I am a proud progressive Democrat, so some people might be surprised to see me joining Donald Trump’s Truth Social social media platform this week.
Let me explain. This week, House Republicans are trying to pass Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill,’ which would take away health care from more than 8.6 million Americans through Medicaid cuts, even though just 6% of Americans support cuts to Medicaid and Medicare, according to a recent Fox News poll.
Washington Republicans aren’t just out of touch with Democrats and Independents on this – just 11% of Republican voters support cuts, but nearly 100% of House Republicans are pushing a bill that would make the biggest Medicaid cut in American history.
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If Republicans are going to push forward massive cuts to programs like Medicaid, Democrats can’t just preach to the choir. We need to be reaching out to working people of all stripes and political parties who could face these cuts. I know most users of Truth Social are more conservative than I am and disagree with me on some issues, but I also know that many agree with me that billionaires have too big an influence in our politics and we shouldn’t be cutting programs like Medicaid and Social Security to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy.
When I think about how to reach out to people who disagree with me on some issues, I think back to how I started my career: as a labor organizer. I worked on construction sites to unify workers who disagreed on a lot of issues but could all come together to demand better wages or working conditions from their bosses.
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That is what I think we need to be doing as Democrats: reaching out to people who may not agree with us on every issue but who are concerned that Republicans in Washington are cutting programs for working people to pay for billionaire tax cuts.
It’s not just Medicaid. Look at Social Security. In the same Fox poll, only 5% of Americans want it cut, but President Donald Trump has empowered people like Elon Musk, who called it a “Ponzi scheme,” and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who said only “fraudsters” would complain about missing a check. And they have fired so many people that the former head of the Social Security Administration warns the system could “collapse.”
Of course, joining a social media site will not solve our problems. We should be communicating with more conservative voters wherever we can – that’s why I’ve appeared on Fox News and why I’ve traveled to three red congressional districts to hold in-person town halls where Republican members of Congress have not held them for their own constituents.
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Of course, I also often talk to progressive media and post on platforms like BlueSky. And it’s not just about where we go: we have to make sure people know we are fighting for the working class and are willing to take on big money and special interests.
We also need to make sure people know they are welcome in the Democratic Party even if they do not agree with us on every issue. I am a progressive Democrat and I do not plan on changing or obscuring my position on anything, but I want people to know that we are focused on making the lives of all working class people better. That means we as Democrats need to sound less judgmental and more focused on the issues that matter most to peoples’ lives, like the GOP cuts to Medicaid and Social Security.
Even if you disagree with me on some issues, if you oppose these cuts to Medicaid and Social Security and want to take back our government from the billionaire class, I want to talk to you and figure out where we can work together.
I’m happy to do that on whatever platform you’re on.
