Hands Off OC in Santa Ana

I went down south behind the old Orange Curtain to see how they protest down there. Yes, it was kind of conservative, and, as you might guess, a lot more white people than I'm used to up here, but it wasn't *that* different from an LA County suburb.

There were a lot of signs, a lot more American flags than expected, and the messages on the signs were mostly moderate and criticizing the overreach of Trump and Elon Musk and DOGE.

I have a serious criticism of Hand Off and the Women's March. There was no focus on growing a voter base for the 2026 midterm elections. While that isn't the only way to resist, nor is it the most immediate way - it's a given that it'll be an important election.

A Congressional majority opens up possibilities for action.

I know, there are pundits saying that this country could be collapsed by then, or the electoral system can be destroyed by then. These are true, of course, but they aren't a given. They're, at best, warnings. They aren't plans for action. Things that could fire up active, engaged people, can be discouraging to passive people.

The effort to build up for the elections requires organizing so many people, and should build permanent organizations, both within and without the Democratic Party.

We can't rely on the short memories of voters, who don't remember the neoliberal version of Cory Booker, who was a corporate/capitalist Democrat. While I missed his speech, I'm sure Booker said a lot of good things, but I wouldn't trust him, or the Democratic Party, to uphold his words if the Dems attained majorities in the House and Senate.

Progressives need to argue for something beyond what's possible now, for something that's not possible in the present, but is possible in the future.

For this crowd, I had a sign demanding "Impeach". Just the word, "impeach". People liked it. It was simple, the people here knew what it meant, and it's *impossible* at this moment. There is no majority in the legislature, and there aren't enough crossovers.

"Impeach" implies getting a majority in the legislature. It means getting Republican crossovers, getting strong progressive antifascists elected, and getting moderates to flip some districts by the 2026 midterm elections. It means organizing to get those flips, to threaten the incumbent Republicans, and creating pressure so they might become Republican crossovers.

We need more beyond impeachment - but it's an attainable goal with a clear partisan roadmap. I was originally going to put "Housing for All", but decided against it, because it doesn't have a clear roadmap, nor does it imply what I want, which is direct government production of housing (meaning city, county, state, and maybe federal organizations that would build housing, without minimal or no subcontracting to construction businesses). "Housing for All" could be co-opted by fascists, easily, because the construction worker base is more conservative than liberal -- for example, a bigoted anti-DEI construction company, maybe from out of state, could be sent here to build shelters.

I know that sounds fantastical to some, but it's hardly. Trump already appeals to working class white voters with his anti-immigrant racism. How many left-wing pro-queer anti-racist socialist construction workers do you know? How many construction workers have an American flag on their helmet, and support deportations?

Our left wing socialist demands need to also include a political path that is SAFE for marginalized people and creates an inclusive society. There wasn't any way to put that on a sign. To express that demand, you need a QR code to a web page with a 2000 word essay explaining the position, and that's fine. It just doesn't fit on a sign, and it's not quickly comprehended.