The strength of this coalition rewrote the landscape of American politics. Because of its enduring nature people have come to believe that the Democratic Party and the Progressive Movement are synonymous. Unfortunately, the coalition has broken down over the years, first with the segregationists and more and more with the conservatives. In the 90's the Democrats largely succumbed to the financial pressure of corporate contributions.
This has meant that progressive principles have become subordinate to pragmatic power to the point where we can no longer expect a Democratic candidate to express any core principle of ideological import in the course of an election. It’s almost understood that all his stands will be based on garnering campaign contributions or assuaging right-wing wedge issues that have been dropped in his path. And progressive voters, unwilling to take the risks their grandparents and great grandparents did in voting for their true beliefs have allowed central ideas of the New Deal coalition to be pushed aside. The sense of solidarity based on economic self-interest is dissipated.
When the Republicans and Democrats went into negotiations this week over the financial bailout package, ironically it was the Republicans who could put their foot down against a bad policy. People across the political spectrum are against the measure as it is written. But the Republicans are not alienated from their ideological principles. So no matter how hypocritical or politically calculated their position, they still had the tools with which to come to terms with the pressure they were feeling from their constituents.
The Democrats on the other hand have subordinated their ideological base. They have absolutely no compass with which to navigate through these negotiations. You can see the wheels spinning in their heads- “Will our backers approve?”; “Will we be blamed if we don’t agree?” That their own constituents were begging them not to do it had no impact because they are divorced from the logic of why this is a bad policy.
It was a replay of the Iraq Resolution vote in 2002. The base could see that it was a disaster about to unfold and begged their representatives not to vote for it. But the Democratic leadership, seeing only the polls that showed President Bush to be very popular and fearing that they might lose power if they stood up for principle quickly became Republicans for the day. Every instinct in them was saying don’t betray an appearance of liberalism. In the end when it was shown to be bad policy, the Republicans could say, “Look, the Democrats voted for it too” and wiggle off the hook.
As far as coalition building is concerned, we are now being asked to join a coalition that includes the nuclear power industry, the coal industry, the health insurance industry, the defense industry, etc. etc. etc. What exactly are progressives getting in return? A vague promise of shared power? We are in no position to negotiate the terms of this coalition because we have failed to distinguish ourselves as an identifiable voting bloc. Rather than power coming from masses of people who think and vote alike, voters are expected to piggy-back onto the power structures that already exist. You’re either on with the crooks or you’re out in the cold.
Progressive reformers are all hoping to fundamentally change the system. I have been looking back at the moment in history when progressives were in power and fundamental change took place. What were the elements that allowed this to happen? An idealistic refuge within the legal community that prepared capable individuals for the battle. An electorate that refused to bend on principles, secure enough to stand by those principles even when it meant losing an election. Leaders who responded to that electorate and refused to betray them.
Are any of these elements in place today? I don’t know about idealistic public interest lawyers who can out-maneuver corporate lawyers. But the progressive electorate has certainly failed to organize around principles and issues rather than power and personalities. Our leadership has clearly reached the depths of our expectations.
In the dawn light of catastrophe we can only hope to change ourselves.
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