There are candidates who run as Democrats but are not Democrats. They’re socialist populists, not liberals, and they don’t even consider themselves to be Democrats. They explicitly admit that their goal is to take over the party by getting rid of the real Democrats.
I’m talking about the so-called Justice Democrats, of course, but also their entire Green Hydra of associated organizations; many heads snaking out from a single bloated body. They might try to pass themselves off as blue but they’re entirely green, and that means they’re as bad as red.
The purpose of this rant is to help you identify these people. After all, their greatest weapon is stealth. By passing themselves off as purer leftists, they get gain from our ignorance, turning us into useful idiots for their cause.
The rotten green apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, so a good starting point is to know about the organizations and individuals who are guilty of socialist populism. I’ll name names, with links all around so you can dive deeper.
This list will never be complete, but anyone who willingly associates with such people is raising a red flag. The closer the association, the bigger the flag. In particular, endorsing, accepting the endorsement of, or working for or with them are all strong indicators of guilt.
None of this is fixed in stone, so I plan to update it as needed. Please let me know if anything in this list is outdated or just plain wrong, or if there’s someone who’s been omitted but is particularly deserving.
Guilty Associations and Associates
- Bernie Sanders (BS) – Figurehead of the socialist-populist “progressive” movement and lifelong Marxist. Note that his web site lists people and orgs he endorses.
- Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) – Not a party, but a 501c4 nonprofit “dark money” political org, this is is conceptually the center of the movement. Their emoji is 🌹.
- Justice Democrats (JD) – A hybrid PAC (a Carey Committee that is both a PAC and a super PAC) founded by Zack Exley, Saikat Chakrabarti, Kyle Kulinski, Cenk Uygur. Run by Alexandra Rojas. Note how it has the word “Democrats” in it, even though they’re not.
- The Squad (🔗) – A devil’s half-dozen of prominent JD’s in the House: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC), Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley, Rashida Tlaib, Jamaal Bowman, Cori Bush.
- Non-Squad members of Congress: Ro Khanna, Raúl Grijalva, Pramila Jayapal, Jamaal Bowman, Marie Newman, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick. Likely Mark Pocan. Bernie himself likely counts as their sole Senator.
- Warrenites – Members of Congress strongly or loosely associated with Elizabeth Warren, including Katie Porter, Jamie Raskin, Mondaire Jones, Mike Levin, Ted Lieu, Julian Castro. Some of these are Warren-adjacent as opposed to true disciples, but none are real D’s.
- Brand New Congress (BNC) – A super PAC founded by Zack Exley, Alexandra Rojas, Corbin Trent. Essentially the JD’s, only stealthier and less DNC-focused. Associated with Malcolm Kenyatta and Lindsey Boylan. Note how BNC sounds a lot like DNC, even though it’s in opposition to it.
- Sunrise Movement (🔗) – This super PAC and 501c4 “dark money” org is an arm of the JD; note how even their logo matches.
- Working Families Party (WFP) – Unlike most of the others, this is a party, not a PAC and sometimes endorses actual Democrats in order to get on the ballot. Letitia (Tish) James, who took down Cuomo, is one of them.
- Green Party (GPUS) – The spoiler party that brought us Ralph Nader, Jill Stein, Howie Hawkins. Republican-funded and not really associated with European Greens.
- Our Revolution (OR) – Another 501c4 nonprofit “dark money” org formed as a remnant of Bernie 2016 and using a Trotskyist slogan.
- The Young Turks (TYT) – Aided by faux-stupid sidekick Ana Kasparian, Cenk Uygur‘s goal is to form a red-brown alliance by getting the far left to join the far right in a populist gang.
- Occupy Wall Street (OWS) – This (along with its Republican counterpart, the Tea Party Movement) was the tip of the populist wedge in America, fueled by Russia, naturally. Direct remnants include Occupy Democrats, which spurts propaganda memes.
- Secular Talk (🔗) – Kyle Kulinski‘s home turf. Aggressive atheism as a gateway to populism.
- Chapo Trap House (🔗) – Home of the dirtbag left, including Virgil Texas.
- The Gravel Institute (🔗) – Some stupid, vulgar kids who took a dead man’s name.
- Indivisible (🔗) – Pushes a voting guide that endorses only socialist populists.
- IfNotNow (🔗)- Socialist Jewish antisemites, such as Max Berger, hiding behind antizionism.
- Sanders Institute (🔗) – Bernie’s cash pit lists “Fellows” who are loyal.
- Data For Progress (DFP) – Fake polls to provide talking points for the greens.
- Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC, aka BoldProgressives.org) – This Warren-centered “economic populist” org also endorses JD’s. Note how its name is CCCP (USSR) in reverse; in Soviet Russia, joke gets you.
- Democracy For America (DFA) – Much like PCCC, endorses JD and Warrenite candidates. Also occasionally endorses Democrats.
- The Intercept (🔗) – Propaganda outlet. Everyone who touches this is toxic.
