>
> While this article makes a valid point, it neglects to criticize Sanders
>> for meekly surrendering to the DP leadership. He could have followed the
>> example of Ralph Nader in 1996 and 2000 - declare political independence
>> and oppose the neoliberal party from the social-democratic left. Instead,
>> he lined up behind them, endorsed and campaigned for them in 2016, 2020
>> ("my friend Joe Biden"!!), and this year.
>> He has a photo of Eugene V Debs (a real socialist) on the wall of his
>> office. Debs is probably spinning in his grave. Maybe Sanders should
>> replace this photo with one more similar to his politics - Schumer, Pelosi,
>> Clinton.
>>
>> On Wed, Nov 6, 2024 at 6:07 PM Ryan Grim <
>> [email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>> The Democratic smothering of the Bernie coalition reaped its reward
>>> today, writes Krystal Ball.
>>> ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
>>> ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
>>> ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
>>> ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
>>> ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
>>> ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
>>> ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
>>> ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
>>> ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
>>> ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
>>> ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
>>> ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
>>> ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
>>> ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
>>> ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
>>> ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
>>> ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
>>> ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
>>> ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
>>> Forwarded this email? Subscribe here
>>> <https://substack.com/redirect/2/eyJlIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZHJvcHNpdGVuZXdzLmNvbS9zdWJzY3JpYmU_dXRtX3NvdXJjZT1lbWFpbCZ1dG1fY2FtcGFpZ249ZW1haWwtc3Vic2NyaWJlJnI9MXJ6NDZlJm5leHQ9aHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZ3d3cuZHJvcHNpdGVuZXdzLmNvbSUyRnAlMkZiZXJuaWUtd291bGQtaGF2ZS13b24iLCJwIjoxNTEyNzYwNTIsInMiOjI1MTAzNDgsImYiOnRydWUsInUiOjEwNzQ1NDE4MiwiaWF0IjoxNzMwOTM0NDQ5LCJleHAiOjE3MzM1MjY0NDksImlzcyI6InB1Yi0wIiwic3ViIjoibGluay1yZWRpcmVjdCJ9.xHbz82Jg-2cM2h1hzWynSMTOJQ5iTjIuQhGrEM2EpsY?>
>>> for more
>>> Bernie Would Have Won
>>> <https://substack.com/app-link/post?publication_id=2510348&post_id=151276052&utm_source=post-email-title&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=1rz46e&token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjoxMDc0NTQxODIsInBvc3RfaWQiOjE1MTI3NjA1MiwiaWF0IjoxNzMwOTM0NDQ5LCJleHAiOjE3MzM1MjY0NDksImlzcyI6InB1Yi0yNTEwMzQ4Iiwic3ViIjoicG9zdC1yZWFjdGlvbiJ9.chXzqhbFgD3220J5_xzasmoJ765_IPyMHd2ac6PkmpM>The
>>> Democratic smothering of the Bernie coalition reaped its reward today,
>>> writes Krystal Ball.
>>>
>>> Krystal Kyle & Friends <https://substack.com/@krystalkyleandfriends>
>>> Nov 6
>>> ∙
>>> Guest post
>>> <https://substack.com/@krystalkyleandfriends>
>>>
>>>
>>> <https://substack.com/app-link/post?publication_id=2510348&post_id=151276052&utm_source=substack&isFreemail=true&submitLike=true&token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjoxMDc0NTQxODIsInBvc3RfaWQiOjE1MTI3NjA1MiwicmVhY3Rpb24iOiLinaQiLCJpYXQiOjE3MzA5MzQ0NDksImV4cCI6MTczMzUyNjQ0OSwiaXNzIjoicHViLTI1MTAzNDgiLCJzdWIiOiJyZWFjdGlvbiJ9.Aj9teOb83HM8IYMne_9j9QRSkfIYVMX6toXH2dTgjYc&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=email-reaction&r=1rz46e>
>>>
