Haters and Socialists

I love Simone Wilson’s reporting in The Healdsburg Newsletter. Her informal tone is refreshing and her journalism is solid and comprehensive. Find it here

In her recent reporting (about me running unopposed, and the election in general), she leads the caption with “Chris has his haters, but one thing’s for sure: The dude loves Healdsburg!”.

It’s true -on social media there are some active noisemakers (haters) who are obsessed with me. The fact that I am running unopposed is making their eyeballs explode. So sad! I undertstand that I can’t please everyone, but I don’t mean anyone harm!

But let’s be clear. As far as I know, there are just two people who are persistent detractors. Of course, there’s a small handful of people who chime in to support them. Most of them have a penchant for railing against anyone who is labeled a liberal, a progressive, or god forbid...a SOCIALIST.

That’s the insult that both detractors love to lob at me the most! They relentlessly (and laughably) call me a socialist, a radical, a leftist, etc., and I would love to address that. Before I begin though, I want to say that I regularly check in with conservative constituents, and I value their input, and I think they appreciate a lot of what I am doing. But for some Trumpy folks, there is no real conversation, just name-calling and baseless accusations.

‘Socialist’ is the most mis-understood word, and it’s being flung around widely these days. It’s mostly used to get a rise out of someone.

Left-leaning people sometimes call themselves ‘socialist’ to be provocative and separate themselves from ‘business as usual' Democrats (though in reality, in many cases, they are no different from regular liberals).

Right-leaning people sometimes use ‘socialist’ to tag people as ‘unhinged extremists’. For them, the term is an alarmist McCarthy-era ploy that seeks to draw a connection to oppressive figures like Castro and Lenin. But no one’s buying it.

Part of what makes ‘socialism’ such a broken identifier is how broadly it is used. Politicians from Mao to FDR to Joe Biden to Chuck Schumer are labeled socialist! Many people these days fail to understand that some expressions of socialism (police and fire protection, libraries, public school…this list is very long) are inextricably woven into the American experience. It’s pervasive, it’s working, and it’s hardly scary.

Am I a socialist? Because of the confusion, I avoid the term. I did vote for Bernie Sanders…but so did over 2 million other Californians. Big deal. This is hardly controversial. Does a Bernie vote mean I am a “radical leftist”, as they say? It’s a laughable conclusion!

Is there anything I have said or done on Council that separates me from garden variety California progressives? Of course not. The City Council is not in a position to implement the billionaire tax, or single-payer health care -or any of the other normal ‘socialist’ calling-card policies, popular though they may be.

Am I “anti-business”? A hard “no”!

This is another tiresome accusation. I served for two years as liaison to the Chamber of Commerce where I supported efforts to improve Healdsburg’s economy while advocating for more attention to local small businesses that fall outside wine/food/tourism. I called together local business leaders to an economic forum to discuss challenges in the wine industry. I voted to limit chains downtown. I have been a tireless supporter of our burgeoning arts economy. Personally, I’ve worked for many years in sales management and my father had a longtime store near the Plaza.

Am I “pro-labor”? A hard “yes”!

I know that when unions thrive, our middle class thrives. There is no reason to believe our local industries must rely on the poverty of their essential workers to succeed. When the situation dictates, workers have every right to organize and negotiate -so that we all can flourish and rise together.

To conclude, I don’t care if conservatives want to indulge in antique mudslinging and call me a socialist. There are no reasons to accept or reject it, or participate in this name-calling silliness.