 So I took a couple of weeks off from Twitter and YouTube and I come back and Things are a complete mess. You know leaving YouTube and Twitter it really was nice like it was therapeutic because I feel like my mind has been cleared But every time like there's winter break there's always some sort of a drama that happens on left Twitter or YouTube and This year of course was no different. I think back in 2017 or 2018 We had the Justice Democrats drama where they kicked out Jank Jueger and then Kyle Kalinsky resigned as well in 2019 we had the Tulsi Gabbard drama. I was part of that unfortunately And now we have the force the vote drama now for those of you who are not aware I'll try to give you the rundown of it, but basically this turned into this really huge thing that has led to 50% of the left online hating the other 50% of the left online and It seems like a large portion of people on left Twitter and YouTube now hate members of the squad because ultimately Force the vote was not successful in getting them to get a floor vote on Medicare for all It's kind of a mess, but I do feel like after watching way too many hours of force the vote Material I've listened to a lot of takes both from proponents of force the vote and people who are critical of it I feel like I do have a pretty Solid and objective Perspective on this because I've heard out both sides and so my observations are going to be based largely on generalizations But I think that what I have to say I think it's useful and I kind of contemplated whether or not I should even talk about this because I don't I don't want to talk about something that is very clearly dividing the left which hurts us overall But I think that in order to move forward there has to be healing and in order to have healing You have to talk about things like you can't just sweep it under a rug So let's talk about it. So when it comes to force the vote, there's two main camps one camp as this Image explains they just simply want progressives to withhold a vote for Nancy Pelosi to become speaker of the house Unless she agrees to you know get a floor vote on Medicare for all now baked into this Demand is this assumption that we know about the inevitability of Nancy Pelosi We know that she's probably going to become speaker again because there's no other Challenger to the left of Nancy Pelosi like if it's not Nancy Pelosi It's probably someone worse than Nancy Pelosi to the right of Nancy Pelosi like Steny Hoyer or Hakim Jeffries So knowing that she's gonna be speaker again try to get something out of it Try to extract some concession and the concession that we want is a floor vote on Medicare for all We know it's not gonna pass. We know this won't actually get us Medicare for all but we think we can use this as ammunition to strengthen our position and You know have Democrats go on the record like show your cards Who's going to go on the record and deny their constituents Medicare for all during a pandemic? So that's one side. The other side says This isn't really a good idea Now I've heard multiple takes as to why they think this isn't a good idea and I'll tell you which camp I've fallen after I explained their position But on chapo trap house will Medicare made the point that you know what? This is just going to hurt our cause because it's gonna demoralize people They're gonna see Medicare for all fail and they're gonna get disappointed and want to check out of politics I'm paraphrasing of course. There are some individuals who will say, you know what? This isn't a good idea because it's going to put us in a worse off position Because then Nancy Pelosi can point to the failure of this to pass and she'll say look I told you it's not popular. We can't pass it So overall after listening to all of these arguments weighing out the pros and the cons I ultimately do fall into the camp of forced the vote ironically I found out about forced the vote through Sam Cedar when he talked about Jimmy door coming up with the strategy And I thought oh my god This could be something that's amazing because if you have Jimmy door and Sam Cedar agreeing on something to individuals who hate each Other's guts this really could be something that you know We all coalesce around and unify the left, but it's turned out to be like the opposite We're now everyone hates each other more than ever and you see people online Jen Yuger Jimmy door taking lots of shots against each other and it is getting Ugly I mean that is hard to watch like I've watched these guys Over the years and this is like watching two Titans in our bubble in our echo chamber go at it It's like you know Tupac versus Biggie Jay-Z versus Nos and so it's tough to watch And I don't think it needs to be this way. You know, I'm in the camp of forced the vote I think that this is a good strategy But I think that we have to acknowledge that there are valid criticisms from allies who definitely support Medicare for all but when things started to go down hill was when the Factualization really started to happen. There was a clip of Jimmy door basically Screaming at AOC Saying, you know, everyone is turning against you humanist report is now turning against you Kyle Kalinsky is turning against you And my response to that is You've got to calm the fuck down Jimmy Like here's the thing. I don't like the criticisms that Jimmy door is just doing this for clicks. He's a grifter I believe Jimmy door believes in this. That's why he's angry and look He has a right to be angry, but you've got to acknowledge that if somebody sees, you know Jimmy door screaming at AOC Calling her a sellout. Fuck you. You don't support the strategy It's going to turn off a lot of people and think okay This doesn't seem like a good strategy if you're just gonna yell at AOC She's already on our side from an optics perspective from a marketing perspective Getting people on board means convincing them and that's not going to be something that persuades a lot of people and You know after seeing that a lot of people thought oh, wow, well, I don't want to be associated with this I don't want to be associated with this dude online who's like screaming at people and so you had individuals try to kind of Salvage the force to vote campaign and say look, this isn't really about Jimmy door This is really about force to vote the substance He's just one individual who is a proponent of force to vote and sure he