>>> <https://substack.com/app-link/post?publication_id=2510348&post_id=151276052&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&isFreemail=true&comments=true&token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjoxMDc0NTQxODIsInBvc3RfaWQiOjE1MTI3NjA1MiwiaWF0IjoxNzMwOTM0NDQ5LCJleHAiOjE3MzM1MjY0NDksImlzcyI6InB1Yi0yNTEwMzQ4Iiwic3ViIjoicG9zdC1yZWFjdGlvbiJ9.chXzqhbFgD3220J5_xzasmoJ765_IPyMHd2ac6PkmpM&r=1rz46e&utm_campaign=email-half-magic-comments&action=post-comment&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email>
>>>
>>> <https://substack.com/app-link/post?publication_id=2510348&post_id=151276052&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&utm_campaign=email-share&action=share&triggerShare=true&isFreemail=true&r=1rz46e&token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjoxMDc0NTQxODIsInBvc3RfaWQiOjE1MTI3NjA1MiwiaWF0IjoxNzMwOTM0NDQ5LCJleHAiOjE3MzM1MjY0NDksImlzcyI6InB1Yi0yNTEwMzQ4Iiwic3ViIjoicG9zdC1yZWFjdGlvbiJ9.chXzqhbFgD3220J5_xzasmoJ765_IPyMHd2ac6PkmpM>
>>>
>>> <https://substack.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.njhuIEGea7xumnzAc47ubd2OYCBNhHb9rc-4UCDt8Vo?&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email>
>>>
>>> READ IN APP
>>> <https://open.substack.com/pub/dropsitenews/p/bernie-would-have-won?utm_source=email&redirect=app-store&utm_campaign=email-read-in-app>
>>>
>>>
>>> Here’s a warning and an admonition written in January 2019 by author
>>> and organizer Jonathan Smucker
>>> <https://substack.com/redirect/cf9d3081-4248-4f87-bd46-7f55d63ff940?j=eyJ1IjoiMXJ6NDZlIn0.vwFUUWXitToCG6lkdgIOEZJA0yByKrMNCn3mtPeVIW4>:
>>> “If the Dem Party establishment succeeds in beating down the fresh
>>> leadership and bold vision that's stepping up, it will effectively enable
>>> the continued rise of authoritarianism. But they will not wake up and
>>> suddenly grasp this. It's on us to outmaneuver them and win.”
>>>
>>> If you’ve been alive since then, you know that whoever the “us” was did
>>> not, in fact, outmaneuver them. Instead, the effort to build a multiracial
>>> working-class coalition was outmaneuvered by Democratic Party leaders. The
>>> progressive wing was subsequently allowed in by Joe Biden as a junior party
>>> in his coalition, and he was able to knock Donald Trump out of the White
>>> House. Under the Kamala Harris campaign, amidst a yearlong genocide in
>>> Gaza, that progressive wing was transitioned to silent partner at best,
>>> hostile faction at worst. Harris spent more time campaigning with Liz
>>> Cheney and Mark Cuban than Shawn Fain, the Sanders-esque leader of the
>>> United Auto Workers, fresh off his union’s historic victory in a strike
>>> against the Big Three automakers, who represent the pride of the industrial
>>> Midwest. The Washington Post managed to call her loss, mystefyingly, “a
>>> stinging verdict for the American left.
>>> <https://substack.com/redirect/ddc269a5-359b-48cf-bf3e-1cab1df07736?j=eyJ1IjoiMXJ6NDZlIn0.vwFUUWXitToCG6lkdgIOEZJA0yByKrMNCn3mtPeVIW4>
>>> “
>>>
>>> Harris made lots of mistakes — not doing an interview for a month,
>>> hewing closely to Biden for no reason, not explaining why she changed
>>> positions, etc. — but her defeat was sweeping enough that we need to look
>>> for deeper structural answers. Smucker’s warning, that smothering the
>>> reform wing of the party would make it too weak to stand up to Trump, made
>>> sense at the time and is prophetic today. I’ve tracked the years-long arc
>>> of that ultimately losing fight with my colleague over at Breaking
>>> Points, Krystal Ball
>>> <https://substack.com/redirect/c1718284-608c-43b5-8a78-827e86d9f808?j=eyJ1IjoiMXJ6NDZlIn0.vwFUUWXitToCG6lkdgIOEZJA0yByKrMNCn3mtPeVIW4>,
>>> and early this morning she put her thoughts on it into a short essay that
>>> we’re publishing below.
