The above image was made with stable diffusion using the prompt 'Painting of greedy politicians.'
There was a progressive left in the US twenty years ago. This faction opposed globalization and corporate empires and war. It promoted worker solidarity, universal healthcare, and equal rights. More recently, the progressive left was taken apart by a series of divisive events, beginning with the rigging of the Democratic Primary against Bernie Sanders in 2016.
This event demonstrated that the Democratic Party had been entirely taken over by anti-populist corporate cronies. That totally alienated the populists, who were replaced in the Party with the Woke. From there, identity politics superseded any mention of class politics.
Next came the covid response, which was wholeheartedly embraced by democrats, including the Woke. This response seriously harmed the country, but those who questioned it had no place in the new Democratic Party. Progressives, justifiably suspicious of government and Big Pharma, were consequently alienated in droves.
The final expulsion of progressives from the Democratic Party began with the US support for the war in Ukraine. At that point, traditional progressive values became completely incompatible with the Party. The progressives fled the Party, but they don't really have anywhere else to go. They don't fit with Republicans and Greens are irrelevant.
Some are doubtless rallying behind Robert F. Kennedy Jr. He's a coalition builder doing a lot to bring people from both parties together. But I wonder how many former progressive democrats have simply succumbed to apathy in the face of impossible politics. Some, I suspect, but there may be many more who are quietly redirecting their energies, forgoing the political for more direct action.
In the long run, I think this could have a more positive impact on society than any amount of voting. Imagine millions of people articulating their progressive values by treating others fairly and helping the needy. Maybe they could even establish new organizations to replace a progressive advocacy sector paralyzed by Woke disputes.
Meanwhile, Biden remains a vegetable and the Democratic Party supports him. They don't just support him. They love him. They love Harris more, and she's in line if Biden becomes incapacitated. We may soon have a party of war mongers led by a former prosecutor.
Personally, I'm one of those who broke fully from the Democratic Party in 2016. Subsequent events left me feeling good about this decision. At this point, I don't know why anyone would be a republican or a democrat. Both parties are equally bad.
The progressive movement of twenty years ago was promising. The Democratic Party of today is like a political party in dystopian fiction. It's equal parts sinister and inept, with a dash of discomforting absurdity. But progressive values didn't disappear, so maybe they'll start showing up more in society outside of politics.
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