It didn't take long for commentators to press Democrats to be moderate, to move toward the center, to run as fast as they can away from the Left, aka the Radical Left. These pundits tell us they have their fingers on the pulse of the majority of Americans, those citizens who created the blue wave in the recent midterm elections. Some of these voters even elected Democratic Socialists!
As Collard Greenwood of North Carolina commented in the New York Times: "Oh my gosh! There are 'progressives' who won on Tuesday! The sky is falling! My pearls are clutched! My limited imagination raises specters in my brain! Americans not going bankrupt for medical bills! No more consolidation of industries and monopolies! A fair tax system! Reproductive rights! A Defense Department that has to pass an audit! Elected officials younger than 69! What is to become of America!"
Or as Michael from Seattle brilliantly pointed out: "Why do Democrats need to run to the center faster than Republicans? Seems to me the party that openly embraced authoritarianism should have the greater responsibility to moderate."
Martin Roach from Cambridge provided a little history: "How are these 'moderate' Democrats, who follow in the footsteps of many before them, going to bring about this affordability agenda? Those before them seem to have contributed to the current dire situation through their acceptance of 'conservative' economics over the past 40 years. Could it be that the measures they will need to take- raising the minimum wage, empowering workers to organise to strengthen their bargaining power, curtailing zero hour contracts, restoring and extending ACA support (Medicare for all?), etc. are not so different from what the young Turks, like El Sayed, are advocating. Call it socialism, fairness, an affordability agenda or whatever you like. It's not about labels it's about policies that will deliver to the electorate and fast."
I can't help wondering what those calling for moderation are afraid of. That the system they're comfortable with will succumb to calls for greater fairness, for regulation of industry in the public interest (which corporations care little about), for a reduced gap between the rich and the majority of Americans, for a public school system that truly educates, for housing affordable to everyone, for a livable wage, a healthy environment, improved international relations, withdrawal from senseless and highly destructive foreign wars?
Or as TideChange from Atlanta commented: "It is time to be bold and quickly work to do the big lifts asap. End the illegal war in Gaza, fix healthcare, raise minimum wage, cancel the tax cuts for the richest, fire up the IRS for audits, end tariffs. . .as a start. We all, the majority (now voter proven), want this. And, reverse all the pro-polluter laws and rules, make the rich corps pay directly and with huge penalties when they damage our ecosystems and human health. The tax cuts and polluter-pays cash alone can fix our healthcare problem . . . and redistribute wealth equitably so that the rich are not subsidized and the poor have an American, tax supported leg up. We are a democracy; we want this broadly and as the majority voice. Dems we are looking at you. . .forget about the center or left. . .focus on building robust communities, humanity, and democracy one law to the next. . . quickly."