Norman Solomon: How Democrats Helped Clear Trump’s Path Back to Power
·28 min
Norman Solomon, author of 'The Blue Road to Trump Hill,' diagnoses why Democrats lost their base. He argues the party gradually abandoned working-class focus over 30-40 years in favor of corporate merger, creating vulnerability to right-wing demagoguery. Key paradox: the only electoral vehicle to stop fascism is the Democratic Party, yet the party is thoroughly corporatist and disconnected from its base. Solomon proves this disconnect with data: 90% of young voters opposed Biden's re-election; only 1% of Democratic Congress agreed. He cites Gavin Newsom sending burner phones to 100 CEOs with 'I'm here for you,' while sending zero to working-class advocates. Solomon concludes that winning requires simultaneously opposing Democratic odium while using it as an electoral vehicle, supported by grassroots organizing like Zoran Mondami's mayoral victory driven by 80,000 volunteers.
