Democrats seem to reject moving to the center on two key cultural wars: immigration and transgender issues. They favour the status quo (under the current DNC and congressional leadership) and status quo ante (under Biden).
They think moving to the left on economics (specially healthcare) is a viable route without reconsidering the party brand on identity politics.
This simply won't work.
And given the fiscal problems the US is confronting and congressional rules regarding the filibuster and reconciliation, more spending on healthcare will not be easy to arrive at.
Democrats opinions on foreign policy aren't much better. The rise once again of pacifism and campism is just a terrible foundation for the next administration's approach to an increasingly hostile against the West world in which China continues to rise.
Affordability as a slogan is just empty platitudes, while the country confronts real problems with its manufacturing capability (specially on defense products), continued reliance on oil and the hard trade off of allowing Silicon Valley to drive most growth at the expense of increased energy prices and misinformation.
But the Ron Brown paragraphs presaged the Clinton victory in 1992. Howard Dean's "50-State Strategy" (conspicuously unmentioned) was the forerunner to Obama winning in 2008. The problems with the Democratic Party are pretty easy to ascertain:
1. Compete Everywhere (including rural areas and traditionally non-Dem areas).
2. Move away from leftist dogma and build the center, especially in suburbs and swing areas.
3. Build up the state and regional organizations and focus on the grassroots upward, not the other way around.
The single biggest statement progressives and Democrats should take from this and other "autopsies" are that the current Democratic coalition is not large enough to win solely on its own. It needs to branch out.
The need is for more than two parties. Biden lost when he said he wanted a strong Republican Party. No one who experiences the current lusty GOP gaze wants to read that or hear that. It really destroyed me to hear him say that trying to be centrist. The “two-party system” is an anti-democratic gift to capitalism that has obviated the desire to move beyond monarchy and has instead re-enshrined it. The way beyond losing is to dissolve, end clinging to institutionalized parties completely and talk instead about moving beyond 500 years of demonizing non-White humanity. Permanently.
I've long been an advocate for a three party system and such already exists for the taking if only the Democratic Party has enough resolve. MAGA on the far-right as illiberal nationalism, DSA on the far-left as illiberal socialism, and a New Big Tent Consensus Democratic Party for about 2/3rds of Americans. It can be done before 2028 by providing a welcoming space for the right-most DSA members to disassociate with the outright socialis in DSA and see real progress through collaboration, and for non-MAGA Republicans to see real prudence through compromise. That's what most Americans are yearning for.
It may appear anarchistic but I mean move beyond institutionalized parties. Let parties come and go as they can be applied to situations. Any “system” is static and antagonistic to we the people.
Democrats seem to reject moving to the center on two key cultural wars: immigration and transgender issues. They favour the status quo (under the current DNC and congressional leadership) and status quo ante (under Biden).
They think moving to the left on economics (specially healthcare) is a viable route without reconsidering the party brand on identity politics.
This simply won't work.
And given the fiscal problems the US is confronting and congressional rules regarding the filibuster and reconciliation, more spending on healthcare will not be easy to arrive at.
Democrats opinions on foreign policy aren't much better. The rise once again of pacifism and campism is just a terrible foundation for the next administration's approach to an increasingly hostile against the West world in which China continues to rise.
Affordability as a slogan is just empty platitudes, while the country confronts real problems with its manufacturing capability (specially on defense products), continued reliance on oil and the hard trade off of allowing Silicon Valley to drive most growth at the expense of increased energy prices and misinformation.
"Deciding to Win" was a much better autopsy.
But the Ron Brown paragraphs presaged the Clinton victory in 1992. Howard Dean's "50-State Strategy" (conspicuously unmentioned) was the forerunner to Obama winning in 2008. The problems with the Democratic Party are pretty easy to ascertain:
1. Compete Everywhere (including rural areas and traditionally non-Dem areas).
2. Move away from leftist dogma and build the center, especially in suburbs and swing areas.
3. Build up the state and regional organizations and focus on the grassroots upward, not the other way around.
The single biggest statement progressives and Democrats should take from this and other "autopsies" are that the current Democratic coalition is not large enough to win solely on its own. It needs to branch out.
The need is for more than two parties. Biden lost when he said he wanted a strong Republican Party. No one who experiences the current lusty GOP gaze wants to read that or hear that. It really destroyed me to hear him say that trying to be centrist. The “two-party system” is an anti-democratic gift to capitalism that has obviated the desire to move beyond monarchy and has instead re-enshrined it. The way beyond losing is to dissolve, end clinging to institutionalized parties completely and talk instead about moving beyond 500 years of demonizing non-White humanity. Permanently.
I've long been an advocate for a three party system and such already exists for the taking if only the Democratic Party has enough resolve. MAGA on the far-right as illiberal nationalism, DSA on the far-left as illiberal socialism, and a New Big Tent Consensus Democratic Party for about 2/3rds of Americans. It can be done before 2028 by providing a welcoming space for the right-most DSA members to disassociate with the outright socialis in DSA and see real progress through collaboration, and for non-MAGA Republicans to see real prudence through compromise. That's what most Americans are yearning for.
It may appear anarchistic but I mean move beyond institutionalized parties. Let parties come and go as they can be applied to situations. Any “system” is static and antagonistic to we the people.