But if we want to build a sustainable movement that can consistently win, it’s not enough to go negative. There has to be a compelling vision of the future laid alongside the wreckage of the Trumpian present. The Democratic Party is dealing with record-low approval ratings—not only because many Americans believe Democrats are failing to stand up to Trump, but also because they don’t have a clear sense of what they’re offering in return. Democrats can and should stoke outrage at GOP misdeeds. They also have to cement in the minds of voters that they can deliver something better—and possess the conviction necessary to fight like hell for it.
Amid the horrors Trump has unleashed in his first few months back in office, New York has rolled out one of the most successful municipal policies in a generation—a model of what capable liberal governance can achieve if given a chance. If you haven’t heard about the success of New York’s congestion pricing policy, maybe it’s because you’re not directly benefiting from it. But it’s also because many of its so-called advocates have gone to some lengths to avoid mentioning it. This is odd behavior; they should be shouting from the rooftops.
The results have been transformative, improving almost every aspect of daily life in New York nearly immediately. In just a matter of months, traffic has thinned, crashes are down, noise complaints have dropped, and subway ridership is up. None of the doomsday scenarios—from runaway price increases to increased traffic in the outer boroughs—have come to pass. It is, without question, a true feat of policymaking.
Echoing right-wing talking points, Trump and other Republicans have falsely framed the toll as a tax on the working poor—a strange argument, given that the vast majority of working-class New Yorkers don’t even own cars and rely on the public transit system that congestion pricing is rescuing from insolvency. But don’t look toward the economic results if you want to discern the logic of the opposition. Congestion pricing has earned the ire of Republicans precisely because it demonstrates that government can, and should, improve people’s lives. That’s why the Trump administration, despite having much on its plate, has devoted attention to congestion pricing—and is using every tool it has to try and extort New York to turn off the cameras and end congestion pricing altogether.
Instead, with few exceptions—including Governor Kathy Hochul—Democrats have done what they too often do: duck the fight. For the most part, to the extent congestion pricing has been defended at all, it’s been treated as a technocratic, financial, or legal prerogative, instead of the clear political victory it is—one that deserves a full-throated defense.
Yes, we’re living through an urgent constitutional crisis, and there are many priorities far greater in scale than congestion pricing. But this fight is emblematic of a much larger failure: the Democratic Party’s allergy to defending its own governing vision—especially in places where it already holds power. And that meekness makes it harder to build the kind of broad, durable anti-Trump coalition we need.
As much as Democrats talk about affordability and climate and equity, they too often defer to Nimbys and hedge their language when it comes time to act, all while hoping no one notices. And when they do use their hard-won power to deliver on a big promise, they seem to be content ceding the ground to our opponents, afraid to defend policies that are achieving exactly what we set out to achieve. Congestion pricing may be the most recent example of this phenomenon, but those with longer memories will recall that in the wake of enacting the Affordable Care Act, national Democrats treated their own achievement with an alarming skittishness, as if it were policy poison.
Skyrocketing housing costs, broken transit infrastructure, noisy, congested neighborhoods—these predicaments didn’t appear out of nowhere. They are the direct result of local leaders who consistently cower under pressure, who are content paying lip service to progressive values but refuse to spend even a shred of political capital defending them. If Democrats won’t defend (or even act on) the very values they claim to hold dear, why should anyone trust them to lead on bigger fights, like defending democratic governance or rooting out corruption? When Republicans unstintingly defend their bad ideas, the reluctance of Democrats to stand behind their good ones sends voters a message about whose spines are the stiffer ones. There is no default victory for the progressive, pro-democracy agenda on the horizon. We either build and defend it—starting with tangible, local solutions that improve life on every block—or we’ll only have ourselves to blame.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( New York Democrats Are Sabotaging Their Biggest Policy Success )
Also on site :