'Socialist' label looms large over 2020 Democrat primary race
Socialism is a hot topic on the campaign trail as candidates try to tap into the energy of the more progressive wing of the party; Peter Doocy reports.
The Democratic majority in the House of Representatives has so far acted as a strong check and balance on President Donald Trump’s administration. The House has passed campaign finance reform, background check legislation on gun purchases, and has issued a strong rebuke to the president’s national emergency declaration.
However, the Democratic Party is still missing a platform. The first two months in the majority has failed to deliver a clear message for legislative priorities going forward. Despite legislative accomplishments, the current term has been defined by the longest government shutdown, in-fighting over comments by party members, and investigations into the 2016 presidential election.
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Indeed, the Democratic Party’s platform is continually defined by freshman congresswomen like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., and Ilhan Omar, D-Minn.
These representatives have largely pushed an ultra-progressive agenda that is completely impractical and out-of-line with where the party stands at large. Some of these beliefs were emphasized by Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter Monday when she tweeted “This is why we advocate for: Medicare for All, Tuition-free public college, Investing in dignified jobs that build our nation + get us to 100% renewables before it’s too late.”
Ocasio-Cortez’s agenda may sound good, but it is too expensive, too unrealistic, and too radical to ever actually be implemented.
The Democratic Party needs to develop a clear agenda that is supported by the majority of the party, not just the left-most members.
The only Democrat who has so far offered a tangible agenda is Michael Bloomberg. Yes, I have worked with Bloomberg for the better part of 20 years, and he has announced that he has decided not to seek the presidency, but he is still the only person who has offered a real outline for the Democratic Party.
If the Democrats were wise, the moderates in the party would rally behind Bloomberg’s agenda as a starting point for the party’s platform at large.
Bloomberg is a strong environmentalist. Yet he does not support Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal. He has offered his own plan, Beyond Carbon, in a Bloomberg.com oped where he stated it will be “a grassroots effort to begin moving America as quickly as possible away from oil and gas and toward a 100 percent clean energy economy” that uses the same methods used to replace 285 out of 530 coal plants in the U.S. with clean energy.
Bloomberg also supports public schools. He has a record of improving quality and reducing the racial achievement gap in New York City. In that same op-ed, Bloomberg noted how he did this by “raising standards, increasing accountability, and giving our children the education they need to thrive in today’s knowledge- and technology-based economy.”
And lastly, Bloomberg has worked to end gun violence. He has supported grassroots efforts across the country that have strengthened background checks in 20 states. In addition to that, he has provided extensive support to both Everytown for Gun Safety and Mom’s Demand Action to ensure that realistic and sensible gun violence prevention legislation is introduced across the country.
If the Democrats were wise, the moderates in the party would rally behind Bloomberg’s agenda as a starting point for the party’s platform at large.
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If the Democrats do not take his advice, the party will lose to Trump, who credibly calls the Democratic Party socialists.
It is time for the Democrats to make their platform clear and promote the more moderate voices of their party. Ocasio-Cortez, Talib, and Omar have gotten their fair share of coverage. To be successful in 2020, the Democrats cannot be the party of socialism. They must promote themselves as the party of data-oriented and practical solutions.
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