popularized it But you don't have to agree with Jimmy door and him screaming at AOC To still support force to vote and that was kind of my take like I think that Anger is a good thing, but I don't necessarily agree with like screaming at AOC I don't think that it's warranted just yet because I don't think that this necessarily proves that she's a sellout because she doesn't support this Particular strategy, you know There's just a disagreement and apparently her strategy was to negotiate with regard to Pago But still even having said that I think that AOC is wrong to say that oh well Jimmy door She didn't name Jimmy door, but it's heavily implied that Jimmy door saying fuck you to her is Tantum out to violence, which I unequivocally disagree with like I think that Jimmy door went too far in his criticism of AOC saying that she's basically Comparable to Nancy Pelosi or there's no difference. I don't agree with that at all But I don't think that telling a politician fuck you or to go fuck themselves is tantamount to violence But still even if I don't agree with AOC saying that I think that Jimmy door did take it a little bit too far at times I think that you know when you have forced the vote and people aligning with you You have to acknowledge that there's going to be criticisms even within this faction that has kind of emerged So there's another viral clip of Jimmy door and Ben Spielberg Talking about this and Ben Spielberg tried to push back against this claim that AOC and Pelosi are similar I think and Jimmy door was yelling at him and whatnot. I think that these clips Kind of sullied the momentum for forced the vote like you see a lot of solidarity But then you think okay, I don't want to be associated with this It's getting a little bit too extreme too divisive, but then people who support forced the vote They started to see individuals who were initially supportive of it Flip so you see Jank you goer who kind of like indicated that he supports forced the vote Flip and it's not critical of it saying it's it's not the best strategy You see Sam Cedar who initially said he agreed with Jimmy door kind of changes tune a little bit I don't know if he was still supportive of the strategy Maybe he just didn't like Jimmy doors tactics and yelling but he kind of flipped You see, you know the DSA come out and say we don't actually support this campaign When I believe they supported a floor vote on Medicare for all a couple years prior So if you're an individual and you don't care about these viral clips and you you care about the substance Well, it's kind of like what the fuck you all supported it. What changed? I mean now that it's gaining momentum after saying you support it now you don't support it So I see that anger. I see why people are disappointed But on the opposite side of the same coin folks who are disappointed with individuals who reject this strategy Oftentimes take their criticisms way too far, you know labeling someone A sellout because they don't support this is unreasonable putting someone on a list Saying that these folks who rejected forced the vote are on the wrong side of history It doesn't make sense. These are all allies who support Medicare for all They just don't agree with this particular strategy because they don't believe that it's the best way to get to Medicare for all This is becoming like a no-true scotsman fallacy where it's like if you don't support forced the vote You're not a real progressive when that's It's a strategy disagreement like this isn't a hill to die on necessarily because it's just a strategy I think folks who support forced the vote know that this isn't actually going to get us to Medicare for all It is just a means to an end. It could increase our bargaining power going forward But of course there are pitfalls with this strategy. I think there is insightful criticisms of it But it's not like The hill to die on like if you don't support this, I don't support I don't think you hate Medicare for all or you're a fraud progressive or grifter. You just disagree and that's fine Like I've had my disagreements with people who support Medicare for all I've been disappointed disappointed in jimmy door who when tulsi gabbered came out against Medicare for all You know, he kind of gave her the softball interview and she supported a multi-payer system She came out with like single payer plus and That's plus private insurance. So it's no longer single payer. It's a multi-payer system It doesn't eliminate eliminate private insurance and I was expecting jimmy door to rip her a new asshole But he didn't so it's like well, where was that energy? Where was that fire for tulsi gabbered when she came out against Medicare for all Isn't the standard that you're applying to aoc a lot more stringent and harsh than other politicians So there are disagreements there and the problem is that when youtubers and leftist pundits publicly disagree then their audiences kind of end up taking a side, you know And so that becomes this huge issue and it becomes a factionalized clusterfuck and just a mess and you've got people who are like making fun of the small crowd size And that really bothered me as well If you look at like what the activists there were saying one of them was joy marie a friend of mine Like she was passionately talking about why she needed medicare for all So why would we make fun of that if you disagree with the strategy? There's no need to make fun of that like we're all on the same side And so basically like this is getting already too convoluted, but there's so much basically my my main criticism Of forced to vote and all of this like both sides is that we don't communicate with each other We're talking past each other. We're not talking to each other And so if I vocalize a criticism Of forced to vote or you know, I listen to a criticism of forced to vote Rather than responding to someone else's criticism I immediately shut down and I think fuck that person. I'm done with them. I'm writing them off forever And we do this individually because you know, there's so much at stake as I stated like there's a lot of anger and hurt and The necessity of medicare for all it's never been higher during a pandemic So there's so much at stake and people have a right to be angry We just have to make sure we're angry at the right people and being angry at each other Taking shots at each other This isn't healthy and it