The Progressives in the Democratic Party Keep Marching Forward

The Progressives in the Democratic Party Keep Marching Forward

The Progressives in the Democratic Party Keep Marching Forward

Savvy Democrats and progressives must focus on driving a bold new agenda and winning in 2018 and 2020.

Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky
Pocket
Email

EDITOR’S NOTE: Each week we cross-post an excerpt from Katrina vanden Heuvel’s column at the WashingtonPost.com. Read the full text of Katrina’s column here.

Tuesday’s release of Hillary Clinton’s campaign memoir, What Happened, has already set off a new round of sniping and score-settling, providing grist for the media’s addiction to covering political intrigue at the expense of serious policy issues. In telling her side of the story, Clinton takes jabs at Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), former FBI director James B. Comey, and even former vice president Joe Biden. That’s her right. And her critics are likewise entitled to take issue with her portrayal of certain events. But rather than reopening old wounds and refighting past battles, maybe it would be healthier to reflect on how far Democrats have come since the beginning of 2016 and how the progressive wing is now ascendant in the party at the grass roots and to consider the contributions that Sanders’s campaign made toward building a more progressive party.

Wednesday, Sanders will formally introduce legislation to provide “Medicare for All,” a policy that was central to his insurgent presidential campaign. Although Sanders has sponsored single-payer health-care plans for years, this will be the first time that he does so with meaningful support from prominent Democrats. Senators Kamala Harris (CA), Elizabeth Warren (MA), and Cory Booker (NJ)—rising party leaders and potential 2020 contenders—will be co-sponsoring the bill. Meanwhile, top Democrats including Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (NY), and Chris Murphy (CT) have also expressed support for the idea of Medicare for All.

“This is what an emerging party consensus looks like,” writes Vox’s Dylan Matthews. “Over time, some issues become so widely accepted within a party as to be a de facto requirement for anyone aspiring to lead it…. And the way things are going, soon no Democratic leader will be able to oppose single-payer.”

Read the full text of Katrina’s columnhere.

Support The Nation’s June Fundraising Campaign

With the midterm elections now firmly upon us, the question is whether Democratic candidates will do more than merely occupy ballot lines as mild alternatives to the red-hot crisis that is Donald Trump.

As Trump spends over $1 billion a day on a globally destabilizing war on Iran and admits that he doesn’t “think about Americans’ financial situation,” millions across the country are struggling with the surging costs of essentials. Democrats must seize this moment and advance bold, small-“d” populist ideas—not settle for cynical caution that once again snatches defeat from the jaws of victory.

The Nation elevates progressive ideas, movements, and elected officials achieving real change across the country into the national conversation. At the same time, our journalists are exposing how crypto and AI-funded super PACs are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to knock out candidates they oppose, reporting on the devastating impact of the Supreme Court’s evisceration of the Voting Rights Act, and sounding the alarm on attempts by red states to quickly redraw electoral maps, disenfranchising Southern Black voters.

We can play this critical role because of support from readers like you. This June, we’re raising $20,000 to power The Nation’s independent journalism in the run-up to November’s immensely consequential elections.

It’s in our power to build a more just society, and your support at this critical moment brings us closer to that bold vision. I hope you’ll donate today.

Onward,

Katrina vanden Heuvel
Editor and Publisher, The Nation

Ad Policy
x