>>>
>>> Drop Site will be tracking the new administration’s foreign policy moves
>>> closely. Help us do it by becoming a paying subscriber:
>>>
>>> Upgrade to paid
>>> <https://substack.com/redirect/2/eyJlIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZHJvcHNpdGVuZXdzLmNvbS9zdWJzY3JpYmU_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.9p19i_5lmZh5mMqaa5FRXlriUYo0JRNIBYr2WqS6tDI?&utm_medium=email&utm_source=subscribe-widget-preamble&utm_content=151276052>
>>>
>>> <https://substack.com/redirect/58c52722-f3bc-4853-b70c-941d9cc69c16?j=eyJ1IjoiMXJ6NDZlIn0.vwFUUWXitToCG6lkdgIOEZJA0yByKrMNCn3mtPeVIW4>
>>> U.S.
>>> Sen. Bernie Sanders at the Democratic National Convention on August 20,
>>> 2024. Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images.
>>> Bernie Would Have Won
>>>
>>> *By Krystal Ball*
>>>
>>> There are a million surface-level reasons for Kamala Harris’s loss and
>>> systematic underperformance in pretty much every county and among nearly
>>> every demographic group. She is part of a deeply unpopular administration.
>>> Voters believe the economy is bad and that the country is on the wrong
>>> track. She is a woman and we still have some work to do as a nation to
>>> overcome long-held biases.
>>>
>>> But the real problems for the Democrats go much deeper and require a
>>> dramatic course correction of a sort that, I suspect, Democrats are
>>> unlikely to embark upon. The bottom line is this: Democrats are still
>>> trying to run a neoliberal campaign in a post-neoliberal era. In other
>>> words, 2016 Bernie was right.
>>>
>>> Let’s think a little bit about how we got here. The combination of the
>>> Iraq War and the housing collapse exposed the failures and rot that were
>>> the inevitable result of letting the needs of capital predominate over the
>>> needs of human beings. The neoliberal ideology which was haltingly
>>> introduced by Jimmy Carter, embraced fully by Ronald Reagan, and solidified
>>> across both parties with Bill Clinton embraced a laissez-faire market logic
>>> that would supplant market will for national will or human rights, but also
>>> raise incomes enough overall and create enough dynamism that the other
>>> problems were in theory, worth the trade off. Clinton after all ran with
>>> Reagan era tax cutting, social safety net slashing and free trade
>>> radicalism with NAFTA being the most prominent example.
>>>
>>> Upgrade to paid
>>> <https://substack.com/redirect/2/eyJlIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZHJvcHNpdGVuZXdzLmNvbS9zdWJzY3JpYmU_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.9p19i_5lmZh5mMqaa5FRXlriUYo0JRNIBYr2WqS6tDI?&utm_medium=email&utm_source=subscribe-widget&utm_content=151276052>
>>>
>>> Ultimately, of course, this strategy fueled extreme wealth inequality.
>>> But for a while this logic seemed to be working out. The Soviet Union
>>> collapsed and the Cold War ended. Incomes did indeed rise and the internet
>>> fueled tech advances contributing to a sense of cosmopolitan dynamism.
>>> America had a swaggering confidence that these events really did represent
>>> a sort of end of history. We believed that our brand of privatization,
>>> capitalism, and liberal democracy would take over the world. We confidently
>>> wielded institutions like the World Bank, IMF, and WTO to realize this
>>> global vision. We gave China most-favored nation trade status.
>>>
>>> Underneath the surface, the unchecked market forces we had unleashed
>>> were devastating communities in the industrial Midwest and across the
>>> country. By the neoliberal definition NAFTA was a roaring success
>>> contributing to GDP growth. But if your job was shipped overseas and your
>>> town was shoved into economic oblivion, the tradeoff didn’t seem like such
>>> a great deal.
>>>
>>> The underlying forces of destruction came to a head with two major
>>> catastrophes, the Iraq War and the housing collapse/Great Recession. The
>>> lie that fueled the Iraq war destroyed confidence in the institutions that
>>> were the bedrock of this neoliberal order and in the idea that the U.S.
>>> could or should remake the world in our image. Even more devastating, the
>>> financial crisis left home owners destitute while banks were bailed out,
>>> revealing that there was something deeply unjust in a system that placed
>>> capital over people. How could it be that the greedy villains who triggered
>>> a global economic calamity were made whole while regular people were left
>>> to wither on the vine?
