Tag: Grassroots

PROGRESSIVES ARE WINNING ELECTIONS BY FOCUSING ON AFFORDABILITY, FAIRNESS, AND CORRUPTION

SUMMARY: Strong progressive election results are continuing. Voters are making it clear that their top issues are the unaffordability of daily life, corruption in our politics, fairness in our economy, and strong, effective opposition to the Trump regime.

(Note: If you find a post too long to read, please just skim the bolded portions. Thanks for reading my blog!)

(Note: Please follow me and see my blog posts on Bluesky at: @jalippitt.bsky.social. Thanks!)

Strong progressive election results are continuing. My earlier post noted wins by progressives in June and early July elections, and my hope that national Democrats were hearing the voters’ clear message. Many still seem too entrenched with big-money backers to hear the grassroots voices. Voters are signaling that everyday unaffordability, as well as corruption in politics and the economy, are the issues that matter most to them.

In the past two weeks, elections were held in Alabama, Connecticut, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, South Carolina, Vermont, and Wisconsin. Progressives won repeatedly, including in Minnesota’s U.S. Senate race, and even democratic socialists won, although the democratic socialist in Wisconsin’s governor race lost narrowly.

Incumbent House Democrats’ losses to more progressive primary challengers suggest that Democratic voters want representatives who will more aggressively confront the affordability crisis, demand fairness, and take on the Trump regime’s corruption and bad policies on the economy, the war, ICE, the climate crisis, and protections for individual rights and the rule of law. [1]

While attention was focused on Democratic primaries, Republican primaries also produced notable results. Several Trump-endorsed candidates have lost, including Mike Lindell (the MyPillow guy) in Minnesota’s governor’s race, as well as Amir Hassan in Michigan and Andy Ogles in Tennessee in U.S. House races. In South Carolina’s U.S. Senate race, Darline Graham was pushed into a runoff despite Trump’s endorsement. [2]

In Missouri, voters strongly rejected two Republican ballot initiatives. One would have eliminated the state income tax and replaced it with a higher sales tax (defeated 83% – 17%), even though supporters outspent opponents by more than two to one (with many proponent groups keeping their donors’ identities secret). This and other election results may indicate that the era of tax cuts as the supposed path to economic growth and jobs may be ending. [3] Missouri voters also rejected (80% – 20%) a GOP-backed effort to make it harder to pass initiative petitions. Both ballot questions passed in all eight Missouri congressional districts. [4]

These candidates and issues are winning, even when being outspent, because voters are no longer being fooled by messaging from a corrupt campaign financing system, including candidates’ disingenuous economic promises (e.g., tax cuts whose benefits will trickle down) that have resulted in economic inequality and the unaffordability of everyday life.

What unites these candidates is a shared focus: improving everyday life and making society fairer. They call out the greed and power of the American oligarchy and their control of the economy and policymaking. They make the case that for our private enterprise system to survive government must put a stop to huge monopolistic companies and dramatic wealth and income inequality. They argue that regulation and fair taxes are needed to curb monopolies and stop price-gouging (including by major food and gas and oil companies). They call for an end to private for-profit control of essential public services, such as healthcare, education, mail delivery, utilities, and transportation. [5]

For lots of good news see Jess Craven’s Chop Wood Carry Water blog’s most recent good news Sunday post here.

[1]      Hubbell, R. B., 8/6/26, “The polls were wrong in Michigan – by a mile! Why that matters,” Today’s Edition Newsletter (https://roberthubbell.substack.com/p/the-polls-were-wrong-in-michiganby)

[2]      Hubbell, R. B., 8/13/26, “Don’t underestimate the ability of Democratic voters to get it right,” Today’s Edition Newsletter (https://roberthubbell.substack.com/p/dont-underestimate-the-ability-of)

[3]      Cox Richardson, H., 8/5/26, “Letters from an American blog,” (https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/august-5-2026)

[4]      Hubbell, R. B., 8/5/26, “The misleading narrative of Democratic disunity,” Today’s Edition Newsletter (https://roberthubbell.substack.com/p/the-misleading-narrative-of-democratic)

[5]      Cox Richardson, H., 6/26/26, “Letters from an American blog,” (https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/june-26-2026)

ARE THE NATIONAL DEMOCRATS LISTENING?

