More than a year later, many people are still shocked to think that Donald Trump won the last election. It was a genuine surprise for many on both ends of the political spectrum, and the fallout has revealed deep fissures in both parties. Today, we’re going to focus on the Democrats.
The burning wasteland of their political landscape is largely split into three groups. While there are a few commonalities among the sub groups, like hating President Trump, the true beliefs and goals of each is largely incompatible with the others. Let’s learn about modern liberals and see what it means for the coming midterm elections.
Neoliberalism
This is a fancy word to describe the bulk of political belief among the Clintons and Obama. Obama leaned farther left than the Clintons, but much of the policy was similar. Neoliberalism is deeply entwined with Keynesian economics. The core beliefs are that money can’t be made, only moved. Regulation is used to ensure money is moved the right way. Obama’s rigid adherence to these principles are why he had the worst economic performance of any president since the 1930s.
The primary flaw is that Keynesian treatments assume that new markets can’t emerge and create new wealth. The rest of policy from the neoliberals follows a similar strategy. Social issues need regulation rather than freedom to be resolved. In foreign policy, negotiation and sanctions are the only tools. Overall, neoliberals are the closest to the center of the political spectrum.
Progressivism
It’s easy to dislike progressives. They are largely populated by American youth. They have spawned the social justice warrior, a mindless follower of the movement who regurgitates sayings and slogans without understanding anything. Progressives, as a whole, don’t know exactly what they stand for or who to count among them. Some rave about Obama’s progressive stance, and others call him a dirty centrist.
The most organized among progressives are rallied behind Elizabeth Warren. Their primary agenda is to attack wealth in this country. They view income inequality as one of the most pressing social issues (as opposed to an economic issue), and they want to wield the government as a sledgehammer against “the man.” Progressives are the modern evolution of the hippy movement of the past, and like before, it’s difficult to say how many there are because they rarely participate in any real government processes, like voting.
Socialism
Riding on the confusion among the progressives, socialists in America have grown dramatically in recent years. They are championed by Bernie Sanders and hide behind the term “democratic socialism.” A large group of modern socialists don’t understand their own platform and believe that democratic socialism is a less severe version of the economic principle that still keeps the best of capitalism. This is completely wrong.
Democratic socialism is simply a move towards full-fledged socialism that relies on incremental regulation rather than outright revolution. Make no mistakes, Sanders and his informed followers understand this. It is their goal.
But even among socialists there is further division. A galvanized sub group, most visibly represented by Antifa, wants direct revolution. They ignore the impossibility of overthrowing our current government and rely on violence and intimidation to push their agenda.
Even at a glance, it’s obvious that these three takes on liberalism are incompatible. They are wildly differing agendas, and most of their policies would be wholly destructive to America and everything it has become. Despite this, the groups are usually able to put their differences away long enough to vote for a president every four years, and their combined voting totals make for a challenging race.
In the midterms later this year, a large number of progressives won’t vote. A full third of the Democratic Party will run their mouths, generate buzz and then simply abstain from participating in politics. At the same time, the socialists and neoliberals are genuinely at odds with each other, and they will split leftist votes in many races.
If it isn’t apparent, there is real opportunity for Republicans to retain their domination of Congress and get a full four years of productive action out of our government. The strategy is simple. Show up to the polls and keep the fractured liberals out of office. With a full four years of reasonable politics, we can fully stabilize the economy, and the resulting prosperity will convert a large swath of fringe leftists to the right.
~ American Liberty Report
