Defensive struggles and expansive concepts of unity

Once in office Trump will have his hands’ full negotiating the tension between his populist image and his anti-populist policies. And it will only get worse over time. Of course, the democratic, multi-class, people’s coalition that opposes his policies will have its hands’ full too. For the foreseeable future, it will be on the defensive by and large. In other words, our side won’t be setting the agenda for the most part at the national level; at the state and city level a different situation obtains in many cases. We will be reacting to what will likely be a broad scale, deeply reactionary, and anti-democratic political-legislative offensive in the early months of Trump’s presidency. Only expansive concepts of struggle and unity that have an eye to activating the nearly 70 million Clinton voters first of all will have any success in this unprecedented situation.

None of this suggests in the least that we should mothball an alternative vision for our country as we engage on the immediate terrain of struggle. It is needed now more than ever.