[[link removed]]
THE DEMOCRATS’ GREAT DEBATES
[[link removed]]
Robert Kuttner
May 9, 2025
The American Prospect
[[link removed]]
*
[[link removed]]
*
[[link removed]]
*
*
[[link removed]]
_ How to contain Trump and defend democracy? What to stand for
affirmatively as an opposition party? The outcome of these two debates
will determine the direction and future of the Democratic party. _
Part of the more than 1,000 actions held nationwide on May 1, 2025 ,
There are now two parallel debates about the role and future of the
Democratic Party. One has to do with how fiercely and by what means
Democrats should resist Trump. The other is about what Democrats
should stand for going forward.
For a time, the accommodationists in the party had a modicum of
credibility. Maybe there were areas of common ground?
That posture was undermined by Trump’s increasing destructiveness
and his habit of making a deal and then demanding more. Advocates of
having the Democrats stand back and let Trump destroy himself, such as
James Carville, now look silly.
The coup de grâce was the extraordinary April 27 speech by Illinois
Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a man known more as a liberal than a radical but
now sounding like Bernie Sanders on steroids. Space precludes my
quoting the entire speech, but you owe it to yourself to watch it
[[link removed]]. In part, Pritzker said:
I understand the tendency to give in to despair right now. But despair
is an indulgence that we cannot afford in the times upon which history
turns. Never before in my life have I called for mass protests, for
mobilization, for disruption. But I am now.
These Republicans cannot know a moment of peace. They have to
understand that we will fight their cruelty with every megaphone and
microphone that we have. We must castigate them on the soapbox, and
then punish them at the ballot box. They must feel in their bones that
when we survive this shameful episode of American history with our
democracy intact—because we have no alternative but to do just
that—that we will relegate their portraits to the museum halls
reserved for tyrants and traitors.
Cowardice can be contagious. But so too can courage.
After that speech, I don’t know how any self-respecting Democrat can
say we need to seek common ground
[[link removed]],
or argue as Carville does that Democrats should just get out of the
way and wait for Trump to fail.
The other great debate among Democrats is over what Democrats should
stand for affirmatively. And that ideological debate is substantially
a proxy for the fight over how much influence Wall Street Democrats
should have in dictating the party program.
The coup de grâce was the extraordinary April 27 speech by Illinois
Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a man known more as a liberal than a radical but
now sounding like Bernie Sanders on steroids. Space precludes my
quoting the entire speech, but you owe it to yourself to watch it
[[link removed]]. In part, Pritzker said:
I understand the tendency to give in to despair right now. But despair
is an indulgence that we cannot afford in the times upon which history
turns. Never before in my life have I called for mass protests, for
mobilization, for disruption. But I am now.
These Republicans cannot know a moment of peace. They have to
understand that we will fight their cruelty with every megaphone and
microphone that we have. We must castigate them on the soapbox, and
then punish them at the ballot box. They must feel in their bones that
when we survive this shameful episode of American history with our
democracy intact—because we have no alternative but to do just
that—that we will relegate their portraits to the museum halls
reserved for tyrants and traitors.
Cowardice can be contagious. But so too can courage.
After that speech, I don’t know how any self-respecting Democrat can
say we need to seek common ground
[[link removed]],
or argue as Carville does that Democrats should just get out of the
way and wait for Trump to fail.
The other great debate among Democrats is over what Democrats should
stand for affirmatively. And that ideological debate is substantially
a proxy for the fight over how much influence Wall Street Democrats
should have in dictating the party program.
But then Trump, with unerring timing, unveiled his latest stablecoin,
called USD1, a grotesque example of the conflicts of interest that
permeate the crypto industry. And so several embarrassed Democrats,
with a helpful push by Dayen’s investigative reporting, got off the
bill, which is stalled—but only for the moment. It is likely to
pass
[[link removed]],
with Democrats only getting an amendment on stopping Trump’s
corruption that is designed to fail.
Unfortunately, this useful and instructive fiasco is the exception.
Corporate influence on Democrats remains widespread and substantially
hidden.
If the party of the people is to regain credibility with the people,
it needs to escape this corporate captivity. Democrats need to sponsor
policies that are more persuasive as measures to improve the lives of
regular people than Trump’s policies. Should that be so hard?
Robert Kuttner is co-founder and co-editor of The American Prospect,
and professor at Brandeis University’s Heller School.
Used with the permission. Copyright The American Prospect,
Prospect.org, 2024. All rights reserved. Click here
[[link removed]]
to read the original article at Prospect.org.
Click here [[link removed]] to support The American
Prospect's brand of independent impact journalism.
Pledge to support fearlessly independent journalism by joining the
Prospect [[link removed]] as a member today.
Every level includes an opt-in to receive our print magazine by mail,
or a renewal of your current print subscription.
* Democratic Party
[[link removed]]
* progressive politics
[[link removed]]
* Neoliberalism
[[link removed]]
* #Resist
[[link removed]]
* Donald Trump
[[link removed]]
*
[[link removed]]
*
[[link removed]]
*
*
[[link removed]]
INTERPRET THE WORLD AND CHANGE IT
Submit via web
[[link removed]]
Submit via email
Frequently asked questions
[[link removed]]
Manage subscription
[[link removed]]
Visit xxxxxx.org
[[link removed]]
Twitter [[link removed]]
Facebook [[link removed]]
[link removed]
To unsubscribe, click the following link:
[link removed]
