Tuesday’s election results were dire, but now is not the time for progressives to retreat. American society will be best served by a progressive movement that plays strong defense and offense.

Progressives must continue to be vigilant in defending democracy, the rule of law, and the constitutional republic.  As such, we must maintain our recent alliance with liberals and conservatives of conscience.

We must also lead in protecting the environment and vulnerable communities, both at home and abroad.  

Solidarity with organized labor will be a priority during Trump 2.0.  Unions will face a hostile National Labor Relations Board.  Vigilance will be required to preserve labor’s recent gains. When there’s a strike or an organizing drive, progressives must have a presence on the picket line, calling Trump’s bluff, exposing his contempt for labor. 

The Republican Party is winning elections by attracting the working class away from a Democratic Party dominated by its neoliberal moderate faction. However, the GOP is mainly gaining working class support because Trump gives expression to shared grievances, not because the GOP is proposing policies that will help them economically. Only progressives advocate for time-tested policies and programs that will build a prosperous middle class society that the majority of the country so clearly wants. It is incumbent upon progressives to make the case to our fellow Democrats and to the general public that progressive economics should define the Democratic Party agenda going forward.

There should be no equivocation in our messaging, just three simple points: 

1. The economic program of moderate Democrats and Republicans (aka neo-liberalism), destroyed the American middle class; 

2. Trump’s economics have failed to re-build it. 

3. Progressive economic policy created the wealthiest middle class in the history of the world in the years after World War II. It’s time to give progressive economics a try in the 21st century

So, expect PDA and progressives in general to respond to Tuesday’s results by staying very active and promoting our positions. 

However, we also need to show humility and do some soul searching. Too often, the left dismisses all criticism out of hand. This must change. We need to accept that conservatives and moderates have effectively misrepresented progressives as extremists, and it is incumbent upon us to change this perception. We must re-establish that we are an inclusive political movement that respects everyone’s voice and is fully committed to maximizing freedom and liberty for all Americans.

Progressives are ready to stand up at this challenging moment in our history, confident that our policy agenda suits the needs of 21st century America and provides a pathway out of America’s interminable political crisis.