The midterm elections are coming up next week in the United States, and if you are like me, I am sure you are nervous for whatever the outcome will be. It is a tense time in the country right now, and it has been for several years.
There is a lot of hope for people on both sides of the political spectrum that their side will pull through and “save us,” meaning vastly different things to each side.
As these elections approach, there are many ideas I wish to share with people on both sides. However, today, I want to address the Democrats. More specifically, I want to give a message to the far-left leaning Democrats — it is time to put your differences aside and work with moderates on both sides of the political spectrum.
Over the years, and especially since 2016, politics have gotten extremely divisive. It is something I have heard most voters mention on their list of complaints about the current political era, and it is something that politicians frequently mention.
Our political system essentially sets us up to be divisive considering we have only two main national political parties with very different views. It is no surprise, then, that politics have become increasingly polarized in recent years, with the Republican party moving further right on the political spectrum.
Various members of the Democratic party have also moved more to the left in recent years, and unfortunately, this has simultaneously led to more polarization among politicians in Washington, and a decrease in willingness to participate in bipartisanship, which is absolutely essential for our functioning democracy in the U.S.
Let’s face it — both of the far-leaning sides of the political spectrum struggle to work with moderates in the present day, both in their own party and in the other party.
This seems to be not as big of a deal for the far-right Republicans who support former President Donald Trump, as they have formed a strong base that is big enough and has won them elections in the past. However, it is a much bigger deal for the far-left leaning Democrats.
In order for the Democrats to even have a chance at competing with the base that former President Trump has assembled, they must collect as many votes as they possibly can. We saw this in action during the 2020 elections. The Trump base alone was able to capture approximately 74 million votes. The Democrats won this election because Joe Biden collected everyone possible who had one common goal — to remove Trump from office. There is an even bigger goal at stake in these midterm elections, which is to preserve American democracy.
If the Democrats want a fighting chance at achieving this goal against a very powerful Trump base, all members of the party have to be on board and they have to work with moderates who have their same goal on the other side.
Look at Liz Cheney. Many Democrats would say they don’t agree with pretty much any of her core beliefs. However, this woman has just sacrificed her career for the cause that the Democrats are fighting so hard for right now. By voting to impeach Trump and being a leader on the January 6th committee, therefore standing up for American democracy, she lost her seat in Congress to a Trump-backed candidate beating her in the Wyoming primary elections.
Even if the common ground is only revolving around Trump, it is still common ground, and the far-left leaning Democrats need to recognize this and put their differences aside with these moderates to fight for the greater good.
It is not an easy task to put aside one’s beliefs for a bigger cause, but the reality is that not everyone is going to agree on every miniscule detail. Fighting within your team is extremely detrimental to the ultimate goal, and may even prevent a victory.
Far-left leaning Democrats: do not alienate members of your team because they don’t agree with everything you believe. While you all are in-fighting, the Republicans are voting. You need the rest of your party’s votes to achieve your goal.
Remember, in these times, moderates on both sides, as well as more left-leaning political figures, are essentially fighting for the same thing: continued democracy in the U.S.
While there may be some differences among you on smaller political issues — and believe me these differences can be very frustrating at times — remember on this issue, and on surprisingly many others, you are on the same team.
Keep this in mind going into these midterm elections, and work together to achieve your goal of continued strong democracy in the U.S.
