Bored '24
Unscrupulous elements of the "left" are taking advantage of people's real rage at the system
It’s been a clarifying few weeks for the left. The Supreme Court’s actions striking down Roe v Wade and chipping away further at the regulatory state in favor of the interests of capital have been met with inaction—at best—from the Democratic Party.
People’s rage at the system has been simmering for years. The Covid crisis showed what was possible with a strong federal response and the insufficiency of what’s been provided; a new civil rights movement exploded after the death of George Floyd; President Joe Biden’s term has thus far been a disappointment with major policy initiatives smothered in the crib by members of his own party.
Add to that the relentless, crushing reality of living in a brutal country like the US, where healthcare costs are soaring and democratic solutions are increasingly being cut down at the knees and you have a recipe for an angrier and angrier electorate desperately searching for an alternative to the status quo.
That moment could lend itself to on the ground, grassroots activism that could effect real change. It could mean the beginning of a real progressive alternative to the Democratic Party. And, most importantly, it could provide the opportunity for real solidarity between people on the left.
Sadly, certain elements of the broader progressive world appear uninterested in doing that hard work. Instead, they are interested in self-promotion by way of unrealistic promises and pointless, overly online infighting.
The so-called Movement for a People’s Party, little more than a repository for leader Nick Brana to surround himself with D-tier YouTubers and bloggers, is attempting to troll itself into relevance by boosting a hypothetical presidential campaign by conspiracy theorist and failed comedian Jimmy Dore.
Dore, whose YouTube program has platformed far-right, racist militia group the Boogaloo Boys and whose content has endorsed anti-vax conspiracies and transphobia, isn’t a serious candidate—and MPP, which has yet to get ballot access in more than one or two states, knows this.
It’s disappointing to see any activist energy going into such an obvious sham “campaign,” but that’s been MPP’s modus operandi since the beginning, when Brana allegedly told gullible, disaffected Bernie Sanders supporters in 2016 that he had been chosen by the Vermont senator to start a third party. Since then, the grift has been constant—MPP shifts its goals, positions, and even board, but never its central, Brana-dominated leadership.
I spoke with my audience about MPP, Dore, and the ongoing attempts by certain people to leverage a moment of unprecedented opportunity into more self-promotion that won’t result in material gains for the working class.
We also talked about the “March for Medicare for All” which has been pitched as a national day of action but was, at least last year, more of the same self-promotion for podcasters and a platform for anti-vax conspiracy theorist. You can find that conversation here.
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Email me at eoinhiggins@gmail.com
Good that you called out Brana & MPP. What have they done since 2016?