Since the election I have turned to looking at how the Democratic party under Biden's leadership can move the country towards more progressive policies.
It's no secret that I dislike some of the policies of the populist left. The press simply uses the term progressive wing of the party but it is more than that - it is populist and tribal. That's one reason I favored Biden from the outset. He was always my first choice to be President even when he wasn't my first choice to be the Democratic nominee.
So Biden won and the Senate is 50-50 and here we are.
The idea now is to pass pragmatic, progressive policies - no overreach and no concessions to the populist wing or to the GOP. The idea is to pass a set of policies that are not only popular to the voters that matter but will be popular in practice because they are good policies.
The voters that matter are the center-left independents and the voters in WI, PA, OH, GA and AZ. The goal is to win a more effective majority in the Senate and then work push more progressive policies in Biden's last two years. Looking at 2022 Senate races the Dems have to defend seats in GA and AZ just to maintain the 50 seats. But there are opportunities in WI (Ron Johnson) and OH, PA and NC will not have GOP incumbents.
So what are the policies
- successful management of COVID vaccinations
- modest infrastructure bill
- immigration reform focused on Dreamers
And a set of executive orders to support:
- climate change
- environmental protections
- immigration reform
