Although he initially identifies the protest march near the capitol as organized by Democracy Awakening, the author subsequently also identifies it with another liberal group called Spring Awakening whose members apparently joined in.
The Nation branded Democracy Awakening and Democracy Spring “the most important protest of the 2016 election.” But despite more than half a year of organizing, 300 endorsing organizations, and millions of dollars spent directly or in staff time, organizers could muster barely a thousand people for an outdoor rally on a gorgeous spring day.Could such events represent the "last hurrah" for liberal activism? Hopefully this signals a deeper, more relevant, and more revolutionary movement that will take their place.
The gathering was a throwback to soporific pre-Occupy Wall Street protests.
Little remains of the liberal world, however. With the precarity of most unions and the rule of the oligarchy, the political space for liberals has been almost completely eliminated. They seem to understand they need to take risks if they hope to counter the strength of capital and the right. But Democracy Spring and Democracy Awakening show half-hearted measures won’t work. Only by embracing the uncertainty and unpredictability genuine movements unleash, can they have any hope of outmaneuvering the ruling class.
