Centrism Has Always Been A Road To Nowhere... Other Than Misery And Fascism

Democrats Need To Fight Harder For The Working Class

I think I first became aware of Josh Barro when he represented “the center” on the KCRW show, Left, Right And Center, but his idea of the center seemed a little too far right for me. He seemed like a typical conservative corporate Dem to me, a former Republican who loved the GOP economic policies but couldn’t handle the craziness that came with it. I haven’t followed him much in the last few years but after reading his new piece in The Atlantic, Democrats Need To Clean House, I’m not sure he’s still a Democrat at all and wouldn’t be surprised if he identifies, despite being gay and married to a man, with his old party once again.

In his horrible Atlantic piece— a classic example of the “Democrats are too woke” argument dressed up as strategic political advice— he’d have us believe that Democrats are in trouble because they’re too focused on diversity, equity and inclusion, and that the only way to win back voters is to adopt a Republican-lite stance on issues like crime, immigration and education. His Fox News-variety argument isn’t completely without merit, but has some glaring problems over and above being a blend of bad-faith misrepresentations and cherry-picked grievances... with a heavy dose of the usual centrist panic about “alienating voters” by standing for anything remotely progressive.

For someone who cut his teeth writing about economics, Barro barely mentions the economic issues that actually drive voter discontent— because addressing those would require an indictment of the corporate-friendly centrism he prefers. Despite what the GOP— and Josh Barro— claim, the Democratic Party’s biggest failures have been on delivering housing relief, taking on corporate price gouging and making healthcare truly universal. It’s not “DEI-speak” that has left many voters lukewarm on Democrats— it’s their failure to challenge the economic status quo. Economic betrayal means a lot more than “wokeness” to normal people.

The idea that Democrats lose elections because they talk about race too much is an old conservative talking point, one that erases the role of money, voter suppression and right-wing media disinformation. Instead of running from diversity, Democrats should be making a strong case that economic and racial justice are intertwined— that policies like universal childcare, fair wages and affordable housing benefit working-class people across all racial and ethnic groups. 

Blue Dogs may not, but actual Democrats know that Barro’s “crime crisis” talking points are right-wing fiction. Like most right-of-center polemicists who scold progressives on crime, Barro ignores reality. Cities that elected progressive prosecutors, like Philadelphia, have seen violent crime drop, while Republican-led states like Mississippi and Louisiana have some of the highest crime rates in the country. His attempt to blame progressives for “disorder” ignores the real drivers of crime: poverty, lack of mental health services, and easy access to guns— all problems the GOP actively makes worse. His take on immigration— fear-mongering that plays right into Trumpism— is basically indistinguishable from a Republican campaign ad. He frames it as an “us vs. them” issue, ignoring the role of U.S. foreign policy, climate change and corporate exploitation in driving migration. Instead of adopting GOP talking points, Democrats should be making the case that a humane immigration system— one that provides legal pathways, protects workers from exploitation, and addresses root causes— benefits everyone, including U.S. citizens.

As for his claim that Asian Americans are abandoning Democrats over college admissions, that’s an oversimplification at best and a lie at worst. Polls show that Asian American voters are largely motivated by the same issues as other working-class voters— healthcare, the economy, gun control… If anything, the biggest shift has been among wealthier, business-oriented Asian voters who were always more conservative. The real issue isn't that Democrats have been too focused on “equity”— it's that they haven't done enough to deliver material benefits that make voters’ lives better.

Instead of taking bad advice from centrists like Barro (and Buttigieg), Democrats should focus on delivering tangible results for working people— universal childcare, stronger labor protections, tax fairness, real healthcare reform, aggressive action on corporate greed. They don’t need to apologize for supporting diversity; they need to be better at showing how their policies improve the lives of all voters. At the end of the day, the real problem isn’t that the post-Clinton Democratic Party is too progressive— it’s that it’s often too cautious, too corporate-friendly, and too afraid to stand up for its base. The lesson from recent elections isn’t to run to the right— it’s to fight harder for the working class.