Nearly as much as the Republican Party, the Democratic Party over the decades since Ronald Reagan’s election enabled a proto-fascist politician to be reelected president of the United States.

The Democrats abandoned the New Deal social contract protecting and benefiting working Americans. Worse yet, they unleashed forces of economic globalization that undermined the livelihoods of millions of Americans.

The state deregulation initiatives Reagan pursued and his mass-media appeal cowered Democrats. “Taxes” became a four-letter word and “liberal” was a label to avoid. Democrats moved toward the political center to regain the presidency under Bill Clinton. Then Clinton pursued neoliberal stratagems – most notably NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement signed in 1992) – that encouraged corporations to disinvest in American workers and communities. Many communities in the industrial heart of the country were hollowed out.

Today the American society is deeply divided, plagued by tremendous economic disparities. In the second quarter of 2024, nearly 70% of the nation’s wealth was held by the top 10% of income earners while the bottom 50% possessed a mere 2.5%. More strikingly, the top 1% holds over 30% of the nation’s total wealth. This unjust economic and social order is the background of the virulent racism, misogyny and bigotry expressed in this year’s presidential election.

Perhaps more than any other political factor the failure to rein in transnational corporations and to more equally share American wealth led to the “fear and anger” that Donald Trump exploited. His dark and divisive vision of the nation’s future and his promise to “fix” it, to “make America great again,” his claims of corrupted and stolen elections and his intentions to deconstruct the administrative state resonate with millions of Americans. Legions of citizens are Trump followers.

The unfair distribution of resources on a global scale further fuels the volatile social divisions in the U.S. It forces people in less fortunate regions of the world to flee poverty, violence and climate change. They desperately seek relative safety and opportunity in richer nations. Citizens across developed Western nations fear, as do Americans, that this massive international migration threatens their jobs, communities and national culture.

The efficacy of Democrats’ political messaging is also compromised by decades of ignoring how their policies did too little for working class and rural communities. The party’s move to the political center left behind their most powerful social programs, the New Deal social contract established in the 1930s. Democrats, for example, have not been successful in shoring up Social Security, conceding to conservatives the argument that this vital social guarantee will soon run out of funding. While nearly 9 in 10 Americans want these benefits to be available for them and future generations, Kamala Harris did not bring this pressing social concern before voters. Certainly the institution of a progressive tax structure could contribute significantly to the long-term viability of this critical program.

Even the successful social programs the Democrats introduced during the Obama and Biden administrations – two of them the Affordable Care Act and the Inflation Reduction Act – are overshadowed by the frustration of masses of Americans. Not enough resources are being directed toward them to relieve the rising prices and cost of living in general. They see the “elite,” the “educated,” the coastal urban culture as corrupted and unfairly privileged.

Today’s Republican Party is morally debased. In the midst of existential social and climate crises Republicans gather around a divisive, racist, misogynist political authoritarian to protect their privileged positions and the wealthy patrons they represent. The Democrats, having roundly rejected the populist policies articulated by Bernie Sanders and other progressive leaders in their own party, now stand abandoned by ordinary working Americans whom the party abandoned several decades ago.