My latest Substack. I took a minute, but I’m back at it, and hopefully better than ever. Enjoy💋
What Are the Core Beliefs of the Left?
The Center Didn’t Disappear. It Walked Away.
MAGA is easy to define. It has become a movement largely centered around one man. If Trump supports it, they support it. If he opposes it, they oppose it. Right or wrong, good or bad, there is at least a clear center of gravity.
But what about the left?
The Democratic Party often describes itself as a “big tent” with room for everyone. Room for people of every race, religion, age, gender, background, and identity. It’s a noble idea.
But is it true in practice?
A truly big tent would mean there is room for all voices—even the uncomfortable ones. It would mean standing up for victims regardless of whether their story is politically convenient. It would mean defending women when it matters, not just when it’s convenient. It would mean caring about vulnerable children whether they live in affluent communities or disappear from neighborhoods that rarely make the evening news.
Yet time and again, I watch causes receive tremendous attention while others barely warrant a whisper.
The Epstein survivors continue to endure scrutiny, attacks, and endless delays. Where are the marches for them?
Promising female candidates are celebrated one moment, only to find support quietly evaporate the next. The applause is loud, but the commitment often feels conditional.
The party loves a good cause—as long as it’s safely distant. Because if that weren’t true, there wouldn’t be so many missing children of color whose stories never become national priorities.
Meanwhile, racism, ageism, and misogyny continue to exist within the very circles that claim to be fighting them. Everyone flashes the peace sign, but too often the reality falls short of the rhetoric.
And that’s what concerns me most.
The Democratic Party continues to lose people in the center—not because they suddenly became extremists, but because many no longer recognize the values they thought the party represented. They are not fleeing to the fringes. They are walking away from a party that increasingly seems more interested in ideological purity than practical persuasion.
Politics is not a social club. It is not a loyalty test. It is not a contest to see who can shout the loudest or claim the moral high ground.
Politics is about building coalitions.
And coalitions survive only when people feel heard, respected, and represented.
Today, too many people no longer feel any of those things.
So I ask again:
What are the core beliefs of the left?
Not the slogans.
Not the hashtags.
Not the talking points.
The actual beliefs.
Because a movement that cannot clearly define what it stands for eventually becomes known only for what it stands against.
And when that happens, people don’t always switch sides.
Sometimes they simply get up from the table and leave.
The center didn’t disappear.
It walked away.
What do you think? Has the center left the Democratic Party, or has the party simply evolved beyond what many moderates expected? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.