2020 Election Winner: Progressivism
VIEW FROM HERE--Who knows what will happen over the next couple of days.
The nation is tensely awaiting results from key battleground states such as Arizona and Pennsylvania. No matter what happens, what has already transpired is worth celebrating if you are a progressive. True, the Dems were not able to run off with a huge majority in the House. So what? The bottom line is that they reclaimed the House. Imagine what the Trump Administration would have done if there was no check on its power by Nancy Pelosi and the House of Representatives? Wining need not be pretty.
Speaking of wins, the Squad coasted to victory in their respective races. Trump's nemeses and the new, dynamic face of modern progressiveness in American politics, all won. They won really big.
In the drug war, this election was a milestone. Mushrooms decriminalized in Oregon. Recreational pot is now legal in four new states, including New Jersey (making New York inevitable).
Major victories across the board for criminal justice reform, minimum wage, and access to affordable health care. Florida may have gone for Trump, but it also went for a $15 minimum wage. That is Bernie Sander's legacy in action, and a sign of things to come for our pandemic stricken union.
I could go on and on. The fact that Georgia was so close is a victory for progressivism. How long have Democrats been trying to flip that state? Thanks to immigrants and a multiracial coalition of progressive-minded voters from Atlanta and other urban populations, Georgia is now a purple state.
The Democrats' performance in Texas, North Carolina, and Arizona are all gains.
When all of the dust has settled, the United States is more progressive now than it was on November 2. Media outlets and political operations can spin it any way they want to. The fact is that Bernie Sanders won in 2020. The revolution that Bernie Sanders ignited in 2016 is still raging with a tremendous power that is disrupting, tearing down in some cases, and ultimately rebuilding everything in its path.
And if Biden pulls out the presidency, Sander's accomplishment will have been total. For who else could have forced Biden to the left in such a way that ensured success in Wisconsin and Michigan?
George Cassidy Payne is a social worker and adjunct instructor in philosophy at the State University of New York (SUNY). He writes for a wide variety of national and international publications including CityWatch.)
-cw
