Democrats Need to Look out for Progressives
Just like Republicans, Democrats are on the cusp of losing themselves.
Let’s take a blast to the past to the 2015 Republican primaries for president. In one of the most politically divided times in American history, the Republican base was presented with a plethora of candidates. You got Jeb Bush, the neoconservative ready to carry his brother’s legacy, you got people like John Kasich and Carly Fiorina who were the more moderate of the bunch, and you even got the “libertarian” Rand Paul. So which two out of this diverse group of people were the front-runners? Ted Cruz and Donald Trump, both considered to be the least capable of running the country.
I bring up this trip down memory lane because we have seen the utter downfall and liquidation of the mighty Republican Party, 1/2 of our political duopoly. And our friends in the Democratic Party are next up on the chopping block. My beloved GOP lost itself with Trump and his goons, and now the Democrats are within their own free-fall; no they won’t have their own Trump, but they are certainly being held back by the progressive wing of their party. We can see this happening right now with President Biden’s Build Back Better Act, where the whole bill is up in flames. Of course, in the confusion around why Senator Joe Manchin tore away his the support for the bill, many in his party are blaming everything on him, despite not thinking about WHY he broke his support. In actuality, there are a couple more senate Democrats that have little trust with the current form of the bill. Take both Arizona senators for example, Senators Mark Kelly and Kyrsten Sinema have joined their friend from West Virginia in voicing their concerns citing inflation and out-of-control spending as concerns. And even though they haven’t given a definite “no” towards the bill, it certainly looks like they aren’t going to vote for the bill as is unless they work with bipartisan support.
I’ve gone off on a tangent on BBB, but you get my point. What’s killing the Democrats from passing legislation and, effectively, ruining their chances of keeping the house in 2022, are progressives and left-wing populists. I could point fingers all day as to who specifically has pushed the Democrats left, but the problem is that it is happening and the majority of the party is doing absolutely nothing to prevent it. I applaud the likes of Tulsi Gabbard and Josh Gottheimer for holding their ground and planting themselves at the centre-left, but moderates like Chris Coons refuse to see what is happening to their party. The Democratic Party has already been pushed very left on social issues, and now fiscal issues are on their last knees.
Again, what does the Republican Party have to do with any of this? Well, we’ve seen what unchecked populism and political extremism can do to a relatively pure movement. Contrary to popular belief, I do not think every Democrat as a “radical socialist”, nor do I question the motives of the average Democratic voter. I surround myself with people I disagree with every day and I learn more about politics then I could have ever done by just resting in an echo chamber. But heed this warning Democrats, take your party back to the center, reject the toxic ideas of radical progressiveness. We’ve already lost one party, and our democracy cannot lose another.