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Our Democracy Is in Peril, But Progressives Are Poised to Lead Its Revival
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.
Jan 27, 2025
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.
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Ahead of DNC Elections, Forum Urges Democrats to Leave 'Corporate Party' Behind
"If we're gonna win, the only path is representing regular, everyday Americans who are about to get screwed by Trump and the oligarchs," said the head of Our Revolution.
Jan 14, 2025
Amid intense nationwide debates about what Democrats should learn from devastating electoral losses to Republicans last November, progressive groups on Monday night held a two-hour virtual forum for candidates seeking Democratic National Committee leadership roles.
"This forum is different than the official Democratic forums that are now underway," Joseph Geevarghese, executive director of Our Revolution, said in his opening remarks. His group organized the event with Progressive Democrats of America (PDA), RootsAction, and the State Democratic Party Progressive Network.
These organizations "represent the progressive, working-class base, the Warren-Sanders wing, of the Democratic Party," said Geevarghese, referring to U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), whose 2016 presidential campaign led to the formation of Our Revolution.
Participants in Monday's forum are preparing to face off against a Republican-controlled Congress and U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who is set to be sworn in next week. Since the GOP's November victories, Sanders, who caucuses with Democrats, has been a leading critic of, in his words, "the big money interests and well-paid consultants who control the Democratic Party."
Geevarghese similarly said Monday that "we don't believe, I don't believe, that the corporate hacks who got this party into trouble in the first place are gonna be the ones to save us," and "we need a Democratic Party that is on the side of America's working class."
"Give up on being the corporate party. Trump has got that locked up," he urged party leadership. "If we're gonna win, the only path is representing regular, everyday Americans who are about to get screwed by Trump and the oligarchs."
The DNC elections are scheduled for February 1, and The American Prospect last week published a previously secret list of "448 active members of the national committee, including 200 elected members from 57 states, territories, and Democrats Abroad; members representing 16 affiliate groups; and 73 'at-large' members who were elected as a slate appointed in 2021 by the party chairman, Jaime Harrison."
Harrison, who has been hostile to arguments that Democrats lost last year because working-class voters felt abandoned by them, is not seeking another term. Seven candidates to replace him joined Monday's forum: Quintessa Hathaway, Ken Martin, Martin O'Malley, Jason Paul, James Skoufis, Ben Wikler, and Marianne Williamson. Robert Kennedy Houton and Nate Snyder did not participate in the livestreamed event, which had over 25,000 viewers and is available below.
Since last month, Our Revolution has been circulating a petition that calls on Democratic Party leaders to adopt four key reforms: ban dark money in primaries and reject corporate money; invest in state parties and grassroots organizing; make the budget transparent and hold consultants accountable; and adopt a progressive platform and small-donor democracy.
During the forum, chair candidates were asked what they planned to do to curb the influence of corporate interests and lobbyists in the party, particularly dark money political action committees (PACs).
"We need to make sure we call out the dark money in our politics, and it's corrosive," said Martin, who chairs Minnesota's Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and is endorsed by several key Democrats from his state. "These billionaire donors and these large corporations who are trying to essentially subvert the will of the people, they do it by buying people off."
Martin said the party must ensure "that we are only taking money from people and entities that share our values" and pledged that under his leadership, the DNC wouldn't take money from corporations that are union-busting or "preying on" the most vulnerable people in U.S. communities, and would focus on small-dollar donor programs.
Wikler, who chairs the Wisconsin Democratic Party, called for building "a party strong enough to be able to resist the people who are trying to ransack this nation top to bottom, to divide us across our identities, to divide us by cutting us apart, in order to rip off everybody, no matter what our skin color is, no matter who we love, no matter how we pray or whether we pray."
He suggested that Democrats can fight big money in politics "by choosing the fights that we fight and choosing those not based on who's making donations, but choosing those based on actually delivering change in the lives of working people, and stopping the far-right ultrawealthy from rigging this country to ensure that working people don't have a voice."
Wikler is backed by key leaders in his state plus Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). He and Martin are widely seen as front-runners in the chair race, though Wikler has faced some scrutiny for his relationship with billionaire LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, who has poured millions into Wisconsin politics.
Chair candidates were also asked about whether to reform the process for at-large members, and the responses were mixed, with some supporting a change to the bylaws and others favoring the current approach but recognizing the importance of being thoughtful about appointments.