>>>
>>> These events sparked social movements on both the right and the left.
>>> The Tea Party churned out populist-sounding politicians like Sarah Palin
>>> and birtherist conspiracies about Barack Obama, paving the way for the rise
>>> of Donald Trump. The Tea Party and Trumpism are not identical, of course,
>>> but they share a cast of villains: The corrupt bureaucrats or deep state.
>>> The immigrants supposedly changing your community. The cultural elites
>>> telling you your beliefs are toxic. Trump’s version of this program is also
>>> explicitly authoritarian. This authoritarianism is a feature not a bug for
>>> some portion of the Trump coalition which has been persuaded that democracy
>>> left to its own devices could pose an existential threat to their way of
>>> life.
>>>
>>> On the left, the organic response to the financial crisis was Occupy
>>> Wall Street, which directly fueled the Bernie Sanders movement. Here, too,
>>> the villains were clear. In the language of Occupy it was the 1% or as
>>> Bernie put it the millionaires and billionaires. It was the economic elite
>>> and unfettered capitalism that had made it so hard to get by. Turning homes
>>> into assets of financial speculation. Wildly profiteering off of every
>>> element of our healthcare system. Busting unions so that working people had
>>> no collective power. This movement was, in contrast to the right, was
>>> explicitly pro-democracy, with a foundational view that in a contest
>>> between the 99% and the 1%, the 99% would prevail. And that a win would
>>> lead to universal programs like Medicare for All, free college, workplace
>>> democracy, and a significant hike in the minimum wage.
>>>
>>> These two movements traveled on separate tracks within their respective
>>> party alliances and met wildly different fates. On the Republican side,
>>> Donald Trump emerged as a political juggernaut at a time when the party was
>>> devastated and rudderless, having lost to Obama twice in a row. This
>>> weakened state—and the fact that the Trump alternatives were uncharismatic
>>> drips like Jeb Bush—created a path for Trump to successfully execute a
>>> hostile takeover of the party.
>>>
>>> Plus, right-wing populism embraces capital, and so it posed no real
>>> threat to the monied interests that are so influential within the party
>>> structures. The uber-rich are not among the villains of the populist right
>>> (see: Elon Musk, Bill Ackman, and so on), except in so much as they overlap
>>> with cultural leftism. The Republican donor class was not thrilled with
>>> Trump’s chaos and lack of decorum but they did not view him as an
>>> existential threat to their class interests. This comfort with him was
>>> affirmed after he cut their taxes and prioritized union busting and
>>> deregulation in his first term in office.
>>>
>>> Meanwhile, the Democratic Party put its thumb on the scales and
>>> marshaled every bit of power they could, legitimate and illegitimate, to
>>> block Bernie Sanders from a similar party takeover. The difference was that
>>> Bernie’s party takeover *did* pose an existential threat—both to party
>>> elites who he openly antagonized and to the party’s big money backers. The
>>> bottom line of the Wall Street financiers and corporate titans was
>>> explicitly threatened. His rise would simply not be allowed. Not in 2016
>>> and not in 2020.
>>>
>>> What’s more, Hillary Clinton and her allies launched a propaganda
>>> campaign to posture as if they were actually to the left of Bernie by
>>> labeling him and his supporters sexist and racist for centering class
>>> politics over identity politics. This in turn spawned a hell cycle of woke
>>> word-policing and demographic slicing and dicing and antagonism towards
>>> working class whites that only made the Democratic party more repugnant to
>>> basically everyone.
