![While Democrats had a better than expected showing in the midterms, they must embrace change and find a way to help more Americans.](https://san.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Democrats-must-embrace-change-to-help-America.png?w=1920)
Commentary
-
Our commentary partners will help you reach your own conclusions on complex topics.
It’s alternately amusing and distressing to me how politically literate my kids are. Like, my 11-year-old is so over gerrymandering. Dude, same.
I had a conversation with him the other day that got me thinking about the problem facing Democrats – because it’s a massive one. We were reminiscing about those long, lazy 2020 days, and he said ‘But Trump won’t win again, right? Because everyone saw how awful it was when he was president? It’s not like half the country are racist crazy people who want total chaos.” Which seems logical. But the thing I had to explain to him is that…
it’s not that half the people in this country are crazy and racist. There’s infinitely more systemic racism than many people will admit, of course, but if you look at the polling…most Americans, for example, think abortion should be legal. Most Americans are on board with gay marriage. Their values are far more progressive than the election results would have you believe. But the problem is that the democrats are bemoaning the potential loss of democracy. That’s a big one, I’ll give you. I’m filming this pre-midterms, which means that at this very moment there is an excellent chance that I am not okay right now. The very underpinnings of democracy are at stake in a very real way. Which is terrifying to me.
Because for me, the system we had pre-Trump worked…not perfectly, but pretty well. It did not work for everybody. Yes, plenty of people are bad actors – those racist, power-hungry crazies are certainly out there, and they’re holding more offices than I care to think about – but they’re not everyone.
If you’ve been struggling to feed your children while working two jobs and still unable to pay for your family’s healthcare, I’m not sure you’re in any massive hurry to get back to those glory days when things were…pretty much the same. You’d want the system not to return to what it was, but to get better. To address your very real, very fundamental needs. Democrats are arguing for the preservation of a system that, while infinitely superior to, say, autocracy, was not working for a significant percentage of the population. They did not feel supported by the old white guys in power regardless of which party currently held the title. They want something new. And if they have to break the system to get it, they will. So what do Democrats do?
They emphasize that if democracy does not hold, change won’t be possible…because the reins won’t be in the hands of the people anymore, even to the extent that they once were. And then they put forth progressive candidates who are willing to challenge the members of the establishment – even those ostensibly on the same side. Bernie Sanders was a missed opportunity. But he’s not a lone wolf – there are others like him out there. Maybe even some of them who are in, say, their forties. Not to be ageist, I’d still be totally into a Bernie presidency.
So. This whole conversation will land very differently depending on how Tuesday’s midterms went, but I think my point still holds: We need change. We demand change. And if Democrats are going to hold onto the vestiges of a democratic system, they need to be brave enough to take them in a new direction – one that actually puts the American people first.
-
Americans must reject Trump to defend our democracy
At the end of the Republican National Convention, Donald Trump accepted the nomination as the GOP candidate for president. In the first part of his acceptance speech, Trump called for unity and healing, although he derailed into partisanship as he continued. Critics have debated the media’s role in handling Trump’s speech. Some argued he was…
-
It’s time for Kamala Harris to pick up the torch
Debates have continued among Democrats about whether President Joe Biden is the best candidate for the 2024 election or whether an alternative Democratic leader might be more electable. While there’s no shortage of fellow Democratic leaders to choose from, President Biden and his supporters have continued to assert that Biden can and will win as…
-
Republicans want to sabotage US education
Former President Donald Trump’s official educational policy platform reveals plans to eliminate the Department of Education and seize the financial assets and endowments of elite U.S. universities. These proposals and others have convinced some liberal critics that the true goal of Republicans is to intentionally weaken U.S. education. Watch the above video as Straight Arrow…
-
Despite poor debate performance, Biden deserves our support
President Joe Biden himself admits that he delivered a “bad” performance in the first 2024 presidential debate. About a week after what some consider to be the worst debate performance in the history of televised debates, polls indicate that more voters than ever have an unfavorable opinion of the president, believe he is too old…
-
The modern-day Republican woman has terrifying role models
In a recent New York Magazine cover story entitled, “How Did Republican Women End Up Like This,” Rebecca Traister writes about some of the more polarizing examples of female Republican leaders and their positions on abortion, the transgender movement and women in general. With Republican women set to play a major role in the November…
Latest Opinions
-
U.S. Department of Defense
Congress still trying to figure out how to reduce wasteful military spending
-
DVIDS
US Navy, Air Force making waves with new weapons at RIMPAC
-
Getty Images
Israeli PM Netanyahu meets with Trump at Mar-a-Lago
-
Getty Images
Growing US nuclear power resurgence reaches the nation’s heartland
-
Getty Images
Beer from the sun, other solar thermal projects get government funding
Popular Opinions
-
In addition to the facts, we believe it’s vital to hear perspectives from all sides of the political spectrum.