I think most social change organizations and left news/opinion journals are on the up and up. They want change, but there is an inherent conflict of interest. When we are winning, people donate less money and follow the news less avidly. Losing can be profitable for the left. 1/
I remember how much Bill Clinton's victory devastated left organizations. They all had to lay people off as their supporters immediately thought just electing a Prez was all that was needed to win change. That was our failure to educate members 2/
and the dramatic loss in membership certainly affected our collective ability to counter-organize when the medical-insurance industrial complex fought to block health care reform. My organization had to close three offices. Some just went under completely. 3/
Obama's victory was less devastating because the nonprofit sector was already reeling from the recession, the loss of grant money, major donors cutting back, and the collapse of many foundations with funds with Madoff. 4/
With all that financial upheaval for nonprofits and the whole country, the impact of folks assured that all will be well now was part of a larger whole. It was felt in the media though. MSNBC's ratings collapsed when they weren't covering Bush. 5/
And now with Trump their ratings are growing. Subscriptions to mainstream media like WaPo and NYTimes have dramatically increased and people are donating to lots of organizations. Some of them, though are nothing but grifting fund-me organizations for Bernie's staff and TYT
We can't see Our Revolution's financials because Bernie opted to create a c4 rather than a PAC, this keeps its activities hidden. They seem obsessively focused on candidate elections so may be in violation of IRS regulations which prohibit electioneering being over 50% 7/
We do know Justice Democrats has raised 1.8 million and donated $12,387.64 to candidates with $1,782,327.19 for operating expenses, a big chunk to Brand New Congress, another Cenk Uyger grift 
Funny thing about Brand New Congress. They have not given a dime to candidates, but spent a lot of money with Brand New Campaign LLC - where of course all the money disappears without accountability. 9/
But you don't really need to look up their financials to know they are a grift, you know it because they actively work to keep Democrats out of power. They say shit like this 10/
Here's an example from my own experience of an organization that lost its way. It was a coalition meeting of organizations working to raise the minimum wage in Oregon. The unions wanted to pass minimum wage plus COLA. So did we and we were enthusiastic supporters. However, 11/
several people representing other orgs were against it. "If we pass MW plus COLA we won't have this to drive turnout for elections." and "We can canvass on this issue every four years & you want to take it away?" 12/
Damn, that was a meeting that made me heartsick, but our side won since after all unions were bankrolling it and they wanted to take MW off the table so they could work on health care. Oregon has MW plus COLA, thanks to unions. 13/
In another example, we organized to create state RX purchasing pools to lower drug costs and got pushback from national healthcare lobbies cutting funding to us because we were undercutting the urgency of health care reform. This was more a strategy difference, but UGH!!!! 14/
For me, if you oppose reforms that make people lives better because that will decrease the urgency for your big revolutionary reforms five, ten, twenty years from now, you're a grifter. You will let people die for 2 birds in the bush. 15/
This rant is driven by Bernie Sanders claiming yesterday that in reality he won in 2016. Tell that to the little boy taken to the hospital after he tried to jump out a window thanks to be stolen from his family. Tell that to the 2000 children kidnapped by ICE.
Please Bernie Sanders, tell the refugees from Somalia and Syria how much they're winning. Please tell the trans Americans about winning. Please tell women who need birth control and/or abortions about winning. 17/
Tell Blacks kept from voting by purges, voter ID, and racial gerrymandering how much they are winning, Bernie. Tell the people of Puerto Rico how much they are winning. Tell the 4645 dead how glad you are you are winning, Bernie. 18/
Tell the soybean farms and Harley Davidson workers how you are winning, Bernie. Tell the disabled, the food stamp recipients, the people insured by ACA about your winning. 19/
Bernie's Our Revolution was founded by a fraud and it is a fraud. They list the candidates they helped. I searched how much they gave to the listed candidates in Oregon they "helped". They gave nothing, no in-kind contribution, no independent expenditures. NOTHING 20/
Then there is Sanders Institute. It's a c3 and it's determination letter was 2017 so I won't make a joke about how they haven't disclosed their taxes since they may not have filed them yet. Due 5/15 but you know they asked for an extension, but...
We saw Bernie grifting during the campaign, his FEC violations were rampant and he fudged on disclosing in time. Pretty sure he will continue as he began, grifting. He financed his activism with unemployment (that's fraud but out of date) once a grifter always a grifter 22/22
