Seeing Payday’s Mike Elk on the Majority Report Talking West Virginia Teacher’s Strike With Sam Seder And Michael Brooks Was All Caps Delight! How long has it been since we had a real win? Not performative loser’s strut nonsense singing “We Shall Overcome” while Rome burns.
This is a god damned tent revival, not a Dupont Circle consultant’s issue campaign. Democrats, Progressives, Liberals and the Left have been jonesing for a win. The loss of spirit was palpable, over a year into the Trump regime and we hadn’t had a real W. Take a whiff it’s just a small victory but it smells so good. It’s like banana bread had a wild night with Dior; it’s floral, light and addictive. Want more don’t you? Well if you want more of this jelly it’s time to learn about this victory and earn the next victory. You don’t work, you don’t eat. West Virginia carried the day. Appalachia’s back time for New York and DC to learn the trend.
If you are paying attention people-powered politics are the only thing that has been working. No analytics based voter sentiment dashboard is going to reflect that delta.
West Virginia was a victory for real material changes in the live’s of teachers, a victory for decency, and a victory over half measures. The organizers didn’t anticipate raising the bar nationally but the bar has been raised. If you are a funder, a writer, an activist or just give a damn about our people and our country watch this, study this, and learn organically about this victory. The DC media processed news food complex will try to co-opt this into some sort of PR win for whatever cause they are pushing today but this is bigger than a slide deck at a think tank.
After nearly two years of Trump, you are too smart not to know he is the symptom and not the disease. Now start acting like it. The energy of West Virginia is running in rivulets of solidarity across hill and dale, up the Monongahela, down the Mississippi, and across the southern Appalachians. Pennsylvania, Kentucky and old Oklahoma finding the holy spirit of labor fire down, down, down in their heart. The old religion is back. Not the old religion of snakes and sin but strike and win.
The pleasure of watching these guys get a win was a damned delight. Watch it!
Mike Elk On Majority Report