Democrats Need to Embrace Progressivism or Else Move Out of the Way

[portlander23]

Democrats Need to Embrace Progressivism or Else Move Out of the Way
Steven Singer
Common Dreams

This loss belongs squarely on the shoulders of establishment Democrats. It’s not the fault of the electorate. It was the party’s job to convince people to vote for their candidate. They didn’t do that. Instead they told people who to vote for – or more accurately who not to vote for. It was clearly a losing strategy. It lost us the Presidency, Congress and the Supreme Court. Own it.

We need to take back what it means to be a Democrat. We can’t have organizations funded by hedge fund managers and the wealthy elite pretending to be in our camp while espousing all the beliefs of Republicans. We can’t have Democrats for Education Reform, a group promoting the policies of George W. Bush, the economics of Milton Friedman and prescribing laws crafted by the American Legislative Exchange council. We don’t need Cory Booker going on Meet the Press to defend Mitt Romney against income inequality and then pretending to champion working people while taking in contributions from the financial sector. The brand needs to mean something again.

We need to reform our entire electoral process. Ancient and hackable voting machines, voter suppression laws and efforts, rampant gerrymandering and, yes, that stupid relic of the slave states, the Electoral College – all of it must go. We’ve got to ensure that people can vote, people do vote and it actually counts. And if something goes wrong, we need a way to double check. Recounts in close races should be standard and automatic.

We have a real opportunity to create an authentic resistance. People will be united in their dissatisfaction and anger at what Trump is doing to the country. They’ll be looking for somewhere to turn, for a revolutionary movement to lead them through it.

[potone]

1. Yes!!!

Thank you for posting, portlander23.

[ismnotwasm]

2. The Democratic part has already embraced progressivism

But like a grown up with a full understanding of politics. This loss lies squarely on Republicans, third party voters, the berniebros who did nothing AND CONTINUE to do nothing but trash talk Hillary--essentially encouraging voters to stay home-- racism and misogyny.

There were several mistakes the Hillary campaign made, but in the end. It was the the left and the right hunted her and took her down

Voter suppression, gerrymandering I agree. Good luck with getting rid of the electoral college--if the Common Dreams writers want to be taken more seriously they need to grow up as well.

[NWCorona]

6. Can you give an example of how the party has embraced progressivism?

[ismnotwasm]

9. Could, but I won't--it's been done over and over and over

I don't get into that back and forth bullshit, and common dreams is a borderline CT source. Just tired of the Democrat bashing and attempts revisionist history being wtiitten by those whose fault this loss actually is.

[BainsBane]

30. Here

https://www.hillaryclinton.com/issues/

[mcar]

16. +1000!

[NWCorona]

3. The 3rd way hasn't realized that they lost yet.

[sfwriter]

4. yup.

[liberal N proud]

5. Because extreme works

[el_bryanto]

7. well - i suppose it depends on what you mean by extreme.

I mean we had a centrist liberal on the ticket this last time around; that doesn't seem to have panned out - maybe trying someone a bit more liberal, or extreme if you prefer, might be more successful.

Bryant

[TwilightZone]

18. "centrist liberal"

That's a new one.

[nycbos]

8. The problem is too many people have a very narrow view on what Progressivism is.

[RazBerryBeret]

10. Great post...

I do hope if there is ONE positive of this hellish presidency it will be to motivate people to be more active.
it sucks that it came to this point, but hopefully we are all willing to work hard to turn it around.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

11. Is that why Russ feingold lost?

[still_one]

12. Zyper Teachout, and every Democrat running for Senate in a swing state against the establishment

republican incumbent.

[still_one]

13. Does the OP ever participate in a thread they start, or just hit and run?

[ismnotwasm]

14. Some folk enjoy that kind of thing

Kind of like pulling a fire alarm because you are bored in school--which I admittedly did and got suspended for, but I was 12.

[still_one]

15. so you were the one. Happened a few times where I went in junior high. Never found out who did it.

Now we know

[ismnotwasm]

19. I was a bad, bad girl

[Me.]

17. Yet Another Agenda Thread

[MFM008]

20. Yes because my way or the highway

Nitpicking about " party" details gave us the maggot and that's OK because Susan Sarandon right?
Anyone that voted against HRC supports this ass hole and will be just as guilty as he is.

[LongtimeAZDem]

29. +1 (nt)

[kcr]

21. Rawr! Keep beating people with sticks to get our view heard!

Why won't anyone listen to us? Hmmm. Keeping beating everyone with sticks! They'll eventually learn!

Now we have president Trump. Will the lesson that using sticks and punishing will never get people to magically become more progressive? I'm hoping as a progressive myself that someday that will get through. I had hopes for Bernie Sanders when he was going to run as a Dem instead of a third party spoiler. But, nope. It was sticks, again! And now? More sticks!

