Skip to content

Details

This is going to be an online meetup using Zoom. If you've never used Zoom before, don't worry — it's easy to use and free to join.

Click on the link above at the scheduled date/time to log in...

***

***

THE RETURN OF THE "SOCIALIST MOMENT" FOR THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY

INTRODUCTION:

Just as the Republicans had a "libertarian moment" in 2008-2016 due to the enthusiasm that Ron Paul & Rand Paul's GOP primary campaigns created in some young voters before Donald Trump channeled the Tea Party's energy in a more nationalist/populist direction, it was common to say during Joe Biden's presidency that Democrats had experienced a "socialist moment" in 2016-2020 due to the enthusiasm generated by Bernie Sanders' primary runs that appeared to have fizzled out with his second primary loss. However, since Trump defeated the Democratic establishment's candidate - Kamala Harris - in the 2024 election and narrowly won the popular vote, the Democratic Party has experienced an identity crisis and is struggling to rebrand itself to win back the portions of its base that voted for Trump or sat the election out.

The initial response by the Democrats to the Trump administration's flurry of executive orders was muted, but the large crowds drawn in the spring by Bernie & AOC's "Fight Oligarchy" tour and Zohran Mamdani's surprise win in the NYC mayoral primary race over Andrew Cuomo have led many left-wing activists and even some more sober political analysts to proclaim that the "socialist moment" is back and that a shift from identity politics to class politics may hold the key for Democrats looking to win back their base. While there's widespread agreement that AOC & Mamdani are media savvy and might hold some lessons for Democrats in terms of messaging, other pundits & analysts have argued that a perceived shift towards "socialism" may alienate moderates in purple & red states and make it harder for Democrats to win national elections.

Economists have also weighed in, with Tyler Cowen & David H. Levey arguing that the sort of left-populist policies that AOC & Mamdani advocate would backfire & drive up the cost of living if they're implemented, while Bradford DeLong counters that progressive taxes & higher minimum wages would be good, subsidies & government-run stores could be good or bad depending on how they're implemented, and only the rent control idea is a clear loser. Some of the more pragmatic pundits with an economics background like Kyla Scanlan & Josh Barro have suggested that voters may not be voting for "seizing the means of production" so much as signaling a rejection of the Democratic establishment and hoping for some sort of relief from the cost of living crunch, and they've pointed out populist candidates will operate under constraints that will probably force them to abandon their more radical policy proposals.

RELEVANT MATERIALS FROM PAST MEETUP:

In July 2022, we had a meetup entitled "Is Social Liberalism Dying?" and in the 3rd section, we looked at the rise of Millennial socialism during the Occupy & Bernie eras which appeared to decline during the Biden years, leading some former "Bernie bros" to defect to what's been called the "Dirtbag left" (or "post-left"), a quasi-Marxist blogosphere community that's highly critical of the Democratic establishment. (NOTE: Oliver Bateman wrote a recent article on "The Death of the Post-Left" at Compact.)

We had a meetup from June 2024 entitled "Which Party's Coalition Will Crack First?", and the Introduction discussed the possibility of a "Dem Crackup" scenario where Biden lost to Trump and this discredited the establishment corporate-friendly Democrats and gave the Bernie Sanders-style populist/progressive wing of the party another chance. The 1st & 2nd sections discussed signs the Democrats were losing parts of their base (i.e. young people & working-class blacks & Hispanics) due to a mix of "wokeness" and a lackluster economy. Presumably, these are the voters the left-wing populists will try to win back with redistributive policies, along with some of Trump's white working-class base we discussed in the meetup's 3rd section.

Back in May, we had a meetup entitled "Can 'Abundance Liberalism' Save the Dems?" where we discussed how a housing shortage has caused a "blue state exodus" over the last couple decades that will lead blue states to lose House seats & presidential electors to red states after the 2030 census, unless this process is reversed with the "abundance agenda" reforms favored by pundits like Ezra Klein & Derek Thompson. However, the Democrat's progressive wing is hostile to the deregulation required for the abundance reforms, so if they win in 2028 that may lead to losses in 2032 & beyond. That is, unless the mainstream economic consensus is wrong and left-wing populist policies like rent control, price controls & state-owned businesses can bring down the cost of living.

DIRECTIONS ON HOW TO PREPARE FOR OUR DISCUSSION:

The videos & articles you see linked below are intended to give you a basic overview of some of the recent debates over whether democratic socialism is the future of the Democratic Party. As usual, I certainly don't expect you to read all the articles prior to attending our discussion. The easiest way to prepare for our discussion is to just watch the numbered videos linked under each section - the videos come to about about 52 minutes total. The articles marked with asterisks are just there to supply additional details. You can browse and look at whichever ones you want, but don't worry - we'll cover the stuff you missed in our discussion.

In terms of the discussion format, my general idea is that we'll address the topics in the order presented here. I've listed some questions under each section to stimulate discussion. We'll do our best to address most of them, as well as whatever other questions our members raise. I figure we'll spend about 40 minutes on each section.

***

I. DEBATES OVER THE DEMOCRATS' LOW FAVORABILITY RATING & POST-2024 ELECTION REALIGNMENT:

  • SECTION 1, QUESTION 1: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
  • SECTION 1, QUESTION 2: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
  • SECTION 1, QUESTION 3: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
  • SECTION 1, QUESTION 4: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
  • SECTION 1, QUESTION 5: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

1a) Chris Cillizza, "The Democratic party is in a dark, dark place" (video - 6:21 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0Gg1U9gOWg

1b) MSNBC w/ Joan C. Williams, "'Channel economic anger': How Democrats can reach working class voters" (video - 10:31 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVtQQIXLrwc

II. BERNIE & AOC'S "FIGHTING OLIGARCHY TOUR" & ITS IMPACT ON DISCUSSION OF THE 2026 MIDTERMS & 2028 PRESIDENTIAL RACE:

  • SECTION 2, QUESTION 1: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
  • SECTION 2, QUESTION 2: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
  • SECTION 2, QUESTION 3: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
  • SECTION 2, QUESTION 4: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
  • SECTION 2, QUESTION 5: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

2a) Face the Nation w/ Marianna Sotomayor & Tom LoBianco, "Analyzing the impact of AOC, Bernie Sanders' 'Fighting Oligarchy' tour" (video - 8:22 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vtf23QQiDlY

2b) The Hill w/ Chris Stirewalt, "How AOC Could Mirror Trump's Success In 2016 To Win 2028 Democratic Nomination" (video - 17:27 min, listen to 13:50)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbE8Fn69HLk

III. ZOHRAN MAMDANI'S SURPRISE VICTORY IN THE NYC MAYORAL PRIMARY ELECTION & ITS EFFECT ON THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY:

  • SECTION 3, QUESTION 1: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
  • SECTION 3, QUESTION 2: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
  • SECTION 3, QUESTION 3: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
  • SECTION 3, QUESTION 4: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
  • SECTION 3, QUESTION 5: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

3a) WCCO-CBS w/ David Schultz, "Why Democratic Socialists are winning more seats in recent elections" (video - 5:14 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiz_SL9X1nY

3b) The Hill Rising, "Stephen A. Smith Warns Democrats Will Be Doomed If They Become Like Mamdani" (video - 8:47 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ecs8mIoH5IY

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Democratic Party
Intellectual Discussions
Political Philosophy
Socialism
Grassroots Progressives

Members are also interested in