USA left | The left wants to do more than just participate

Claire Valdez from New York celebrated her entry into the House of Representatives with Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Photo: AFP/GETTY Images/MICHAEL M. SANTIAGO Already on Wednesday morning, when the Democrats' landslide victory was announced, there were signs of a dispute: Who deserves the victory? “It’s clear: us moderates!” wrote a party strategist on Platform Moderate Democrats in particular have won in Republican strongholds, starting with preacher Adam Hamilton in Kansas.

The opposite was the case, were numerous outraged responses: In several states, left-wing candidates had trumped those right-wing candidates who had been victorious against moderate Democrats in previous years. An example: the unionist Troy Jackson, who will replace the long-established Republican Susan Collins as senator in Maine after 30 years.

The fact is: both the number of centrists and leftists in Congress is increasing, roughly proportional to their balance of power before the midterm elections. The moderate forces are still ahead of the progressive ones. At the same time, the former dominate the faction leadership in both chambers of Congress.

What is relatively certain so far is that the Democrats will appoint 56-year-old Hakeem Jeffries from the New York borough of Brooklyn as “Speaker of the House,” against the will of the left and progressives in the party. He has long been accused of pandering to the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC and adhering to unconditional US military aid to Israel. They also criticize his withdrawal from the demand for universal health insurance for everyone (Medicare for All). Ultimately, he refuses to undertake a programmatic realignment for the Democrats.

In addition to Jeffries, New Yorker Chuck Schumer, who leads the Senate Democratic caucus, has long been criticized for his softness and has been asked to resign.

In terms of content, the progressives are calling for Medicare for All, an expansion of social security systems, tenant protection and a limitation of the powers of the immigration authority ICE. US military aid to Israel is also likely to be one of the key areas of conflict with the party leadership.

Author Ethan Young, a leftist from Brooklyn, warned "nd" against having too high hopes for the Democratic leadership. She represents three positions from which she does not intend to deviate: "Defend Israel, stick to military spending and not socialize the healthcare system in any way." Even if there were no more money flowing in from major donors and lobby groups, that would remain their basic stance. “Democratic voters represent exactly the opposite positions,” says Young. But “only massive counter-pressure can get them to give in even a little bit, on all three issues.”

With a narrow majority, just a few progressive votes would have been enough to force concessions from the party leadership.

The centrist forces, together with the newly elected officials, are already forming various alliances, according to the New York Times under names such as the Blue Dog Coalition - whose membership has doubled - the New Democrats and Problem Solvers.

On the other side is the rather loosely connected “Progressive Caucus” with more than 100 members so far, which has acted quite slowly under the previous Republican majority. The wave of new members will give it new momentum and open opportunities to exert pressure on the Trump administration. The coalition includes Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, who is expected to chair the House Judiciary Committee and launch hearings and investigations.

And the Democratic Socialists of America? Six new members of the DSA are moving into the 435-member House of Representatives. This increases their number from two (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib) to eight. The extent to which they can and want to adhere to the DSA guidelines in Congress is not clear.

The “Squad” cannot be equated with DSA, although there are overlaps between the two. The group around Ocasio-Cortez and Tlaib is a coalition of left-progressive representatives who were elected to office in the 2018 midterms, including non-DSA members.

The Democrats' large mandate lead of more than 90 seats in the House of Representatives is also changing the power position of the party left. With a narrow majority, just a few progressive votes would have been enough to block the party leadership's legislative proposals that were viewed as too moderate or to force concessions. However, with a faction that has grown to more than 250 seats, this means of pressure becomes less important because the party leadership is less dependent on the votes of the left.

On the other hand, with the “Progressive Caucus” they have a parliamentary platform to organize alliances beyond the boundaries of the “Squad” and DSA. They can also fight for influential committee seats and, from January, when the new Congress begins work, also for control of the parliamentary agenda.

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