People who've been helped by the good the Dems do aren't going to hear the message that Dems are bad. It's not going to resonate. They're just going to hear the message as pissy, angry malcontents. The people who already agree with you are either going to join you with their sticks, if stick wielding is their thing, or stand by Dems protectively because of what good they actually do, so no damage is done. It doesn't work. It never works. Here we go again. We have Trump!

[Hekate]

22. Shrink that tent!

[jfern]

25. Third way is shrinking the tent quite a bit

It's ironic that an ideology based upon capitulating to Republicans does worse with Republicans than a progressive like Bernie, but it's true.

[R B Garr]

23. Oh, ffs, Al Gore was ahead of his time with climate change

but he wasn't good or pure enough for the so-called progressives. Bill C chose Al Gore decades ago and both were ridiculed for climate change. Where was Bernie.

And you can't call yourself a liberal if you are willing to risk a Republican in office. So the loss falls directly on the shoulders of the Bernie or Busters who voted for Sanders or Stein instead of the Democrat. The margin of Stein/Sanders voters in crucial states show they threw the election. Hillary ran away with the popular vote.

[JSup]

24. I love article titles...

...like this; they're always worded in such a way as to make it more likely that people will do the opposite of what the article suggests. Maybe that's their intent? To alienate people from the left?

[rainy]

26. This country has moved so far right

that we now have Trump for president and all the democrats can think of is let's keep to the right because it's all about money and big doners. Our first job is to get money out of politics. We will keep loosing if that is not addressed. This article is spot on but we still deny it's truth!

[betsuni]

27. Still don't know what "progressivism" is.

Is "establishment" someone with a job who gets paid? Why wouldn't a political party not try to tell people who to vote for? "Take back what it means to be a Democrat"? Take back from whom? Who is pretending to be "in our camp while espousing all the beliefs of Republicans"? What does this mean: "authentic resistance"; "revolutionary movement"?

Naturally, I don't expect answers. Embrace or get out of the way. And it's Democrats who are accused of being authoritarians and bullies and purging and whatnot.

[SidDithers]

28. Better believe it!...nt

Sid

[FSogol]

35. Good call. n/t

[DanTex]

31. Since they already embrace progressivism, this is a moot point.

[NastyRiffraff]

32. We probably won't get an answer

from the OP. He has a habit of post-and-run.

For what it's worth, though, it's bullshit.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

33. +1

[treestar]

36. Yep

[BainsBane]

38. That woulld require respect

For Democratic voters.

[NCTraveler]

34. More should have embraced Clintons progressive platform, that's for sure.

She preached it unabashedly every single day.

[BainsBane]

37. To pretend there is something new about the financial sector

In politics requires ignorance of history. 25% of FDR's campaign contributions came from Wall Street. Yet oddly, "progressives" never concerned themselves with that until we had a black president and the potential of a woman succeeding him.

Then there is the fact those same progressives decided policies of Wall Street regulation and Scotus appointments amenable to overturning Citizens United and related decisions mattered far less than their animosity toward Hillary. That some voted for Trump or third party candidates and therefore against those policies exposes this entire argument as fraudulent. When faced with the choice, they voted against progressive policies.

The willful ignorance of both history and what Clinton proposed demonstrates that policy matters very little to them. Their opposition toward Clinton and contempt for Democratic voters is, in my opinion, all about enforcing white male privilege.

Women and people of color are not leaving our party to make way for the willfully uninformed. People don't even vote Democrat gave absolutely nothing to say about our party. Willful ignorance is bad enough, but when accompanied by this degree of entitlement it is unforgivable. Ultimately, this entire take on the GE premise on nothing more than entitlement since none of the exit poll data supports these claims. That they want it, and that is hey see themselves as superior to the Democratic base, is the entire basis of this entire argument. I submit that lack of concern for evidence or the views and lives of Democratic voters is why we see a steadfast refusal to engage in discussion.

[ProgressIsLeft]

39. Yes, completely correct

So many things need to be done and the problem is that we have some Dems who aren't shooting for the moon and instead are shooting for the tree thinking that they can find Republicans who will help them. Republicans won't and they have no intention of doing so. They aren't our friends and what we've gotten for so long is half way ideas because of that.

Think of the tv show Pawn Stars, you have to come in high because anything less is going to weaken you. We've not seen that in some time. You shoot for the moon and you get what you can. Aiming for the trees might get you an apple but I prefer the stars and heavens.

I would like to see our reps really start fighting for the things which matter to the every day people of this great country. Things like SNAP & WIC for instance need to be strengthened and never marginalized as we saw happen. Education is a right I believe and I want to hear our Reps besides Bernie come under that fold saying so. I want to start hearing "living wage" support, not just "minimum wage". We need to go left and when we don't, we'll keep on losing more and more voters, states and reps.

There was a time in this country when you could work at the local store down the street and raise a family and get by and be happy. You can't do that anymore and the American Dream is seeming like it's more and more dead and buried. We have a means to shape the future, it's time to light the fire and FIGHT for progress!