An Even Better Deal

The Democrats' Better Deal agenda "the agenda fails to establish a clear path toward universal health care, affordable college, or criminal justice reform -- all critical economic issues for millions of families," Katrina vanden Heuvel writes. (Photo: Ted Eytan/Flickr/cc)

An Even Better Deal

"With the 2018 election cycle rapidly approaching, Democrats have an opportunity to draw an even sharper contrast with the GOP by embracing the kind of bold populism that this moment demands."

At the 1932 Democratic National Convention, Franklin D. Roosevelt declared, "Never before in modern history have the essential differences between the two major American parties stood out in such striking contrast as they do today." Arguing that Republicans had offered "no path for the people below to climb back to places of security and of safety in our American life," he called for a "new deal" to "restore America to its own people."

Under President Trump, the differences between the parties on domestic politics are similarly stark. Yet as the GOP fights to advance an extremist agenda that would take the nation backward, Democrats have struggled to offer a clear vision for the future or a path to security for struggling Americans. To that end, the "Better Deal" agenda that Democratic leaders introduced last week may not live up to Roosevelt's lofty standard or the bold 21st-century populism that fueled Sen. Bernie Sanders's (I-Vt.) insurgent presidential campaign, but it is a promising step in the right direction.

At the core of the Better Deal is a crackdown on corporate monopolies that represents a genuine shift for the party establishment... Read the rest at the Washington Post.

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