It appears that Republicans have once again outmaneuvered Democrats on the tax issue this week -- a sad continuation of events we are likely to see more of as Republicans prepare to enter the next Congress with a majority in the House and momentum from midterm victories. Progressives have been left to wallow in despondency or to quibble over where to place blame for the electoral setbacks. At best, discussion among Democrats has revolved around how to better emulate the Republican machine that operated so effectively in 2010.
If progressives are going to rebound in 2012, we need to move beyond this and begin laying the groundwork for resurgence at the base. That means presenting an agenda, one that is compelling to working and middle class Americans. Progressives positioning themselves as being against Republican proposals will not be enough. We must be able to present a convincing program detailing what we are for.
Leading with such an agenda means three things:
1) Addressing Underlying Fear and Scapegoating
In the wake of a severe economic downturn, an ongoing crisis of unemployment, and a continuing rash of home foreclosures, people in this country are rightly afraid for the economic well-being of their families. We know from history that, when people feel economically insecure, they are more vulnerable to arguments of scapegoating. In this case, immigrants, unionized teachers, and public servants such as police and firefighters are the new scapegoats for all of our economic woes. Republicans capitalize on mean-spirited explanations for economic problems as a way to divert the discussion from job creation, fair trade, and the role of unions in our economy.
This last election cycle was less about Republicans versus Democrats than about voters wanting leaders who could address the economic insecurity they are feeling. Americans wanted elected officials who could both concretely improve their families' prospects and speak to deep-rooted unease. The Obama administration and the Democrats failed in responding to these underlying issues, and they did not create policies that produced concrete enough benefits in voters' lives to reassure them.
If things are going to be different in 2012, progressives must change this. We have to understand the fear that people are feeling, and we have to present a program that responds to it directly, providing an alternative to scapegoating.
2) Making Jobs an Unrelenting Priority
Nothing addresses this more effectively than a singular focus on creating jobs and improving the economic stability of American households. Progressives should expect the Democratic Party from President Obama on down to local officials to take action on jobs. And, if they don't, the labor movement and other progressive constituencies should put forward their own plan for getting people back to work.
Three things should immediately be put on the table. One is a federal program for job creation that would include a national infrastructure bank. This bank would at once make public sector investments in construction jobs and also give incentive for private partners to collaborate in rebuilding our nation's roads, bridges, and airports. Second, a progressive agenda should include the extension of unemployment insurance for those who have not been able to find work amid a jobless recovery. Third, we need reforms that make it easier for people to join unions and bargain collectively for fair wages and working conditions.
The Republicans win when we allow them to frame the debate around tax cuts and deficits. The Democrats should take away the issue of tax cuts from Republicans by temporarily extending existing tax breaks and quickly shifting the focus to jobs. Creating fair tax policy is important, but we don't want to distract ourselves from our own agenda and play into the hands of the right.
3) Not Allowing Tactics to Substitute for Strategy
Right now, much of the discussion among Democratic strategists is about how to "build a better mousetrap" -- in other words, how to do better Get-Out-The-Vote drives or more efficiently coordinate donors' money. While there are some valid tactical concerns to be addressed at that level, we cannot allow tactics to be a substitute for strategy. True strategy requires a plan for building a politics based on a common sense of purpose, on unifying goals like restoring the American middle class.
Once again, if we don't see this kind of leadership exercised by the Democratic Party, then labor and progressives should provide it themselves. We should put forward our own jobs program and have sympathetic lawmakers introduce it into Congress. We should force the Republicans to vote yes or no on job creation. If the program fails to pass, it will nevertheless give us a strong narrative to take back to the precincts during the next election cycle. And it will give the Democratic base a cause to rally around without having to wait to take their lead from the Obama administration.
The next two years cannot merely be about fighting the Republican agenda. In 2012, progressive candidates must be able to run on a program of their own -- one that solves the problems that are creating genuine fear and insecurity in our country. Democrats can develop an ever more efficient electoral machinery, but it will do little good unless it is deployed in the service of a compelling agenda for a better, more economically secure America.
-- Amy Dean is co-author, with David Reynolds, of A New New Deal: How Regional Activism Will Reshape the American Labor Movement. She worked for nearly two decades in the labor movement and now works to develop new and innovative organizing strategies for social change organizations in progressive, labor, and faith communities. She can be reached via the Web site: http://www.amybdean.com/