Presented by Joelle Fishman, chair, Political Action Commission CPUSA to the National Committee meeting, January 31, 2026.

If the fascist violence, terror and executions being waged against the people of Minneapolis say anything to us it’s that we must get MAGA out of control of the House, the Senate, and state and local offices. And if the magnificent resistance by the people of Minneapolis and Minnesota says anything to us, it’s that we can.

The political dynamic has been upended. The all-out class war for democracy and our future is exposed. Our Party is playing an important part.

Led by labor alongside neighborhood committees, immigrant rights, faith based and student groups, including small businesses, Minnesotans’ extraordinary examples of mass nonviolent resistance are being embraced across the country.

Protests, sweeping across the country, are taking place weekly, even daily, in towns large and small. They are leading up to No Kings Day III on March 28 with Indivisible’s demands: “No troop deployments in our streets, No imperial wars of conquest” and May Day Strong’s call for May 1: “no work-no school-no shopping” across the country. All with an eye on organizing turnout for the November elections.

Virtual mass trainings are building solidarity for local actions. Boycotts of corporate profiteers are expanding. States are passing protective legislation. Scores of lawsuits challenging Trump’s orders are being filed including by unions to reverse illegal funding cuts to child care and other human needs.

The bottom line is that Trump and MAGA do not have support for their destructive white supremacist policies. Polls show a widening shift with the majority saying they are worse off economically and disapproving of Trump’s policies on immigration and foreign policy.

Trump and MAGA are desperate to steal the election so they can continue to consolidate power, dismantle all rights and make their profit margins soar. That includes arresting reporters.

So this is all about the elections. A net gain of three to flip the U.S. House, a net gain of four to flip the U.S. Senate, with the goal of a massive victory making it possible to act on impeachment and progressive legislation like Medicare for All and Abolish ICE. In addition, possibilities to elect new working class champions and Communists at the state and local level.

Minnesota refused to take the bribe when they were told “hand over your voter rolls to get ICE out.” Another 20 states including my own state of Connecticut are going to court rather than respond to the lawless demand to hand over their voter files. Trump and MAGA are employing every method from racial redistricting to attempts to take away voting by mail and other tactics to rob people of their right to a vote and representation.

We say no! Voting is a revolutionary collective act of nonviolent mass resistance. Voting is not the end. It’s the beginning of struggle and a fundamental tool in our toolbox.

The call is to engage the 90 million who did not vote in 2024 and all the new voters since. The call is to march en masse from the streets to the ballot box to preserve democracy and raise up the struggle for working class power.

In last week’s special election Minnesota did just that and ended the MAGA Republican majority in the State Legislature by a vote of 95 points in the midst of being under siege.

Comrades, this is an extraordinary time. Class consciousness is rising. Our members are being nominated to run for office, getting wide support in Bangor, Ithaca and Cambridge last November winning.

The times call for clarity. They call for vision. They call for unity in action. That’s why on Saturday May 23 our Party will hold a national conference on political action.

We will hear from and learn from our electeds and recent candidates. We will consider best practices developed by the labor movement to elect union members. We will grapple with basic questions in the context that electoral politics is a form of class struggle – adding our Communist Plus in the defense of the multi racial working class. We will dig deep into methods of neighborhood organizing and building Communist Party clubs for the long haul.

This conference can be instrumental to mobilize our entire membership and build for the elections in a way that strengthens our working class foundations and our ongoing grassroots concentration and coalition work.

We have confidence as part of the rising working class that we will not only repel fascism, we will be a growing part of the remarkable movement that is demanding and shaping a future with plenty for everyone and respect for all peoples and nations.

Image: CPUSA at the 2025 Aug. 28 March on Wall Street by Cameron Orr. CC BY NC 4.0.