- Jacobin (🔗) – Extremist propaganda outlet. Everyone who touches this is even more toxic.
- Russia Today (RT) – Literally Russian propaganda. Everyone who touches this is tainted with treason.
- MintPress News (🔗) – One little boy sitting on the other one’s shoulders, covered by a trench coat, and holding a copy of RT. Yep, it’s just RT in an unconvincing disguise.
- MSNBC – Not all socialist-populist operatives, but many are, including Chris Hayes, Chuck Todd, Mehdi Hasan, Chris Cillizza, David Weigel.
- Wikileaks (🔗) – Julian Assange is mentioned in more detail below, but the org itself is a blatant Russian cutout.
- Gen-Z for Change (🔗) This is the org behind Olivia Julianna. Claim to fame is its “Gen-Z for Choice Abortion Fund” and her petty feud with Matt Gaetz. Her track record and its policy list makes it clear what it is, though.
- CPC Letter for Diplomacy on Russia/Ukraine Conflict (🔗) – This is the letter that 30 members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) signed, demanding that we appease Putin. The full list of signatories is: Pramila Jayapal, Earl Blumenauer, Cori Bush, Jesús G. “Chuy” García, Raúl M. Grijalva, Sara Jacobs (“would not sign today”), Ro Khanna, Barbara Lee, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley, Sheila Jackson Lee, Mark Pocan, Nydia M. Velázquez, Gwen S. Moore, Yvette D. Clarke, Henry C. “Hank” Johnson, Jr., Rashida Tlaib, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Mondaire Jones, Peter A. DeFazio, Jamaal Bowman, Marie Newman, Alma S. Adams, Chellie Pingree, Jamie Raskin, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Mark Takano, André Carson, Donald M. Payne, Jr., Mark DeSaulnier,
- Operatives: Briahna (BrieBrie) Joy Gray, Glenn Greenwald, Matt Taibbi, Nina Turner, Cornel West, Marianne Williamson, Andrew Yang, Tulsi Gabbard, Katie Halper, Tara Reade, John Fetterman, Jimmy Dore, Aaron Maté, Anthony Zenkus, Zerlina Maxwell, Jess McIntosh, Elie Mystal and many, many more.
Of course, no list can be complete and not everyone outs themselves by advertising their association plainly. For example, Malcolm Kenyatta managed to hide his BNC link for a long time. So how do we detect these green pod people? It’s easy: they tell us. All we have to do is listen, and never forget what we hear.
Every group needs ways of identifying its own members, which leads to secret handshakes and other silly shibboleths. The trick is that, in this case, they have to act as dog whistles; understood by those who need to understand, but vague and deniable to everyone else.
Here’s a glossary of terms and phrases that give socialist populists away. It works for political operatives of all kinds, whether they’re politicians, journalists, or Twitter randos.
- Socialist populism – Sometimes they say the quiet part loud by actually admitting that they’re socialists or populists or both. This is about as clear as it gets. Of the two, socialism is much more likely to be mentioned because it makes them seem edgy and pure; and association with it hurts real Democrats.
- Progressive – This one is, quite intentionally, ambiguous. It used to refer to liberals, and sometimes it still does, but it’s also the preferred label of the pod people, who especially like it as a noun, not just an adjective. While not everyone who calls themselves progressive, or even characterizes themselves as being a progressive, is one of them, socialist populists almost always identify themselves with this term.
- No corporate donations – Anyone who brags about refusing “corporate” donations is suspicious because it’s a meaningless purity pledge that socialist populists almost always make. In reality, they’re fine taking money from their own PAC’s and from questionable “small” donations (see below). Again, not everyone who says this is one of them, but every one of them says this.
- Medicare for All (M4A) – Support for this slogan is pretty much a requirement for socialist populists. The key is that they don’t just want Universal Healthcare (UHC) or a Public Option (PO), they want to shut down all private insurance and replace it. Click on this incredibly useful list of “Real Progressives“, which is based on the requirement of endorsing M4A while rejecting “corporate” money.