The forum also featured remarks from two potential vice chairs, Shasti Conrad and James Zogby, as well as Jane Kleeb, who is running to head the Association of State Democratic Committees (ASDC), currently led by Martin.
Zogby is the founder of the Arab American Institute, a strong advocate of progressive priorities including Palestinian rights, and a longtime DNC member. He explained Monday that although he initially considered stepping aside after the last cycle, "to this day, I'm the only Arab American in a leadership role in the party and I'm not giving it up."
Sharing some of his frustrating experiences at the DNC over the past three decades, Zogby said that "we need accountability and transparency," particularly with the budget. He railed against a "sick, corrupt system" in which consultants "never lose an election" because they make money either way and called for investments in state parties.
In a Monday opinion piece published by Common Dreams hours before the forum, PDA executive director Alan Minsky wrote that "rank-and-file Democrats want a progressive party. Unfortunately, the defining feature of American politics in the neoliberal era is that money matters more than people. The heretofore dominant wing of the Democratic Party, aka the party 'establishment,' is first and foremost a money-raising behemoth."
"This is why progressives must bring their A-game," he argued. "Many party loyalists embrace centrist policies out of a misguided notion of pragmatism. Our goal is not to chase these Democrats away, but to persuade them to support something more ambitious and inspiring. We have a very compelling case to make on all fronts. We can win them over."
Calls for major shifts within the party aren't just happening in and around events for potential Democratic leaders—who participated in the first DNC-sanctioned forum on Saturday and are set to join another one co-hosted by Politico in Michigan on Thursday.
As Common Dreamsreported earlier Tuesday, the Sunrise Movement, a youth-led climate group, and several allied organizations, launched an open letter calling on DNC leadership candidates to revive a ban on corporate donations to the committee and to prohibit super PAC spending in Democratic primaries.
Also on Tuesday, the PAC Justice Democrats—which helped elect leaders like Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Greg Casar (D-Texas) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.)—launched a 50-state effort to recruit "everyday, working-class people to run for Congress after a cycle of unprecedented spending from the billionaire class and right-wing super PACs in Democratic primaries."
"Until party leadership leads the way to take big money out of politics, ends the billionaire influence over our elections and policies, and puts the needs of working-class people back at the center of its agenda," said Justice Democrats, "voters will see its populist platitudes as lip service."
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Now Is the Time for Progressives to Take Over the Democratic Party
This moment of crisis is an opportunity to get the party on track. We should not squander it.
Jan 13, 2025
Once again, the Democratic Party is in crisis.
Activists both inside and outside the party have a big question to answer: Do insiders pivot to the center or the left? Do outsiders join the party or abandon it?
In both cases, the choice should be obvious: embrace the progressive economic agenda (move left) and enter the party en masse.
This moment of crisis is an opportunity to get the party on track, to turn it into what people want and need. Indeed, the table is set for us to transform American politics and save our democracy.
Beginning with the 2016 election, the American political system became defined by three competing blocks squeezed into a two-party system:
1. On the right, the Trumpian reactionaries,
2. In the middle, the neoliberal status quo, running from the Clinton-wing of the Democratic Party through the Romney-wing of the GOP
3. On the left, the progressives, defined by Sen. Bernie Sanders' insurgent presidential campaigns.
This new tripartite competition represented a sharp break from the neoliberal consensus that had defined both parties from 1992 through 2015. The abrupt shift in 2016 was the result of widespread dissatisfaction with a contemporary economic order defined by massive wealth inequality and, for the vast majority of the population, increasingly limited horizons, a life of overwork combined with non-stop precarity.
Trump will fail to provide the epoch-defining, shared economic prosperity he has promised the public. Rather, economic outcomes will be familiar, only more so: the few winners will win bigger, while the masses will continue to struggle just to tread water.
Now, for the second time in eight years, Trump and his minions will have power in Washington. And for the second time, in all likelihood, they will fail to alter how the economy performs for the average household.
The reasons for this are simple. To date, in a modern industrialized/technological society like ours, there is only one set of economic strategies that has been proven to constrain wealth disparity and distribute greater benefits to the majority of the population. This successful model was pioneered by FDR during the New Deal era. Then, after World War II, it was pursued in all the other prosperous democracies around the world. Broadly speaking, this is the program re-introduced to the American public by Bernie Sanders and the progressives, albeit updated for the 21st century.
