The LA Fires Signal the End of the Woke Leftist Movement
While it may seem like we’re living through something new and different, it’s important to remember the iteration of the leftist movement we experienced from about 2015 to present is just another chapter in a long history of socialism and communism in America.
I imagine a lot of people are unaware of the impact of socialism on U.S. policy and culture. For example, in 1912, there were 160 councilmen, 145 alderman, a congressman and 56 mayors who were avowed socialists. There were 300 socialist newspapers, and one in Kansas that had over 700,000 subscribers. In 1912, socialist party leader Eugene Debbs ran for president and garnered 6% of the vote.
So, you see, socialists and communists have been around for a long time, but what changed is their identity.
During the 1950s, the intensity of the anti-communist efforts of Senator Joseph McCarthy drove the socialist movement underground, and when it reemerged in the 1960s, it did so in a stealthy manner by integrating into the Democratic party. The influence of socialists became so pronounced that it culminated in the nomination of George McGovern, a senator from South Dakota of all places, as the Democratic candidate for president in 1972.
McGovern was an unabashed socialist who advocated policies that aligned with the most radical elements of the leftist movement of the 1960s. If you weren’t living during those times, it’s difficult to convey just how extreme groups like the Black Panthers, the Weather Underground and the Students for a Democratic Society truly were. These groups, who fanned the flames of civil unrest and anarchy, were every bit as deranged and ethically bankrupt as today’s Black Lives Matter and Antifa factions. Those 1960s agitators wanted to overthrow the U.S. government and replace it with a socialist model, and McGovern was the catalyst to make that happen.
Just take a look at a few excerpts from the 1972 Democratic Party Platform:
“We are determined to make economic security a matter of right. This means a job with decent pay and good working conditions for everyone willing and able to work and an adequate income for those unable to work.”
“Tax reform directed toward equitable distribution of income and wealth and fair sharing of the cost of government.”
“The next Democratic Administration must end the present welfare system and replace it with an income security program which places cash assistance in an appropriate context with all of the measures outlined above.”
“The new Democratic Administration can help lead America to celebrate the magnificence of the diversity within its population, the racial, national, linguistic and religious groups which have contributed so much to the vitality and richness of our national life. As things are, official policy too often forces people into a mold of artificial homogeneity.”
Sound familiar?
The problem for radical socialists in 1972 was that no working-class American wanted these things. As is always the case, ordinary people just want to be left alone to live the best version of the life they envision for themselves and their families. The seminal moment came in the 1972 election. Richard Nixon demolished George McGovern, winning the electoral college 512 to 17.
The socialist movement within the Democratic party was left in ruins, and while they learned valuable lessons, they slipped into obscurity and didn’t emerge from the shadows until the mid-2010s.
Lurking in the Darkness
While they were banished to a small corner of the Democrat party apparatus, the socialists didn’t go away. In fact, one could argue they became more patient and cunning. Over the intervening five decades, they infiltrated every significant American institution, including academia, media, law enforcement, the judiciary, government bureaucracy and corporate America.
Somewhere between 2015 and 2020, they reemerged from the shadows, and this time with a vengeance.
There is no need to recount the horrors woke leftists have inflicted on America. No matter what policy they advanced, such as CRT, genital mutilation of children, trans women in sports, kneeling for the national anthem, DEI, climate change, lawfare, suppression of free speech, defund the police or the multitude of micro and macro expressions designed to disrupt the status quo, the latest iteration of woke leftist socialists was far more damaging to our country than the 1960s version.
While the election of Donald Trump as president in 2024 was significant, let’s not kid ourselves. His opponent, Kamala Harris, was even farther left than George McGovern. She also lost by far less than McGovern did (312-226). So, rest assured from a Democrat socialist standpoint, even in defeat, they believe they are making progress.
While the Trump victory felt satisfying, there was still an unsettling feeling lingering that the woke leftist movement wasn’t quite finished. However, if there was any doubt that this chapter was over, it was quashed this week in light of the catastrophic fires that have turned the picturesque Los Angeles countryside into an apocalyptic hellscape.
The list of failures in California state and local government in planning for and mitigating the impact of a probable and foreseeable wildfire calamity is extensive. As of today, over 10,000 homes, businesses and other structures have been damaged or destroyed.
* The city ran out of water to fight the fire: This was caused by a combination of aging infrastructure, including pipes that were broken, tanks that were undersized and dry reservoirs due to the government prioritizing the delta smelt over its citizens.
* Budget cuts: For fiscal year 2025, which started in July 2024, the LAFD’s budget was cut by $17.6 million.
* Failure to manage the environment properly: The majority of the explosive fuel the fires used to grow came from dried-out underbrush that had been piling up on the hills surrounding Los Angeles for years. Removing decaying vegetation is a key component in wildfire prevention strategy in arid climates like southern California but was ignored under Mayor Karen Bass’s administration.
* DEI: The question of lack of preparedness and painfully slow response to the fires speaks to the issue of DEI, which is a major tenet of the LAFD’s policy agenda. In fact, Kristen Crowley, an open lesbian, was the city’s first female fire chief and a direct result of DEI. Under her leadership, the focus of the department included creation of a “DEI bureau,” whose purpose was to bring more women, minorities, and LGBTQ people into the department.
On Wednesday, the frustration boiled over, and led to celebrities like Sara Foster posting on X:
The End of the Modern Woke Leftist Socialist Movement
The LA fires hit woke leftists like a gut punch. For the first time in modern history, THEY are now suffering the consequences of their virtue signaling and sanctimonious lecturing. While we can all feel sympathy for the lives lost and the destruction of people’s homes and property, we can simultaneously hope that this kind of reality check changes minds.
As Adam Carolla pointed out, the pain from these fires will continue long after the last flame has gone out. Many of these homes are coastal, where building permits are virtually impossible to secure due to bureaucratic red tape and environmental regulations. As a lifelong Californian, Carolla has first-hand experience in the permitting process, and he predicts many of these lots will never get the necessary permits required to rebuild.
How are these elite woke leftists going to react to that?
At the end of the day, there is no question that the majority of the blame for the incompetence and lack of an effective response falls on the shoulders of those who run California’s local and state governments, which in this case, means the most radical leftist Democrats in the country. The misguided priorities, lack of common sense and nauseating sanctimony have finally caught up with these people, and it means this chapter of woke leftism is officially closed.
Like 1972, it will probably be 50 years and several generations who don’t remember anything about 2024 before the socialists return. Hopefully, this time we won’t forget about them, and society will be more prepared to stop them dead in their tracks before they can inflict this kind of damage on our country again.