While not all of them are socialist populists, here are the co-sponsors of the bill: Alma S. Adams Ph.D., Nanette Diaz Barragán, Karen Bass, Don Beyer, Earl Blumenauer, Suzanne Bonamici, Jamaal Bowman, Brendan F. Boyle, Anthony Brown, Cori Bush, Salud Carbajal, Tony Cárdenas, André Carson, Matt Cartwright, Judy Chu, David Cicilline, Katherine Clark, Yvette D. Clarke, Emanuel Cleaver, II, Steve Cohen, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Danny K. Davis, Peter DeFazio, Diana DeGette, Mark DeSaulnier, Debbie Dingell, Lloyd Doggett, Mike Doyle, Ted Deutch, Veronica Escobar, Adriano Espaillat, Teresa Leger Fernandez, Lois Frankel, Ruben Gallego, Jesús G. “Chuy” García, Jimmy Gomez, Al Green, Raúl M. Grijalva, Josh Harder, Alcee L. Hastings, Jahana Hayes, Brian Higgins, Jared Huffman, Sara Jacobs, Pramila Jayapal, Hakeem Jeffries, Hank Johnson, Mondaire Jones, Kaiali’i Kahele, William R. Keating, Robin L. Kelly, Ro Khanna, Daniel T. Kildee, Ann Kirkpatrick, James R. Langevin, Brenda L. Lawrence, Barbara Lee, Sheila Jackson Lee, Andy Levin, Mike Levin, Ted W. Lieu, Alan Lowenthal, Carolyn B. Maloney, James P. McGovern, Jerry McNerney, Gregory W. Meeks, Grace Meng, Jerrold Nadler, Grace F. Napolitano, Joe Neguse, Marie Newman, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Frank Pallone Jr., Jimmy Panetta, Donald Payne Jr., Ed Perlmutter, Chellie Pingree, Mark Pocan, Katie Porter, Ayanna Pressley, David Price, Jamie Raskin, Lucille Roybal-Allard, Bobby L. Rush, Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan, Linda Sanchez, John Sarbanes, Jan Schakowsky, Adam Schiff, Robert C. “Bobby” Scott, Brad Sherman, Adam Smith, Jackie Speier, Eric Swalwell, Mark Takano, Bennie G. Thompson, Mike Thompson, Dina Titus, Rashida Tlaib, Paul Tonko, Ritchie Torres, Lori Trahan, Juan Vargas, Marc Veasey, Nydia M. Velázquez, Maxine Waters, Peter Welch, Susan Wild, Nikema Williams, Frederica Wilson, and John Yarmuth. - Small donations – Bernie bragged about an average of $27 per donation, but he never said how many donations were being made by each person. It’s a grift; by breaking large donations up into chunks smaller than $200, they avoid the need to report who donated, allowing them to hide their shady benefactors, both foreign and domestic.
- Establishment – Along with terms such as “neoliberal”, “elite”, “rigged”, this is a standard slur used by socialist populists. The more terms they use and the more they use them, the bigger and redder the flag.
- Green New Deal (GND) – Much like M4A, support for this slogan is pretty much required, and is a strong indicator of guilt. Endorsing the nonsensical Green New Deal for Public Schools (GND4PS) is especially clear.
- Defund the Police (DTP) – Another slogan that you’re not going to hear from real D’s, this one is particularly toxic in elections.
- Cancel Student Loans (CSL) – A recent addition to the required slogans, this bit of blatant pandering has become popular because it goes along with the claim that Biden should violate the Constitution by issuing an executive order. While it’s a very strong signal in general, one notable exception is Chuck Schumer, whose Twitter account routinely spouts this as a shield against being primaried by JD’s.
- Black Lives Matter (BLM) – This one’s tricky, because it’s something real liberals are quite likely to support, especially when it’s the entirely reasonable concept and not the more questionable organization. Socialist populists routinely add this to their self-description, though, as protective coloring. The trick is that, for them, it’s only skin deep. It’s the “but I have a Black friend” of the Internet; an excuse for being otherwise anti-anti-racist or even racist.
- Identity politics – Socialist populists are Marxist economic reductionists, so they don’t believe that racism and other forms of bigotry need to be addressed. As such, they dismiss anyone who does want to fight bigotry as engaging in “identity politics”. In a related way, they cynically put out skinfolk candidates and even more cynically accuse any legitimate criticism of being motivated by bigotry.
- Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) – Also a bit tricky, because even though the far left hides its antisemitism behind antizionism, there are liberals who are legitimately critical of Israeli policy. So “BDS” or “Free Palestine” aren’t sure signs, but they’re significant.
- Bold – This is the preferred positive adjective of the Bold Progressives (PCCC, see above). The implication is that real Democrats are cowardly because they won’t pander enough.
- Justice – This is the preferred positive adjective of the Justice Democrats (naturally). The implication is that real Democrats don’t care about (purely economic) justice because they’re not Marxist.
- Free Assange – As mentioned above, Assange such a blatant Russkiy that anyone embracing him at this point isn’t even hiding what they are.
- Communism – If cosplay socialism isn’t edgy enough for you, there’s always communism. Online edgelords love the old hammer and sickle emoji (☭), so it’s a sure sign. Note that, while there’s plenty of support for Putin from the right, none of it is based on the contrafactual notion that Russia is still communist.
- Soviet imagery – The socialist populists love this stuff, whether it’s the JD’s using a modified hammer and sickle for their logo or the PCCC/CCCP “joke”. Naturally, when pressed, they’ll deny it as coincidental or claim it was ironic.
I could go on, but I’m going to stop here for now. More so than my other rants, which only get changed to fix typos or broken links, this one is intended to be kept up to date, so I once again suggest that you contact me if, likely by Twitter, you have suggestions or corrections.
Always remember that you have to use your brain and not jump to conclusions; life is more complicated than fiction.
