Flip-Flop

By Lavender Editor-in-Chief Jada Fulcher

Lord I am so ready for Midterms to be over. With Illinois, being solidly blue for state office, I've spent a lot of these last few months watching the Michigan senate race of Democrat Dr. Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers. El-Sayed won the primary while I was spending my summer in Kalamazoo, MI, and it was so interesting being in a state that actually felt purple. Granted Kalamazoo is, similarly to Champaign-Urbana, one of Michigan's many blue dot communities in a sea of red. Yet, the folks I met out there were a lot more aware of the effects that each election could have, everything felt a little more personal. Out here we have our local elections that obviously affect our day-to-day, but in many ways we focus a lot more on how the choices folks in other states make will affect our lives. There's sometimes a feeling of a lack of control, like we are at the behest of Americans we've never meet, and their choices will change our world. But I guess that's electoralism for ya, lol.

Focusing back on Michigan, the primary for this senate election was a flashpoint in the public seeing truly how much AIPAC has been controlling American politics. We watched as this primary became the most expensive one in history, due to the AIPAC-backed United Democracy Project giving tens of millions of dollars to Haley Stevens' campaign, dwarfing the financials of her opponents. And yet, despite the sea of money from shady super PACS, Abdul El-Sayed pulled out a victory for democrats and progressives in Michigan. Stevens originally stepped back, told people to support El-Sayed. She wasn't like super into it, but she seemed like she was gonna let it happen. And then this weekend happened. Stevens starts trying to sabotage El-Sayed's campaign in the 11th hour, targeting him for an ad made not by him but on his behalf, and then the crowning glory is her this Sunday, sitting alongside Mike Rogers in a Black Detroit church to laud him and formally endorse him for the seat. 

Obviously, this is betrayal, but if you've been paying attention you know that it's not new. We've already seen Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania change his tune to become completely pro-Trump. And going back further, we saw Former Senator Krysten Sinema in Arizona hop from being the bisexual democrat who rallied with queer people to get into her seat, to an independent that voted with republicans. The flip flopping isn't new, hell we even saw it with Kamala when she campaigned with Liz Cheney, attempting to court centrist and sympathetic republican votes in the 2024 election. Democrats are known for making a turn when convenient, and that's actually a part of the Democratic playbook. If we take any lesson from this election season, it's that partisan politics is a hellscape, and our allegiance to Democrats is a flawed one. 

I know this may be preaching to the choir, when talking to friends about voting we have to throw the term "harm reduction" around a little too much for my liking, but this season I think it's time to really take it to heart. More and more we're seeing the Democrats becoming a centrist force that will actively sabotage its left flank to protect corporations and capital. It's this same force that blocked out Bernie Sanders in 2016 and led major Dems like Chuck Schumer to refuse to endorse Zohran Mamdani in his run for mayor of New York City. 

As progressives and leftists, we have to detach from the Democratic party. They don't want us, and they try to expell us any chance they get, or they try to change us. We saw it with the lack of support Jamaal Bowman and Cori Bush got when AIPAC-funded candidates took their seats in 2024. That doesn't mean don't vote for democrats when that's the best option available, because oftentimes that's all there is. Moreso, this means helping true leftist candidates get off the ground, and then holding them to their values. Progressives and socialists are running all across the country today because people believed that we deserved something different and better than what we've already gotten. For the ones who lose, it's on us to support them in their next runs and to identify those in our community and nationally who are ready to pick up the mantle. For those who win, then it will be on us to hold them to the values that got them into office, and to not let them be pulled into the centrist Democrat fold. Our voices, our money, and our labor are worth their weight in gold. So, no matter what happens this election day, know that the work has only just begun. 

P.S. GO VOTE!

News to Know

• Letter to the Editor | Rebuilding trust: Why process, transparency matter for our schools (Daily Illini): I'm putting this in the news column not because it's like pure fact, like this is just a letter from a Champaign School Board member. That said, this is a pertinent opinion on the referendum question on the ballot regarding the building of a new middle school. 
  
• Massive Fanfic Site Archive of Our Own Says It’s Going Down for 'Up to 4 Weeks' (404 Media): A true blow to the fan fiction community, apologies to all affected gays. However, this is a good thing! Most sites don't have the ability to take the time to do all this maintenance, so honestly this is kind of a slay. 
  
• Manifestos, Fear, and ‘Loser Thinking’: Inside Proton’s AI Reckoning (404 Media): A moment of science for everyone who has already started moving over from Google to Proton (me included :////). The AI psychosis is really hitting people in so many different fields, and it's so depressing to see. I was really hoping this could be the company I could De-Google with! But guess that means its time to go back to the Reading Between the Algorithms column that gives info and recs on some of the things I started turning to Proton for. 

Lavender Vibes

• A car-free Green Street is possible; what’s stopping us? (Daily Illini): I have been saying this for yearssssss, please I would love Green Street to be a pedestrian street. I don't drive but I don't know a single driver who wants to drive on Green Street, and most of the time when they do they regret not just going on Springfield. Like even if it was just a bus and bike only street, it would be so much better. 

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