponents. True opposition must come from below—from organized communities unbound by the constraints of electoral calculation or donor appeasement.

The path forward demands independent organization, material solidarity, and the courage to envision a world beyond the false choices offered by those who would rather manage our descent than risk the emergence of genuine democracy.