>>>
>>> Upgrade to paid
>>> <https://substack.com/redirect/2/eyJlIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZHJvcHNpdGVuZXdzLmNvbS9zdWJzY3JpYmU_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.9p19i_5lmZh5mMqaa5FRXlriUYo0JRNIBYr2WqS6tDI?&utm_medium=email&utm_source=subscribe-widget&utm_content=151276052>
>>>
>>> This identity politics sword has also been wielded within the Democratic
>>> Party to crush any possibility of a Bernie-inspired class focused movement
>>> in Congress attempted by the Justice Democrats and the Squad in 2018. My
>>> colleague Ryan Grim has written an entire book
>>> <https://substack.com/redirect/665b454d-3371-43a8-878c-21714ce9f053?j=eyJ1IjoiMXJ6NDZlIn0.vwFUUWXitToCG6lkdgIOEZJA0yByKrMNCn3mtPeVIW4>on
>>> this subject so I won’t belabor the point here. But suffice it to say, the
>>> threat of the Squad to the Democratic Party’s ideology and order has been
>>> thoroughly neutralized. The Squad members themselves, perhaps out of
>>> ideology and perhaps out of fear of being smeared as racist, leaned into
>>> identitarian politics which rendered them non-threatening in terms of
>>> national popular appeal. They were also relentlessly attacked from within
>>> the party, predominately by pro-Israel groups that an unprecedented tens of
>>> millions of dollars in House primaries, which has led to the defeat of
>>> several members and has served as a warning and threat to the rest.
>>>
>>> That brings us to today where the Democratic Party stands in the ashes
>>> of a Republican landslide which will sweep Donald Trumpback into the White
>>> House. The path not taken in 2016 looms larger than ever. Bernie’s
>>> coalition was filled with the exact type of voters who are now flocking to
>>> Donald Trump: Working class voters of all races, young people, and,
>>> critically, the much-derided bros. The top contributors to Bernie’s
>>> campaign often held jobs at places like Amazon and Walmart. The unions
>>> loved him. And—never forget—he earned the coveted Joe Rogan endorsement
>>> that Trump also received the day before the election this year. It turns
>>> out, the Bernie-to-Trump pipeline is real! While that has always been used
>>> as an epithet to smear Bernie and his movement, with the implication that
>>> social democracy is just a cover for or gateway drug to right wing
>>> authoritarianism, the truth is that this pipeline speaks to the power and
>>> appeal of Bernie’s vision as an effective antidote to Trumpism. When these
>>> voters had a choice between Trump and Bernie, they chose Bernie. For many
>>> of them now that the choice is between Trump and the dried out husk of
>>> neoliberalism, they’re going Trump.
>>>
>>> I have always believed that Bernie would have defeated Trump in 2016,
>>> though of course there is no way to know for sure. What we *can* say
>>> for sure is that the brand of class-first social democracy Bernie ran on in
>>> 2016 has proven successful in other countries because of course the crisis
>>> of neoliberalism is a global phenomenon. Most notably, Bernie’s basic
>>> political ideology was wildly successful electorally with Andrés Manuel
>>> López Obrador and now his successor Claudia Sheinbaum in Mexico, Lula Da
>>> Silva in Brazil, and Evo Morales in Bolivia. AMLO, in fact, was one of the
>>> most popular leaders in the entire world and dramatically improved the
>>> livelihoods of a majority of his countrymen. Bernie’s basic ideology was
>>> also successful in our own history.
>>>
>>> In the end, I got this election dead wrong. I thought between January
>>> 6th and the roll back of human rights for women, it would be enough. I
>>> thought that the overtly fascist tendencies of Donald Trump and the
>>> spectacle of the world’s richest man bankrolling him would be enough
>>> strikes against him to overcome the problems of the Democratic Party which
>>> I have spoken out about for years now–problems Kamala Harris decided to
>>> lean into rather than confront. Elevating Liz Cheney as a top surrogate was
>>> not just a slap in the face to all the victims of American imperialism—past
>>> and ongoing; it was a broad signal to voters that Democrats were the party
>>> of elites, playing directly into right-wing populist tropes. While the
>>> media talked about it as a “tack to the center,” author and organizer
>>> Jonathan
>>> Smucker more aptly
>>> <https://substack.com/redirect/20a44068-87ed-4149-886e-01bc7325b0f2?j=eyJ1IjoiMXJ6NDZlIn0.vwFUUWXitToCG6lkdgIOEZJA0yByKrMNCn3mtPeVIW4>
>>> described it as “a tack to the top.” And as I write this now, I have zero
>>> hope or expectation that Democrats will look at the Bernie bro coalition
>>> and realize why they screwed up. Cable news pundits are already blaming the
>>> left once again for the failures of a party that has little to do with the
>>> actual left and certainly not the populist left.
>>>
>>> Instead, Trump’s victory represents a defeat of social democratic
>>> class-first politics in America—not quite final, but not temporary either.
