John Conyers was a great son of the African American people and a leader of the progressive movement for more than a half century. He was one of those extraordinary African American leaders that grew up in and came out of Detroit decades ago. Much of what animates today’s movement and frames the current conversation in the Democratic presidential primary were John’s talking points a half century ago. He wasn’t perfect, but, oh my, what courage he possessed and when it came to fighting for equality, justice, and peace, he was fearless. And the guy was cool! I’m saddened.

Here is his obituary in the NYT:

The father of John Conyers Jr. — John Conyers Sr. — was an auto worker and part of a whole cohort of young Black auto workers, including  Coleman Young and Dave Moore, who were at the heart of the organization of Ford and its giant River Rouge plant as well as in the middle of the political transformation of Detroit back in the day. No doubt their readiness to battle titans and their superior political intelligence left their mark on a young John Conyers Jr. Long may they run!

What’s the energizer bunny of Trump’s base? In Trump’s mind and by his words, the answer is clear. It’s racism. Whenever he’s in trouble, and he’s in big trouble now, racist tropes come out of his mouth, fast and furious, to rally his die hard supporters around him. Yesterday he did it again when he said he was the victim of a “lynching” by Congressional Democrats who are doing no more than exercising their constitutional duty as a check and balance on presidential misbehavior and lawlessness.

Here we have the appropriation of a word and act that has a particular meaning and long and shameful history and its redeployment in the service of — of all things — an out of control white supremacist president. This isn’t so much an irony of history as a butchering, emptying, and refashionig of history by a political descendant of racist hangmen and redeemers of the 19th and 20th centuries in the South and elsewhere. Impeach now, and if necessary, defeat next fall.

Bluster is never a good substitute for a politics that is grounded in reality.

The slogan, “Strengthen the Left and Defeat Trump and the Right” may sound militant and appealing, but it’s strategically flawed.and should be benched. At the core of any strategic approach of the left (and other democratic actors for that matter) should be the following political imperative: Unite and mobilize the diverse currents that make up the broad democratic, anti-Trump coalition and the Democratic Party in a common struggle to decisively Trump and the Republican right in next year’s election. The failure to mention, let along highlight, this overarching task is a mistake and ends up narrowing the left’s role at this moment.