Chaotic Neutral : How the Democrats Lost Their Soul in the Center

A recent history of the Democratic Party that identifies its chronic errors—the “pathologies” of the New Democratic mindset—and argues urgently against a return to the status quo Why did the Democrats initially abandon their principles, and why haven’t they been able to grasp that they need a new strategy in the face of decades of diminishing returns? In Chaotic Neutral , political scientist Ed Burmila breaks it to us, tracing the party’s metamorphosis from bold defender of labor rights, civil rights, and a robust social safety net to a timorous, ideology-free, regulation-averse lifestyle brand. Chaotic Neutral tracks the evolution (or devolution) of the Democratic Party from the New Deal era to Biden’s status-quo candidacy and the pandemic, when, even in the midst of a national crisis, the Democrats could not manage to pass sweeping progressive legislation. It is a timely analysis and, simultaneously, a timeless one that pinpoints why Dem politicians act like also-rans even when they’re in power. Burmila doesn’t pull any punches as he describes the Democrats’ brand of futility politics, but he also doesn’t claim that all is futile, instead laying out a potent strategy for how the party might abandon its lesser-of-two-evils strategy and shift back into drive. "In Chaotic Neutral, political scientist Ed Burmila tracks the evolution (or devolution) of the Democratic Party-from the New Deal era to the pandemic, when, even in the midst of a genuine national crisis, the Dems could not manage to pass such sweeping progressive legislation. Why did the Democrats initially abandon their principles, and why haven't they been able to grasp that they need a new strategy in the face of decades of diminishing returns? To offer guidance, Burmila identifies ten recurring patterns of behavior and key aspects of their approach to politics that have left the Dems politically inept and in the position of permanent also-rans-even when they win! If we are going to be stuck with a two-party system for the foreseeable future, Burmila argues, then the Democratic Party must become an effective counterweight to the Republicans' death cult. Breaking free of these pathologies of learned helplessness and attachment to the status quo is the only way to get there. Chaotic Neutral captures not only the Democrats' calculated shift toward neoliberalism and the center, but also the Republican party's response of moving further right, in the knowledge that the Dems will continue trying to meet them in the middle. It also explains that the Democrats' refusal to acknowledge this new political reality has brought them increasingly out of touch as the stakes climb higher. To understand the possibilities for their survival, we need to consider how and why the Democrats got here, and where they must go next"-- Provided by publisher Contents The Unshakeable If Vague Feeling That Something Is Wrong A Note on Language Depression Intercession The Twin Traumas of '68 and '72 The Wilderness Years: Watergate Babies, Malaise, and a New Liberalism Insurgent Modirates: The Rise of the New Democrats It's Bill Clinton's Democratic Party Now Red Tide: 1994 and the Republican Revolution The Senseless Habits of Highly Defective People The Mysterious World Outside Washington, DC The Bush Years Obama Cometh Dr. No If You're Waiting For a Sign, This Is It Lessons Learned The Last Chapter Problem Acknowledgments Notes Index JK The story of the Democratic Party's switch from the New Deal and the working class to neoliberalism and the highly educated class, and how that worked out for them. If you picked up this book, there’s an excellent chance you feel like something about the Democratic Party is, well, off.