>>> The Democrats have successfully smothered the movement, blocked the
>>> entranceways, salted the earth. Instead they will, as Bill Clinton did in
>>> the ‘90s, embrace the fundamental tenets of the Trumpist worldview.
>>>
>>> They already are, in fact. Democrats have dropped their resistance to
>>> Trump’s mass deportation policies and immigrant scapegoating. The most
>>> ambitious politician in the Democratic coalition, Gavin Newsom, is making a
>>> big show of being tough-on-crime and dehumanizing the homeless.
>>> Democrat-leaning billionaires like Jeff Bezos who not only owns Amazon but
>>> the Washington Post have already abandoned their resistance.
>>>
>>> Maybe I will be just as wrong as I was about the election but it is my
>>> sense that with this Trump victory, authoritarian right politics have won
>>> the ideological battle for what will replace the neoliberal order in
>>> America. And yes, I think it will be ugly, mean, and harmful—because it
>>> already is.
>>>
>>> Leave a comment
>>> <https://substack.com/app-link/post?publication_id=2510348&post_id=151276052&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&isFreemail=true&comments=true&token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjoxMDc0NTQxODIsInBvc3RfaWQiOjE1MTI3NjA1MiwiaWF0IjoxNzMwOTM0NDQ5LCJleHAiOjE3MzM1MjY0NDksImlzcyI6InB1Yi0yNTEwMzQ4Iiwic3ViIjoicG9zdC1yZWFjdGlvbiJ9.chXzqhbFgD3220J5_xzasmoJ765_IPyMHd2ac6PkmpM&r=1rz46e&utm_campaign=email-half-magic-comments&action=post-comment>
>>>
>>> <https://substack.com/profile/603504-krystal-kyle-and-friends>
>>> A guest post by
>>> Krystal Kyle & Friends
>>> <https://substack.com/@krystalkyleandfriends?utm_campaign=guest_post_bio&utm_medium=email>
>>> Krystal Ball and Kyle Kulinski dive into politics, philosophy and random
>>> BS with people they like.
>>> Subscribe to Krystal
>>> <https://substack.com/redirect/24de693b-1cfe-4609-9b79-ac6e086ebf2f?j=eyJ1IjoiMXJ6NDZlIn0.vwFUUWXitToCG6lkdgIOEZJA0yByKrMNCn3mtPeVIW4>
>>> * Become a Drop Site News Paid Subscriber *
>>>
>>> Drop Site News is a reader-supported publication. To support our work,
>>> please consider becoming a paid subscriber today.
>>>
>>> Upgrade to paid
>>> <https://substack.com/redirect/2/eyJlIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZHJvcHNpdGVuZXdzLmNvbS9zdWJzY3JpYmU_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.9p19i_5lmZh5mMqaa5FRXlriUYo0JRNIBYr2WqS6tDI?&utm_medium=email&utm_source=subscribe-widget-preamble&utm_content=151276052>
>>> *A paid subscription gets you:*
>>>
>>> ✔️ Subscriber-only AMAs, chats, and invites to events, both virtual and
>>> IRL
>>>
>>> ✔️ Post comments and join the community
>>>
>>> ✔️ The knowledge you are supporting independent media making the lives
>>> of the powerful miserable
>>>
>>> Like
>>> <https://substack.com/app-link/post?publication_id=2510348&post_id=151276052&utm_source=substack&isFreemail=true&submitLike=true&token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjoxMDc0NTQxODIsInBvc3RfaWQiOjE1MTI3NjA1MiwicmVhY3Rpb24iOiLinaQiLCJpYXQiOjE3MzA5MzQ0NDksImV4cCI6MTczMzUyNjQ0OSwiaXNzIjoicHViLTI1MTAzNDgiLCJzdWIiOiJyZWFjdGlvbiJ9.Aj9teOb83HM8IYMne_9j9QRSkfIYVMX6toXH2dTgjYc&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=email-reaction&r=1rz46e>
