Shortly after the election, the former Republican governor of Ohio, John Kasich, commented on Biden’s win, stating “the Democrats have to make it clear to the far left that they almost cost him the election.”  Of all the Republicans who aligned themselves with the Democratic cause, Kasich, the anti-choice, anti-labor crony who lost the 2016 Republican presidential bid, is labeled as a “Never Trumper” and even landed a spot at the Democratic National Convention last August. Apparently, the DNC and mainstream Dems hoped that Kasich was just the guy to swing Republicans, undecideds, and conservatives in battleground states to vote for Biden. Well, that idea went over like a lead balloon. Trump won Ohio by 8.2%. Ohio didn’t flip, Florida didn’t flip, Texas didn’t flip. But there was Kasich on CNN the other day, yammering that Democrats would have done better “if they’d have been more clear in rejecting the hard left.” 

Wrong Mr. Kasich. It’s not the progressives that are the issue, it’s the Democratic dinosaurs who insist on bringing out the old tattered playbook of not rocking the boat, and trying to woo conservative voters without getting too liberal, too left, or too progressive. The old playbook just doesn’t cut it anymore.  Democrats lost eight seats in the US Congress, and if we look at those candidates we see a common thread throughout their campaigns: Catering to the conservatives. Here in New Mexico, incumbent Xochil Torres-Small lost to long-time rival GOP Yvette Harrell by 20,000 votes. Yvette Harrell ran a TV ad of her shooting guns, then Xochil Torres-Small ran an ad of her shooting a gun. It’s true that the district Torres-Small represented is traditionally conservative second amendment oil country, but couldn’t she have rather pledged to bring training and new jobs in the renewable energy industry to her district, or promised to uphold gun rights for responsible gun owners while working for stronger gun control legislation? If Democratic candidates are going to run ads to court GOP voters, they’ll need to offer something much better. If we look at Democratic Rep. Joe Cunningham’s race in South Carolina, we saw him playing to conservatives, and then there’s longtime Democratic Rep. Collin Peterson, who lost to Republican Michelle Fischbach in Minnesota’s 7th District (which had been a Democratic stronghold for the last 30 years). Both Cunnigham and Peterson are members of the centrist caucus known as the “Blue Dog Democrats,” an organization that also promotes conservative-leaning values. 

Progressives are not the problem, it’s establishment Democrats. For example, it was Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, and Stacy Abrams who helped to boost voter turnout and actually helped swing the key states of Minnesota, Michigan, and Georgia. Meanwhile, establishment Democrats, stung by the losses in the House, blamed the progressives, claiming that those candidates who advocated Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, police reform, and corporate reform took votes away from Democrats. But that’s not what the facts show.  Exit polls on November 4 showed that 70% of Americans favor changing the health care system so that every American can obtain government-funded healthcare, 72% think racism in law enforcement is a serious problem, 68% support government spending on green and renewable energy, and 68% say the criminal justice system needs a complete reformation. Sorry to say, but Democratic candidates who had poor showings were quite frankly, poor candidates.  They offered nothing new, they didn’t offer any bold support for those issues that Americans really care about, just the same old Democratic rhetoric. On the flip-side, forward-thinking progressives, like Cori Bush from St. Louis and Jamaal Bowman from New York, did very well on November 4.

Let’s not forget that young voters turned out in historic numbers to deliver Joe Biden the presidency, as well as wins for progressive Democratic candidates. Youth organizers and grass-roots groups are pushing the Democratic Party to embrace a more progressive platform, that includes healthcare/medicare for all, student loan forgiveness, green energy, combating climate change, a liveable minimum wage, gun control, and police reform. If you still think that progressives can’t win voters, look at the historic wins for minorities and LGBTQ candidates.  Democrat Mauree Turner is the first Muslim to serve in the Oklahoma Legislature, as well as the first non-binary legislator in the history of the United States.  Openly trans candidates were elected/reelected in Arkansas, California, Illinois, Colorado, Delaware, Kansas, New Hampshire, and Vermont. Cory Bush is the first Black woman to represent Missouri in Congress, and Ritchie Torres is the first openly LGBTQ Afro-Latinx member elected to the New York State Congress. Mondaire Jones won the State House seat in New York for district 17, the first openly gay, black man to win in a suburban district. And Marilyn Strickland won Washington’s 10th Congressional District, making her the first Korean-African American woman ever elected to the US Congress from the state of Washington. These candidates all campaigned and advocated for progressive goals including housing funding, Medicare for All, police reform, and a Green New Deal.

It’s time that the Democratic establishment acknowledges the progressive movement within the party.  The 23 million Americans who marched against racism and police brutality in the months following George Floyd’s death deserve a party that represents them. Labor organizations, coalitions, and grass-roots community organizations need to be welcomed and supported by the Democratic party, not shunned. If we are to preserve democracy in America, we need to offer a real alternative Qanon, to conservative GOP cronies, and Trump’s far-right authoritarianism. We need an alternative to the centrist policies of Pelosi, Schumer, Clyburn, and yes, even president-elect Biden.  The 70-million-plus people who voted Trump out of office need real representation now. We have to support prison reform, voting rights, put an end to gerrymandering, support Medicare for All, address climate change, provide affordable housing for all, promote LGBTQ/minority/women’s rights, disability rights, institute corporate tax reform, immigration policy reform, and put an end to the Muslim ban and putting children in cages.

Progressive candidates are here to stay. They deserve a place at the table, and as representatives of their constituents, their voices need to be heard. 

Sources:

1. https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/08/23/incredible-new-poll-shows-70-americans-support-medicare-all-includes-84-democrats
2. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/11/03/us/elections/exit-polls-president.html