ndn

A New Era of American Politics, A New One for Democrats Too – In my Atlantic magazine interview with Ron Brownstein I began to articulate in new ways what it was that was driving my decision to step down from NDN – the sense that we were entering a new era for American politics, and that new approaches and new thinking were going to be required now. NDN was built to operate in a previous age – different challenges for the country, very different media environment, a far more benign domestic political landscape. NDN has served its purpose, and contributed on many fronts over a long period. But something new was needed now.

As I work through all this, and listen to all the interesting feedback I’ve gotten from the interview, I offer up this sketch of a framework for where the American center-left needs to head now:

Build our politics around two potentially existential challenges, preserving democracy here and abroad, and ensuring the planet doesn’t warm. The age of globalization, the post Cold War era, has come to an end, a new perhaps more challenging age has begun. In the short term we will also need to protect the Biden economic agenda from sabotage, and strive to win the big economic argument with the right this year.
Recognize that the Democratic Party is strong, it’s had 3 straight good elections, our emerging leaders can carry us forward, our grassroots is stronger than its ever been. The American Democratic Party has been the most successful center-left party in the developed world since the Cold War ended. We have won more votes in 7 of 8 Presidential elections, the best run in US history. We are strong, not weak; we need to be on offense, not defense.
But we still have some very important work to do now to ensure we win the battle against MAGA here at home. We need to get louder, become more effective at challenging the right’s noise machine and information superiority; and we need to expand our coalition, get to 55 percent nationally, and deny MAGA the political oxygen it needs to keep spreading, growing more dangerous.

NDN was the right vehicle for a different era, a different time. Now those of us New Dems, liberals, patriots, pragmatists, pro-democracy warriors – whatever it is we are, and will be called – we have a different and perhaps more difficult set of challenges we have to tackle, together. That’s why NDN is shuttering, and why I am beginning a new stage in my own journey.

To do a deeper dive on this thinking, check out:

My Atlantic interview with Ron Brownstein
A new monthly political discussion (video) with our community, where we talk the Brownstein interview, the NDN transition, what comes next
A new interview with the MeidasTouch’s Anthony Davis which goes deep into this argument
A thread about the need for us to more aggressively contest the right’s information superiority
The Democratic Party is Strong - my post-election memo
With Democrats Things Get Better - my big presentation about US politics
The power of the new Democratic grassroots - a new video on one of our great strategic advantages
A new essay by Univision’s Leon Krauze which talks about my warnings about the growing radicalization of the GOP back in 2012 (in Spanish)

New Jobs Report – 12m Biden jobs, US economy continues to lead the world - In a new thread and post, we review the remarkable February jobs report – 517,000 new jobs! It’s a reminder of how much better the economy is today under Joe Biden, despite COVID, global inflation, Russia’s aggression, supply chain challenges, domestic insurrection and extremism here in the US. Some data:

Under Biden US is seeing its lowest unemployment rate in 53 years, lowest poverty/uninsured rates ever
GDP growth is 3.4% - 3x what it was under Trump
US economic recovery from COVID better than any other G7 nation
Almost 2 jobs for every unemployed person, new business starts/wages at elevated levels
Deficit and trade deficit lower, energy prices and inflation also continuing to drop
Deficit went up every year of Trump's Presidency, has come down every year of Biden's
Of 48m jobs created since 1989, 46m- 96% - have been created under Dem Presidents
Domestic crude oil production will set record this year (mythbuster!!!!)

NDN/Future Majority Host “Get Louder” Event with MeidasTouch, Courier Newsroom, Resolute Square and DSR Network – A few weeks ago NDN and Future Majority hosted a remarkable live gathering of innovative media leaders. We brought together bringing four organizations we think are doing exemplary work, and need greater attention in DC and across the country. We were joined by:

Ben Meiselas, The MeidasTouch
Tara McGowan, Courier Newsroom
Joe Trippi, Resolute Square
David Rothkopf, DSR Network

You can learn more, swatch a recording here. Simon has also posted a new essay about why this event is important, and a new video about how stronger and louder the Dem grassroots has become. This was a really terrific discussion and well worth your time.

On His Way to Mexico, Biden Kicked Off An Important Immigration Debate Here in the US – On his way to meeting with the leaders of Mexico and Canada, President Biden offered an intelligent new plan to address the unprecedented flow of migrants to the our southern border. It would accept an elevated level of asylum seekers with fiscal sponsors from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, while using temporary authorities to turn back those who don’t fit these new requirements. An important new debate about immigration and the border has begun, and NDN is hopeful, given the GOP’s obvious concern about these issues, that a bi-partisan legislative package to modernize our immigration system could get to the President’s desk this year.

Two recent op-eds, Farah Stockman in the NYTimes and David Ignatius in the Washington Post, provide helpful context. In a Washington Post essay, Greg Sargent cites Simon on how the President should approach this debate:

As Democratic strategist Simon Rosenberg points out, the four border states are represented by five Democratic senators and only two Republican ones — and by three Democratic governors. Big gains in the Southwest are one of the party’s biggest political success stories. Shouldn’t the immigration debate reflect this?

“It’s important that these voices become much louder,” Rosenberg told me. “Democrats have to stop allowing the debate to be dominated by Republicans and extremists.”

Godspeed, Simon

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