Jonathan P. Baird

Watching a president threaten to end an ancient civilization so that it never will return was sobering. It may have been the worst thing an American President ever said. That same president calls any Democrat who disagrees with him a radical leftist. The irony is that few of the Democrats who oppose Trump are radical. Most are scared of that label and run away from it like it was a poison snake.

Democrats’ biggest problem is their timidity and lack of vision. It is hard to say what the Democratic Party even stands for and that is its biggest weakness. Too many Democrats want to stand on being anti-Trump as if that is enough self-definition. For much of the party, in contrast to the Republicans, taking a strong stand on anything is anathema.

Centrist Democrats, allied to corporate money, attack the progressive wing of the party whether the issue is Israel/Palestine or abolishing ICE. This has gone on since at least the Bill Clinton years and even earlier. I would suggest that Democrats should ignore those attacks against the progressives because now is a time we should be thinking big. We need to be giving voters, especially young voters, powerful reasons to cast ballots.

The historical example that comes to mind is FDR. Coming out of the Great Depression, the Roosevelt administration advanced a bold vision for the country. The New Deal was a massive reinvention of America. FDR created the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Works Progress Administration, the Social Security Administration, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the National Recovery Administration and the Federal Housing Administration, among others.

To win over masses of people and to end the fascist threat represented by MAGA, Democrats should pursue a radical, democratic socialist vision. Since Democrats will be accused of being radical leftists anyway, how about delivering something genuinely progressive. The world (not just the U.S.) needs a renewed democratic socialist agenda led by people of high moral character, intellect and dedication. Such an agenda could include items like the following:

• Universal health care. It is way past time for America to guarantee health care to all. Too many people have no access, no insurance or inadequate coverage. America has the capacity to make universal health care happen.
• Making housing a right. It is a disgrace that the wealthiest country in the world tolerates homelessness like we do. We could provide low-interest, long-term loans to encourage home construction and ownership. We could address crushing rents.
• Federal jobs program. With millions scared by AI, we could advocate for expanding and protecting jobs to pursue full employment. Like the Works Progress Administration in 1935, we could employ millions in public works projects, including building infrastructure, schools and the arts.The tech broligarchs don’t own us and their agenda is not what the people need.
• Supreme Court reform. We must add at least four seats to the High Court. As Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse has shown, the Court has been captured by extreme right wing billionaires. Without court reform, all progressive change would get blocked in defense of the billionaires’ interests.
• Addressing climate change. Instead of pretending climate change is not happening, we should be investing in alternative energy like wind and solar. Getting away from fossil fuels is essential to human survival on the planet.
• No more imperialist wars. Trump betrayed his promise to avoid forever wars. Democrats must oppose the Iran war and any future unnecessary conflicts that only benefit the military industrial complex. We must advocate for massive cuts in war spending, Restoring respect for democracy and human rights as American goals and values is critical. We must stop allying with autocracies.
• Advancing voting rights. We must fight for maximum turnout of all who are eligible to vote. Republicans have sought to narrow and eliminate the right to vote, especially for minorities. No to Ctizens United and yes to publicly financed elections so dark money can no longer buy who wins elections.
• Abolish ICE. We must try and stop ICE from disappearing people with no due process. We must oppose mass incarceration and unjustified deportations of people with no criminal record. We don’t know half of what this renegade agency has done. ICE cannot be reformed. We need an entirely new approach to immigration that includes a pathway to citizenship.
• Dismantle racial capitalism. Since the beginning of the Atlantic slave trade, capitalism has perpetuated racial hierarchies to extract, exploit and profit. We must devise strategies that respond to the ways racism and colonialism are embedded in political and economic structures.
• Oppose sexism, heterosexism and scapegoating of sexual minorities. We must oppose all discrimination. Tolerance and “live and let live” should be watchwords for our new society.

This agenda is an example of what a renewed democratic socialist platform could look like. Socialism admittedly has a checkered history but it could be adopted to incorporate the best of American tradition. Respect for the rule of law, multi-racial democracy, due process and the First Amendment should all be part of a new libertarian democratic socialist vision.

Just as is true with capitalism and its many forms, socialism also comes in many varieties. No doubt there are many Democrats who won’t like seeing the party move left but to beat back fascism, Democrats need to fight back more aggressively while offering more to the people. That is the way to win voters, not offering empty platitudes as centrist Democrats always do.

I get sick watching Democrats who don’t react to fascism. So many say nothing. When they don’t call it out they guarantee it will come back in a worse form. It is easy to think Donald Trump is as bad as it can get but Nick Fuentes and other Nazis are waiting in the wings.

Government has been entirely corrupted by the Trump regime. Look at the DOJ, the CDC or the EPA. These agencies need to be gutted and rebuilt from scratch. We are at a place where America needs a new vision. Democrats must be the party to make that happen. Big change, based on advancing the interests of working class people, is the way forward.