Let Us In
The political strategy of establishment Democrats is really confusing to me right now. The strong rebuke of progressive candidates is baffling. There are some corporate or establishment Dems calling for those with more progressive ideals to leave the party completely. Which feels insane to me, because from where I'm sitting we need way more political engagement, not less. As someone organizing within my local Democratic party who identifies as a leftist, it's almost laughable. Dems in my area are already sorely lacking on younger participants. At our public meetings there are only two people younger than 60, and we both hold some progressive positions. You want us out completely? Good luck as your retiree base dwindles!
From what I can tell, unless the Dems start to actually live up to their "big tent" identity, they're cooked. They're not popular, even as their opposition party represents legitimate authoritarianism. They're often perceived as bought-and-paid-for, as lip-service politicians, and as shills.
I've read a couple books in the last couple years that touched on factionalism within parties and I think it's probably a good thing to have, to some degree. Allowing differing ideologies within a single party allows for more bipartisanship, while also allowing diverging positions to be heard which can lend better to creative ideas to address political issues. Factionalism in our two-party system means that each of the two parties are not a monolith, and ideas that might otherwise be relinquished to the pits of the third-party void get to see light. (As an aside, I think we ought to figure out a way to turn that third-party Bag of Holding inside out. The two-party system in general is just woefully insufficient.)
But establishment Dems are being given a run for their money, and it's scaring them. Progressive candidates are doing well in primaries, and the more centrist wing of the party is shaking in their boots. They say they're afraid that socialism is going to destroy the Democratic party. And in saying as much, they're playing right into the Red Scare talking points being aired out by conservatives. What I think they're really afraid of isn't about the party as a whole; it's that progressive candidates, let's even be specific and say Democratic Socialist candidates, will make their centrist brand irrelevant. But why might they have that fear?
These progressive candidates are popular in ways moderate candidates are having a hard time matching. They have ideas about change that would disrupt the Democrats' tendencies towards corruption just as much as the Republicans'. Progressive candidates are talking about getting money out of politics, actually banning insider trading in Congress (which has technically been the case since 2012 but in a completely toothless way), actually working towards universal healthcare, and taking power away from corporations and placing it in the hands of the workers. And those things spark energy in the Democratic base in a way that more moderate positions just don't. When more centrist candidates take up these issues, it often comes off with milk-toast or insincere vibes.
So when moderates or centrists, corporate Dems or establishment Dems—whatever you want to call them—try to expel progressives from the party completely, it begs the question: do they really want positive change? Or are they more committed to a status quo defined by the owning class than to serving the will of the people? The Democratic party has been floundering for years. It's hard for me to imagine what the future of the party might look like without a significant revamp. They were once the party of the working class, but it feels like they've abandoned that identity except for during election season. They need candidates to win office who are going to fight for the changes they run on. And they need candidates who won't tiptoe around resistance to fascism, genocide, and corruption. Right now that means progressive candidates.
Dems need progressivism. In my opinion, we as a country need progressivism to beat back this authoritarian regime and build a better nation than we had before. The pre-Trump status quo isn't good enough. And progressives who are saying just that are bringing an energy into the party that people like myself have been wishing for, for a long time.