Why “Centrists” Will Sink the Democrats, If They Haven’t Already
The majority of registered Democratic voters view Sanders favorably and support single-payer healthcare.
(Excerpts – Read complete article here.)
No political ideology in modern American history has failed as consistently, or for as long, as the Wall Street-friendly political brand known as “Democratic centrism.”
It’s true that individual politicians have succeeded under this umbrella, through art and luck, but their party and their policies have faltered under this ideology. Yet its practitioners continue to hawk their wares, undeterred by a losing streak that has brought their party to its knees.
Consider the recent New York Times column from Steven Rattner, the Wall Street executive who helped Barack Obama rescue the auto industry.
Mr. Rattner is unhappy with Medicare For All’s growing support among Democrats and centrism’s waning fortunes. He frames that dissatisfaction, first and foremost, as a personal critique of Medicare For All’s leading proponent.
The Old Order is Rapidly Fading
The Democrats have achieved their greatest political and policy successes when they have ignored the “centrists” – in reality, ever-present naysayers who cloak their negativity in the pseudo-technocratic jargon of centrism. It’s hard to imagine that the New Deal, Medicare, or the Moon Landing would have ever happened if milquetoast Democrats like these had been in charge.
Meanwhile, the old order is crumbling. 73 percent of voters are dissatisfied with the way the country’s being governed, despite topline economic improvements. 61 percent agree with the statement, “Republicans and Democrats have done such a poor job representing the American people that a third party is needed.” That’s nearly twice as many as those who feel that the two parties are doing an “adequate” job.
The bipartisan, centrist political consensus is breaking down. That’s not an accident, and it’s not an injustice. It’s the result of repeated failures, both abroad and at home. The question is, what will replace it: something better, or something worse? If Democrats continue to follow the losing ways of the past, we probably won’t like the answer.