No 'No Kings,' Hampering Zohran Mamdani, & The Fallacy of Perfection
The left has a great opportunity. Let's stop saying 'No' and take 'Yes' for an answer.
On Saturday, I attended Denver’s No Kings rally, one of several hundred across the country. I spent the afternoon tabling for the Democratic Socialists of America, where I passed out literature and recruited people to join, or at least check out, our organization. At a time when politics is overwhelmingly depressing (source: look around), it was the most rejuvenating and rewarding political activity I’ve done in a while. It’s always great to catch up with my fellow DSA-ers, but talking to attendees was the most enriching. Passerbys were very interested in learning more about DSA, and I had some great conversations with curious community members who asked questions about socialism, Zohran Mamdani, Palestine, and other political topics I’m known to geek out on. Not only did we get dozens of people interested in coming to a meeting, but we made connections with like-minded Denver-area groups, such as a queer Christian community and a traveling Teamsters organizer. Inter-organization relationships don’t just uplift DSA. They strengthen communities by building networks that can be called upon to support striking workers, raise funds for impoverished families, or resist fascist invasions from ICE or the American military.
Leaving No Kings, I couldn’t help but feel that America wants a more progressive, dare I say radical, form of politics than what they’ve been offered. Given that the events were organized by Democrat-aligned groups and widely promoted by the party’s centrist establishment, there was an impression that No Kings rallies would be celebrations of Hillary Clinton and Chuck Schumer rallies, only attended by upper-income liberals who despise Trump but favor neoliberal economic agendas and support Israel’s colonization of Palestine. Maybe that’s what the organizers planned. But that’s not what I experienced on Saturday. At least in Denver, No Kings was an anti-fascist protest. Not just in a “vote Democrat” way, but in a “punch an ICE thug” kind of way. There were more Palestinian flags than I’ve seen at any event since the anti-genocide protests of late 2023. “Abolish ICE” was once the rallying cry of the far-left. Now, it seems like it’s table stakes for the median Democratic voter. The rows of tents housed organizations promoting what were once extreme progressive causes: overturning Citizens v. United, campaigns for local prosecutors to prosecute killer cops, Spanish-language courses to help immigrants evade ICE, and an impressive replica of Israel’s apartheid wall created by the School of Mine’s Students for a Democratic Society. I didn’t hear every speaker, but the ones I did were closer to my politics than I had been led to believe. Multiple supported socialism, most encouraged unionization, and all of them stated what the crowd already knew: If we dislike Donald Trump, America cannot return to the economic system that created him, or the political philosophy that has been powerless to defeat him.
It was a great day to be a leftist! Despite America’s never-ending suppression of left-wing politics through physical violence, political purges, and media gatekeeping, there were so many Americans interested in hearing what we had to say. But it wasn’t as great as it could have been. While I consider the No Kings rally an unequivocal positive, the leftwing infighting surrounding the event (and to a lesser degree, the candidacy of Zohran Mamdani) left a sour taste in my mouth. As No Kings was loosely aligned with the Democratic Party, many prominent leftist groups, pundits, and politicians deemed it unworthy. Rather than take the opportunity to talk to politically active Americans and draw them towards our cause, these actors decided it was best to sit on the sidelines, condescend to the participants, and scold fellow leftists for daring to enter a space that didn’t already hold “pure” leftist values. According to them, attending an event in proximity to the Democratic Party was class collaboration, a betrayal of leftist values and the oppressed people we claim to stand for. There was no shortage of statements expressing this tendency, but I’ll spare you and only display this one from two-time former Green Party presidential candidate Dr. Jill Stein.
Condescension aside, this has to be the worst political strategy I’ve ever heard in my life. If you won’t attend an event because it doesn’t match your politics, you’re not interested in politics, only complaining. Politics is not a thought exercise. It is the act of turning ideas into reality. It can be grand and sweeping, such as electing a high-profile candidate, or it can be far from the spotlight. Joining a union is a political act, as is voting at a school board meeting. If you want to be political, you’re going to have to form coalitions, win influence, change minds, and build power so your beliefs and values can become reality. Not just by winning elections and passing laws (though that’s a crucial part), but by changing minds and shifting public sentiment. The very existence of this objective means we must interact with those who disagree with us. If there were a place where no one disagreed with us, then there would be no politics, because we’d already have won! That imagination is what Jill Stein and other ultra-leftists are asking for: once the public has come around to my position and adopted my worldview, then I’ll attend the rally. Once there’s a perfect politician unimpacted by the confines of reality, then I’ll support them. But until then, my acts will be limited to posting on Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg’s social media sites.
