The Five Progressive Policies Democrats Need To Fully Embrace

To stand apart from Trump, Democrats need to lean Left

Photo by Josh Barwick on Unsplash

Last week, California Governor Gavin Newsom, who some see as the current frontrunner for the Democrats in 2028, spouted transphobic nonsense on his new podcast.

In an attempt to find common ground with Charlie Kirk, Newsom debased himself several times, including remarking his 13-year old son was a big fan, and unnecessarily gave ground on issues from trans women and girls in sports to the ridiculous assertion that Liberalism as a whole is outdated:

Newsom, after listening to Kirk roast a social media stunt by Democratic senators, gave him carte blanche to blast the left further: “Seriously, Charlie Kirk, give us some advice.”

Kirk pounced: “Get better ideas, governor.” He promptly then asked Newsom if he would use his platform to protest a transgender athlete’s victory in a California high school triple jump event, which has lit conservative circles aflame. Kirk was using Newsom’s own podcast to spread the inflammatory talking point, asking, “Would you say no men in female sports?”

“I think it’s an issue of fairness,” Newsom said. “I completely agree with you on that. It is an issue of fairness. It’s deeply unfair.”

Moments later, Newsom partially redeemed himself by pointing out that Republicans were able to “weaponize” the issue electorally. When Kirk protested, “Not ‘weaponize’ ... ‘shine a light on,’” Newsom quickly deferred to him, altering his word to ”highlight.”

He didn’t push back at all when Kirk said 890 trans women had won medals over cisgender women in the past five years — an unproven statistic that comes from the anti-trans Women’s Liberation Front, which has objected to the legal recognition of transgender people. A minute later, when Newsom said that there are fewer than 10 trans athletes in the 500,000-plus NCAA, he wasn’t actually confronting Kirk directly but rather rambling about the political difficulty of the issue.

Newsom could have used this opportunity to push back, to create contrast, and to illustrate why the alt-right is dangerous to Democracy. Instead, he treated Kirk like he was some messaging genius Democrats are incapable of competing against.

The truth is that corporatism has infested the Democratic Party for far too long. It cannot operate as a worker’s first party while beholden to dark-money interests.

Here are 5 Progressive policies the Democrats should fully endorse to transform our nation into a more resilient country and provide distinction against the GOP’s workers last agenda.