The Mid-Term Election, Speculation on the Near Future, and a Hopeful Look Ahead

The recent historic mid-term performance by the Democrats should properly be viewed as more of a repudiation of Trump (where a large number of his endorsed candidates seriously underperformed) than an endorsement of the incumbent president whose unfavorable ratings continue to hover at low-40 per cent levels. Nevertheless, the Democratic establishment is likely to view it as an affirmation of a centrist ideology and ride Biden (or his surrogate) to another victory in 2024 as the Republicans remain tethered to the sinking political vessel captained by a hapless neo-fascists whose political vision is best characterized by his narcissistic need for self-aggrandizement and unconditional fealty from a cadre of sycophants.

Emboldened (and possibly blinded) by their success in capturing that sliver of the electorate (former blue dog Democrats, moderate Republicans, and Independents), they will continue to run the risk of alienating its younger and more sustainable base of support going forward. Meanwhile, the Republicans will be hard at work to reconstitute themselves in 2028, using Liz Chaney as a model, to court the aforementioned group in the middle away from a Democratic Party unwilling to genuinely embrace wildly popular policies regarding gun violence/control, women’s body-sovereignty, the realization of a multi-cultural society, the urgency of climate change action, reshaping the criminal justice system, and universal health coverage as a human right, all of which directly appeals to mainstream Democrats and, vitaly, is supported by an eager and vast new generation of voters in desperate need of proper representation. Implicit and ongoing neglect of this essential element of the political landscape threatens to leave the Democratic Party tragically devoid of the very fabric they will need to create a sustainable and viable political tapestry well into the middle of the 21st century.

This rather dire forecast is in no way inevitable and can be averted by a serious and concerted effort by the Democrats to genuinely incorporate the ideas and passions of established Generation X progressives (AOC, Keith Ellison, Cory Booker,et al) and the increasingly influential representatives that will certainly emerge from Generation Z (please see the recent election of 25 year old Maxwell Alejandro Frost in Florida’s 10th Congressional District) all of whom will provide the energy, vision, and impetus to deliver new vitality to an archaic political structure and to a nation in urgent need of an existential paradigm shift.