You know, I've talked a lot about how the democrats are in a bubble. I've also spent a lot of time about whether they actually care or not about appealing to progressives. Well, today, I came across an article that suggested that the democrats shift their focus away from the midwest and appeal to areas in the southeast and southwest of the country.
I'm not as interested in looking into whether the idea of feasible, as much as what the idea means for the democratic party and progressives. In short, it's not good. The logic behind the idea is this. The republicans have been making inroads in the midwest in recent years, to the point that it is no longer safe territory for the democrats to hold. Trump won Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania for the first time in debates, and the republicans have been taking over the states on a more local level, controlling governorships and state houses. Meanwhile, the republicans are underperforming in areas of the country that republicans generally hold. In the future, due to demographic shifts, the democrats might have a shot at states like Texas, Georgia, and Arizona. By appealing to growing minority populations in these regions, as well as upper class educated whites, the democrats could afford to lose the midwest, assuming they pick up parts of the south. This will essentially realign the parties, destroy the republicans, and force them to have to pick up the pieces for quite a time to come.
I don't like this idea because of what it means for progressives. I want the republicans to lose too, but let's be clear of why I hate the republicans so much. I hate the republicans because they're a party that is run by the rich, and for the rich. They basically tried to royally screw workers in 2012 in order to help their rich cronies, and I left the republican party in part because of this reason. Beyond that, the party is anti intellectual. They appeal to religious crazies and social conservatives and even freaking racists in order to win. They are against everything I stand for, and want their ideas to be pushed into the dustbin of history.
I have issues with democrats too...primarily that they're too much like the republicans. Take note of this. I dislike the democrats, because they act too much like republicans. I refused to support them this election because they pretty much appealed to the rich and threw the working class overboard. They focused on identity politics to divide and conquer, driving people to the republicans, and made many stay home. And as I said before, this is why they lost the midwest.
The core problem with this idea is it requires doubling down on the tactics that cost them this election. When you appeal to the wealthy, that means you lose the desire to push for economically populist ideas. When you appeal to minorities like this, this requires doubling down on identity politics. If the democrats go through with this idea, the white working class they they lost this election will be lost forever to the republicans. They will become a party of identity politics and center right economics. They will throw the white working class overboard. When you talk about moving from the midwest, and picking up the south, that's what the democrats are talking about doing. Appealing to the wealthy and racial minorities in order to double down on the strategies that cost Clinton the election this time. Will it work in the future? It might. Republicans are losing their foothold in these regions as the articles state and it's possible that as demographics change, we might see them shift to being swing states or solid blue states.
But at the same time, where does this leave progressives? Out in the cold, basically. We will either be forced to begrudgingly join a neoliberal democratic party made in Hillary Clinton's image, or we will be forced to join a republican party made in Donald Trump's image. If the democrats basically throw the white working class overboard, we might see a strange coalition between social democratic types like myself, and the super anti welfare, anti immigration, anti intellectual, quasi fascist republican party. We might be forced to choose between economic conservatism with social liberalism, or economic liberalism and social conservatism. Or even worse, we might see two conservative parties, one that appeals to suburbanites and neoliberals, and the other that appeals to what the conservatives have become. This is not good.
If the democrats are as corrupt as the last few articles I've written are considering, this seems like a good strategy for them. It will divide the working class and shut the left out for at least another generation. It will be a party realignment, but one that splits the country between socially liberal globalists, and socially conservative nationalists. The republican party will become quasi fascist, and the democrats will become corporate owned elitists.
I don't believe the midwest is a lost cause, and I don't believe the left should give up its identity to the neoliberal centrists in charge. I believe we can win it again if we adopt an economically populist message. I believe the only reason we've lost it is because the democrats aren't acting like freaking leftists, and this is forcing the democrats to stay home. I believe the reason the republicans are winning is a failure in left wing politics, not a need to move further to the right.If the democrats rebuild the blue wall and make the republicans pay for it, the south will eventually fall into place too if demographics are to be believed. As I said, I believe class politics and identity politics have a place within the democratic party, and that by combining both, you're putting all the economic elites and the fascists and the anti intellectuals and the religious nuts all in one party. Progressives will be the dominant strain of the democratic party, and all the neoliberals and economic right wingers can have fun dealing with a basket of deplorables, to use a Clinton term.
I guess we'll have to see what happens and whether the iron law of institutions is really as true as my last article implied it might be. If the democratic party has a soul, they can win without selling out the progressive movement, but bringing them to the table. If they don't, and they're just another party bought and paid for by the 1%, and put their own power and job security over the common good, they'll throw us overboard and pursue more centrists next time. We'll have to see what happens. I think this election is counting out chickens before they hatch and that this cycle, the ideas of the past won, not the ideas that will bring us into the future. I think this might be one of the last elections of the previous alignment, not the first one of the next. It really depends on the actions of the parties, particularly the democratic party.
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