Oct 11, 2026, 3:11 AMDoes the Democratic Party have a plan for putting the era of far-right populism behind us?
- Oct 11, 2026, 3:11 AM
Replies
- Oct 12, 2026, 1:26 PM
Thanks to everyone who responded to the poll and commented.
- Oct 12, 2026, 1:28 PM
As an American, this feels like an important topic to me. If we are experiencing an erosion on US democracy, I would like to see a program in place to reduce that threat.
Rob Ricciricci@discuss.systemsOct 11, 2026, 3:45 AM@evan the party doesn't, but the people might pull it off
- Oct 12, 2026, 1:32 PM
I am not a political scientist. Programs to reduce the effect of right-wing populism on democracy are rare in history. They've often been imposed externally by victors in war. I don't think there is an easy answer as to how to pull back from this brink.
- Oct 12, 2026, 1:38 PM
That said, as an everyday citizen, I can imagine a program that addresses underlying social issues, like improving public schools. And decreasing income and wealth inequality through wealth taxes, free public education, reinvigorated public housing, and Medicare for All.
- Oct 12, 2026, 1:41 PM
The other side of the far-right populism coin is plutocracy and government corruption. We need to change good government norms into regulations, add automatic enforcement mechanisms, finance elections publicly, and eliminate campaign donations except from individuals, with a common-sense cap affordable by anyone.
- Oct 12, 2026, 1:46 PM
We also need to take far-right threats and intimidation seriously. Brigading and swatting campaigns against political opponents should be enforced against participants and organisers. Some form of effective opposition to insurrectionism is also needed.
- Oct 12, 2026, 1:53 PM
Finally, many post-authoritarian states flourish because of a shared national project. We have many to pick from -- building a just multi-cultural society together, getting our economy to net zero and making our infrastructure resilient to climate change, developing a Half Earth biodiversity program.
- Oct 12, 2026, 1:54 PM
I think many of these ideas are part of the Green New Deal. There are probably more that I haven't thought of.
Nick Sloannick@sloan.hostOct 12, 2026, 1:56 PM@evan This feels like the most crucial thread to pull first and most aggressively to me. When they can pour billions into opposition, everything else you might do gets harder.
- Nick Sloannick@sloan.hostOct 12, 2026, 1:55 PM
@evan The education part is tough. They’ve spent decades training their supporters to distrust public education, and the states largely get to set the agenda on education.