Recently, Figueredo shared his thoughts on the current state of the Democratic Party in the U.S. It is a party that’s “in shambles,” says Figueredo, and one that is failing as an oppositonal party to the rising fascism of the Republican Party. And yet “as bad as Trump is,” says Figueredo, “it’s not translating into support for Democrats.”
In the 20-minute video below, Figueredo looks at recent data and talks about why the Democratic Party is “bleeding so much support.” A major reason for this “hemorrhaging of support” is, of course, Gaza. At one point, Figueredo quotes George Bisharat who in a recent Los Angeles Times article entited “Democrats Will Pay for Ignoring Base’s Qualms About Gaza,” wrote:
Gaza is politically damaging not only because of the issue itself – though the moral stakes could hardly be higher – but also because it has become a measure of where leaders’ loyalties lie. Voters read it as a test of whether their representatives will stand with the people who elected them or with wealthy donors and foreign lobbies. Fail that test and many will assume you might betray them on other critical issues in the future. The Democratic leadership’s unwillingness to adapt is not just bad politics; it’s a betrayal of basic democratic principles. Rank-and-file Democrats overwhelmingly want an end to the carnage, an end to unconditional military aid to Israel, and policies rooted in human rights and international law. Yet too many leaders seem more concerned with keeping favor in donor circles than with honoring the public’s will.
There are, of course, Democratic leaders speaking out against Israel’s genocide in Gaza. They are leaders who also prioritize their constituents’ values and needs in other ways as well. Figueredo highlights in particular Zohran Mamdani and Omar Fateh, two young democratic socialists who many believe represent the future of the Democratic Party, even as the Democratic establishment continues to undermine them and their mayoral campaigns in New York and Minneapolis respectively.
Related Off-site Links:
Progressive Candidate Graham Platner, the “Mandami of Maine,” Pummels Susan Collins in Early Poll – Mike Figueredo (The Humanist Report, August 28, 2025).
The Democratic Party Can’t Be Reformed – Black Green Red (August 20, 2025).
The Left Can Only Win If There is a Left – Richard Moser (CounterPunch, August 2, 2024).
The Democrats Actively Expedited Class Dealignment: An Interview with Neal Meyer – Vivek Chibber (Jacobin, May 12, 2025).
Why the Democratic Party Is Not Going to Save Us From Fascism – The Humanist Report (March 6, 2025).
Trump Is Unpopular – and So Are the Do-Nothing Democrats – Jeet Heer (The Nation, February 18, 2025).
If You’re a Democrat Annoyed by Outraged Voters, You Are Doing It Wrong – Norman Solomon (Common Dreams, February 24, 2025).
Dems Reportedly Angry That Progressives Are Pushing Them to Act Like an Opposition Party – Jake Johnson (Common Dreams, February 12, 2025).
See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• How Democrats Can Start Winning Again
• The Longstanding Fault Lines Within the Democratic Party Have Surfaced Again in Minnesota
• The Rational National’s Take on Zohran Mamdani
• Dorothy Lennon: Quote of the Day – June 26, 2025
• What It Means to Be a Leftist in 2025
• Ted Rall: Democrats Are Not “the Left”
• My Summer of Supporting Progressive Down-Ballot Candidates
• “No Kings”? Absolutely. But Also “No Oligarchy”
• Norman Solomon: Quote of the Day – June 16, 2025
• Peter Bloom: Quote of the Day – June 10, 2025
• Eric Fernández: Quote of the Day – May 14, 2025
• Progressive Perspectives on Bernie Sanders’ “Fighting Oligarchy” Tour
• Why the Democratic Party Is Not Going to Save Us From Fascism
• Democrat Talk on the Eve of Trump’s Return
• A Timely Conversation
• Breaking the Mold: Why Progressives Should Push for Marianne Williamson to Lead the DNC
• Inauguration Day Thoughts
• Progressive Perspectives on Where Democrats Went Wrong in the 2024 Election
• “A New Chapter of the Democratic Party Needs to Begin”
• The Lamentable Legacy of the Biden Administration
• Peter Bloom on the Unmasking of the “Democratic Charade”
• When Democrats Undermine Democracy
• Marianne Williamson on What Democrats Need to Do to Inspire Voters and Counter the “Hotbed of Grievances That Donald Trump is Offering”
• Progressive Perspectives on the Crisis in U.S. Electoral Politics (2024)
• Marianne Williamson: “‘Vote Blue No Matter Who’ Is Not Enough to Win in November”
• Centrist/Corporatist Democrats Have Just Launched “Left Punching” Season
• AOC Falls in Line
• The Cassandra of U.S. Politics on the “True State of the Union”
• “Let the People Decide”: Marianne Williamson on the DNC’s Efforts to Deny and Suppress the Democratic Process
• Marianne Williamson’s “Radical Idea” of Putting People First
• Marianne Williamson: “We Need to Disrupt the Corrupt”
• Mark Harris: Quote of the Day – August 10, 2023
• Ben Burgis: Quote of the Day – March 10, 2023
• Progressive Perspectives on Marianne Williamson’s Presidential Run
• More Progressive Perspectives on Marianne Williamson’s Presidential Run
• Will Democrats Never Learn?
• David Sirota: Quote of the Day – January 28, 2021
• “As Much the Sounding of An Alarm As a Time for Self-Congratulations”
• Progressive Perspectives on the Biden-Harris Ticket (2020)
• Luke Savage: Quote of the Day – February 9, 2020
• David A. Love: Quote of the Day – November 27, 2019
• Marianne Williamson: “Anything That Will Help People Thrive, I’m Interested In”
• Sarah Jones: Quote of the Day – October 29, 2019
• Bernie Sanders: Quote of the Day – June 12, 2019
• Beto, Biden and Buttigieg: “Empty Suits and Poll-Tested Brands”
• Progressive Perspectives on Joe Biden's Presidential Run (2019)
• Jeff Cohen on How Obama’s “Corporate Liberalism” Led to the Rise of Trump
• Progressives and Obama
• Hope, History, and Bernie Sanders
