Historical source: 2020 report. References to past elections, people, programs, and contact details reflect the original period.
Introduction
The 2020 election, and the task of 2021 and beyond, is about far more than defeating Republicans and returning to the pre-Trump era. Today’s social conditions and surging political movements — from the impacts of COVID-19, and the climate crisis, to the Movement for Black Lives and the Poor People’s Campaign — show that the United States is in need of deep structural change. In this report, we provide historical context and a long-term vision for how political investments can be made, not only to win upcoming elections but also to transform our future.
Key Take-Aways
Trump has been devastating for our country and planet, but he is not the only problem. For too long, both parties have been complicit in promoting neoliberal economic policies. Both have done too little on advancing racial justice and true gender equality. In the next administration, we need to be prepared to move forward, not backwards.
To win structural reforms, it is not enough to elect Democrats. We must build strong institutions and movements that can not only defeat Republicans, but can also transform the Democratic Party itself. At several pivotal moments in the 20th century, the Democratic Party has been a critical force for social progress, but it has at times also been an obstacle, requiring outside forces to push it toward a more transformative, egalitarian position.
Despite the popularity of progressive ideas, progressives have only just begun to win competitive primaries. We can elect progressives, but progressive candidates need more support from donors and organizations. Internal contests within the Democratic Party, epitomized by the 2020 presidential primary, have led to the ongoing dominance of the establishment and a retreat to the status quo. We must examine why and how progressive ideas have struggled in the electoral arena, and also look to the bright spots of where things are working to determine the best path forward.
Political parties have always been pushed by outside institutions. But the Right has done this far more successfully than the Left. This has led the Republican Party to move further to the Right, while the Democratic Party has just started responding to its base. Progressive organizations and donors have been encouraged to fall in line behind Democrats while conservatives have built institutions that lead their party.
Democrats must understand that political parties are vehicles for ideas, not static entities. And while we must fight against the Republican agenda, progressives must also build institutions that can lead the Democratic Party as well.
To get there, we need progressive donors to:
- Support organizations that are waging the battle of ideas
- Elect more progressives through primaries
- Make sustained investments in leadership development
- Build infrastructure for co-governance at the state and national level
- Support efforts to align the progressive coalition
Beyond Trump: A Vision for a Progressive Era
2020 has been a year of more tumult than could have possibly been imagined. At the time of this publication, the COVID-19 pandemic has ravaged the country, incurring more fatalities than the Vietnam War and more job losses than at any point since the Great Depression. Meanwhile, movements for racial justice have taken over the streets, demanding justice for the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and countless others who have been killed by police and the culture of white supremacy. As we move toward November, and the possibility of a new administration, we must remember that it will not be enough to go back to life before 2016. Today’s crises have much deeper roots.
For the past four decades, both major political parties have allowed corporations and billionaires to consolidate their power, leading to wage stagnation, the dismantling of worker rights, and growing wealth inequality, especially in communities of color. Both parties helped usher in an era of deregulation and privatization that led to a concentration of wealth unseen since just before the Great Depression. Now, even when the economy grows, the vast majority of the benefits go to the top 1% and the biggest corporations. Trump could only win the presidency because our democracy was already failing.
Since the financial crisis of 2007–2008, people across the political spectrum are increasingly looking for significant changes because they feel the system is not working for them. For a generation, real wages have been stagnant while the cost of living has skyrocketed, leading to a surge in personal debt — and despair. For the first time in modern history, mortality rates of Americans have gone up for three consecutive years. People’s pain is all too real, and it’s only been exacerbated by the pandemic.
Democrats need more than a plan to defeat Trump: They must also have a plan to organize an inclusive, progressive majority to take on entrenched corporate and private powers and remake our democracy.
Our thesis is that, in order to achieve an America where everyone thrives, we must transform the Democratic Party into a party that fights for universal economic and social rights. Organizations and donors need to be ready to support a new generation of leaders — in elections and between elections — who are pushing the Democratic Party to fight for a progressive agenda, as it did during the New Deal and Great Society.