Beyond Resistance: A Fourth Way Populist Politics

We know what we're against. What are we for?

Ever since Trump’s inauguration, I’ve been engaged in my own private form of resistance — resisting the urge to air misgivings about the efficacy of The Resistance until there emerged a more promising alternative. That alternative has arrived.

Beyond Resistance: Reclaiming Our Nation for the Workers Who Build It is the coordinated effort of a coalition of groups spearheaded by the Rural Urban Bridge Initiative (RUBI). (I’m a co-founder and president of the RUBI Board but the opinions here are my own).

Uniting this coalition, which includes Progressive Democrats of America, Rust Belt Rising and others, is an understanding of what it will take to meaningfully rival MAGA: A paycheck populist movement by and for rural and working people, some of whom cast a Hail-Mary-please-someone-unrig-this-system vote for Trump. A movement of those who feel betrayed or repelled by the Democratic Party’s college-educated establishment and its “shadow party” of NGOs, activists, media, and social media warriors who have a different and insular set of concerns and priorities. A movement that transcends partisan polarization and ideological purity, setting its sights instead on economic uplift for working and middle class farmers, laborers and small business owners of all races, genders, and political persuasions.

We are inspired by incredibly important insights unearthed by the Center for Working Class Politics (a Beyond Resistance partner): Eleven percent of Trump voters can be won back with a left-populist platform that combines economic egalitarianism with social moderation. Yes on raising the minimum wage, taxing the rich, and protecting industrial jobs. Yes on abortion, childhood vaccinations, legal pathways to citizenship, and protecting LGBTQ people from discrimination. No on open borders and no (or “who cares” or “not sure, reasonable minds can differ”) on novel trans issues like medical transition for children and natal males in women’s sports and locker rooms.

This isn’t a Clintonian “Third Way” reboot. In the intraparty war between neoliberal centrists and social justice progressives, we see liabilities on both sides and are forging a fourth way: paycheck populism (hat tip to Nebraska’s Dan Osborn who, as far as I know, coined the phrase). This is the path out of the wilderness for Democrats and Independents in rural and blue collar districts.

The Resistance will soldier on. From what I can gather from Indivisible leaders, the goal is to put the brakes on Trump’s agenda by emboldening civil society to openly or furtively refuse to carry out his orders. To whatever extent that works, it’s all to the good. What I don’t see it leading to is a fundamental upending of MAGA’s appeal to half the electorate. For that to happen, there must be a left-populist alternative that speaks to the same longing for recognition and respect, an alternative that says “We’ve lived it, we get it, we’re going to stand up together for the common good, and we answer to you and to organized labor, not to the donors or universities or corporations or NGOs.”

The Resistance is trapped in a constant cycle of provocation and reaction that allows Trump to dictate the agenda with Democrats scrambling every day to script spicy counterattacks. (My inbox is stuffed to the gills with such sound bites and memes). Trump is the director, set designer and star of this reality show. As commentator Justin Vassallo notes:

“The more energetic messages Democrats have tried—“protect democracy,” “no kings,” and the like—still come across as purely defensive and scripted. These fall short of offering a new frame for political conflict, as they don’t identify an adversary or major national challenge besides Trumpism’s malevolent hold. Crucially, regular voters are not invited to partake in a project to make the country better…the inability to introduce frames that tell a different story and identify a more urgent battle than those picked by Trump intensifies the perception among disaffected voters and former supporters that Democrats have become a small-c conservative party fearful of change [emphasis added].”

I’ll say more about the limits of this reactive strategy in my next post.

For a party with a 24% approval rating and sharply declining voter registrations, being against MAGA will only get us so far. Beyond Resistance is, I hope, a new way forward.

The Beyond Resistance campaign kicks off on September 10 with an online event featuring Congressman Ro Khanna.