Deeper reasons why there is no “left” version of Charlie Kirk—and why the Democratic Party will not, and cannot, do what needs to be done to drive out the Trump fascist regime—Part 2
September 21, 2025
The following message is reposted from Bob Avakian Official at Substack.
This is Bob Avakian—REVOLUTION—number 137.
In my previous message (number 136), I clearly stated that the murder of Charlie Kirk was very wrong and should not in any way be justified, let alone cheered, and that this assassination has involved a lot of harm—including the way that Trump and other fascists have seized on this to even further ramp up attacks on their “enemies.”
As demonstrated by his own words and actions, Kirk himself was a fascist and a key organizer for the American Hitler, Donald Trump.
So, on one level, it should be obvious why there is not—and cannot be—any “version” of Charlie Kirk on the “left,” given that “left” should mean standing firmly against the monstrous, literally murderous oppression for which Kirk was an aggressive advocate and organizer. But, if the notion of a “left” version of Kirk is meant to suggest someone who is as effective an advocate and organizer for the “left” as Kirk was for the (fascist) right, then we have to go deeper to answer this.
First, there is the fact that, as the saying goes, it takes ten pages of truth to answer a single sentence of lies. Someone like Kirk could throw around “cheap shots” and vicious snipes, playing on popular prejudices and ignorance, in place of serious analysis of big questions like why there is a serious problem of violent crime in the inner cities. But to go beyond “clever sound bites,” and provide a real explanation for this phenomon of violent crime, it is necessary to get more fully and deeply into the conditions—economic, political, social, and cultural—that have given rise to this crime and what is the actual solution to this, as opposed to what the fascists insist on: even more brutal, and literally murderous, crackdown on the masses of people in the inner cities.
In all this, the fascists have several advantages, in the short term. First, the “popular culture,” and the “spontaneous inclinations” of too many, these days, involve a preference for the superficial (skimming on the surface) and snark, in place of serious engagement with serious questions, which is necessary to get to the roots of social phenomena such as crime—roots which lie in the very nature, relations, and dynamics of the system of capitalism-imperialism that rules in this country (and dominates in the world overall).
Along with this, what is commonly referred to as “the left” consists largely of forces that are part of, dependent on, or in any case have not broken beyond the bounds represented by, the Democratic Party, which is an instrument of this system of capitalism-imperialism.
Under this system, there is no good solution to crime, and no solution to other very negative things—the oppressive relations, the climate destruction and war—that in fact are built into this system. The essence of this system is not “democracy”—once again, it is capitalism-imperialism. On the terms of this system, fascism is one possible “resolution” to the crisis this country, and the world, is confronted with—while, on the terms of this system, there is no possible resolution that would do away with the terrible things that “progressive people” oppose and abhor. This is why: There is a section of the ruling class of this system—represented by the Republican Party and involving other powerful forces—which is in favor of fascism and actively gives backing to fascist forces among the population, but there is no section of the ruling class that is in favor of and would support a genuinely revolutionary, liberating alternative to this system.
A “left” that is tied to, dependent on—or, in any case, cannot fully break with what is represented by—the Democratic Party, is caught up in this contradiction that the Democratic Party is fundamentally not a party of “democracy,” so much as it is a party of empire. An acute expression of this, in these times, is the fact that the great mass of the “progressive” people that the Democratic Party needs to corral into supporting it, are firmly opposed to the genocide that Israel is carrying out against the Palestinian people, but the Democratic Party continues to back this genocide. Why? As I have pointed out before: “It is because Israel plays a ‘special role’ as a heavily armed bastion of support for U.S. imperialism in a strategically important part of the world (the ‘Middle East’). And Israel has been a key force in the commission of atrocities which have helped to maintain the oppressive rule of U.S. imperialism in many other parts of the world.”
All this is why, as I have made clear before, particular Democratic Party politicians may contribute to the fight against Trump/MAGA fascism, but the Democratic Party, as an institution, will not—and cannot—unleash and lead the kind of massive, nonviolent but determined political upheaval that is necessary to have a real chance to drive out the Trump fascist regime: such political upheaval will of necessity go beyond “the normal procedures and processes of this system” and could significantly undermine the “stability” of this system, to which the Democratic Party, as an institution, is firmly committed. But the truth is that the continuing escalation of the atrocities of the Trump fascist regime, and the way it is rapidly closing off the prospect for a decent future, is a far greater horror for humanity than the upheaval that is necessary to drive out this regime.
The fundamental answer to all this is the emancipating revolution for which we revcoms (revolutionary communists) are actively working—as set forth in the Declaration We Need And We Demand: A Whole New Way To Live, A Fundamentally Different System, which is available at revcom.us.
Right now, the urgent need—which is crucial in order for there to be a way forward toward any world in which the masses of humanity could have the basis for a decent life—is millions actively taking up the Call from RefuseFascism.org, and open to all, to mobilize and converge on Washington, DC, beginning November 5, as a nonviolent but powerful force, determined to create the kind of “political earthquake from below” which, in combination with heightening divisions within the dominant and ruling institutions, could lead to the removal of the Trump fascist regime.
I will end this message by repeating this crucial point of orientation:
Many individuals, organizations and groups will have different views on what has given rise to this fascism, and what should replace it, and we revcoms (revolutionary communists) will continue to forthrightly put forward and argue for our views on this, and encourage others to similarly put forward their own perspectives. But this must take place in the context and atmosphere where we are all pulling together to overcome every obstacle—including “divide and conquer” schemes, from whatever source and in whatever guise—uniting all who can be united, in the millions and millions, to achieve the truly historic goal of driving out this fascist regime.