A Project 2029 cannot be a collection of Democratic Party agenda items. It must articulate a broad new conception of the nation’s political order — one that will guide the way a future Democratic-led government might wield power. Above all, Democrats must have a plan for reconstruction — for building something new on the wreckage of what President Trump, MAGA and the Republican Party have wrought — not restoration of what was.
The whole article puts eloquent prose to the thoughts in my head (looking from outside the US) as to what the USA needs to recover post-Trump; it’s more than striving to going back to normal.
The issue is that centrist Democratic voices have been kind of developing their vision by committee over any aims to make it cohesive and comprehensive. In my view the plan has to recognize and tackle these three things:
Internal complacency within the Democratic party to do good things for people rather than just talk about them
Reforming the outdated systems that simply relied on trust that the system wouldn’t corrupt itself or overlook corruption.
Fixing the destruction caused by the Trump administration, then taking steps to prevent a cult like Congress and a bought-and-paid-for judiciary to surrender the republic to the executive.
The important thing is you can’t grandfather in the corruption while you fix it.
The important thing is you can’t grandfather in the corruption while you fix it.
100% this (from an Americanist’s perspective). Just think of slavery and how it was enshrined in the constitution despite being on the way out. You had to have a whole-ass civil war, shooting and all, to fix it. And arguably still didn’t, cf. the pervasiveness of Confederate nostalgia and the prison industrial complex.
The same forces that successfully lobbied to keep slavery going are lobbying to keep systemic corruption going. Telling you at every opportunity in all the media outlets they bought that it’s the American way, baby!
The only solution to this mess is to finally redefine who “We the People” actually are. If it’s still going to be a bunch of rich white dudes with an aversion to taxes, woe betide you.
Of course that raises the question who would have the authority to perform this redefinition and how they would gain it. Barring a bona fide revolution, I just don’t see it at this point.
They need, in particular, a commitment to a constitutional order centered on the power and prerogatives of Congress
which yeah, that makes a lot of sense to me as a European – but as I understand it, congress is not a very popular institution in the US. I’ve been following the aggregators for Trump’s favorability/approval ratings - and while they’re not very high, they are a lot higher than the ones for congress. This is going to be tough to do.
Still possible, but I think it depends on the “good things” you mentioned being very clearly good and noticeable in peoples’ lives.
Also, nice to read a comment from someone who actually read the article
The whole article puts eloquent prose to the thoughts in my head (looking from outside the US) as to what the USA needs to recover post-Trump; it’s more than striving to going back to normal.
The issue is that centrist Democratic voices have been kind of developing their vision by committee over any aims to make it cohesive and comprehensive. In my view the plan has to recognize and tackle these three things:
The important thing is you can’t grandfather in the corruption while you fix it.
100% this (from an Americanist’s perspective). Just think of slavery and how it was enshrined in the constitution despite being on the way out. You had to have a whole-ass civil war, shooting and all, to fix it. And arguably still didn’t, cf. the pervasiveness of Confederate nostalgia and the prison industrial complex.
The same forces that successfully lobbied to keep slavery going are lobbying to keep systemic corruption going. Telling you at every opportunity in all the media outlets they bought that it’s the American way, baby!
The only solution to this mess is to finally redefine who “We the People” actually are. If it’s still going to be a bunch of rich white dudes with an aversion to taxes, woe betide you.
Of course that raises the question who would have the authority to perform this redefinition and how they would gain it. Barring a bona fide revolution, I just don’t see it at this point.
Thoughts and prayers from Europe.
He also writes
which yeah, that makes a lot of sense to me as a European – but as I understand it, congress is not a very popular institution in the US. I’ve been following the aggregators for Trump’s favorability/approval ratings - and while they’re not very high, they are a lot higher than the ones for congress. This is going to be tough to do.
Still possible, but I think it depends on the “good things” you mentioned being very clearly good and noticeable in peoples’ lives.
Also, nice to read a comment from someone who actually read the article