doesn't help that youtubers online Are participating in this because their viewers are going to take sides and the viewers work will clash when all together We have to be a cohesive block if we ever want to be successful And I'm preaching right now, but I've been part of the problem as well I've gotten into many arguments with people online other leftist commentators So we just have to try to be more self-aware and not do this But the main issue here overall if I get stepped back And wrap all of this in one pretty package and hand it to you and tell you this is what I think is the main issue here It's a lack of communication It's a lack of communication not just with each other But between us and politicians members of the squad specifically because this is what it's about So fast forward to The day when all these members of congress are sworn in and we see whether or not They're gonna get anything for voting for Pelosi because we all expected them to vote for Nancy Pelosi and what happens They voted for Nancy Pelosi and we didn't get a floor vote on medicare for all so A lot of people responded I think in a reasonable way by saying look I get it, you know, they're I don't want to see them vote for Nancy Pelosi However, they're gonna do that because there's no other left-wing alternative I just hope that they extracted enough Concessions to make that vote worth it because by voting for Nancy Pelosi like it or not you're voting for someone Who's part of the problem who's against your interests? So if you're gonna make that Choice to vote for Nancy Pelosi, you better damn well get something for it. That's what force to vote was about and then we saw a response that Was the opposite where fraud squad was trending and people were attacking members of the squad for voting for Nancy Pelosi There's a lot to say about this. First of all, I think that labeling them the fraud squad. I think that that goes too far but Without a mind, I don't think that anger at the squad is unwarranted. I think that anger at them voting for Nancy Pelosi Irrespective of the circumstances They have to explain that and this is where communication comes into play, right? Okay I get that there was no other left-wing challenger and the only alternative to Nancy Pelosi was a democrat that was more conservative, right? Someone like hakeem jeffreys or steny heuer So I get that I can rationalize their their reasoning and if they feel as if you know getting The exceptions for Medicare for all and the Green New Deal under pay go to then force Floor vote on Medicare for all later if they think that's enough then that's fine Like I don't think voting for Nancy Pelosi makes them sellouts if I were in congress Would I vote for Nancy Pelosi? No, I would not I would make sure I rally enough protest votes to make a big enough noise without Making us susceptible to getting an even more conservative speaker like steny heuer or hakeem jeffreys But that's just me. But if they took the time and explained it to us explained it to people This wouldn't be that big of an issue. Do they go too far in saying they're the fraud squad Who are critical of their votes for Pelosi? Yes, I even saw some people say like we need to primary the squad and That just is nonsensical because why waste your energy and you know a limited amount of resources and organizational power on primarying them when there are Democrats who are way worse. There are republicans who are worse So, you know, I think that that is too far There's some people who are just like overly attacking corey bush on her first day in congress When you also have marjorie taylor green being sworn in and why isn't your fire being directed towards her? She definitely doesn't support medicare for all. So, you know, that's my feelings But I'm also conflicted because when people Run on something like the expectations are higher like the standards for the squad Are higher, right? So I expect better from them. So if they let me down I'm going to be more disappointed Then by something that marjorie taylor green does or some other corporate democrat does because I expect better from them So here's the thing basically if they voted for Nancy Pelosi and then explain themselves That would be Really really helpful. It wouldn't make it so that way Disillusionment and disappointment with the squad wouldn't be as severe Because here's the thing if you're going to make this vote We all kind of expected them to make this vote you've got to take the time to explain yourselves But they vote for Nancy Pelosi and then they expect people to just accept well We had no other option But explain that to us like if you're going into congress and your corey bush and you support all the policies that we support You can't just vote for Nancy Pelosi and then like Never touch on that like if I did like a 30 second ad in lock for lockheed martin on this show a defense contractor And then just never address it again. You guys would be like What the fuck? Why are you doing this? What you just did is antithetical to everything that you stood for so you'd have to explain yourself And I think that maybe if I came up with some excuse or whatever That would at least let you know my thinking But we know like if you are a member of the squad, you know that Nancy Pelosi Is antithetical to everything that you stand for you know, she's a fraud So you can't just vote for her and not expect people to be angry You have to explain your vote for Nancy Pelosi communicate with people you have large platforms You can go basically on any channel my channel The the young turks kyle kolinsky david oh you can go on any channel and explain yourself You basically have an open invitation, but this isn't even about leftist commentators You can just upload a video to youtube explaining look guys. I understand why you're frustrated Nancy Pelosi does not represent What I like but I had to vote for her because that was the only way I could get x y and z I could get this committee appointment this concession So I hope you can understand that I had to make this decision begrudgingly But it's what I think can best Improve my position in congress to have more bargaining power like if you explain it to people That would make matters a lot better, but there's no communication They make the vote and people are scratching their heads wondering why you just voted for Nancy Pelosi And perhaps again the reasons are