Within hours of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Cali., sent a text asking people for $15 so the Democrats can win the midterm elections and protect reproductive rights. Simultaneously, Pelosi backs Rep. Henry Cuellar, an anti-abortion Texas Democrat, in his runoff against progressive challenger Jessica Cisneros.
The Speaker’s actions sum up what many find unappealing about the Democratic Party: a lack of real conviction.
Pelosi fundraises off an issue she seemingly doesn’t care all that much about, considering her work to keep the only anti-abortion Democratic congressman in office. Despite the fact that voters have already given Democrats the House, the Senate and the presidency, Pelosi urges them that maybe if they vote harder next time, then we can do something about all this, sorry.
The strategy deployed by national Democratic Party leaders is to take the moral onus off themselves and put it onto voters. They tell voters, if you really care about “X” issue, you’ll give me your money and vote and not ask questions. Instead of earning votes with conviction and strong leadership, they feel entitled to support because “hey, at least we’re not the other guys.”
This rhetoric was inherent to the 2020 presidential campaign messaging. Many progressives were hesitant about Biden, understandably, I would add. But instead of forcing Biden to address the concerns of these voters and earn their support, the Democratic Party demanded instant submission once Biden won the primaries. To ask anything of Biden was to root for Trump, they said.
I voted for Biden, and I am certainly happy the former president was ousted. That doesn’t change the fact that this framing of political responsibility is uncompelling and, frankly, lazy. It’s up to our leaders to prove themselves to voters, not the other way around.
Being “better than the other guys” isn’t enough. The Democratic establishment routinely quashes progressive voices and policies that offer material change to the problems voters really care about.
Take Bernie Sanders, who was establishment enemy No. 1 during the primaries, both times. He dared to question the corporate entrenchment at the core of both major parties. Unlike much of his opposition, he was people-powered. He has a record of progressive stances on social and economic issues, and he didn’t wait for the tide of popular opinion to turn to voice them.
Sanders, though an Independent himself, represents what the Democratic Party must become if it wants to survive. Instead of being the party that folds when an unelected parliamentarian says no to a minimum-wage increase, Democrats must embrace strong leadership focused on working-class-centered politics.
For too long, both major parties have served special interests and left Americans in the dust. It’s time Americans demand better from the political establishment that abandons them at every turn.
Claire Sullivan is a 19-year-old coastal environmental science and political communication junior from CT.
