I, like a lot of you, am processing the outcomes of the latest U.S. election through which Donald Trump gained handily each the electoral school and common vote. As pundits talk about, left mainstream media personalities mourn, and sure many Trump supporters cheer ecstatically, as a progressive Bitcoiner it’s fully clear to me: If the Democratic Celebration needs a future in America, it should embrace Bitcoin.
Let me clarify what I imply. Not solely do I feel is it crucial for the get together to embrace Bitcoin if it needs to outlive, however after this decisive Trump victory, I feel many throughout the get together, and people unbiased voters who dip out and in of voting for democratic candidates, want to make a drastic change and return to the drafting board.
Bernie is again, and he has one thing to say.
It ought to come as no nice shock {that a} Democratic Celebration which has deserted working class folks would discover that the working class has deserted them.
Whereas the Democratic management defends the established order, the American persons are offended and need change.
And so they’re proper. pic.twitter.com/lM2gSJmQFL
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) November 6, 2024
Now that Biden’s time period is coming to an in depth, and Harris conceded the race in defeat, Bernie isn’t mincing phrases along with his criticism of the democratic get together and priorities. “It ought to come as no nice shock {that a} Democratic Celebration which has deserted working class folks would discover that the working class has deserted them.” Many throughout the get together, and former Bernie supporters who maybe should not within the get together or supportive any longer, have been beating this drum for some time: Democrats favor coastal elites, who opine about progressive politics and “wokism” intellectually, whereas paying lip-service (and patronizing numerous different minority teams) to working class individuals. After dropping to Donald Trump twice, many democrats, progressives, and positively unbiased and democratic american voters are questioning, the place can we go from right here?
Trump is a tour de drive. A charismatic determine that has really altered the course of American politics in methods the GOP, strategists, journalists, and the political institution by no means thought was potential. The democratic get together has been struggling to give you solutions towards Trump and MAGA populism after 2016. Whereas mainstream media could proceed to forged his victories because the product of racism, sexism, or different beliefs steeped in identification politics, the identical they did in 2016, many throughout the get together are accepting that the methods round identification politics, anti-Trump, and a few ethical excessive floor are decisively ineffective.
Whereas all of us will likely be analyzing information, voter profiles, traits, and so on over the subsequent a number of months, many journalists, together with some fairly influential progressive leaning media retailers together with Pod Save America, Breaking Factors, and past conceded that the Democratic Celebration should return to being the get together of working folks and give attention to the financial system and inflation, which was one of the essential points for voters on the polls this 12 months. The Democratic get together interval from 2016-present has targeted closely on identification politics, what many deem as “wokism” and extra, which I wouldn’t discredit out proper. A lot of that is essential. However, the burden and prioritization of those points over financial and different hardships People face has been the problem. Many democrats and progressive knew this, however now we have now information and election outcomes to show that it isn’t a successful technique for the get together, significantly within the presidential election.
Being a progressive and Bitcoiner is sort of a singular place to be in, and it’s helped me analyze the world and predict sure traits and outcomes in fascinating ways in which usually instances bitcoiners, or progressives outdoors of the bitcoin bubble, miss. Actually, I’m not alone. Lots of the outspoken progressives and left-leaning of us within the bitcoin house have been former Bernie bros, impressed by Occupy Wall Avenue and different populist financial messages round wealth inequality, company seize in America, Massive Financial institution bailouts and the 2008 World Monetary Disaster. Many people have been turned off by the get together’s pivot away from these battles, even to the purpose the place Senator Elizabeth Warren has been working with and funded closely by Massive Banks, to not point out her and lots of others excessive hostile takes towards the revolutionary know-how born within the wake of the World Monetary Disaster: Bitcoin.
Right here’s my take: Not solely should the Democrats embrace Bitcoin to have a political future in America–I feel many present and former members can be rather more open to it. Rep. Ro Khanna is one main instance of a progressive democrat who understands the place the Democratic Celebration has been dropping floor to the Republicans on financial points and Bitcoin. On the Bitcoin convention in Nashville this previous summer time, Rep Khanna said, “Being towards Bitcoin is like being towards cell telephones or the laptop computer, or semi conductors, it is a know-how.” Bitcoin is for freedom.”
Bitcoin advocates and marketing campaign funding performed an enormous half on this 12 months’s presidential election. Whereas most democrats and the Harris marketing campaign selected to primarily ignore Bitcoin and the business, with some impartial or imprecise help of know-how talked about right here and there, after a hostile 4 years below the Biden administration, this seems to be an error they could not afford to make. Many progressives and democrats could proceed to talk out towards the business and the marketing campaign financing and superpacs that introduced in Massive Crypto Cash (which marketing campaign financing after which bitcoin the know-how are two various things), nevertheless it’s a difficulty that may now not be ignored, and virtually weekly appears to be rising an increasing number of bi-partisan (together with possession of Bitcoin in America, proven to be exceptionally broad and various throughout the political spectrum from a latest survey performed by Colin Brown, Troy Cross, and Andrew Perkins).
Donald Trump and the GOP have used and garnered the one subject crypto voters in large methods. Marketing campaign guarantees embrace defending the precise to self-custody, a U.S. Bitcoin Strategic Reserve, to help the crypto and bitcoin mining industries, Free Ross, and extra. We’ll see if he makes good on these guarantees, and it’s unclear how large of an impression Trump’s pro-crypto positions had on the election final result, nevertheless it’s not negligible. And if something, it additionally symbolized what we noticed was crucial for American voters– an enormous shift from the present administration, and large guarantees relating to the financial system and financial prosperity for America.
Because the Democrats head again to the drafting board to find out the way forward for the get together and their priorities, many are able to go large, unburdened by what has been (sorry, needed to) with the Hilary, Biden, Harris neo-liberal coalitions. And there’s one good place to begin–the financial system, silly! Affordability, inflation, and hope in a brighter financial future for center class and dealing households are successful priorities and what People on the finish of the day present up in large numbers to vote for. Bitcoin has a big function to play on this strategy and messaging, as an inflation hedge, unimaginable financial savings know-how for working households, censorship resistant funds (ought to progressive activists discover themselves in positions to wish resistance cash towards Donald Trump’s authoritarian insurance policies), and past. If the Democrats are severe about getting again to a few of their roots because the get together of working class folks, together with an olive department to former unbiased and Bernie helps who’re enthusiastic about preventing for monetary freedom and a greater dwelling for working class People, Occupy, and past, they’ll discover Bitcoin is an unimaginable software to that finish. With Bitcoin there isn’t any barrier to possession, no intermediary, not dealer or financial institution it’s essential to use or be “accredited” by
Permissionless, freedom cash. Can this be a rallying cry for the subsequent chapter within the progressive motion and for Democrats to make the most of on the marketing campaign path? It virtually appears inevitable…a when, not an if…that the Democratic get together capitulates to Bitcoin and the American folks’s calls for, or face extinction. Myself, Margot Paez, and others from The Progressive Bitcoiner will definitely be right here to advocate for a rebirthing of the progressive motion, powered by Bitcoin.
This can be a visitor publish by Trey Walsh. Opinions expressed are fully their very own and don’t essentially mirror these of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Journal.