Our Democracy Is in Peril, But Progressives Are Poised to Lead Its Revival

Let us not talk falsely now / The hour is getting late—Bob Dylan, All Along the Watchtower

We can have no illusions. There’s a reason the word “oligarchy” has been trending.

After only one week of U.S. President Donald Trump’s second administration, the idea of America as an open society where the people are sovereign is under serious threat.

So, what is to be done?

It’s time for progressives to step up. If we truly believe, as I know we do, that progressives have the best policies for improving the lives of Americans, protecting the planet, and making peace with the world, we cannot sit on the sidelines anymore, bemoan our marginalization at the hands of moderate Democrats, and merely congratulate ourselves for having the correct analysis. We need to get in the game, en masse.

Progressives are the last best hope for democracy in America.

This is the second article in a series about why progressives must seize this moment. The Democratic Party is in disarray following another defeat to Donald Trump. The ‘‘moderate’’ faction that has dominated the party in recent decades is discredited. Progressives must mobilize to increase their influence within the Democratic Party—for the sake of the party, the country, and the planet.

The Democratic Party cannot claim to be the defender of democracy against the forces of oligarchy if its own base is subjugated to the power of big money within the party.

In my previous article, I focused on the economy, the greatest source of dissatisfaction among the American people, and thus the largest contributing factor to the rise of Trump. However, Trump’s actual economic program will not improve prospects for the vast majority. Only the progressive economic program has a proven track record and can deliver the prosperous middle class society that Americans want. Thus, we must be bold in asserting that the Democratic Party embrace progressive economic policies.

In this article, I will focus on the second great source of dissatisfaction among the American people: the political system, which they see as working for elites and not the average citizen—and they are correct. Polls consistently reveal widespread alienation from, and distrust of, the political status quo, elected officials, and both major parties. Once again, it’s only progressives who not only propose changes to the system supported by the majority, but also practice a form of politics that the public embraces. The time has come for progressives to loudly re-introduce ourselves to the base of the Democratic Party and the public at large.

Currently, the primary beneficiary of the public’s disgust with the political system is Donald Trump, who aggressively condemns the political establishment of recent decades. As Trump and his MAGA movement have effectively taken over the Republican Party, they have effectively cast the Democratic Party, to its detriment, as the party of the old establishment. (This taint doesn’t extend to progressives. Too many people are aware that the Democratic Party establishment worked overtime to defeat Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in 2016 and 2020.)

Of course, Trump’s challenge of the status quo is much more malevolent than a mere rebellious attitude. He is an autocratic “strongman” who views both common law and the Constitution’s system of checks and balances as little more than annoyances that he can disregard at his whim. And, in contrast to eight years ago, the incoming administration is not populated by “establishment” Republicans, but MAGA yes men; it is also supported by the most successful capitalists of the 21st century, the titans of Silicon Valley (who have long embraced an Ayn Rand-influenced political philosophy that calls for the rule of people like themselves, and now recognize Trump 2.0 as the means to fulfill their fantasy—and they fight to win.)

There can be no downplaying the immediate threat. We must defend communities, institutions, and environments under threat from Trump, and we will. Yet, progressives also need to go on the offense by presenting a clear and realistic plan to preserve and re-build American democracy—and put that plan in motion. A strong offense will complement the defense and vice versa.

Recent public opinion polling points the way forward—and suggests a path that only progressives will pursue.

Before the election, a series of polls grabbed the headlines. They revealed how a frightening number of Americans—in particular, young Americans—were willing to embrace the rise of a strongman leader. However, if you dug down into the polls it was evident that the overwhelming majority of people wanted a well-functioning democracy. Even half of those who were attracted to the idea of a strongman said they only felt that way because our democracy had been corrupted to favor the elite.

How did they want to see our democracy improve? Almost everyone polled wanted to see a reduction of big money’s influence in politics, which, of course, is a position that progressives advocate for, in contrast to moderates and conservatives. However, even more fundamental, was the wish that average people could have a voice in the system, so that the needs of average people would drive our democracy. People feel shut out from influence in our democracy.

Progressives must rectify this—and we can through a very simple strategy: mass entryism into the Democratic Party in a coordinated manner.

In the next essay in this series, I will shoot down the familiar objections to this strategy. Then, in the final installment I will go into greater detail about how the strategy could operate optimally (hint: It should be coordinated through inside-outside organizations like Progressive Democrats of America (PDA), and anchored on the inside by the progressive caucus, or the analog progressive group, of each state’s Democratic Party).

For now, I just want to emphasize why progressive entryism into the Democratic Party fits this moment perfectly and can redeem American democracy in its hour of need.

First off, the Democratic Party is electing new leadership on the weekend. All of the leading candidates for Democratic National Committee Chair have announced that they not only support more progressive influence in the party, but also more progressives becoming party activists. As progressives know, this has not been the case in recent decades. Progressives must seize this opportunity and hold the incoming DNC chair to their word.

Currently, the Democratic Party is such a hollow shell of an organization in most states, it would only take a few hundred extra progressives mobilizing to gain the upper hand inside the party—a couple thousand in the larger states. This is low-hanging fruit. Though, progressives should not approach this task cynically. We can, and should, mobilize in much greater numbers.

Polling shows overwhelming support for progressive policies among the Democratic voters. So, let’s be clear about the heretofore dominance of the moderate, neoliberal wing of the party—it is propped up by the dominant role of big money donors within the party and their high-paid consultants. There is a vast base of progressive activists in the country. No such base exists for Democratic moderates (the very idea of pro-neoliberal activists is comical at this hour of history).

Now, let’s put two and two together. The Democratic Party cannot claim to be the defender of democracy against the forces of oligarchy if its own base is subjugated to the power of big money within the party. Given that dynamic, it is highly unlikely that even the party’s most conservative gatekeepers can afford the public backlash that would come from excluding progressives—i.e. if we do pursue a strategy of mass entryism.

Which brings me to the final, and most salient, point of today’s essay: What other route is there to save American democracy? There is none because it’s only when progressives gain the upper hand inside the Democratic Party that one of the two major parties will begin to practice democracy in a truly inclusive manner—thereby, distinguishing themselves from the GOP, as well as the previous top-down version of the Democratic Party.

For better or worse, America has a two-party electoral system (more on this in my next essay), and the rules and regulations that govern our society are still determined by elected officials and their appointments—at least, until further corrosion of the system takes hold.

That means, while we still have meaningful elections, we’re truly lost at sea if, when the fabric of the constitutional system is under attack, neither of the two parties stands for democracy in a way that resonates with the voting public.

The message is simple. Either we act to reform the Democratic Party, or we acquiesce to our oppression. We either achieve the mass mobilization of progressives into the party, or it will remain the “oligarch-light” party, and that is doomed to fail.

Then, once progressives have more power inside the party, we will bring it into alignment with what the public wants from a party that truly operates in the interest of the people.

That may sound to some like a long shot, but it’s our only shot. I happen to believe it can be readily achieved with some high-quality organizing. After all, having a choice that lines up with what the people want is, well, what people want from a democracy.

Indeed.

Progressives know what democracy looks like, and if we stand up, accept historical responsibility and take action, we can yet fulfill Leonard Cohen’s prophecy that “Democracy is Coming to the USA.” But we must act fast.

Join PDA’s efforts to create a truly progressive Democratic Party, which we desperately need at this crucial hour of our history.