Farewell to the neoliberal Democratic Party

Chicago— Hillary Clinton received a rousing round of applause as she confidently strode to the podium at the Democratic National Convention last night. Her voice was still strong, she was a professional at work, celebrating Joe Biden while simultaneously taking swipes at Donald Trump. Her goal was clearly to portray Kamala Harris’ candidacy as the fulfillment of her historic mission: “Together, we have made many cracks in the highest, hardest glass ceiling. And tonight, we are so close to breaking it once and for all.”

She has riled up the crowd and urged them to fight. But at the same time, she has inadvertently revealed how far the Democratic Party has strayed from the politics of the Clinton and Obama eras. Harris is presenting herself as a fighter for working people on basic, vital issues. In public, Harris treats the fact that she will be the first biracial president almost as an afterthought.

The contrast between Hillary Clinton and Harris is telling. The centrist Washington consensus of the Clinton era no longer exists. Obama’s two terms could be described as a continuation of the Bill Clinton years (with Hillary running for Clinton’s fifth term in 2016, as one pundit put it), but Trump’s 2016 victory and Biden’s four years ushered in a dramatic break. The neoliberalism that Clinton and Obama championed – deregulation, free trade, budget cuts – has proven to be a failure. Neglecting America’s manufacturing base and the workers and communities affected by factory closures was both a political and economic folly. The Clintons and Obamas are still the stars of the party. Veteran Clinton and Obama staffers and advisers still fill the DNC and take on roles in the Harris campaign. On the eve of the convention The New York Times reported on the “silent bond” between Hillary Clinton and Harris, but within the party, progressives have gained the upper hand.

Biden’s farewell speech made the break clear. He rightly celebrated the fruits of his new, bold progressive policies: an industrial policy focused on the transition to sustainable energy, rebuilding the country’s infrastructure, investing in new technologies being developed here, imposing tariffs to protect key industries, supporting workers, fighting the pharmaceutical industry, challenging monopolies, and much more.

Unfortunately, the one area where there has been no significant change continues to be a problem for our country and our politics: a foreign policy based on the assumption that America is the “indispensable nation” whose job it is to control the world. As we slide from one costly debacle to another, we continue to be plagued. Consider Iraq, Libya, the failed war on terror and now Ukraine, the horror in Gaza and the growing danger in the South China Sea.

It remains to be seen what course Kamala Harris will pursue. The corporate wing of the party is already pushing to roll back antitrust efforts. Just The portrayal of her closest circle of advisers is not particularly reassuring. But her early campaign decisions – choosing Governor Tim Walz as her running mate, embracing the Biden break, portraying herself as middle class, supporting unions, emphasizing her commitment to fighting back against the pharmaceutical industry and corporate greed on food prices – bode well. Her campaign team at least understands which way the wind is blowing.