Democratic Timidity & Repeated History

Patricia McKnight, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

I don't know how to say it any more clearly — Democrats are not in a secure position.

The transitory victory of the presidency becomes almost meaningless the second after it happens. Everything is about the next election. No progress is permanent.

Jeff Greenfield speaking truth in Politico:

--- “In Congress, and at the grassroots, the dominance of Donald Trump over the party is more or less total. The small handful who denounced the former president for his massive lies about the election and his seeding of an insurrectionist riot are now either silent, or have embraced a mealy-mouthed argument for ‘election integrity.’” ---

Meanwhile, the Republican Party continues to purge anyone not supportive of the stolen election tale. And, more importantly, using every ounce of their redistricting control in at least 20 states, and attempting to push through oppressive voting restrictions in 43.

Democrats must distinguish themselves — not only in action but in narrative — from the GOP. And because the real GOP victories will be seen at the state level, that's where our focus must be as well.

There are millions of progressive-and-further voters who feel ignored by the Democratic Party (and rightly so). Activating them WILL offset the cult-like intensity of GOP voters in thrall to the memory of Trump.

The Democratic Party's only salvation is to go further left. That was true in 2016; it was true in 2020; it will be true in 2022.

It is a numbers game.

It's a down-ballot game.

Nationwide polling tells us time and time again that voters favor progressive policies. They want to see a response to climate change that's more than just pretty words. They want to see universal healthcare, and most, single-payer. They want significant criminal justice reform. They want a $15 minimum wage.

Those policies matter to the *majority* of American voters; not just the ones that identify as liberal or progressive.

If Dems aren't basing policy and outreach on these platforms, they will lose. If Dems continue to be reactive and timid, they will lose.

And this isn't a new phenomenon; we have seen this for decades.

The era of the moderate is dead. The centrists cannot hold.

America is verifiably and undeniably further left than we acknowledge, even if the most vocal among us are loyal to the previous administration.

House Democrats who lost re-election in 2020 (Donna Shalala, Xochitl Torres Small, Joe Cunningham, Kendra Horn) opposed Medicare for All and defunding the police because they thought those ideas would scare off moderate voters.

That was a gamble that didn't pay off.

The more time we spend crafting messaging founded on right-wing narratives, the more we lose.

So as the GOP drifts further right, bolstered by the incomprehensible lies about election integrity, the remedy isn't to chase it in that direction. The remedy is to embrace ideas in the starkest contrast with Republican ideals.

The remedy is to stop leaning toward the interests and desires of the center-right donor class, and instead become a party that prioritizes the policies that matter to the people.

The timorousness of the Democratic Party is so well known it has passed into the mythos of American politics. But it doesn't have to be that way.

The people are asking for courageous, effective leadership.

Just fucking give it to them.