>>> Comment
>>> <https://substack.com/app-link/post?publication_id=2510348&post_id=151276052&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&isFreemail=true&comments=true&token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjoxMDc0NTQxODIsInBvc3RfaWQiOjE1MTI3NjA1MiwiaWF0IjoxNzMwOTM0NDQ5LCJleHAiOjE3MzM1MjY0NDksImlzcyI6InB1Yi0yNTEwMzQ4Iiwic3ViIjoicG9zdC1yZWFjdGlvbiJ9.chXzqhbFgD3220J5_xzasmoJ765_IPyMHd2ac6PkmpM&r=1rz46e&utm_campaign=email-half-magic-comments&action=post-comment&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email>
>>> Restack
>>> <https://substack.com/redirect/2/eyJlIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9vcGVuLnN1YnN0YWNrLmNvbS9wdWIvZHJvcHNpdGVuZXdzL3AvYmVybmllLXdvdWxkLWhhdmUtd29uP3V0bV9zb3VyY2U9c3Vic3RhY2smdXRtX21lZGl1bT1lbWFpbCZ1dG1fY2FtcGFpZ249ZW1haWwtcmVzdGFjay1jb21tZW50JmFjdGlvbj1yZXN0YWNrLWNvbW1lbnQmcj0xcno0NmUmdG9rZW49ZXlKMWMyVnlYMmxrSWpveE1EYzBOVFF4T0RJc0luQnZjM1JmYVdRaU9qRTFNVEkzTmpBMU1pd2lhV0YwSWpveE56TXdPVE0wTkRRNUxDSmxlSEFpT2pFM016TTFNalkwTkRrc0ltbHpjeUk2SW5CMVlpMHlOVEV3TXpRNElpd2ljM1ZpSWpvaWNHOXpkQzF5WldGamRHbHZiaUo5LmNoWHpxaGJGZ0QzMjIwSjVfeHphc21vSjc2NV9JUHlNSGQyYWM2UGttcE0iLCJwIjoxNTEyNzYwNTIsInMiOjI1MTAzNDgsImYiOnRydWUsInUiOjEwNzQ1NDE4MiwiaWF0IjoxNzMwOTM0NDQ5LCJleHAiOjE3MzM1MjY0NDksImlzcyI6InB1Yi0wIiwic3ViIjoibGluay1yZWRpcmVjdCJ9.njhuIEGea7xumnzAc47ubd2OYCBNhHb9rc-4UCDt8Vo?&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email>
>>>
>>>
>>> © 2024 Drop Site News, Inc.
>>> Drop Site News Inc., 4315 50th St. NW
>>> Ste 100 Unit #2560, Washington, DC 20016
>>> Unsubscribe
>>> <https://substack.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.9nKezASt_vJMWBxDyMuMFeDqvhWvYjze9gxL2hLtyTI?>
>>>
>>> [image: Get the app]
>>> <https://substack.com/redirect/2a2f9b07-d85a-48ea-81b3-4a539de2ccc0?j=eyJ1IjoiMXJ6NDZlIn0.vwFUUWXitToCG6lkdgIOEZJA0yByKrMNCn3mtPeVIW4>[image:
>>> Start writing]
>>> <https://substack.com/redirect/2/eyJlIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9zdWJzdGFjay5jb20vc2lnbnVwP3V0bV9zb3VyY2U9c3Vic3RhY2smdXRtX21lZGl1bT1lbWFpbCZ1dG1fY29udGVudD1mb290ZXImdXRtX2NhbXBhaWduPWF1dG9maWxsZWQtZm9vdGVyJmZyZWVTaWdudXBFbWFpbD1kbW96YXJ0MTc1NkBnbWFpbC5jb20mcj0xcno0NmUiLCJwIjoxNTEyNzYwNTIsInMiOjI1MTAzNDgsImYiOnRydWUsInUiOjEwNzQ1NDE4MiwiaWF0IjoxNzMwOTM0NDQ5LCJleHAiOjE3MzM1MjY0NDksImlzcyI6InB1Yi0wIiwic3ViIjoibGluay1yZWRpcmVjdCJ9.lL4T2pSQcVCaElrb5bSk_SrLk91CzhzTFzfJYFvJ7gg?>
>>>
>>
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group.
View/Reply Online (#33386): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/33386
Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/109442996/21656
-=-=-
POSTING RULES & NOTES
#1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message.
#2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived.
#3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern.
#4 Do not exceed five posts a day.
-=-=-
Group Owner: [email protected]
Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/13617172/21656/1316126222/xyzzy
[[email protected]]
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
