Why I Won't Be Signing Any More Petitions From Move On

 

When I was younger and the internet was still not what it was, I signed a lot of petitions for various progressive organizations.

I did this in a lout during W's Presidency, kept doing through Obama's and did quite a bit during Trump's first term. I'm sure I signed things about being against the War on Terror and Iraq, holding Wall Street accountable, universal health, gun control and endless support for Democratic candidates. I only occasionally donated money (which is of course what they really wanted) but I was always willing to offer support.

I don't remember when exactly I stopped doing so but I think it happened early in Joe Biden's presidency. I was becoming fundamentally cynical about what it what meant to be considered progressive, I didn't like the tone of many of the newsletters such as Daily Kos and I wasn't wild about the way so many of them were increasingly arguing that not acting was akin to allying with the enemy. Most of all, I was becoming aware of what has become termed as performative activism, which has basically become all that the left does these days.

I understand the logic of wanting to do something or at least to feel like your doing something. At some point I have to have realized that all the petitions I was signing about Wall Street or climate change were pointless without bipartisan support but I kept doing because I understood the need. And that's the danger of so many of these sites. The left's desire to that they must always be socially active combined with a generation being raised on the instant gratification of the internet has almost certainly bred an entire generation that can't understand why political change can't happen as simply as downloading an app. This is dangerous enough thinking on its own; when political organizations – particularly progressive ones – feed it,  I'm terrified the cognitive dissonance between this will be increasingly hard for any party to overcome.

Let me take an example of an email I received recently that was typical.. Earlier today Senator Mike Lee of Utah made a post online that was incredibly derogatory and offensive about the shootings that took place in Minnesota this past Saturday. To be clear upfront, it was disgraceful – though sadly given the tenor of our times from today's Republican Party, hardly abnormal.

Here's the heading: "He joked about a political assassination. He's not fit for office. He should resign." To be clear I agree that the first statement is despicable, completely with Mike Lee's fitness for political office and that he should resign. However I also know that Lee has been in the Senate since 2010 (he was one of the original members of the Tea Party) has done far worse things during his career in politics and will never be shamed into leaving office. And frankly the idea that if we get enough personal outrage from progressives or anybody that Mike Lee will say: "Good Lord. What have I done?" and immediately resign from office is so ludicrous an idea that I doubt even the most deluded leftist thinks it will happen.

To be clear he is a jerk of epic proportions as the article says. Now let's look at the rest of the email:

"We can't normalize this behavior, just because Trump has made us used to jerks."

First of all this behavior was the norm long before Trump came into office and the reason I know this it's because I've been receiving emails like this from groups like this. And we were used to jerks long before that in public life.

"Lee is a Senator, and this behavior should not be tolerated. He needs to go now."

Now I agree his behavior shouldn't be tolerated and that he does need to go now. But signing a petition demanding he resign will not do that, and honestly I suspect if he heard there was a petition signed by thousands of people from a left-leaning site, Lee would turn it around and use it as a fundraiser for his reelection.

After that we find a link, saying "Demand Lee resign or be kicked out."

This position currently has 7827 supporters right now, and they're aiming for 8000 which they will no doubt get. I'm not going to be one of them, even though I agree with the statement. By the way, when you get to the link you see the original petition, except where they said 'jerk' in the public email, they say 'asshole' in the private site.

Now I'm not saying I don't agree with the latter sentiment but that's not the point. They are arguing that Lee's behavior is despicable and should not be tolerated but apparently its fine to call a sitting senator an asshole and demand he be resign because of that crime. I'm pretty sure if that was the standard they used for behavior, no elected official could meet it – or for that matter, no progressive.

The thing is, I do agree that Mike Lee should go and there is a method to get rid of him. It's called an election. Lee is up for reelection in three years' time which would seem to be more than sufficient time to groom a sufficient Democrat who might have a chance of beating such a toxic personality. And indeed if the Democratic party were to field such a candidate I would not only sign a petition endorsing them but I would donate money.

But while the left will gladly devote an immense amount of time and energy to protesting and shame rich white men in Hollywood and business in order to hold them accountable, they are not willing to do the same for those in political office. (They're also not very good when it comes to punishing those in Hollywood and business, but one issue at a time.) The irony is there is no more effective way to cancel someone then to defeat them for public office.

So why didn't I see any fundraising sites or a link to the DNC when I clicked that link? Several reasons. First Lee's not due to run for reelection in three years and the left is mad now. Second, and more importantly, Lee represents Utah which is a deep red state where progressives have famously had no luck running for elected office. Democrats have had some, but not progressives. And as has become increasingly clear if the left can't have the latter they'd just as soon not have the former.

Now it is possible that in the days and weeks to come I will receive a link from another major progressive organization using Mike Lee as a reason why we have to donate money to Democrats in 2026. I might sign on for something like that later on, but I know whatever money I were to send, it wouldn't go to beat Lee – and not just because he's not up for reelection next year. No I know by having spent far too much time in left leaning websites that they consider states like Utah which are deep red as utterly beyond salvation with not a single citizen deserving of being saved by them. As far as they're concerned Utah made its bed a long time ago and they deserve Senators like Mike Lee. The email I saw, I will repeat, stated "The country didn't deserve Mike Lee", not Utah. That's a major distinction and it's one that progressives in particular frequently make.

And that's why I'm pretty sure, even though the left hates Mike Lee nearly as much as the Democrats do, they kind of like that he's still in the Senate, the same way that while they abhor Marjorie Taylor Greene I'm not convinced they really try that hard to remove her from the House. I think both of them are disgraces as elected representatives and I want both of them out of Congress. I'm not sure at this point the left does. If they did, they would be devoting all their time and energy to allying with the Democratic party across the country to try and find the best candidates to defeat them. The fact that as we speak David Hogg is currently trying to fundraise to primary Democratic elected officials says that they want more left-leaning Democrats in Congress, even if that means unfit Republicans stay there.

That's why this comes from a left-leaning organization rather than the DNC as well as why the two are conflict. The Democrats are in something of a divide between the centrist wing that wants to win elected office and govern like adults and the progressive wing that wants to appear like its doing something rather than actually doing something. An email like this is right up their ally because it fits in with their whole approach: you feel like your doing something when you're doing the political equivalent of pushing the walk button on a crosswalk. It momentarily makes you feel better but nothing changes.

To be clear I think Mike Lee is the worst possible example of a Senator, though heavens know there are terrible ones on either side of the aisle. But I know that signing a petition demanding he resign because he's a jerk isn't going to do anything but make me feel better for a few seconds. If I actually want Mike Lee out of the Senate – and trust me, I do – I'm going to do what I can to help the Democratic party improve its prospect across the country, starting with this election cycle and then hopefully in three years we have a chance. It's the long game and there's no guarantee of success, but it's better than calling him names and hoping he sees reason. That doesn't work in the real world and certainly not in Washington.