The economic crises of the 1970s, created an opportunity for President Ronald Reagan to take American economic policy in a new direction in the 1980s, with less direct government intervention and more reliance on markets to determine how society made and spent its wealth. With President Clinton in the 1990s, the Democratic Party effectively dropped its opposition to the core tenets of Reaganomics, embracing what came to be known as neoliberalism. Then, in 2008, the entire global neoliberal financial system essentially imploded—and, while political leaders and economic elites tried to put Humpty-Dumpty back together again, the public has remained recalcitrant, viewing the whole system as rigged for the already wealthy and their sycophants—which sounds a lot like something Donald Trump might say. But do his policies really break with a system that benefits rich people like him?
Trump's program, while moving away from neoliberal orthodoxy in a few ways (trade policy, immigration), keeps the basic architecture intact, and doubles down on some core neoliberal policies: tax cuts for the wealthy, accelerated deregulation, and the defunding of state programs. This is why Trump will fail to provide the epoch-defining, shared economic prosperity he has promised the public. Rather, economic outcomes will be familiar, only more so: the few winners will win bigger, while the masses will continue to struggle just to tread water.
However, Trump is intent on fulfilling other campaign promises that will transform American society. His cabinet nominees show that he is serious about establishing an authoritarian state apparatus intolerant of dissent.
This is why the current fight for the soul of the Democratic Party is so essential.
If the Moderates triumph and Democrats remain the party of the status quo, clinging to a zombie ideology that cannot deliver what Americans want and expect from life—it will not be able to vanquish reactionary populism. The constitutional republic will, at best, remain in peril.
The only choice for the Democratic Party if it hopes to succeed is to reject the political establishment, and embrace progressive economic principles, such as those listed in PDA’s 21st Century Economic Bill of Rights. Registered Democrats overwhelmingly support each item of this ambitious progressive agenda. Indeed, the most coveted of all demographics, Young Americans enthusiastically embrace this program by similar margins.
So, this should be straightforward. Rank-and-file Democrats want a progressive party. Unfortunately, the defining feature of American politics in the neoliberal era is that money matters more than people. The heretofore dominant wing of the Democratic Party, aka the Party ''establishment,'' is first-and foremost a money-raising behemoth.
This is why progressives must bring their A game. Many party loyalists embrace centrist policies out of a misguided notion of pragmatism. Our goal is not to chase these Democrats away, but to persuade them to support something more ambitious and inspiring. We have a very compelling case to make on all fronts. We can win them over.
We must reject the influence of big money, demand its removal from political campaigns, and limit its role in lobbying to a level commensurate with what an average household, or small business, can afford annually.
Similarly, we have to welcome outsiders into the party, assuring them that a progressive Democratic Party will be all-inclusive and will listen to its members.
At the same time, we must be unwavering in our commitments. Perhaps most significantly, we must reject the influence of big money, demand its removal from political campaigns, and limit its role in lobbying to a level commensurate with what an average household, or small business, can afford annually.
Yet, we have to be humble about the task ahead. The capitalism of the 2020s is very different from that of the 1930's—and transforming the economy on the order of FDR or Reagan requires extended political success, as well as buy-in from people and sectors across the society.
But we also shouldn’t sell ourselves short. We are promising an unrivaled reward for everyone who joins with us. The opportunity to make history, to be a part of something bigger than ourselves; to establish the world’s first multi-racial democracy in the most diverse country in human history, a society that will stand apart in a globalized world, as the rejoinder to ethno-nationalism and fascism, informed by the collective wisdom of all the world’s cultures; a land of unprecedented wealth, well-distributed among its citizens, and of limitless opportunity; home to the world’s leading universities, with unparalleled research capacity; a strong country at peace with the world, in harmony with the planet; a society of equals; a democracy; an America as good as its promise.
The first step to getting there is for one of the two dominant political parties to embrace the progressive economic policy program, which has a proven track-record and can deliver the prosperous middle-class society that Americans crave.
In a forthcoming article, I will explain why mass participation and direct engagement with the Democratic Party is essential to the success of this program and the maintenance of American democracy.
Join PDA’s efforts to create a truly progressive Democratic Party, which we desperately need at this crucial hour of our history.
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