The Women's March Aftermath: Political Will Reemerges

Women's March, DC, Saturday, January 21, 2017

Can marches make a difference?  They can just ignore us and continue on, right?  Is it pointless?

The answer is a resounding THEY MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE.

The Women’s Marches of January 21 is a perfect example of how such demonstrations can spark political engagement. The March’s organizers are really on top of their game.  They have created follow up actions-one every 10 days over the next 100 days. 

The first is seemingly small.  Many might dismiss the action as too small to bother.  It is to meet up and talk about the march and write printed post cards to our legislators.  Surely, in the face of all of the other actions out there, like the Daily Action, this is just another action. 

BUT IT ISN’T.

My best friend said, “Hey, the first action is to meetup and write postcards.”  Then she listed the five or six people we knew that had either been at the march or supported it and said, “let’s text them and see if they want to do it.”  Before ten minutes had gone by, she’d texted or emailed six women with an invitation for coffee after work and a quick post card writing.   Within a half hour, all had RSVP’d “yes,” with several more to join.  The group practically formed itself.  By the time we met, we had eleven.

It was made up of roughly 1/3 Bernie supporters, 1/3 women who have not been particularly politically vocal and 1/3 people who likely supported Clinton. Out of the group, perhaps only 1 or 2 have written legislators before. Not everyone there actually marched.  Our ages range from the twenties to the sixties, we have a wide array of focuses, and we have varied life experiences. We represent a broad spectrum. We met at a restaurant; one stranger came up to thank us for our work. He left with cards in hand to write. Another man that we know came up and became part of the group.  It looks like our number will grow.

These are folks that are ratcheting up action level beyond previous actions. Grouping together across political divides. Angry, concerned, frustrated and worried but looking to become very practical.  We all seem willing to learn.

This is unprecedented among this group; it represents a new level of political engagement. I imagine that our group is not alone.  People are becoming politically active—from the left to the center…and maybe even center right—in new and exciting ways.

The question is not whether this is what needs to happen. It is. The question is, did we wait so long to get to this point that we may not be able to preserve democratic process?  Will we act in time to save the institutions that have girded us through tumultuous times before?

Here's the thing. Over the past few decades, the US became an oligarchy. People were abdicating their right and duty to vote and stay informed.  Apathy allowed corporations to govern.  And, now, that's mutated into something even more sinister. 

But up until recently, we had at least kept most of the democratic PROCESS. Then, last spring, that was thrown into chaos with the GOP’s refusal to advise and consent on Merrick Garland.  Obama’s nominee for Supreme Court Justice languished as the Congress refused to respect the authority of the presidency.

Here we were, an oligarchy that had lost even the procedures that could bring us back to democracy if we tried.  We had neither democratic political will nor democratic process.  A situation that allowed for an autocratic corrupt narcissist to take over.

But we find ourselves right now at an interesting moment.  A crucial moment. 

We have lost much of our needed democratic process.  On the other hand, democratic power is showing signs of reestablishing itself. These marches are awakening people’s political will.  Not just the left, like the Occupy marches. A broad coalition that includes people like those in my coffee group who could potentially unify behind someone like an Obama, a Bloomberg or a Cuomo.  What would be different in following these kinds of people now as compared to before?  The polity would have the newly developed skills to engage in government that they are mastering now.  Skills to reestablish and preserve democratic power rather than oligarchic power.  Decisions made in the interests of people, not corporations.

If this continues, we will have an engaged polity representing BROAD political interests.  We can potentially see coalitions that don't cater to the values of one segment of the polity, like the far left or far right, but represent the pragmatic compromises we MUST have to represent all peoples in a true democracy.  If we act quickly, we may be able to use that political will to reestablish the not yet forgotten democratic process.

We need government to be representative. That could happen if we put together these two pieces--the true political will of the people and established political process.  Right here, right now, we may have our chance.

Climate is a feminist issue. Women's rights are a climate issue.

We managed a photo at the big Earth.

The Women's March.

The Great Women's March of January 21, 2017.

There was a lot to digest from yesterday.  Of course, this was a woman's march.  There were many, many people letting the world know that we would not tolerate a world that normalizes sexual assault, that demeans women by equating us with pussies, that disempowers us by taking away reproductive rights.  There were many that were letting the world know that LGBTQ rights were not going away without a fight.  There were breast cancer survivors walking shirtless to demonstrate that mastectomies are not all pink ribbons.  Left wing identity politics, as they say, were on full display AS THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN.  November 9 was a day we woke to find that we must continue to demand our rights are respected.  They are imperiled and it comes down to us to demand our rightful place in this world.

Environmentalsim=Patriotism

Not all was so-called left identity politics, though.  There were people reminding us all of the Russian problems and that Trump is compromised.  There were Christians simply letting the world know that they wanted a world that loved their neighbor.  People demanding educational opportunities, healthcare, and more.  Most notably to me, I saw people picking up the mantle of patriot, wearing the flag, carrying signs that called themselves patriots.  I was particularly excited when I saw someone that equated environmentalism with patriotism, given  my own push to reclaim the word patriot for those that act to protect our natural resources and strengthen our nation through cutting carbon emissions.

But there is another thing that became apparent yesterday on which I want to focus.  Outside of the focused climate movement, perhaps for one of the first times, in the greater, broad coalition of people that might attend a march, emerged a clear and resounding demand for action on climate.  It turns out people are beginning to fully recognize climate change is a central issue.  Look at just a small sampling of the signs:

You can't merge women's rights and climate better than this!

Scientists and Science Show Up
At the March

Look carefully! Three unrelated
climate signs caught in one moment.

Turns out people can
care about science and
human beings all at once.  ;)

There is nothing more feminist than
recognizing women are scientists and
need funding.

