Progressives Must Challenge for the Leadership of the Democratic Party—and Win

Tuesday’s election results were dire, but now is not the time for progressives to retreat. American society will be best served by a progressive movement that plays strong defense and offense.

Progressives must continue to be vigilant in defending democracy, the rule of law, and the constitutional republic. In order to be most effective on these matters, we should maintain our recent alliance with liberals and conservatives of conscience. On every other matter, we should speak as the Progressive wing of the Democratic Party, the group whose platform is supported by the vast majority of Democrats.

We must lead in protecting the environment and vulnerable communities, both at home and abroad.

Solidarity with organized labor will be a priority during Trump 2.0. Unions will face a hostile National Labor Relations Board. Vigilance will be required to preserve labor’s recent gains. When there’s a strike or an organizing drive, progressives must have a presence on the picket line, calling Trump’s bluff and exposing his contempt for labor.

Only progressives advocate for time-tested policies and programs that will build the prosperous middle class society that the majority of the country so clearly wants.

The Republican Party is winning elections by attracting the working class away from a Democratic Party dominated by its neoliberal moderate faction. However, the GOP is mainly gaining working class support because Trump gives expression to shared grievances, not because the GOP is proposing policies that will help working people economically.

Only progressives advocate for time-tested policies and programs that will build the prosperous middle class society that the majority of the country so clearly wants. It is incumbent upon progressives to make the case to our fellow Democrats and to the general public that progressive economics should define the Democratic Party agenda going forward.

There should be no equivocation in our messaging, just three simple points:

1. The economic program of moderate Democrats and Republicans (aka neoliberalism) destroyed the American middle class;

2. Trump’s economics have failed to re-build it; and

3. Progressive economic policy created the wealthiest middle class in the history of the world in the years after World War II. It’s time to give progressive economics a try in the 21st century.

So, expect PDA and progressives to respond to Tuesday’s results by being very active and promoting our positions. Indeed, the Democratic Party is clearly in crisis following the election, we need to step up and make the case—for the benefit of the party and, more importantly, the people, the country, and the planet—that progressive policies should define the party going forward.

However, we also need to show humility and do some soul searching. Too often, the left dismisses all criticism out of hand. This must change. We need to accept that conservatives and moderates have effectively misrepresented progressives as extremists, and take action to change this perception. We must re-establish that we are an inclusive political movement that respects everyone’s voice and is fully committed to maximizing freedom and liberty for all Americans.

Progressives are ready to stand up at this challenging moment in our history, confident that our policy agenda suits the needs of 21st century America and provides a pathway out of America’s interminable political crisis.

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On Wednesday, Bernie Sanders shared his thoughts on the results of the election. As usual, he was right on point. Bernie condemned the influence of big money in the Democratic Party, and the party's failure to fight for the working class.

We must step up now and take initiative to bring the Democratic Party into line with Sanders' vision

I also happened to stumble upon James Carville's reflections. Carville correctly diagnoses the leadership void in the Democratic Party and calls for immediate action. Not surprisingly, however, Carville does not suggest a role for progressives in leading the Party forward.

Put the two together, and the course of action for progressives is clear. We cannot hesitate or we will miss our opportunity. Rather, we must step up now and take initiative to bring the Democratic Party into line with Sanders' vision—one which matches the politics of the party's base and has majority support among the general population.

After the 2016 election, Keith Ellison, a great progressive, challenged the Democratic Party leadership and almost won. However, control of the party apparatus remained in the hands of the moderate faction. Fast forward eight years to the present, and that leadership has taken us to the exact same point of failure as in 2016: Donald Trump is president-elect, the Senate and likely the House will be under GOP control.

You have to be willfully ignorant not to understand what this is telling us.