No thrones. No crowns. No kings. That is the hope of this movement. This is the thing Americans across the country are fighting for today. But how do we achieve this? I firmly believe the answer lies in class solidarity.
Now, as we try to build a cross-party movement, I’ve been cautioned against discussing identity politics by people hoping to find a place they could fit in. In fact, I’ve been encouraged to aim for a center-right message.
Chapters
- What is center-right?
- The problem with identity politics
- Why we can’t just “Vote Blue” this away
- Straight white men against Trump
- Empathy is how we win
What is center-right?
To be clear, Trump is not center-right. Trump is a far-right extremist. No, the center-right is a far cry from Trump and the modern Republican Party. We actually have the center-right to thank for many things that have improved our lives immeasurably.
Dwight D. Eisenhower created the Interstate Highway System, expanded Social Security, and increased the minimum wage. He increased education funding for science, math, and languages. He passed the Civil Rights Act of 1957 and established the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. He advocated for low-income housing and defended New Deal programs.
Richard Nixon gave us the EPA, Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, and Endangered Species Act – which have protected our health and environment for decades. He gave us OSHA to protect workers on the job. He gave us Title IX and expanded school desegregation. He even gave us the Family Assistance Plan, which was widely praised as the most radical idea since the New Deal.
Ronald Reagan crafted a long-term fix to protect Social Security – allowing all of us today to continue enjoying Social Security benefits. He also legalized roughly 3 million undocumented immigrants.
George H.W. Bush passed the Americans with Disabilities Act – which prohibited disability-based discrimination in employment, public services, and transportation. Bush also worked to keep immigrant families together in America through the Family Fairness Program.
But the center-right is not limited to Republicans. Truthfully, Democrats, especially today’s Democratic party, are strikingly similar to the Republican Party of yesteryear. And some of you may scoff at the idea. But it’s true. Democrats only look “Left of Center” to those of us in the U.S. because of their relative place on the political spectrum in contrast to modern Republicans.
Bill Clinton restricted welfare.
Barack Obama extended Bush-era tax cuts, expanded ICE, deported more immigrants than any other president before or since (and didn’t need soldiers on the streets to do it), bombed American citizens abroad with drones, and signed the USA Freedom Act – which allowed the NSA to continue mass surveillance of Americans.
Joe Biden also expanded ICE – and laid the groundwork for immigration jail expansion – despite seeing what Trump did with immigrants in his first term.
Even people on the Democratic fringes, like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Osacio-Cortez, exist barely left of center. All their major policy proposals are built on private industry and infrastructure. Even Sanders’ “Medicare For All” program hinges on the private healthcare sector – rather than calling for the nationalization of the industry (which would be a true Leftist policy).
The problem with identity politics, and why we must reject it
Now, I want to make one thing clear: I don’t believe both political parties are the same – especially in the Trump Era. But they are both problematic. And, prior to the Trump Era, they have both been more or less Center-Right since Reagan. But they have been very crafty at catering to specific groups – and putting them into opposition with each other. And I believe this, more than anything, has led to the perception that they are wildly different.
By focusing on things like gay marriage, trans rights, gun rights, immigration, racism, religion, abortion, and so on, both sides have actually had to disrupt the underlying status quo very little – while looking like they were achieving a lot. Both parties have managed to highlight lots of success with their bases, even as we face the same problems we faced 50 years ago – healthcare, housing, taxes, jobs – without much improvement or worsening conditions.
And, to be clear, it is monumental that we have achieved milestones like the Civil rights Acts, and gay marriage. I do not want to belittle those. But I can’t help but wonder what might have been achieved, and how Trump could have been avoided, if people on the Right and Left were united in their belief that ALL people are equal and ALL people deserve life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Even as we argue over specific policies or directions to take in solving America’s problems, what common ground might we find if we believed everyone here, everyone around us, are equal participants in that work? How might that unity have impacted Trump’s ability to gain power and status? Because there is no doubt that the pervasiveness and escalation of identity politics has played firmly into Trump’s hand.
A hand that has forced us all into a desperate fight for freedom.
I said earlier that class solidarity is key to winning that fight. But how can we hope to win that fight, if half of us don’t believe the other half are equal players on our team?
We must reject identity politics and come together as one. And that means we must believe we are all equal participants in the fight for our country. Which means we must stand up for the rights of the “least” of us – and treat everyone with dignity and respect.
We must see the Christian mom, gay boy, gun-toting dad, nonbinary person all as equal to each other. This is how we reject identity politics and build a movement that can truly crash through the power Trump is quickly consolidating.
We can’t just “Vote Blue” this problem away
Now, I would like to point out that, at this point, I have inserted absolutely NO opinions or ideologies beyond the belief that we should be united in caring for one another. And united in treating each other with dignity and respect.
