Episode 11: The Left and the US Democratic Party w/ Adam Hilton

Bernie Sanders has recently announced his second bid for the Democratic Party Presidential nomination in 2020. What does it mean for a self-proclaimed democratic socialist to enter the mainstream of US politics and attempt to transform one of the two business-dominated parties that control the US political landscape? How did past efforts to transform the Democratic Party fare? What are the strategic stakes for the DSA (Democratic Socialists of America) in backing the Sanders campaign? Adam Hilton is one of the leading historians of past efforts of the American left to transform the Democratic Party. Our conversation with Hilton probes some of the openings and obstacles for the left in engaging the terrain of the Democratic Party to advance a progressive agenda and embed a socialist movement in American politics. To learn more, check out some of Adam Hilton's articles: jacobinmag.com/2016/02/bernie-sanders-new-politics-democratic-party-realignment-primary jacobinmag.com/2018/09/dnc-unity-commission-superdelegates