I, like a lot of you, am processing the outcomes of the current U.S. election through which Donald Trump gained handily each the electoral school and standard vote. As pundits focus on, left mainstream media personalities mourn, and sure many Trump supporters cheer ecstatically, as a progressive Bitcoiner it’s solely clear to me: If the Democratic Get together desires a future in America, it should embrace Bitcoin.
Let me clarify what I imply. Not solely do I believe is it crucial for the social gathering to embrace Bitcoin if it desires to outlive, however after this decisive Trump victory, I believe many throughout the social gathering, and people impartial voters who dip out and in of voting for democratic candidates, need 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 Get together 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 individuals are offended and wish change.They usually’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 together with his criticism of the democratic social gathering and priorities. “It ought to come as no nice shock {that a} Democratic Get together which has deserted working class folks would discover that the working class has deserted them.” Many throughout the social gathering, and former Bernie supporters who maybe are usually not within the social gathering 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 impartial and democratic american voters are questioning, the place will 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 doable. The democratic social gathering has been struggling to provide you with solutions in opposition to Trump and MAGA populism after 2016. Whereas mainstream media could proceed to solid his victories because the product of racism, sexism, or different beliefs steeped in id politics, the identical they did in 2016, many throughout the social gathering are accepting that the methods round id politics, anti-Trump, and a few ethical excessive floor are decisively ineffective.
Whereas all of us shall 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 Get together should return to being the social gathering of working folks and give attention to the economic system and inflation, which was one of the necessary points for voters on the polls this 12 months. The Democratic social gathering interval from 2016-present has targeted closely on id politics, what many deem as “wokism” and extra, which I wouldn’t discredit out proper. A lot of that is necessary. 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’ve information and election outcomes to show that it’s not a successful technique for the social gathering, notably within the presidential election.
Being a progressive and Bitcoiner is sort of a novel place to be in, and it’s helped me analyze the world and predict sure traits and outcomes in attention-grabbing ways in which typically occasions bitcoiners, or progressives outdoors of the bitcoin bubble, miss. Actually, I’m not alone. Most of the outspoken progressives and left-leaning people 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 International Monetary Disaster. Many people have been turned off by the social gathering’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 in opposition to the revolutionary expertise born within the wake of the International Monetary Disaster: Bitcoin.
Right here’s my take: Not solely should the Democrats embrace Bitcoin to have a political future in America–I believe 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 Get together has been dropping floor to the Republicans on financial points and Bitcoin. On the Bitcoin convention in Nashville this previous summer season, Rep Khanna acknowledged, “Being in opposition to Bitcoin is like being in opposition to cell telephones or the laptop computer, or semi conductors, it is a expertise.” 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 assist of expertise talked about right here and there, after a hostile 4 years beneath the Biden administration, this seems to be an error they could not afford to make. Many progressives and democrats could proceed to talk out in opposition to the business and the marketing campaign financing and superpacs that introduced in Massive Crypto Cash (which marketing campaign financing after which bitcoin the expertise are two various things), however it’s a difficulty that may not be ignored, and virtually weekly appears to be rising increasingly bi-partisan (together with possession of Bitcoin in America, proven to be exceptionally broad and various throughout the political spectrum from a current survey performed by Colin Brown, Troy Cross, and Andrew Perkins).
Donald Trump and the GOP have used and garnered the only difficulty crypto voters in large methods. Marketing campaign guarantees embody defending the fitting to self-custody, a U.S. Bitcoin Strategic Reserve, to assist 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 affect Trump’s pro-crypto positions had on the election final result, however 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 economic system and financial prosperity for America.
Because the Democrats head again to the drafting board to find out the way forward for the social gathering 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 start out–the economic 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 enormous numbers to vote for. Bitcoin has a major function to play on this strategy and messaging, as an inflation hedge, unimaginable financial savings expertise for working households, censorship resistant funds (ought to progressive activists discover themselves in positions to wish resistance cash in opposition to Donald Trump’s authoritarian insurance policies), and past. If the Democrats are severe about getting again to a few of their roots because the social gathering of working class folks, together with an olive department to former impartial and Bernie helps who’re keen about combating for monetary freedom and a greater residing for working class People, Occupy, and past, they are going to discover Bitcoin is an unimaginable instrument to that finish. With Bitcoin there isn’t a barrier to possession, no intermediary, not dealer or financial institution you could 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 social gathering 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.
It is a visitor submit by Trey Walsh. Opinions expressed are solely their very own and don’t essentially replicate these of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Journal.
