You Can’t Claim I’m The Problem Because None of My Ideas Are Ever Implemented

I’m a rural, working class progressive in a conservative community — maybe you should listen to me

I have never tried to hide the fact that I am unapologetically progressive. Mainly I’d like to see universal healthcare and free education, but that’s just the start of the ways I’d like to see our society reformed. I think the unfair distribution of wealth is bad for humanity. It holds back the most brilliant minds of our generation, and it maintains policies that threaten to make the Earth uninhabitable.

Most of us are concerned about this in one way or another, so it falls to us to figure out how to have productive conversations without descending into insults.

In the wake of the 2024 election, I’ve been trying to avoid playing the “blame game.” It’s tempting to be furious with the American people. We should all be furious with the racism and misogyny that forms such an integral and shameful part of the fabric of this nation. But we simply don’t have the evidence to say with any certainty why the election turned out as it did.

We won’t know until we’ve gone through a scientific exploration of the data. Until then, it’s all just hot takes and uninformed opinions.

As for me, I have my doubts about the whole thing. For some reason, the media and establishment politicians are determined to treat this political cycle as “business as usual.” However, the simple fact is that the country has never seen an election like this. Furthermore, we’re now well into the cell phone age, and the social media age. But the “old guard” at Washington doesn’t seem to be capable of figuring out the detrimental effect the rapid spread of misinformation is having on our society.

We also live in an era of foreign election interference, but Democrats don’t want to talk about that for fear of “looking like the other side.”

One of the narratives that’s emerged in the media is that the Democrats don’t “speak to the working class.” However, this doesn’t seem to be an idea that anyone wants to explore scientifically. If anything, it’s a phrase that’s often used to attack progressive politicians.

But perhaps we should take a moment to consider what it means to “speak to the working class.”

I grew up on a farm in an unincorporated town in a red county. For most of my life, I’ve lived at the intersection point where Democratic and Republican ideas wash up against each other. My family grew up with the stain of oil and dirt on their hands.

I’m the first to admit that I’ve been very fortunate in my life. I earned a degree which is unusual for people from my background. In a perfect world, you’d think people in positions of power would turn to me and say, “You are a source of knowledge. You’ve straddled the chasm between two worlds. Can you provide some insight into how we can bridge the divide?”

Instead, what usually happens is I offer an opinion and I hear, “You’re part of the problem. You’re sowing the seeds of discord. You need to get in line with what smarter people are saying.”

Then we lose.

The thing is, I can’t be part of the problem because nobody ever listens to me. Again and again, the leaders of this country make choices that don’t align with what I think we should do. Sometimes they launch initiatives that are pretty close, and that’s the best I can hope for.

Lately, I’ve been feeling frustrated with the obligation to navigate a tightrope of contradictions in order to avoid criticism. The election provides a good example. I don’t agree with the people in my community who think that the Republicans are going to “fight for them.” The way I interpret events, I think the Republicans are only fighting for themselves. But no matter what you think, we can all agree that the Republicans are at least fighting.

Whether it’s performative, whether it’s hopeless, whether it’s reckless, the Republicans always put up a fight.

Democrats say, “Why doesn’t the working class rally behind us?”

We reply, “Why don’t you fight?”

Democrats say, “We don’t want to be like them.”

Now, I disagree with the cause the Republicans are fighting for, but I don’t disagree with their enthusiasm. I disagree when protests turn lawless. There’s no place for violence or destruction of property in our society.

I also disagree that Democrats “become like Republicans” if they stand up and show that they’re willing to fight for the American people. I think the American people have sent a clear message that they want politicians who are willing to fight. If Democrats want to appeal to working class voters, they should listen to that message.

Whenever I write something like that, I’m flooded by messages claiming that “Democrats do fight!” So, let me get ahead of that. You’re right. They do. The problem is that they don’t fight in a way that working class people notice.

Don’t shoot the messenger. Again, I’m the one who is currently living in a red county. I brush elbows with conservatives every day. I grew up driving a tractor. I know how Republicans think.

Don’t dismiss me as being “part of the problem.”

Start thinking of me as “part of the solution.”

Every day when I turn to the media, I see more interviews with hand-wringing Democrats sitting in mansions wondering aloud how they can make their message heard by working class people. We hear the same things from the same people year after year, and they never figure out the answer. Then, when somebody like me comes along, somebody with the background to offer actionable insight, they turn and go on the attack with terrifying ferocity.

I know that Democrats can be ferocious. They’re ruthless in their attacks on Progressives when Progressives try to have a rational discussion about where the party went wrong. Democrats need to learn how to harness that ferocity and use it in defense of the American people. When they use it against Progressives, they end up alienating working class voters.

The ferocity is good. The problem is that it’s always directed at people who have the answers. My advice is that Democrats stop accusing well-intentioned people of being “part of the problem,” and start to recognize that the real problems are things like misinformation, corruption, and threats against the integrity of our elections.

Democrats have to show more backbone. I know that Democratic election lawyer Marc Elias is doing great work. He recently helped thwart a Republican effort to disqualify 60,000 votes in the North Carolina Supreme Court election.

If you think that’s the only instance where votes were disqualified in 2024, you’re kidding yourself.

We have a legal system in place for a reason. You are allowed to investigate the results of an election, particularly when you’re living through an era of election interference. It doesn’t “make us like them” in a negative sense to stand up and fight to ensure the voice of the people is heard. The fight is admirable, it’s the cause we disagree on.

People who work hard to get a candidate elected do not want to see that candidate easily capitulate.

We have laws in place to protect us. Consider section 3 of the 14th Amendment. If Democrats want to show they are willing to fight to defend the Constitution and the American people, that is not something they can ignore, particularly while they still hold the gavel.

When you come right down to it, we should all fight tenaciously for the things we believe. Again, the fight should be peaceful and lawful. But from my perspective in a red, rural area, it appears as if too often the Democrats simply roll over, put their hands in their pockets, and are content to huddle in their mansions while working class people suffer through four years of incompetent leadership.

I shouldn’t have to tell you that in politics, appearance often means more than truth. Democrats have to cultivate the appearance that they’re willing to fight, even if they lose. Otherwise the voting public loses hope.

Lost hope equals low turnout.

If the Democrats want to appeal to the working class as they say they do, then maybe they should start listening to working class people. Maybe it’s time to retire the “you’re part of the problem” argument. After all, I don’t see how I’m part of the problem when the Democratic party keeps doing something other than what I advise.

They don’t listen, and they lose. That’s the problem.

All of these discounts are forever.

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