I, like a lot of you, am processing the outcomes of the latest U.S. election wherein Donald Trump received handily each the electoral faculty and widespread vote. As pundits talk about, left mainstream media personalities mourn, and sure many Trump supporters cheer ecstatically, as a progressive Bitcoiner it’s totally clear to me: If the Democratic Occasion 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 celebration to embrace Bitcoin if it desires to outlive, however after this decisive Trump victory, I believe many inside the celebration, 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 Occasion 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 indignant 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 along with his criticism of the democratic celebration and priorities. “It ought to come as no nice shock {that a} Democratic Occasion which has deserted working class individuals would discover that the working class has deserted them.” Many inside the celebration, and former Bernie supporters who maybe usually are not within the celebration 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 dropping to Donald Trump twice, many democrats, progressives, and definitely impartial and democratic american voters are questioning, the place will we go from right here?
Trump is a tour de power. 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 doable. The democratic celebration has been struggling to provide you with solutions towards Trump and MAGA populism after 2016. Whereas mainstream media might 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 inside the celebration are accepting that the methods round id politics, anti-Trump, and a few ethical excessive floor are decisively ineffective.
Whereas all of us might be analyzing information, voter profiles, developments, 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 Occasion should return to being the celebration of working individuals and give attention to the financial system and inflation, which was one of the crucial essential points for voters on the polls this yr. The Democratic celebration 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 essential. 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 now we have information and election outcomes to show that it isn’t a successful technique for the celebration, significantly 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 developments and outcomes in attention-grabbing ways in which usually occasions bitcoiners, or progressives exterior of the bitcoin bubble, miss. Actually, I’m not alone. Most of the outspoken progressives and left-leaning of us within the bitcoin area have been former Bernie bros, impressed by Occupy Wall Road and different populist financial messages round wealth inequality, company seize in America, Huge Financial institution bailouts and the 2008 World Monetary Disaster. Many people have been turned off by the celebration’s pivot away from these battles, even to the purpose the place Senator Elizabeth Warren has been working with and funded closely by Huge Banks, to not point out her and lots of others excessive hostile takes towards the revolutionary expertise 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 believe many present and former members can be far more open to it. Rep. Ro Khanna is one main instance of a progressive democrat who understands the place the Democratic Occasion 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 towards Bitcoin is like being towards 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 help of expertise 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 might proceed to talk out towards the trade and the marketing campaign financing and superpacs that introduced in Huge Crypto Cash (which marketing campaign financing after which bitcoin the expertise are two various things), nevertheless it’s a problem 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 numerous throughout the political spectrum from a latest survey carried out 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 embody defending the correct 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 end result, nevertheless it’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 concerning 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 celebration 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 Individuals 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 towards Donald Trump’s authoritarian insurance policies), and past. If the Democrats are critical about getting again to a few of their roots because the celebration of working class individuals, together with an olive department to former impartial and Bernie helps who’re obsessed with preventing for monetary freedom and a greater residing for working class Individuals, Occupy, and past, they may discover Bitcoin is an unimaginable instrument to that finish. With Bitcoin there is no such thing as a barrier to possession, no intermediary, not dealer or financial institution you will need 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 celebration 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.
It is a visitor publish by Trey Walsh. Opinions expressed are totally their very own and don’t essentially mirror these of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Journal.
