I, like lots of you, am processing the outcomes of the current U.S. election through which Donald Trump received handily each the electoral school and fashionable vote. As pundits focus on, left mainstream media personalities mourn, and sure many Trump supporters cheer ecstatically, as a progressive Bitcoiner it’s completely clear to me: If the Democratic Social gathering 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 get together to embrace Bitcoin if it desires to outlive, however after this decisive Trump victory, I believe many inside the get together, and people impartial voters who dip out and in of voting for democratic candidates, wish 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 Social gathering which has deserted working class individuals 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 a detailed, and Harris conceded the race in defeat, Bernie isn’t mincing phrases together with his criticism of the democratic get together and priorities. “It ought to come as no nice shock {that a} Democratic Social gathering which has deserted working class individuals would discover that the working class has deserted them.” Many inside the get together, and former Bernie supporters who maybe are usually 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 varied different minority teams) to working class individuals. After shedding 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 actually altered the course of American politics in methods the GOP, strategists, journalists, and the political institution by no means thought was attainable. The democratic get together has been struggling to provide you with solutions in opposition to 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 id politics, the identical they did in 2016, many inside the get together are accepting that the methods round id politics, anti-Trump, and a few ethical excessive floor are decisively ineffective.
Whereas all of us will likely be analyzing knowledge, voter profiles, traits, and many others over the following 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 Social gathering should return to being the get together of working individuals and concentrate on the economic system and inflation, which was some of the vital points for voters on the polls this yr. The Democratic get together 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 vital. However, the load and prioritization of those points over financial and different hardships Individuals face has been the difficulty. Many democrats and progressive knew this, however now we now have knowledge and election outcomes to show that it isn’t a profitable technique for the get together, notably within the presidential election.
Being a progressive and Bitcoiner is kind 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. In actual fact, 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, Large Financial institution bailouts and the 2008 International 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 Large Banks, to not point out her and plenty 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 Social gathering has been shedding floor to the Republicans on financial points and Bitcoin. On the Bitcoin convention in Nashville this previous summer season, Rep Khanna said, “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 yr’s presidential election. Whereas most democrats and the Harris marketing campaign selected to primarily ignore Bitcoin and the trade, with some impartial or imprecise assist of expertise talked about right here and there, after a hostile 4 years underneath 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 trade and the marketing campaign financing and superpacs that introduced in Large Crypto Cash (which marketing campaign financing after which bitcoin the expertise are two various things), but it surely’s a difficulty that may now not be ignored, and virtually weekly appears to be rising increasingly more bi-partisan (together with possession of Bitcoin in America, proven to be exceptionally broad and various throughout the political spectrum from a current survey carried out by Colin Brown, Troy Cross, and Andrew Perkins).
Donald Trump and the GOP have used and garnered the only subject crypto voters in huge methods. Marketing campaign guarantees embrace defending the precise 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 huge of an impression Trump’s pro-crypto positions had on the election final result, but it surely’s not negligible. And if something, it additionally symbolized what we noticed was crucial for American voters– a giant 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 get together and their priorities, many are able to go huge, 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 profitable priorities and what Individuals 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 expertise for working households, censorship resistant funds (ought to progressive activists discover themselves in positions to want resistance cash in opposition to Donald Trump’s authoritarian insurance policies), and past. If the Democrats are critical about getting again to a few of their roots because the get together of working class individuals, together with an olive department to former impartial and Bernie helps who’re captivated with combating for monetary freedom and a greater dwelling for working class Individuals, Occupy, and past, they are going to discover Bitcoin is an unimaginable instrument to that finish. With Bitcoin there isn’t any barrier to possession, no intermediary, not dealer or financial institution you need to use or be “accredited” by
Permissionless, freedom cash. Can this be a rallying cry for the following 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 individuals’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 submit by Trey Walsh. Opinions expressed are completely their very own and don’t essentially mirror these of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Journal.
