Democrats Need Big Change but May Get Away With Skipping It
There are more and more signs that Democrats may come up winners in elections in the near future. In the congressional elections and in state elections in late 2026, and possibly the presidential election in 2028. That’s good, but it has a bad side to it.
Democrats have come up short in being the champions of the people for decades. Not that they should be against the rich, but it is everyone else who need a champion. Democrats held that banner but failed to deliver. It’s the reason someone like Trump could gain a significant following. It’s the reason he is back in the White House despite having tried to overthrow the country.
The entire political fiasco of recent years should not be looked at as something to be blamed on Trump. There will always be people like that will grab the opportunity to try to enrich and empower themselves while damaging anything in their way, if they are allowed to do so. It was the job of Democratic leadership, since they were carrying the banner of champion of the people, to not allow that to happen. They dropped that ball entirely. The fiasco of recent years? It’s the Democrat’s fault.
Democrats needed to learn their lesson from that and make a dramatic change.
There have long been a few champions the party could have followed, like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Now there are a few more Democratic leaders who have started to get serious about a big change or at least are talking that way. There has also been a small degree of greater action for the people generally, as with the fight in Congress to maintain insurance rates in the Affordable Care Act. But the change hasn’t been nearly enough. Not enough for what people really need, and not enough to avoid some future Trump-like fake populist to gain a following again. Not like Ms. Warren would seem to enact given her frequent promotion of steps like creating the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau which are not social programs but would significantly help people.
But now even many Trump voters are being disillusioned with him. Oof! Is that ever a loaded word. How can it possibly be that it has taken things going this far before they finally become disillusioned? And disillusioned is the word. People who have been under an illusion, finally starting to come out of it.
With that disillusionment it looks like Democrats could win some elections. They might now be able to do that without having made any real, substantial change. Leadership may feel the heat is off. No need for big change. That’s very unfortunate.
That sets up the possibility of more of a recurring cycle. Democrats get a turn in the majority in Congress, or possibly win the White House, but are ineffective, and frustratingly so (e.g., Obama). That followed by a backlash that brings MAGA-style Republicans back in charge in Congress, blocking most things that would be good for people generally. Or brings someone similar to Trump in too many ways into the White House. Perhaps J.D. Vance or some other post-Trump MAGA front person.
Democrats need such a shock that it could awaken them to the need to become truly bold, active champions of the needs of the ninety-eight percent. I take that back. I wouldn’t wish for such a shock. They’ve already had one that’s about all the country can handle. One that has darn near destroyed the country. And the leadership still hasn’t really gotten the message of what’s needed. Now if they have some wins and by luck and by default skate past the failures of the last few years without that change it just sets things up for more of the same.
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