The Left Wins In The Marketplace of Ideas™️
Socialists changed Americans' minds. Our opponents are freaking out about it.
It remains to be seen if the left can win all the political battles it has taken on. Progressives and socialists are making their Democratic opponents sweat in primaries from Madison to Miami. Francesca Hong, Abdul El-Sayed, Oliver Larkin, Cori Bush, Donavan McKinney, and many other leftists are either leading or in close races with their more conservative opponents. However, the full weight of the Democratic establishment is trying to stop them. For all my complaints about Democratic ineptitude, the establishment holds considerable weight and sway in primary elections, and isn’t afraid to use it against insurgent challengers.
While I’m feeling good about many of my preferred candidates’ chances, they all have uphill battles ahead of them. If they win their primaries, they’ll face Republicans, who will be supported by the entire GOP and what parts of the Democratic establishment have already announced their plans to defect over Israel. While political battles remain uncertain, what no one can deny is that the left is dominating the ideological battle. Over the last few years, the heavy political presence of socialists and progressives both inside and outside the electoral arena has greatly shifted the tide of public opinon, the American electorate, and even the Democratic Party to the left.
The biggest sign of growing left influence is that leftist policies considered fringe a few years ago are now popular with the American public. In 2018, abolishing ICE was unpopular, even with Democrats. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez popularized the slogan during her 2018 challenge to then-incumbent Joe Crowley, but only the most left-wing Americans supported it. Eight years ago, only 25% of Americans and 43% of Americans wanted to end the agency. But after nearly a decade of consistent messaging and the horrible record of ICE, support for abolition is at an all-time high. Now, 50% of all Americans want ICE disassembled, including 52% of independents and nearly a quarter of Republicans (23%). This is remarkably impressive. In less than a decade, the left changed so many minds about the need to abolish ICE that as many Republicans want ICE abolished today as did Democrats in 2018.
Similarly, the left has won over many former detractors to our preferred healthcare option, Medicare For All. When Bernie Sanders popularized the phrase during his 2016 presidential bid, it had mixed results. About half the public liked the idea, but 43% were strongly opposed. Today, support has increased while opposition decreased. 63% of Americans support Medicare For All, even when they’re told it would eliminate private insurance plans and increase taxes.1 Only 29% oppose it, and only 9% are unsure. The left hasn’t just swayed fence-sitters to support Medicare For All — we’ve convinced Americans who were once strongly opposed to it to support it. The program now has strong support among independents (+40%), and is even favored by Republicans (+1%). At the risk of overconfidence, absent serious reform, I only see support increasing. Healthcare costs rank among the top concerns for Americans, and 70% of Americans say the current system is in crisis or has major problems.
