51 Percent Losers
The midterms have given the Democratic Party a boost. But their professional-class politics are a cul de sac — we desperately need a political revolution driven by the needs and aspirations of the multiracial working class.
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Struggle and Progress
Eric Foner on the abolitionists, Reconstruction, and winning “freedom” from the Right.
Forced Migration and Detention Are the Real Immigration Crisis
While Republicans cry “invasion” and Democrats placate them with hard-line border policy, immigrants languish in prisons or die in dangerous passage. A rational approach to immigration must both address the causes of displacement and protect those who migrate.
Gavin Newsom Is Anti-Worker Purely by Choice
Gavin Newsom is governor of deep-blue California, so he doesn’t have the excuse that Republicans are torpedoing his progressive aims. Yet he’s still selling out workers — including, this week, by killing unemployment insurance for striking workers.
The Clock Is Ticking on Preventing an Undemocratic GOP Power Grab in the House
Democrats must quickly pass their landmark voting rights legislation if they want to prevent Republicans from gerrymandering their way to a hold on power for the next decade.
Capitalist Disorganization Has Enabled Trump’s Dominance
The GOP is now a hegemonic force in US politics. But much of that dominance is predicated on Donald Trump’s personal rule, itself made possible by internal GOP weakness and business elites’ political disorganization.
The Fossil Fuel Industry Is Paying the GOP Handsomely to Deny Climate Change
Republican super PACs in the House and Senate raked in major donations from the fossil fuel industry this year. Proving to be money well spent, GOP lawmakers are ramping up a campaign of outright climate denial.
Oregon Might Get a Republican Governor for the First Time in Decades
Thanks to Nike CEO Phil Knight’s cash, the ripple effects of the George Floyd protests and the COVID-19 pandemic, and a deepening housing crisis, Oregon is on the brink of electing its first Republican governor since the 1980s.
Lincoln’s Paramilitaries, the “Wide Awakes,” Helped Bring About a Political Revolution
Throughout the 1860 election, the Wide Awakes, a novel paramilitary-style organization, held mass rallies, marches, and demonstrations to combat slave power. These “young working-men for Lincoln” successfully combined new media and unrepentant partisanship to mobilize hundreds of thousands against the Southern planter class.
Why the Right Hates Voting Rights
Conservatives in the United States know they can’t win on a level playing field — so they've started rigging the electoral rules in their favor, democracy be damned.
A New Party of a New Type
The Democratic Party is hopelessly corporate, but election law is stacked against third parties. The Left needs an independent organization that can stay flexible about running as Democrats but behaves with the discipline of a real party.
Corporate Politicians Are Privatizing the VA, the Crown Jewel of Socialized Medicine
Amid the debt ceiling debate, House Republicans are pushing for cuts to the Veterans Administration, and corporate Democrats are continuing to support privatizing the agency’s socialized medicine. Both are an attack on working-class veterans.
Chuck Schumer Needs to Fight Trump’s SCOTUS Pick
Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer has the power to try to stop Trump’s nominee, but he has previously caved to the GOP on judges. The only way he’ll put up a fight is if he feels pressure from his left.
Tim Walz, the Progressive’s Moderate, Is the Obvious VP Choice
Minnesota governor Tim Walz is a moderate from the Midwest who earnestly believes in compromise and bipartisanship. The twist? He’s also a progressive populist who can’t stop winning. Kamala Harris would be foolish to pass him up as a running mate.
Neoliberalism Is Driving Away Working-Class Voters of Color. They Need to Be Won Back.
Universal programs and economic redistribution, far more than rhetorical moderation and identity-based pandering, are the best bet for winning over workers of all races.
Texas’s Governor Is Trying to Destroy Public Education — and Dim Those Friday Night Lights
Texas governor Greg Abbott is on a crusade against public education. But even rural Republicans aren’t going along with his privatization scheme, recognizing the threat it poses to youth education, adult employment, and Texas’s beloved football teams.
In Michigan, Progressives Are Finally Rolling Back Right-Wing Anti-Labor Laws
This year, Democrats used their control of the Michigan legislature to pass a suite of pro-worker reforms, including repealing right-to-work laws. We spoke with Michigan House member Joey Andrews about these wins and the current moment in labor.
On Family Policy, Neither Party Has a Vision of the Good Life
Democrats have far better childcare and education ideas than Republicans, but their tendency to frame such policies as mere “good business” misses what really matters about the policies: the freedom to make life meaningful for both parents and kids.
The GOP Is Making Headway in Shutting Down Climate Groups
With Democrats’ help, Republicans have taken a big step toward giving Trump the power to wipe out enemy nonprofits — and they already have a blueprint for how to defund clean energy groups.
Which Party Wants to Preserve the Status Quo?
When it comes to the economy, Democrats are now the party of the status quo, while Donald Trump’s GOP is making a misleading but radical-sounding pitch to upend the existing order in workers’ favor. It’s a fundamental role reversal in US politics.