The Democratic Party, for decades the progressive bastion of the United States, is emerging today as the party of the status quo.
This strange turn of events was on display in late June, as Democrats lamented the Supreme Court rulings ending affirmative action in college admissions and marked the anniversary of the same Court overturning Roe v. Wade. They also celebrated the Court’s decision not to further weaken the Voting Rights Act. The message is not a push for any specific transformative policy, but rather that the MAGA GOP and right-wing judiciary are ready to undo much progress that has already been achieved. To borrow a phrase, today’s Democratic Party stands athwart recent history, shouting, “Stop!”