This is the direct opposite of how I view politics. I don’t spend a dozen hours every week writing this Substack because I want to inflate a bubble of self-centered leftists so we can all sit in a circle and tell each other how smart and correct we are, and how dumb and wrong our opponents are. That’s called groupthink. Centrist Democrats have spent the last thirty years talking to themselves and their donors, telling themselves how smart and correct they are and how dumb and wrong their critics are. And look where it’s gotten them. They’re at an all-time low in popularity and control none of the three branches of government. All they’ve done since losing to Donald Trump (for a second time) is yell louder in their echo chamber that they are right and everyone else is wrong. It’s only doing themselves a disservice. If even a fraction of the progressive sentiment I witnessed last weekend translates into upcoming primary elections, they’re in for a rude awakening.
If I haven’t made this clear to my readers already, I view this blog as an extension of my real-life organizing work, not the totality. My essays and social media posts are attempts to shape public perception towards my political positions. But I understand that once we log off and attempt to make those positions a reality, there will be endless hurdles, setbacks, challenges, and compromises necessary to move politics in that direction. And some things just are possible. When the rubber hits the road, we can’t compare the reality of politics with the perfect scenarios we create in our heads or post online. I’m omitting their name, but here’s one statement criticizing Zohran Mamdani that irked me from a prominent leftist activist.
If Zohran Mamdani was serious about the Not on Our Dime bill, Letitia James could just investigate the Zionist settler charities it targets. Instead, they’re on stage together, smiling for optics, while nothing meaningful changes for Palestine.
What this person is insinuating is that if the NYC mayoral candidate were committed to Palestinian liberation (the “Not on Our Dime” bill), he would pressure New York Attorney General Letitia James to strip public funding from Zionist organizations, thereby ending the colonization of the West Bank. This is an impossible standard. James has appeared at Mamdani’s campaign rallies, but he holds no power over her — he’s a New York State assemblyman!1 Even if he were elected mayor, he still wouldn’t be able to tell the state attorney general what to do! This person is comparing a realistic pro-Palestinian local campaign to an imaginary, “perfect” one. When reality fails to compare to perfection — as it always will — rather than recognizing the limits of what’s currently possible, they accuse the assemblyman of selling out the Palestinian struggle.
This isn’t to say we shouldn’t constructively criticize politicians. Earlier in his campaign, Mamdani received pushback from the left for saying “Israel has a right to exist.” He acknowledged the feedback, thanked the speaker, and formed a much better answer: “Israel has a right to exist as a democratic state.” Not only is this in line with leftist values and the goal of delivering equal rights for the Palestinians, but it’s a great political line! When he said it at the first mayoral debate, I’m sure that was the first time many viewers learned Israel wasn’t a democracy. Constructive feedback works. Creating impossible standards, such as blaming him for not single-handedly stopping Israeli imperialism, is ridiculous and counterproductive.
It is this refusal to recon with reality that I see as the central flaw of the ultra-left, and why I grew irritated hearing their accusations that attending a No Kings protest made you no different than an AIPAC-funded Democrat signing Israeli shells to be launched at the nearest Palestinian hospital. This is an absurd decontextualization that only appears in the minds of reality-detached political intellectuals (of all political persuasions) and children. To me, No Kings was an opportunity to meet Coloradans who were angry at the fascist government and show them what I think is the best solution to the problem — socialism. Though most people I met were receptive to my message, I’m sure some weren’t. And that’s okay. As the late singer and civil rights activist Bernice Johnson Reagon said, “If your coalition isn’t uncomfortable, it’s not broad enough.”2 If we want to bring leftist values to life and stop the fascist project, we’ll have to work with people who don’t 100% agree with us. I’m not suggesting we organize with die-hard opponents for the sake of pointless “intellectual diversity” or “bipartisanship.” Partnering with those committed to stopping you is as silly as refusing to work with those who differ slightly from you. President Biden unnecessarily brought Republicans into the negotiations for Build Back Better to seem like a Respectable Bipartisan Deal-Maker. As a result, they sabotaged his landmark legislation, contributing to his party’s defeat. A similar fate awaits those who build bridges for the sake of appearing like a Respectable Bridge Builder. Rather, what I’m suggesting is that you find people who agree with you on the issues you want to enact and demonstrate to them how joining your coalition is the best way to turn your mutual goal into reality.
