The Class War Midterms

For President Donald Trump and Republicans, the outcome was ruinous. As Ryan Grim of Dropsite News pointed out, it turns out starting an illegal war in Iran that drives up gas prices while covering up a child sex predator ring and engaging in never-before-seen levels of corruption is not a successful gameplan for retaining power — especially when you promised during your campaign to end foreign wars and bring consumer prices down. 

But that’s not all voters were furious about. Sending armed gestapo-like forces into cities to kidnap and kill U.S. residents shocked the country and led to a nationwide resistance movement that coalesced labor and grassroots organizations. The colossal buildout of data centers in communities across the country, along with the unchecked development of artificial intelligence (AI) by hyperrich tech oligarchs on a mission to rule over our lives, sparked widespread anger and opposition. And voters are reeling from the impact of a full-scale war on working people — epitomized by the GOP’s ​“One Big Beautiful Bill,” which is ripping away lifesaving food and healthcare programs to enrich the wealthiest Americans and supercharge Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Trump made this all possible, and his party paid the price. 

But now the real fight begins. There is a push and pull between every election, with the party in power losing seats and the other gaining, until the cycle repeats itself. The only way out of continuing this historical trend is for Democrats to use their newfound leverage to make clear they’re unafraid to bring about real fundamental change. 

When it comes to bringing legislation to the floor, as Democrats will be able to do in both houses of Congress next year, Sanders’ policy program is a good place to start. The majority of Americans support Medicare for All, a billionaire wealth tax, expanded Social Security, a $20 per hour minimum wage, a national data center moratorium, free public college, enhanced union rights and an end to U.S. military aid to Israel. Even if Republicans try to block such attempts, or President Trump promises to veto them, showcasing Democratic backing of these massively popular measures would help polarize the country and show which party is actually out of step with what Americans want from the government. As Sanders told MS NOW’s Chris Hayes two days after the midterms: ​“Our job is to be bold. Trump wants to veto stuff? It’s his privilege. We’ve got to distinguish ourselves from the Republicans.”

The emphasis on corporate greed and a rigged economic system has trickled down from Sanders to all levels of Democratic politicians. In his victory speech, Sen.-elect James Talarico (D-Texas) said, ​“We just sent a message to every billionaire megadonor, every corrupt defender of this broken political system: in this state, in this country, power belongs to the people.” That wasn’t simply a winning message — Talarico smoked his Republican opponent by 12 points in a state where a Democrat hadn’t won a Senate seat since 1988.

Democratic Socialists of America (DSA)-endorsed candidates also had a historic showing, with more than 50 scoring wins up and down the ballot. That includes newly-elected members of Congress Claire Valdez (D-N.Y.), Darializa Avila Chevalier (D-N.Y.), Chris Rabb (D-Penn.), Donavan McKinney (D-Mich.), Melat Kiros (D-Colo.) and Angela Gonzales-Torres (D-Calif). They’ll join fellow DSA members Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), taking the total number of socialists in the House up to eight — the most in U.S. history. 

And this new crop of socialists is following the path being laid by New York City Zohran Mamdani, a DSA member who has helped reorient the Democratic Party around a politics of affordability. Following the results, Mamdani told reporters that voters gave Democrats ​“a mandate to lower the cost of living, to build not bomb, to never betray the working people who entrusted them with power.” 

But taking bold action will require real leadership, something elites in the party establishment have shown themselves unwilling (or unable) to adopt. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), in line to become House Speaker and Senate Leader, respectively, have both expressed caution about moving too fast or putting forward bills that could be considered too ambitious, including Medicare for All. At least seven incoming Democratic senators have so far refused to commit to supporting Schumer in the upcoming leadership vote, and even incumbent Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) told Bloomberg, ​“no one should be committing to anybody as the next Democratic leader” unless they put forward a plan to enact an aggressive progressive agenda, adding: ​“we need commitments.” 

With the incoming Democratic House caucus swelling to more than 250, socialists and left-wing members will hold less sway than if there had been a narrower margin, yet that shouldn’t impact the urgency of demanding the party take a fighting approach that shows which side it stands on. The donor class set aflame billions of dollars over the midterms and still couldn’t blunt voters’ hunger for a break from the status quo. 

The pro-corporate Third Way set is already calling for Democrats to rush to the center, but it’s clear that class war-style populism came out on top this election — and points the way forward to building a durable coalition that can replace the failed authoritarian old guard clinging to power in the White House. 

It will take a revitalized labor movement and energetic, broad-based grassroots organizing — not just more sympathetic elected officials — to steer U.S. politics in the direction of working people’s interests. But there’s no doubt the terrain has moved in favor of such a shift. 

While Sanders didn’t win when he ran for president, he inspired a generation that’s now taking power. Let’s not blow it — he’s proven, as Bowie sang, that he knows it’s all worthwhile.