What some economic populists and “class struggle” advocates fail to understand is that the meeting of the demands of the African American freedom movement are bound up with the restructuring of class relations as well as the role of the state in ways that lift up the entire working class.

This doesn’t necessarily obviate the need for an “explicitly class-based and ethnically inclusive organizing strategy (Mike Davis, Trench Warfare, New Left Review)” but without an appreciation of the former any such strategy will end up disappointing.

Senator Feinstein should step aside and make space for the governor to fill two vacant Senate seats. Even if she wasn’t having short term memory and mental acuity lapses, it would be reasonable, given her age (87) for her to make room for a younger person. I was in a similar situation when I was in the Communist Party. An older leader in decline mentally and physically wouldn’t willingly step aside and allow for a leadership transition. In the end the transition happened, but it was unnecessarily delayed, awkward, and left behind some hard feelings. It didn’t have to be this way, although in the 20th century communist movement, it was rare that a General Secretary stepped down before death was at the door. Interestingly, one exception was Fidel Castro who made space for a leadership transition.

The coup failed miserably yesterday. That is no surprise. It had no legs to begin with. What is troubling though is that millions of Trump supporters, living in informational silos, reject the verdict of the electoral college. They still believe that the election was rigged against Trump. We haven’t heard the last from them or Republican leaders who hope to speak for them going forward.