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"The entrenched system is heavily weighted--always has been--against the interests of working people, women, people of color, the poor and others deprived of power by structural inequities," writes Solomon. "We always have to keep organizing and putting up a fight." (Photo: DonkeyHotey/flickr/cc)
At a time when long-winded polemics and punditry about the upcoming presidential election are all over the place, a longtime progressive populist author and agitator has just summarized it all in less than a minute.
"Hi, Jim Hightower here," a just-released video begins, "with a message for progressives who don't like Joe Biden's corporate-hugging politics. Neither do I! But--and it's a very big 'but'--Trump is a crackpot, a total plutocratic toady who's literally destroying the lives of workaday people and killing America's progressive possibilities."
Hightower continues: "Trump has to be gone before we the people can move forward with our agenda of fairness and justice for all. So I don't care if Biden is a 200-pound sack of concrete, we have to carry him into the White House to eject the Orange Menace. I urge all of you, especially in swing states like mine, to suck it up and do this heavy lifting. Let's dump Trump, then we'll take on Biden!"
I'm excited that my colleagues on the Vote Trump Out project have teamed up with the writer of the monthly Hightower Lowdown to produce the new video, which concisely hits key points that often get lost in the haunted funhouse of election rhetoric:
Franklin Roosevelt won the presidency 88 years ago running as a centrist. Militant grassroots movements propelled his administration to the left, bringing a transformative New Deal. We have a real chance to move Biden-era policy into a Green New Deal, a $15 federal minimum wage, and so much more--if we fight like hell after getting rid of Trump.
Of course, nothing's guaranteed. The entrenched system is heavily weighted--always has been--against the interests of working people, women, people of color, the poor and others deprived of power by structural inequities. We always have to keep organizing and putting up a fight.
We've already hit bottom with Trump, and then some. In reality (unlike some fanciful notions that things must get even worse before they get better), the worse it gets, the worse it gets. The horrific directions that Trump has taken this country must be reversed.
Hightower's new video underscores that progressives have the opportunity to get much better results fighting President Biden than fighting President Trump. Moving "a 200-pound sack of concrete" is bound to be a heavy lift, but the possibilities would be real. The votes in swing states will determine whether we get the chance.
Trump and Musk are on an unconstitutional rampage, aiming for virtually every corner of the federal government. These two right-wing billionaires are targeting nurses, scientists, teachers, daycare providers, judges, veterans, air traffic controllers, and nuclear safety inspectors. No one is safe. The food stamps program, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are next. It’s an unprecedented disaster and a five-alarm fire, but there will be a reckoning. The people did not vote for this. The American people do not want this dystopian hellscape that hides behind claims of “efficiency.” Still, in reality, it is all a giveaway to corporate interests and the libertarian dreams of far-right oligarchs like Musk. Common Dreams is playing a vital role by reporting day and night on this orgy of corruption and greed, as well as what everyday people can do to organize and fight back. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. |
Norman Solomon is the national director of RootsAction.org and executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy. His latest book, War Made Invisible: How America Hides the Human Toll of Its Military Machine, was published in paperback with a new afterword about the Gaza war in autumn 2024.
At a time when long-winded polemics and punditry about the upcoming presidential election are all over the place, a longtime progressive populist author and agitator has just summarized it all in less than a minute.
"Hi, Jim Hightower here," a just-released video begins, "with a message for progressives who don't like Joe Biden's corporate-hugging politics. Neither do I! But--and it's a very big 'but'--Trump is a crackpot, a total plutocratic toady who's literally destroying the lives of workaday people and killing America's progressive possibilities."
Hightower continues: "Trump has to be gone before we the people can move forward with our agenda of fairness and justice for all. So I don't care if Biden is a 200-pound sack of concrete, we have to carry him into the White House to eject the Orange Menace. I urge all of you, especially in swing states like mine, to suck it up and do this heavy lifting. Let's dump Trump, then we'll take on Biden!"
I'm excited that my colleagues on the Vote Trump Out project have teamed up with the writer of the monthly Hightower Lowdown to produce the new video, which concisely hits key points that often get lost in the haunted funhouse of election rhetoric:
Franklin Roosevelt won the presidency 88 years ago running as a centrist. Militant grassroots movements propelled his administration to the left, bringing a transformative New Deal. We have a real chance to move Biden-era policy into a Green New Deal, a $15 federal minimum wage, and so much more--if we fight like hell after getting rid of Trump.
Of course, nothing's guaranteed. The entrenched system is heavily weighted--always has been--against the interests of working people, women, people of color, the poor and others deprived of power by structural inequities. We always have to keep organizing and putting up a fight.
We've already hit bottom with Trump, and then some. In reality (unlike some fanciful notions that things must get even worse before they get better), the worse it gets, the worse it gets. The horrific directions that Trump has taken this country must be reversed.
Hightower's new video underscores that progressives have the opportunity to get much better results fighting President Biden than fighting President Trump. Moving "a 200-pound sack of concrete" is bound to be a heavy lift, but the possibilities would be real. The votes in swing states will determine whether we get the chance.
Norman Solomon is the national director of RootsAction.org and executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy. His latest book, War Made Invisible: How America Hides the Human Toll of Its Military Machine, was published in paperback with a new afterword about the Gaza war in autumn 2024.
At a time when long-winded polemics and punditry about the upcoming presidential election are all over the place, a longtime progressive populist author and agitator has just summarized it all in less than a minute.
"Hi, Jim Hightower here," a just-released video begins, "with a message for progressives who don't like Joe Biden's corporate-hugging politics. Neither do I! But--and it's a very big 'but'--Trump is a crackpot, a total plutocratic toady who's literally destroying the lives of workaday people and killing America's progressive possibilities."
Hightower continues: "Trump has to be gone before we the people can move forward with our agenda of fairness and justice for all. So I don't care if Biden is a 200-pound sack of concrete, we have to carry him into the White House to eject the Orange Menace. I urge all of you, especially in swing states like mine, to suck it up and do this heavy lifting. Let's dump Trump, then we'll take on Biden!"
I'm excited that my colleagues on the Vote Trump Out project have teamed up with the writer of the monthly Hightower Lowdown to produce the new video, which concisely hits key points that often get lost in the haunted funhouse of election rhetoric:
Franklin Roosevelt won the presidency 88 years ago running as a centrist. Militant grassroots movements propelled his administration to the left, bringing a transformative New Deal. We have a real chance to move Biden-era policy into a Green New Deal, a $15 federal minimum wage, and so much more--if we fight like hell after getting rid of Trump.
Of course, nothing's guaranteed. The entrenched system is heavily weighted--always has been--against the interests of working people, women, people of color, the poor and others deprived of power by structural inequities. We always have to keep organizing and putting up a fight.
We've already hit bottom with Trump, and then some. In reality (unlike some fanciful notions that things must get even worse before they get better), the worse it gets, the worse it gets. The horrific directions that Trump has taken this country must be reversed.
Hightower's new video underscores that progressives have the opportunity to get much better results fighting President Biden than fighting President Trump. Moving "a 200-pound sack of concrete" is bound to be a heavy lift, but the possibilities would be real. The votes in swing states will determine whether we get the chance.