We managed to pop into this one :)

It is a beautiful thing to see science, science funding and scientists represented at a woman's march.  More, it is a powerful thing to see that demands for climate science and action are now merging with demands for democracy, for equality, for empowerment of all of our citizens.

And well it should be.  Women have demonstrated time and again that when we are empowered, we make good decisions for our families and our homes.  Scientists have demonstrated time and again that we need to make good decisions to cut emissions in order to build a clean energy economy, to preserve a strong nation, to preserve the natural resources necessary to a strong economy and a livable world in which our children can thrive.

At the end of the day, perhaps this was a march for human beings, where it was recognized that women are human beings.  That is profound, as profound as Clinton's famous words to the same effect.  More, it is essential that we are beginning to recognize that empowered human beings protect healthy climates and that healthy climates protect us all.

Post Script:

One of the first blog notes I ever wrote was an entreaty to feminists to recognize that climate change was a feminist issue.  Climate change impacts the disempowered first and most fiercely.  Too, I entreated the climate activists to recognize that feminism was a climate issue.  Empowering women meant empowering those that make many of the decisions that impact climate, including reproduction and consumption.

I wondered then if it was the Kochs, as common enemy, that would unite these two forces.  It appears to have been the case.

Who Really Won the 2016 Election

There is a difference between winning an election campaign “fair and square” and carrying the legitimate democratic power that comes with representing the interests of the people.

Hillary Clinton lost the election.  There seems to be no evidence to contradict this, just conjecture and wishful thinking.  Donald Trump won the election.  It seems that the use of psychological profiling developed from Facebook “likes” and “loves” was used to great effect.  Steve Bannon and Cambridge Analytica very efficiently targeted individuals in swing states that fit the profile of someone that voted for Obama but could be swayed to vote for Trump.  They tailored messages to those individuals and with a small amount of money and very little organizing, managed 80,000 votes in key places that swung the election.

We should understand these tactics.  We should understand why the Clinton campaign dismissed this type of strategy.  And we should be sure to win at this game next time.

However, we must be very careful not to confuse strategic and tactical failures with failures of message.  At the end of the day, nearly 3 million more voters voted for Hillary Clinton.  At the end of the day, voters clearly decided that Clinton’s message and the Democrats’ progressive party platform represent their interests.

When we add the stunning fact that Vladimir Putin was also essentially campaigning for Trump, and that the propaganda war waged persuaded voters to vote based on Putin’s interests, we cannot conclude from this election that the Democratic agenda is the weak link in getting elected, but rather tactics and strategy. This election was turned on interests that are not held by the majority of people that voted.  There is no democratic legitimacy to Trump’s power.

What, precisely does Trump’s power spring from?  We can make the case that it stems from bigotry, sexism, homophobia, fear of other religions and ethnicities.  That is valid.  However, we would be wise to look at who will be gaining from this election most.  A clear answer to that can be seen in his appointments.

Secretary of State?  A man who has done nothing but work for oil his entire career, who directed disinformation campaign to discredit science, who has been thwarted from oil profits by sanctions against Russia, Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson.

But that is just the start:

"Trump has also put forward a host of other appointees who are overt climate denialists and generally also have financial ties to industries threatened by the Carbon Bubble. These include Rick Perry, Trump’s choice for Secretary of Energy and a close ally of Big Oil; Scott Pruitt (EPA Administrator — a virulent climate denialist); Nikki Haley (U.N. Ambassador, also known for suppressing climate science as Governor); Steve Bannon (Chief Strategist, and just generally gross); Ryan Zinke (Secretary of Interior — who strongly supports more oil and gas exploration on public lands): Jeff Sessions (Attorney General and climate regulation opponent); Elaine Chao (Secretary of Transportation, who will be tasked with getting a huge fossil fuel infrastructure plan through Congress, working with her husband, Mitch McConnell); James Mattis (Secretary of Defense, who is not a denialist but does have oil industry ties); Michael Flynn (National Security Advisor — and former oil industry lobbyist); Larry Kudlow (Council of Economic Advisors — a climate denialist and frequent defender of the Koch brothers); Wilbur Ross (Commerce Secretary — holds ‘hundreds of millions of dollars’ in oil and gas investments); even Betsy DeVos (Education Secretary) is sister to Blackwater founder Erik Prince, who is investing heavily in African oil and gas fields, ‘places where he thinks his expertise in providing logistics and security can give him a competitive edge.’” (emphasis added) https://medium.com/@AlexSteffen/trump-putin-and-the-pipelines-to-nowhere-742d745ce8fd#.azsbl1vpn

And then there is Putin, authoritarian and aggressive leader of a country highly dependent on oil and gas.

These people have everything to gain by persuading us that we need coal, oil and gas.  They have everything to gain by persuading us that electric cars aren’t actually the totally cool innovation that they are, with awesome torque, minimal maintenance and zero stops at the gas station.  These people have everything to gain from creating a false perception that wind and solar aren’t going to create energy independence.  These people have everything to gain by stopping our innovators and engineers from developing the infrastructure for storage and transmission that would make us a clean energy superpower, competitive against China who now stands to profit hugely from our failure.  These people have everything to gain by convincing coal miners that their only hope for their families is to continue to go into dark caverns and develop black lung instead of working in the sunshine installing solar panels or maintaining wind turbines.  These people have everything to gain by convincing us that wind turbines and solar panels are ugly in our backyards, while gas plants in our backyards are the price we must pay for energy.  These are the people that will con us into buying their oil, coal and gas for as long as we let them.

It is time to recognize that ENERGY is at the crux of our politics.  It is time to get angry at the fossil fuel barons.

As we organize to resist Trump, let us be perfectly clear that our biggest enemy is the fossil fuels that put him in office.