Civil War Between Democrats and Progressives Won't Be Civil
If the Democratic Party isn't careful, they could find themselves licking their wounds again in 2018. Only this time, the beating will be at the hands of Progressives. With millions of left leaning voters looking for bolder action and sweeping changes to meet the challenges of reestablishing a path to upward mobility, Democrats have seemingly learned nothing from the insurgence of Bernie Sanders in 2016. Progressives are not Democrats and it's doubtful the two can continue to coexist under the same tent much longer.
Progressives have rightly determined the Democratic Party is controlled by out of touch political elitists, so dependent on corporate funding, they can barely pay lip service to the core concerns of grassroots Leftists. Progressives and Independents are tired of falling in line with the Democrats simply because at the end of the day, they felt they had no place else to go. Many Leftists have simply outgrown the Democratic message and want more and they want more now.
Millions of Democrats were disappointed they were forced to support Hillary Clinton's minimalist approach to address economic inequality. Clinton and the Democratic Party would settle for a $12 Federal minimum wage. Progressives are fighting for $15. The Democrats are still selling affordable college with reasonable interest rates and a better consumer experience from the lender. Progressives are fighting for free college tuition, so a graduate begins life debt free. The Democratic Party is still wedded to war and Wall Street, while Progressives want a clean break from both. Despite the labels, these two ideologies are diverging quickly and sharply.
Senator Elizabeth Warren was forced to acknowledge many Democrats were feeling the system was rigged at the top, and that feeling was causing a shift in party identification. And she's right. Left leaning voters are considering alternatives. Some are looking at the Green Party's platform, while others are willing to form a National Progressive Party to populate every state ballot, top to bottom. If many Progressives had their way, every Democrat would face a primary challenge from a Progressive Economic Populist. And that's precisely what the Democrats don't get. There is an economic populism movement in the making. The concept has yet to be formally established, but that's what's going on.
Bottom line: So far, the establishment wing of the Democratic Party has yet to recognize America's economic populism movement growing right outside its shrinking tent. This movement has the potential to attract voters from all walks of life. Economic Populism, once fully defined, understood and embraced, will win the hearts and minds of those who've felt left behind. And that's pretty much the 99%. Podcast below.
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