. Last tended to <ahref='https://code.incremental.social/thepaperpilot/pages/commit/a894efb9b6b192f7fe057be5879f0687bda6cde7'title='Wed Nov 13 07:23:17 2024 -0600'><timeclass='dt-updated'datetime='Wed Nov 13 07:23:17 2024 -0600'>2024-11-13</time></a>
.</span></p><hr><p>If you take one message from this letter, let it be this: <strong>Organize!</strong> Seek out a local mutual aid group via <ahref="https://www.mutualaidhub.org/"target="_blank"rel="noreferrer">Mutual Aid Hub</a> or join a progressive political organization like the <ahref="https://www.dsausa.org/"target="_blank"rel="noreferrer">DSA</a>. Whether you're providing aid, receiving it, or working alongside fellow progressives, solidarity is our strongest tool.</p><p>The following is both a call to action and a guide for building a socialist movement that will not only resist but overcome the regressive forces steering our nation.</p><h2id="the-democrat-party-has-betrayed-you"tabindex="-1">The Democrat Party has Betrayed You <aclass="header-anchor"href="#the-democrat-party-has-betrayed-you"aria-label="Permalink to "The Democrat Party has Betrayed You""></a></h2><blockquote><p>The US is also a one party state but with typical American extravagance, they have two of them.<br> -Julius Nyerere</p></blockquote><p>Trump's victory isn't simply a failure of the American electorate—it highlights the absence of a true progressive candidate. The Democrat Party, despite its claims, hasn't delivered on key progressive issues. From the <ahref="https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/civil-rights-act/civil-rights-era.html"target="_blank"rel="noreferrer">civil rights movement</a> to <ahref="https://www.loc.gov/collections/women-of-protest/articles-and-essays/tactics-and-techniques-of-the-national-womans-party-suffrage-campaign/"target="_blank"rel="noreferrer">women's suffrage</a> to <ahref="https://guides.loc.gov/lgbtq-studies/stonewall-era"target="_blank"rel="noreferrer">gay rights</a>, change has always come from grassroots struggle, not the political elites. The Democrat party's consistent move rightward has betrayed working-class interests, serving capitalist agendas instead.</p><p>While the Biden administration touts economic recovery, <ahref="https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/06/politics/the-us-economy-is-doing-well-president-biden-wants-to-know-why-so-many-americans-are-still-feeling-bad/index.html"target="_blank"rel="noreferrer">public sentiment doesn't match</a>. Wage stagnation, unaffordable housing, and unaddressed inflation expose the gap between their rhetoric and the lived experiences of most Americans. Despite popular support and a government trifecta, his administration failed to raise the national minimum wage or fix it to inflation. They've failed to institute or expand price controls on food or rent. They passed the inflation reduction act of 2022, but it was not enough.</p><p>Harris' platform was not even <em>socially</em> progressive, as evidenced by their <ahref="https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/kamala-harris-trans-rights-platform/"target="_blank"rel="noreferrer">non-action on trans rights</a>. Harris dodging a question a month before the election about protecting trans rights by saying "<ahref="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/election-fact-check-transgender-issues-trump-harris/story?id=115349047"target="_blank"rel="noreferrer">follow the law</a>", despite the law currently being transphobic and actively getting worse in many states. She then took a transmedicalist stance on trans rights, saying she only supported gender-affirming care when a doctor deemed it "medically necessary".</p><p>Harris campaigned on unity, which to her meant courting Republican figures, most notably Dick Cheney and his daughter <ahref="https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/harris-campaign-liz-cheney-election-b2644062.html"target="_blank"rel="noreferrer">Liz Cheney</a>. This underscores the Democrats' strategy: appeal to the right, even at the expense of progressive values. This is why "pushing the party left" is a pipe dream - the DNC would rather lose elections than adopt a truly progressive platform. The most clear example of such resistance to progressivism is when they ensured Bernie Sande