The Progressive Wing is Splintering Off From the Democratic Establishment
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY 14), right, endorsing Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) for President at a rally in Queens, NY in October 2020. Both Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez are faces of the progressive movement at the national level and within the Democratic party. Source.
After decades of debate over issues like abortion, immigration, and military spending, the political polarization between Democrats and Republicans is nothing new. But what about the polarization within the Democratic Party itself? A recent study done by FiveThirtyEight showed two clear poles: the “establishment” and the “progressive left.”
Those who fall under the “establishment” category typically regard prominent party figures, like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, in a positive light — a sentiment that extends to their feelings toward the Democratic National Committee as a whole. Those on the “progressive left,” however, tend to view the DNC as more of a weak figurehead and, instead, put the majority of their support behind the Democratic Socialists of America and favor legislators like Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
Sanders, who identifies as a Democratic Socialist and is one of only two senators registered as an Independent, has caucused with the Democrats for decades and explained the progressive stance on the Party back in 2013.
“The Democratic Party today does not represent — and has not for many years — the interests of my constituency, which is primarily working families, middle-class people, and low-income people,” he said. “While, obviously, the Democratic Party is far preferable to the right-wing extremist Republican Party, one would be very naive not to know that the Democratic Party is also heavily influenced by corporate interests and big money interests.”
These interests are the reason many progressive legislators, like Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts, have taken it upon themselves to urge Democrats not only to challenge the status quo, but to dismantle it — something President Donald Trump and his cronies have been actively working to intimidate their rivals from doing.
This unfavorable treatment of progressives is not exclusive to the Republican Party, however. In an effort to appeal to moderate voters, Democrats and Republicans alike have resorted to demonizing progressives as “too radical” or accusing them of attempting to turn America into a socialist state. Still, progressives have been steadily gaining seats in Congress, and after dutifully falling in line while Joe Biden sought to unseat Trump, they are once again making their criticisms toward the party known.
Essentially, progressives believe the Democratic Party is not as adamant in its defense of the working class as it should be. As such, progressives have been known to champion ideas like Medicare for All, The Green New Deal, free college tuition, and abolishing the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). And while these views are not nearly universal, they are gaining adherents — even a few presidential candidates. They are also fundamentally reshaping and radicalizing the Democratic Party.
But perhaps the most significant shift is among voters, not candidates. Women, people of color, and urban voters have become the driving force of the progressive movement, paving the way for a clear deviation from Democratic norms on a variety of issues. For instance, rather than working within the system to create jobs and lower taxes, progressives hope to change the system altogether. But in order to do so, they must first address its weaknesses — namely, those coming from this nation’s history of racism, sexism, and classism.
“These are systemic problems and I’m proud to be fighting for systemic solutions,” Ocasio-Cortez said in a campaign video earlier this year.
She and the other progressives are not the only ones responsible for the division within the Democratic Party, however. By pushing Republicans farther to the right, Trump effectively alienated his Party’s moderates, leaving them no place else to go but the Democratic Party. These moderates, typically referred to as “libertarians” or “neoliberals,” do not fall under the “establishment” wing or the “progressive left.” Instead, they comprise a third faction, further dividing Democrats.
As such, it should come as no surprise that the core goal of Biden’s presidential campaign was to reunite the nation. Rather than seeing blue states or red states, he has vowed to see only the United States.
Republican and former President George W. Bush addressed this idea, telling CNN: “Though we have political differences, I know Joe Biden to be a good man, who has won his opportunity to lead and unify our country. The President-elect reiterated that while he ran as a Democrat, he will govern for all Americans.”
The question is: can he deliver on this promise? The United States is a massive country, after all. And unification is no small feat. More so to the point, do progressives even want to unify? Their relentless advocacy for change suggests they may not be as willing to settle as Biden hopes. Not again. And while Biden’s platform is quite progressive in comparison to previous presidents, he still hasn’t given the public any reason to believe he possesses some magical secret to policymaking that will allow leftists to make any real progress this time around. That’s why, if nothing else, Biden needs to put forth an honest effort to communicate with progressives as he goes about his term and work to ensure positions for them in his White House. Should he fail, he runs the risk of further alienating the left, thereby strengthening the divisions among the Democratic Party. Given the urgency of the situation, however, he doesn’t have much of a choice. Progressives turned out for Biden. Now it’s his turn.