Robert Reich’s program to save the Left after a decade of defeats

Summary: Here one of the Left’s top political analysts sketches out a path forward for the Democratic Policy after its well-deserved defeats during the past decade. While tactically sound, he ignores the two weaknesses that prevent the reform of America.

 

“The Life of the Party:
7 Truths for Democrats“

By Robert Reich.
At his website, 20 January 2017.

 

The ongoing contest between the Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders wings of the Democratic Party continues to divide Democrats. It’s urgent Democrats stop squabbling and recognize seven basic truths:

The Party is on life support. Democrats are in the minority in both the House and Senate, with no end in sight. Since the start of the Obama Administration they’ve lost 1,034 state and federal seats. They hold only 16 governorships, and face 32 state legislatures fully under GOP control. No one speaks for the party as a whole. The Party’s top leaders are aging, and the back bench is thin.

(1)  The future is bleak unless the Party radically reforms itself. …

(2)  The strongest and most powerful force in American politics is a rejection of the status quo, a repudiation of politics as usual, and a deep and profound distrust of elites, including the current power structure of America. {He conflates populism and progressivism, different but overlapping phenomena both rooted in rebellion against elites.} …

(3)  The economy is not working for most Americans. …

(4)  The Party’s moneyed establishment – big donors, major lobbyists, retired members of congress who have become bundlers and lobbyists – are part of the problem. Even though many consider themselves “liberal” and don’t recoil from an active government, their preferred remedies spare corporations and the wealthiest from making any sacrifices. …

(5)  It’s not enough for Democrats to be “against Trump,” and defend the status quo. Democrats have to fight like hell against regressive policies Trump wants to put in place, but Democrats also need to fight for a bold vision of what the nation must achieve – like expanding Social Security, and financing the expansion by raising the cap on income subject to Social Security taxes; Medicare for all; and world-class free public education for all.

And Democrats must diligently seek to establish countervailing power – stronger trade unions, community banks, more incentives for employee ownership and small businesses, and electoral reforms that get big money out of politics and expand the right to vote.

(6)  The life of the Party – its enthusiasm, passion, youth, principles, and ideals – was elicited by Bernie Sanders’s campaign. …

(7)  The Party must change from being a giant fundraising machine to a movement. It needs to unite the poor, working class, and middle class, black and white – who haven’t had a raise in 30 years, and who feel angry, powerless, and disenfranchised.

If the Party doesn’t understand these seven truths and fails to do what’s needed, a third party will emerge to fill the void. Third parties usually fail because they tend to draw votes away from the dominant party closest to them, ideologically. But if the Democratic Party creates a large enough void, a third party won’t draw away votes. It will pull people into politics.

And drawing more people into politics is the only hope going forward

————————— Read the full article. —————————

The key truths that Reich does not mention

This is an insightful list by a smart man. But I believe reform of America is impossible by such steps as this. Today American’s lack the spirit to govern themselves. Nothing can change until that spark is rekindled.

A consequence of this is our love of info-tainment, and disinterest in its accuracy (see the Big List of Lies by Our Leaders).  We apply truth as a standard only to the speech of our political foes. We live in safe zones, in which words spoken by members of our political tribe are accepted unquestionably (see the comment section of most political blogs). Such gullible people are easily led by lies, and our leadership naturally evolves to produce people willing to lies to us.

Which should we fix first? Should we become skeptical and seek truth, or seek better leaders? I doubt it matters. Either will be a step forward to a stronger America.

For more about this see A picture of America, showing a path to political reform.

About the author

Robert B. Reich is a Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley. He served as Secretary of Labor in the Clinton administration; Time Magazine named him one of the ten most effective cabinet secretaries of the twentieth century.

He has written 14 books, including the best sellers Aftershock, The Work of Nations: Preparing Ourselves for 21st Century Capitalism, Beyond Outrage: What has gone wrong with our economy and our democracy, and how to fix it, and his most recent, Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few. He is also a founding editor of the American Prospect magazine, chairman of Common Cause, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and co-creator of the award-winning documentary, Inequality For All.

For More Information

If you liked this post, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. See all posts about reforming American politics, about the Democratic Party, and especially these…

1. Can we organize the political reform of America? Our past shows how.
2. The 1% are changing America. It’s our move.
3. We’re at the very early days of organizing. Have realistic expectations.
4. Some basics about political organizing in the 21st century. — Building a big organization.
5. How to recruit people to the cause of reforming America.
6. How can we arouse a passion to reform America in the hearts of our neighbors?
7. Is grassroots organizing a snare or magic bullet for the reform of America?

Two excellent books by Robert Reich