valid because there isn't another option that's more left-wing than Nancy Pelosi But explain to us what happened. Why she's the speaker again Why during the last two years that you had you didn't find the time To rally around someone else who's to the left of Nancy Pelosi, especially now that you have more leverage when the house just lost ground Like you you just kind of like accepted Nancy Pelosi as an as an inevitability So I want you to explain to us what happened And it's not like they're forced to explain themselves to me like they don't have to Come on the humanist report every single time they do something bad or that I disagree with But if you want people who helped you get to congress Still be dedicated to you and fight for you and be loyal to you You do have to clue them in on these things you have to explain these things Because we're not going to be privy to all of these small little legislative maneuvers and back room deals that go on That leads to the things that are disappointing So you just got to explain it to us like what we need from members of the squad is reassurance that what we're doing Is is worthwhile Getting more progressive members elected to congress is worthwhile phone banking for them canvassing for them You know sending them money that it's all worthwhile because if every time We elect someone and we primary a corporate democrat successfully You just turn around and do what the establishment wants Like people are going to get demoralized and the squad isn't going to grow as easily So you've got to you've got to help us help you the online left is just like one component of The overall left collective in the united states But like it or not they did get you elected. They helped you get elected So you can't just make them feel as if once you're elected that institution is going to change you You have to explain to us that everything that we've been doing for the last couple of years You know, it wasn't for nothing. You still know that Nancy Pelosi is the enemy And you let us know you clue us in on these things But like there's a lot of things that kind of add up and people think it's trivial But I don't think it is trivial like you see Nancy Pelosi be called mama bear by aoc You see a or ilhan omar Sharing an endorsement of Nancy Pelosi and what she said about ilhan omar. It's like you can't you can't do that and not Make people upset because Nancy Pelosi is a barrier to progress And if you really believe in everything that you say you believe in which I believe you do Then you can't keep normalizing Nancy Pelosi If you're going to vote for Nancy Pelosi take the time to explain to people why she's part of the problem Why it's not just Republicans who are stopping us from getting medicare for all it is individuals in the democratic party's leadership That do that as well But still having said that though, it doesn't mean that if you heard from Nancy Pelosi You're a sellout or if you call her mama bear or you know, you share her endorsement of you That doesn't mean you're a sellout. It irritates me to no end It does but it doesn't mean you're a sellout. So I kind of see like both sides here like I see Them going too far in saying they're the fraud squad But also the anger and disappointment with the squad It it really is warranted like there's so much at stake even if I'm misguided And the the squad really is behind the scenes doing everything in their power To get us in a better position The communication there's lacking And we have to talk but I want to end with this everyone who was involved enforced the vote whether you supported it or you don't support it Everyone has good intentions here Everyone is passionate because they believe this will either help or hurt our chances of securing medicare for all Further down the road because nobody believed this would lead to us getting medicare for all It just was a means to an end eventually maybe But at the end of the day, we all support medicare for all And we're mad because we care and that sounds corny But it's true like we're mad at each other We're taking shots at each other because so much is at stake and the left, you know, it seems like we're unreasonable And we're crazy because we're always like fighting each other and shitting on each other and dunking on each other But that isn't just unhinged behavior. I mean, well sometimes it is but That energy is there because people care people's lives are at stake people need medicare for all We need free college. We need a green new deal. So whenever, you know The stakes are that high emotions and tensions are going to be high as well And we have to remind ourselves of that of that and I feel like if I didn't like take this break from twitter I would probably be like right in the trenches like staking at a position arguing with everyone else because that's just how human beings are like we we say we support something and then somebody responds and rather than trying to You know, uh interpret what they're saying from The position of a good faith ally we kind of like harden our stance and we take shots at them and we feel attacked personally when That's that's not the case like the force to vote people They have to acknowledge that the people who didn't agree with the strategy are not sellouts But I think that tensions wouldn't be as high if political commentators like myself Didn't fan the flames like I feel like All of this has kind of led to me coming to this conclusion that political commentary online is Is like a double-edged sword on one hand. I think it is important because we I think I hope provide a service in simplifying political news and giving you like An interesting take and offering you commentary that is insightful. But on the other hand, you know like it or not These personalities kind of become larger than life and people end up Supporting the personality over the substance. So, you know, you see like when these personalities clash You know the audiences will clash and it becomes about the personality and not the issues And so I hope that like folks like jimmy door and jenke yuger Will stop taking shots at each other publicly for the betterment of the movement and like work this out privately But I feel like we all have to try to be more understanding of each other and empathetic And acknowledge that we're all good faith actors come coming from a position that um It's like well intentioned