And as uncomfortable as it may be, your political coalitions needs to be broad to work, because no one agrees with your politics 100% of the time. Sure, there are ideological groupings, but people are different and will never be uniform. If you gave the ten people you know who are closest to your politics a 1,000-question test on political issues, none of you will have the same answers. If you demand ideological perfection and only organize with those who answered the same as you, have fun spending the rest of your political life by yourself. Yet, this is exactly what ultra-leftists like Jill Stein are demanding — “When the people match my political beliefs, then I’ll show up and work with them.” With such a poor strategy, it’s no wonder she got half the vote share in 2024 (.55%) than she did eight years earlier (1.1%). The point of politics is to enter spaces where people don’t agree with us, either because they haven’t been given the opportunity to hear our ideas, or because they have and they don’t agree with them (yet). If we’re not trying to win people over, what are we even doing?
There’s a quote I like that is is commonly misattributed to Vladimir Lenin. “We must always be one step ahead of the masses, but not two. Otherwise, we risk losing sight of them.” I believe this is how leftists should operate. Like most political nerds, I have ideas about what my ideal society looks like in the future. But the average working-class American that I’m trying to recruit to the left doesn’t care about that. They care about paying rent and putting food on the table. If I try to tell them, “Join my organization and struggle for a completely democratic society!” they’re going to laugh in my face, walk away, and find a Democrat or Republican who speaks to their immediate needs. As they should! What I offered them wasn’t an answer to their very-real concerns. If we want to be responsible leftists, we need to be a single step ahead of the working class, showing them that socialism and progressivism are the solution to the problems they face. Through this process, we prove to the masses that not only does the left hold the answer to society’s problems, but the other political factions are unable to address their issues. If we insist on waiting for the perfect time, only recruiting people who are already socialists, or nit-pick every other leftist who attempts to build a better world but doesn’t do it The Right Way, we will miss the giant opportunity that is right in front of us. Because if there’s anything the No Kings rallies showed me, it’s that the left has an opportunity. Millions of people came out to show their disapproval of Donald Trump’s fascism. His popularity is at a historic low, and the only thing polling lower than him is the centrist Democratic Party.3 The political establishment is the weakest it’s been in a long time. Centrists know this, which is why The New York Times is writing political fan fiction about the glory of centrism to scare its readers away from progressive solutions. (That’s a sneak peek of the next article. Subscribe if you want to read it.)
This is a great opportunity for the left. Let’s stop demanding the impossible and organize for the possible. Any one who has tried the former can tell you, it’s hard enough already.
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In Solidarity — Joe
And if you want to get involved, join the Democratic Socialists of America!
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/lindsey-halligan-fires-prosecutor-resisted-144941090.html
https://www.azquotes.com/quote/854611?utm_source=chatgpt.com
https://www.cnn.com/polling/approval/trump-cnn-poll-of-polls
Hmm. I had the robot read this to me an hour and a half ago while barely awake. I'll go back and read it fully caffeinated. I see you changed the title. Extremely superficially, this echoes the lectures about not letting the perfect be the enemy of the good I endured 16 years ago while pounding the pavement and keyboard (more the latter than the former, admittedly) for single-payer healthcare. This raises questions for me about distinguishing righteous from noxious purity trolling. That's my THDRC (too hungover, didn't read carefully); can't wait to consider more consciously, in both senses of the word.
Brilliant Joe.
I think one could write this exact same essay, but with the POV reversed. Moderates also need to pay attention to the successes of the leftists movement and incorporate more leftist ideas and not be scared of being called a communist by people who were never going to vote for them anyway. We need to form a coalition and agree on a platform that is palatable to a majority and will win elections. Its right there, a big fat softball over the plate.
Also, fuck Jill Stein, the ingrown toenail of American politics. Let's ignore anything coming from her, and from Schumer, the chronic fatigue syndrome of American politics, and go from there.