🧵My latest article on Substack exposes the political consulting firm that turned the Bernie movement into a $134M cash cow, while repackaging and selling centrists like John Fetterman as "leftist change-makers."
substack.com/@zeynabday/not… Campaign consulting is a massive industry, and Middle Seat has made more than $134 million since 2017, according to FEC data. Fetterman for PA $20.7 M, Beto O’Rourke $18.6 M, Katie Porter $10.8 M, AOC $8.6 M, and David Hogg's PAC $6.2 M.

The GOP claim to support states' rights, yet this overreach is astonishing.
Latest Executive Order calls for "excess military" and "national security assetts" to help police "local jurisdictions."
This is a frogs hair away from martial law.
I'm not being hyperbolic.

https://twitter.com/BowdenOnBass/status/1917199476357579146

Also, Federal funds for private legal representation for cops accused of innapropriate actions.

Qualified immunity on hyper-drive.

NO, no it's not. Kamala literally has Heritage Foundation members on her Kitchen Cabinet. The HF has had an annual plan since Reagan AND, Dems Presidents in EVERY admin helped to carry it out. It's why the ACA placed our public health systems into the hands of private insurance. Why Bill Clinton gutted college tuition subsidies that were subsidized at 85% back then, and gutted welfare and Federal Jobs programs.
Why Biden green-lit the Willow Project and Mountain Valley pipeline.

Why Kamala now support police militarization, Trumpian border policies, and austerity measures like the stupid "tax credit to buy a house" (which only helps the wealthy). AND, the giving subsidies to corporations like Blackrock to "build homes," rather than expand Federal Housing programs.

All of this is Heritage Foundation's goals. @davidpotes @vanguard_pod I can literally name 369 other Heritage Foundation "Project XXXX" goals carried out under Dem presidencies. They were ALWAYS more productive for the Heritage Foundation than a GOP POTUS, because there was no opposition, like there is when a Repub is in office.

🧵I organized against Trump's horrible policies during his entire presidency. THEN I watched the liberal media and a multitude of organizers stop reporting on, and organizing against policies when Biden expanded many of Trump's policies. Gaslight us about a genocide, and now enthusiastically support Harris' campaign as she's shifted far right in policy, to being only a hairline away from Trump on a wide range of policies. WHY do I talk so much about Harris, and not as much about Trump right now:
1. People know who Trump is. Especially those who follow me now.
2. People don't know Kamala's history or what her terrible policies are. 2/

THREAD: I've said for 10 years that the Dems ALWAYS ignorantly move right, and is part of why they LOSE.

They do this for 3 reasons:

1. They would rather do the bidding of their corporate donors than win votes. 1/ 2. They are elites, so are ignorant about the public and think the public is neo-cons like them, despite issues like Medicare for All being extremely popular. Also stereotypes of the "rural, ignorant, right-wing voter," going by election results as a baseline, and NOT considering nuances like voter turnout.
Or that Dems defunded state parties across the country, and stopped running in most states so many once "blue" states are now "red" because the Dem party isn't even running there.

🧵I've struggled with how to say this. My views on politics come from seeing the inside of the system. But, I got involved with politics b/c I was tired of trying like hell to bootstrap myself out of the deep hardships I was living through, from abuse to poverty to watching 1/ as people around me died from suicide, overdoses, lack of health care, violence, and ecological pollution. Being from poverty in Appalachia and being bi-racial, having disabilities, and a litany of other issues, I saw how the system worked AGAINST people like me. How no matter 2/

Short Thread: They are endorsing Kamala Harris now.

Waleed Shahid has a history of coopting organic movements, starting a website, collecting lists through petitions, moving that into "Democratic Party reformation), then making watered-down requests, and then closing up shop...

https://twitter.com/uncommittedmvmt/status/1826776463829598721

after collecting a lot of donations, making connections, growing resumes and getting pressers, and having lists that can be sold to consultants. I gave them the benefit of the doubt, b/c this is mass atrocities. This started as an organic movement of VOTERS NOT DELEGATES and...

Short thread: I've studied voter sentiment for years, as an organizer. For the last few months I've been talking w/ Dem party loyalists about issues in the Dem party.
Policies they shifted right one.
The abandonment of the many State Parties, leaving them to the GOP. 1/ Their horrific stances on war, like the terrible policies around Gaza now.
The fact that 65% of seats are uncontested and handed to the GOP nationwide.
Times they lied about policy.
Right-wing policies like Cop City, police militarization, weaponizing the DHS. 2/

🧵There's a reason why Appalachians can't stand Hillbilly Elegy and liberals loved it. It's because it embraces all the stereotypes of Appalachians and rural folk being lazy, stupid, and unmotivated.
He paints himself as "one of the good ones" that, "got out." 1/ In the book, he complains abt workers who felt abused by the labor market, suggesting they are just lazy.

He talks about how people on food stamps dare to have cell-phones or drive cars.

Maybe because of his own trauma, he lays the blame on mothers and discounts 2/

🧵Wealthy business owners LOVE to talk about how if an employee has an issue they "should sue." And act like if there's no lawsuit there must be no issues.

Why would they say that? Because lawyers are expensive and most employees can't afford it. Bosses know this shields them. Lawyers measure taking cases based on "return on investment" just like other businesses. They MAY take a case pro-bono if they feel it's high profile or will make them a significant amount of money. Otherwise, they are likely to not take the case without a large retainer. 1/

🧵Yes, a thread about Jimmy Dore. NO, I’m not trying to ruin Force The Vote. I’m not a Dem. But, I have criticisms of Dore and his actions that have harmed and continue to harm people, particularly survivors of abuse, in real ways. These matter. NO, there ISN’T a “wrong time” to talk about abusers and people who cover for abusers engaging in rape apologia, victim harassment, and corruption coverup. Or ask that continue to support their stop. SO…here it is. 1/

🧵I owe an apology.

I worked at Justice Dems & BNC (BNC 4 yrs). As Comms Director I wrote emails promising that we would hold progressive candidates accountable once elected and call them out if they swayed from the platform. We were supposed to shake up the 2-party system 1/4 I believed in those promises. The promises of electing regular-working people nominated by their communities who would fight for M4A, GND, ending ICE, ending wars, ending corporate monopoly, and ethically financing their campaigns. I saw some AMAZING candidates lose, that 2/4

🧵So many folks talk about "messaging" on almost every call I've tried to start about organizing. BUT, the question is what are we organizing around? You have to have a call to action. What's the purpose? Most Americans agree on tabletop issues and actually on cultural issues. The mainstream media and even social media highlight the most sensational. We all live in a social media bubble that's fed to us through algorithms. So each of our experiences is different based on what we engage with and respond to. (2)