Progressives have finally arrived as a significant force in American politics. President Biden’s decision to put his physical infrastructure bill on hold until the social infrastructure bill has been enacted is the latest sign that progressives have a lot more muscle in American politics than at any time since the early 1970s.
Progressives–elected officials, labor unions and community-based organizations–have for months demanded that all Democrats must commit to a historic effort to reconstruct American society, the $3.5 trillion Build Back Better Act, and not just to fixing bridges and roads. Biden’s decision on October 2 to delay a vote on the infrastructure funding bill signaled his willingness to support the progressives’ demand.
The power the Progressive Congressional Caucus demonstrated this week comes from the fact that all 100 of its Congressional Representatives were elected by appealing to social justice and a Green New Deal and in many cases won office by building electoral coalitions that included large numbers of Black and brown people. And their power also comes from the undeniable fact that the Democrats won the Presidency and the Senate primarily because of grassroots organizing by progressive organizations in many swing states, including Georgia, Arizona, Michigan and Pennsylvania.
This moment—when conservative Democrats were trying to limit social spending and prevent new taxes on the rich—demanded that progressives stick to their guns, and that they did. Before October 2, conservatives like West Virginia Senator Manchin and Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema had enjoyed their power because any bill they did not support cannot pass the deadlocked Senate. But by demonstrating their power to block the passage of the infrastructure bill in the House of Representatives on October 1, progressives are now themselves a force to be reckoned with, and as such have redefined the “center” of the Democratic Party. The conservatives are no longer the only ones framing the debate over spending and taxation.
Let us remember that the whole point of the $3.5 trillion Build Back Better Act is to seize this moment to transform America. It would fund a major expansion of Medicare and finally bring down pharmaceutical and health care costs. It would provide badly needed funding for education, especially for community colleges. It would refocus the U.S. economy on manufacturing things rather than on banking and would curtail the power of banks. And perhaps most importantly, it would significantly move the U.S. towards a carbon-neutral future. And all of these initiatives would be framed by an equity lens. In short, the Build Back Better Act is a serious effort to transform the United States away from its neo-liberal economic malaise and inability to grapple with social crises. This is indeed a transformational agenda.
But there is one major problem that progressives have yet to address: the need to mobilize constituents to demonstrate support for the Build Back Better Act. Unfortunately, there seems to be little desire for grassroots mobilization at this time, even by the very organizations whose mobilizing work was so critical just 10 months ago, including labor unions. This is understandable given the national weariness and wariness about Covid. The problem is, the fight for the future of the Democratic Party is going to be waged very quickly, perhaps in the next month. Massive demonstrations of public support for the Build Back Better Act are vital to tip the scales even further.
Let’s remember that the stakes at this moment could not be higher. If the Democrats cannot unite to support Biden’s progressive agenda, Biden will be in big trouble, the American people will lose even more confidence in government, and the social crisis now in its second decade will continue to corrode the fabric of society.
And let us never forget that Trump and his minions are just waiting for such a catastrophe to renew their efforts to bring fascism to America.
This is a time for every progressive in the U.S. to show up and show out. Ideally, we need to be in the streets in the millions at this moment. If such efforts are not forthcoming, and the Build Back Better Act is not enacted, progressives had better do some serious soul-searching to figure out how we let this important opportunity to reconstruct America slip through our fingers.
The long view 