I have not said you should vote Republican. I have not said you should vote Democrat. I have not provided policy proposals for housing, healthcare, immigration, or the like. And honestly, I’m not going to. We can debate these things once the imperative work is done.
The biggest and most overarching thing that we must do at this time is remove Trump and all his followers from office – without them being replaced by new cronies or worse substitutions. And we 100% need Republicans for this. That’s a fact. Republicans helped make this mess and it will require their help in cleaning it up.
This can’t end just by voting blue. It simply won’t work. Republicans are still going to win races in the future. So as long as Republicans have fascists in the party, the threat remains – even if they’re not the majority in Congress, the presidency, or the courts.
No, we cannot simply “Vote Blue” this away. The Republican Party must be cleaned up from the inside out. We need moderates running in every Republican primary and caucus. We need moderates voting for these candidates and replacing the current crop of Republicans. And, honestly, the Democratic Party could use some house cleaning as well.
This is the only way we completely eliminate the threat forever – or at least for this generation. And it absolutely requires the involvement of everyday moderate Republicans who are engaged in their political races – and believe Trump to be a serious threat.
Why would straight white guys fight against Trump?
All of this, of course raises, the question: Why would a straight white guy fight against Trump? Well, as your resident straight white guy here, I am happy to answer that question!
- I am a strong believer in the Constitution. We should all value that due process applies to everyone – regardless of criminal record or citizenship status. We should all value freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and all the other rights afforded us in the Bill of Rights. We should all value the checks and balances of our government, and the role each branch plays in the protection of our rights and the operation of our country. Yet, Trump has ignored court orders, denied due process to people detained by ICE and other agencies, threatened governors, lawmakers, and political opponents, stymied journalists, attacked the press, rolled back civil rights, and many more abuses of power in direct confrontation of our Constitution and government checks and balances. The concern has gotten so great that we have veterans literally urging active members of the military not to follow illegal orders.
- I believe in what this country was founded upon. Whatever flaws the Founding Fathers had and whatever history we weren’t taught in school, the truth remains that this country was founded in stark opposition to the idea of monarchies and kings. Yet, Trump insists on being treated like a King – filling his agencies with yes men, insisting that the military bow before him, consolidating power, making judicious use of executive orders, and treating both Congress and the Judicial Branch as if they barely exist.
- I believe taxes should be spent on hard-working Americans. I won’t tell you how I think those tax dollars should be spent, lest I accidentally express my actual political views! Nonetheless, I think most Americans would agree that taxes should be spent on America! Yet, Trump insists on building extravagant parades that honor him alone. Not only is it a disturbing precedent for a sitting president to insist on a parade focused on themselves, but it’s an obscene waste of taxpayer dollars.
- I believe America’s greatness derives from innovation and collaboration – both internally and externally. We have been able to leverage our infrastructure, education, science, technology, arts, diversity, and allies to become an economic and military global superpower – as well as a beacon of prosperity and freedom. Yet, Trump is destroying many of the things that have kept us on top of the world with his tariffs, trade deals, funding cuts, attacks on Americans, and general behavior toward our allies.
- In short, Trump is an existential threat to our country. He is tearing through our Constitution and government checks and balances. His actions have damaged our global standing and ability to compete with others – which has been key in remaining economically and militarily superior. His ego is draining the country’s coffers and heading us toward monarchy. He is a threat to every CEO, pastor, teacher, artist, farmer, factory worker, banker, manager, legislator, judge, and human being in America and beyond.
He must be stopped.
Listen to others and empathize with them
At this point, I would like to once again note that I have made no platform positions here. I’ve not advocated for voting red or blue. I’ve not advocated increasing or decreasing taxes. I’ve not advocated for or against guns. I’ve not suggested solutions for housing, healthcare, or immigration.
The only thing I’ve said is that we should treat each other equally, take care of our own houses, uphold the Constitution, and reject fascism.
Again, we cannot do this alone. We must come together. We must care for each other. We must empathize with each other. We must clean up our own political parties. We must reject identity politics and stick up for the rights of the “least” of us to ensure the rights of all of us.
Is that leftist? Is it left-of-center? Is it center-right? I would argue that it should supersede the political spectrum altogether. This shouldn’t be radical. It shouldn’t be political. And I certainly reject the idea that we shouldn’t talk about it – especially when it’s the most fundamental component to success.
We cannot defeat Trump and we cannot defeat fascism when 50% of our fighting force won’t treat the other 50% with dignity and respect – when tension, distrust, and hate exists between them. But when we’re all giving 100% together? That is absolutely how we defeat Trump.
So, I truly hope you will go out of your way to listen to the stories of those different from yourself and empathize with them as human beings, even if you ultimately disagree with some of their politics. Because if we can engage with each other as equal partners in making America great, we can solve all the other problems that flow from it.