14 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY MARCH 27-APRIL 2, 2025 www.montereycountynow.com Side Step The left also must examine its own role in enabling Trumpism to take hold. By Jeff Faux FORUM Donald Trump is already overreaching, and Democrats may well rebound in the next election merely by default. But behind the megalomania of Trump and Elon Musk lies a formidable reactionary movement intent on permanent political domination. In this long game, Democratic Party leaders are simply not up to the task of halting the national economic and social decay upon which the right feeds. Ever since the 2016 debacle, Democrats have pledged to listen to working Americans—the majority of voters—only to repeatedly ignore what they say. It’s not clear where the working class fits in to the Democratic Party’s platform other than assurances that the Democrats’ hearts are with them. By now, the story of the party’s long shift away from class-based politics is widely understood. Weakened by the division over the Vietnam War and the defection of the previously solid South over civil rights, Democrats under Carter, Clinton and Obama cultivated support from traditionally Republican Wall Street. The party had always taken money from big business. But the New Deal balanced its influence with organized labor. Then, in the early 1970s, corporate leaders launched an all-out attack on labor and Democratic leaders looked the other way. They refused to strengthen enfeebled labor law. Carter’s privatization paved the way for Reagan’s attacks on civilian government. Clinton’s financial deregulation undercut workers’ bargaining position and job security. Clinton and Obama’s free trade policies devastated the party’s unionized industrial base. Political blowback was dismissed by portraying the disaffected working class as a shrinking demographic of white, male, racist “deplorables.” The future belonged to a new Democratic coalition of college-educated women, minorities and the young. So far, so familiar. Less understood is the way the Wall Street alliance affected the party’s progressive wing. In part, the left’s political weakness is rooted in the way its larger activist base is financed. When Democrats became more business-friendly, liberal staffs and board members of foundations (themselves creatures of corporate tax breaks) had more ideological room to help progressives by funding local organizing. Opposing polluters, slumlords and racist police are core political functions of the left. But these fights do not challenge the oligarchic power that rules America. One issue voters said was important to them—but not to Democrats—was rising prices. But last year, when Harris even mentioned the role of “price gouging,” implying the need for government intervention, she was told by her Wall Street advisers to shut up. Ironically, the left’s failure to defend big government created a vacuum that was filled by the right. Despite its ugly and incoherent answers, the radical right is addressing a question that the left does not: Where is this country headed? Jeff Faux was founding president of the Economic Policy Institute. A longer version of this story first appeared in The Nation. OPINION Kamala Harris was told by Wall Street advisers to shut up. * Borrowers must be members of Bay Federal Credit Union and your business be eligible for Bay Federal membership. Qualification of membership is defined as the business headquarters is located within Santa Cruz, Monterey, or San Benito Counties. Must meet membership and account criteria, all loans subject to approval. Only commercial properties located within the state of California are eligible for financing. Rates and terms will vary based on collateral and credit. Programs, rates, terms, conditions, and services are subject to change without notice. Other restrictions may apply. 1524 N. Main Street | Salinas 831.479.6000 • www.bayfed.com • 888.4BAYFED Federally Insured by NCUA | Equal Housing Lender Now Offering Commercial Real Estate Loans No pre-payment penalties Purchase or refinance Multi-family units, farm & agriculture, office space, warehouses and other properties Visit a branch today!
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