Fissures in the Democratic Party Threaten to Break
Them in Two
In anticipation of
Trump’s formal start of the presidency, Republicans in Congress pushed a bill
that can get things rolling on an Obamacare repeal. The bill had plenty of
articles, but there are two that are the most important for this discussion.
On one part, they
reshaped funding allocation that will give Obamacare reform an avenue that
Democrats won’t be able to filibuster. It’s a big move.
The other primary
point was a provision that would enable more Americans to import prescription
drugs from Canada. Because the Canadian government regulates prices, this could
potentially have equated to cheaper drugs for most Americans.
While the first part
of the bill was passed, this provision was rejected, and in both votes, there
were 12 Democratic Senators who crossed party lines to make them happen.
It might seem like a
small move, but the import provision was written and championed by Bernie
Sanders, and as such it had massive support from the progressives. When you
consider that 12 Senators is more than a quarter of the positions held by the
Democrats, it demonstrates the major underlying division within the party.
The
Fissure in the Party
Obama was elected
primarily because Progressives and Democrats were able to agree on a candidate.
It’s important to note that the two are not one in the same. Democrats tend to
favor moderate but traditional economic approaches. They are usually
inefficient and represent problems, but they’re still capitalist at their core.
Progressives are tried and true socialists.
While the two groups
agree on some social issues, they are at complete odds when it comes to
economics. The Sanders health bill that just failed further demonstrates this, as
it wanted to incorporate federal negotiations in pricing pharmaceuticals.
The signs of this
fissure have grown more apparent over the past year, highlighted by the Sanders
campaign. The final split shows that roughly one-third of the whole party
aligns as progressive, while the other two-thirds are more traditional in their
views.
This wouldn’t be too
big a deal (the tea party showed a similar division among republicans) if the
traditional Democrats weren’t so vehemently against progressives. Unlike other,
smaller divisions that have emerged within the major parties, the progressives
have a destructive attitude so in denial of reality that even standard liberals
are afraid. That was made clear in the DNC’s leaked emails that showed just how
much they feared Sanders winning their nomination.
Looking
to the Future
If the first session
of Congress is any indication, the division between traditional Liberals and
Progressives is far from healed. They will continue to oppose each other on
many issues, and this may be a perfect green light for Trump and the
Republicans to push sweeping changes through much faster than anyone would have
previously guessed.
If even the
overwhelming vitriol positioned against Trump can’t unite the two pieces of the
party, it’s hard to imagine that anything can. In fact, the next two years will
likely determine whether the bulk of Progressives register as Democrats or
Independents in the next major primary, and if the passive aggressive tones
continue, there’s a good chance the Progressives won’t be rallying behind a
Democrat to run against Trump in 2020.
It will be important
for the Republicans in power to remain focused. Political trends change
quickly, and if they don’t take full advantage of this climate, they’ll miss
golden opportunities. Thankfully, we finally get to see Trump’s leadership take
full effect, and we’ll see just how quickly the country can improve.~ American
Liberty Report
Comments
The
far-left socialist group has been running the Democrat Party for decades and
will fight to keep control. Trump took
many Democrats back to vote Republican like Reagan did. The Democrat’s
remaining base is on the coasts. The East-coasters are cultural Democrats going
back generations. The West-coasters are environmental cult members and are more
likely to remain Democrats.
Younger
voters are clueless, brainwashed and thoroughly politically indoctrinated and
are also more likely to remain Democrats. If Trump can remove the political
indoctrination in schools and on college campuses, he can turn this around.
These folks need to be learning free market economics and some world history
supporting it.
Norb
Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader
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