I’m Not a Democrat, I’m a Progressive
Notes on How Bringing a Knife to a Gunfight Goes Exactly as Fucking Expected
The feeling of watching democracy crumble is surreal - like witnessing a car crash in slow motion while being completely powerless to stop it. Many of us are grappling with a paradoxical mix of emotions: predictability and shock. The sea of red on the electoral map of the United States is staggering. It's so red. I know I live in a blue bubble, but fuck! During Trump's victory speech, J.D. Vance called this win 'the greatest political comeback in the history of the United States of America,' and he was right. This victory has been building momentum since the day Trump lost in 2020. It’s worth noting, though, that Republicans won this election just as much as Democrats systematically lost it. Newton's third law of motion says that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. In American politics, that reaction must be decisive and proportional. As Trump's 2024 victory threatens to reshape American democracy, the Democratic Party must abandon its failed centrist approach and embrace progressive leadership to effectively counter right-wing populism and prevent the further erosion of liberal values.
I am a registered Democrat, but only because I live in a closed primary state, where if I were registered as an Independent as I would prefer, I would be excluded from voting in the Democratic Primary. I am one of those voters who have been disillusioned by the Democratic party and their antics. My views are so much further left of their platforms that I feel like my contribution to their ranks is a sham. I wish that the AOCs and all the members of The Squad, the Elizabeth Warren's, and the Bernie's of Congress could be their own separate party. I would register for that so fast, and I believe that a large portion of America would do so as well.
The Democratic Party's chokehold on progressive voices exemplifies everything wrong with our current political landscape. As a registered Democrat in a closed primary state, I'm forced to align with a party that doesn't represent my values just to have a voice in the electoral process. My views stretch far beyond their timid platforms, making my party affiliation feel like a hollow compromise. The stars of progressive politics represent a movement that deserves its own party. A party that would attract millions of Americans who, like me, are tired of choosing between bad and worse. This systematic suppression of progressive voices sets the stage for an even darker reality within the Democratic establishment.
The Democratic Party's betrayal of its base runs deeper than mere policy disagreements - it's embedded in the very structure of their nomination process. In 2016, Hillary Clinton's campaign orchestrated her nomination by securing super-delegate commitments before Bernie Sanders even had a chance to compete. This year, the party went a step further by entirely eliminating the primary process after Biden's excessively late withdrawal. Hell, he shouldn’t have launched a new campaign in the first place. The party elite's paternalistic attitude, deciding they know what's best for the voters, has backfired spectacularly. I understand their desire to try and make history through a female presidency. I yearn for a female president. Men are why we have wars! But how we get there is important, and the abysmal strategies of the Democratic Party have left us vulnerable to the looming threat of complete Republican control.
The terrifying reality of Project 2025 failed to mobilize enough voters to back Kamala Harris. In the shadow of a presidency defined by high grocery prices and the war in Palestine, Kamala could not figure out a way to offer change in a way that did not undermine the man whose administration she currently serves. This leaves us with a nearly comprehensive Republican takeover of Congress as they've secured the Senate and are poised to control the House. With Trump at the helm of a cooperative Congress, his nightmareish policies will sail through with no meaningful opposition. The already right-leaning Supreme Court will be packed with Trump loyalists who will reshape American jurisprudence for generations - assuming Trump doesn't take a page from Putin's playbook and attempt to stay in power indefinitely. This complete consolidation of power under Republican control represents an unprecedented threat to American democracy, one that I feel could have been prevented if the Democratic Party had embraced rather than suppressed its progressive wing.
The writing is on the wall, written in bold red letters that the Democratic establishment seems determined to ignore. Our nation stands at a crossroads where the path of moderate politics leads only to defeat while the right continues to push further into extremism. Those who feel today's post-election dread should brace themselves - this is merely the prelude to what's coming. The Democratic Party's refusal to evolve and embrace progressive values hasn't just cost them an election; it's opened the door to an era where extreme conservatism will become the law of the land, and liberal ideals will be pushed into the corners of society. How much worse must things get before we realize that bringing measured responses to an ideological war is a strategy doomed to fail? The dread we feel is nothing compared to what’s coming down the pipeline. We should be relishing in the dread of today. We will be begging for this feeling a year from now, for the true horrors have not even begun.