SUMMARY: I hope the national Democrats are listening. The grassroots are yelling and voting based on the unaffordability of daily life and the corruption in our politics and economy. In recent elections across the country, progressive, grassroots candidates are beating incumbents and winning even in conservative, Republican districts. Many of these candidates are young, female, multicultural, and/or new to politics.

(Personal note: I didn’t post the last two weeks because of the combination of a scramble to get signatures to put a question on the November ballot and a ten-day visit by an out-of-town grandson.)

(Note: If you find a post too long to read, please just skim the bolded portions. Thanks for reading my blog!)

(Note: Please follow me on Bluesky at: @jalippitt.bsky.social. Thanks!)

I hope the national Democrats are listening. The people and the voters are sending a loud, clear message. I worry that many of the Democrats in Washington are too entrenched with the oligarchs who spend big money to support their campaigns to hear the grassroots voices. The grassroots are yelling and voting based on the unaffordability of daily life and the corruption in our politics and economy.

In recent elections across the country, from Maine to Florida, from New York to Ohio to Colorado and Montana, from Arizona to California to Washington State, progressive, grassroots candidates are winning. They are beating incumbents and winning even in conservative, Republican districts. [1]

These candidates are winning by calling out monopolistic, corporate America, by attacking the political corruption of big money, and by addressing the everyday problems of ordinary Americans. [2] They are advocating for:

  • Guaranteeing health care for everyone
  • Making housing and child care more affordable
  • Increasing the minimum wage and easing the path to union membership
  • Reforming the corrupt campaign finance system
  • Requiring that wealthy individuals and corporations pay their fair share in taxes
  • Addressing climate change
  • Ensuring AI benefits all of us and not just the oligarchs
  • Ending wars and bloated military spending

The majority of the American people support these policies in poll after poll – and now in election after election. The public is sick and tired of status quo politics and corrupt campaign finance and economic systems that benefit only the rich and powerful.

Many of these winning candidates are young, female, multicultural, and/or new to politics. Some of them are Democrats and some are Democratic Socialists – not that many voters know what that means or care. What unites these candidates is that they are committed to making people’s everyday lives better and our society fairer. They are calling out the greed of the American oligarchy and their control of our economy and policy making. They make the case that our private enterprise system cannot survive unless the government ends huge monopolistic companies and dramatic wealth and income inequality through regulation and taxation. They call for an end to monopolistic price gouging like that of the food and gas and oil companies. They oppose private for-profit ownership of societal functions that people need to survive and that should serve the public good, such as health care, education, mail delivery, utilities, detention facilities, and roads, bridges, and public transportation. [3]

Ironically, Republicans supported many of these policies from the 1950s through the 1970s – ones they are now calling dangerous socialism or communism (without knowing or caring what those terms really mean). (More on the meaning of these terms in a future post.)

In 1969, Republican President Richard Nixon proposed the Family Assistance Plan, which would have provided a universal basic income to all families, effectively ending poverty. But it didn’t get enacted. In 1971, Congress passed legislation creating a universal, federally subsidized child care system that President Nixon was about to sign until pressured by right-wing political forces to veto it. In 1974, Nixon proposed universal health care with cost controls and financial assistance for those who couldn’t afford insurance. This also didn’t get enacted.

Back in the 1950s, Republicans and President Eisenhower supported workers, unions, and increasing the minimum wage; the expansion of social security and unemployment insurance; as well as improved housing and health care. The Republican Party platform called for equal pay for equal work and the elimination of discrimination in employment. [4]

It’s amazing to review how American politics and policies have changed over the last 75 years. What were centrist policies, supported by Republicans, in the 1950s through 1970s, are now called far left, socialist (or even communist) policies.

For lots of good news see Jess Craven’s Chop Wood Carry Water blog’s most recent good news Sunday posts here, here, and here.

[1]      Sanders, B., 7/1/26. “Last night in Colorado,” (https://www.facebook.com/reel/1517611133169096)

[2]      Reich, R., 7/6/26, “Why is he using the communist trump card,” Blog post (https://robertreich.substack.com/p/trumps-communist-trump-card)

[3]      Cox Richardson, H., 6/26/26, “Letters from an American blog (https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/june-26-2026)

[4]      Cox Richardson, H., 6/26/26, see above