America’s Best Kept Secret: Progressiveness Is Popular

Republicans, not Dems, should be in a defensive crouch

Legacy media pumps out a constant stream of polling, analysis, and “hot takes” — not to mention “Still Loyal to Trump in Coal Country Diner” interviews — that insist Americans have lost our democratic bearings and cannot agree upon a common set of values, let alone facts. Seething with resentment over DEI, we have supposedly become a bunch of Mini-Me Stephen Millers, mesmerized by vulgar, crass culture and all-too ready to yuck it up over crude insults. Meanwhile, progressives routinely stand accused of ceding patriotism to the right.

As we approach America’s 250^th birthday, many Americans feel despondent, even ashamed about this dismal portrait. But does this gloomy narrative correspond to reality?

If you examine a broad range of polling, election returns, and recent political developments (e.g., huge Democratic turnout, mass peaceful demonstrations) since the 2024 election, a different conclusion about Americans’ values and outlook emerges. It’s not the first time that legacy media’s obsession with leveling the playing field has produced a narrative that happened to fuel progressive angst, while giving false solace to a MAGA audience that billionaire-owned media outlets are desperate to attract.

But a recent PRRI survey of over 5,400 Americans confirms that they are deeply attached to democracy. An impressive 68 percent think that “we are in real danger of losing important democratic rights and freedoms we have had in this country,” and a stunning 59 percent, including 66 percent of independents, think Trump is “a potentially dangerous dictator whose power should be limited before he destroys American democracy.” Legacy media talking heads should stop feigning surprise when Democratic politicians say Trump is an existential threat to democracy, since that accurately encapsulates the view of a supermajority of Americans.

Moreover, a high percentage of Americans reject the imposition of monolithic white Christian nationalism. “Most Americans (64%) prefer the U.S. to be a nation made up of people belonging to a wide variety of religions rather than one primarily made up of people who follow the Christian faith (34%),” the survey found. “Most Americans (77%) prefer the U.S. to be a nation made up of people from all over the world rather than one primarily made up of people of Western European heritage (20%).”

An astoundingly high percentage of Americans also embrace the cornerstones of political liberalism and pluralistic democracy — the very institutions and values MAGA has been attacking. Asked what makes us “truly” American, the top responses are: belief in individual freedoms (93%), the Constitution (91%), and the Declaration of Independence (88%); accepting diverse backgrounds (89%); and respecting American political institutions and laws (88%). This suggests Americans have embraced a healthy, pro-democracy, progressive consensus.

Taking a step back, dozens of polls (ranging from generic midterm polling to anti-ICE sentiment and Iran war opposition) and elections reveal consistent Democratic overperformance, a significant shift in midterm enthusiasm and turnout in Democrats’ favor, ongoing civic progressive engagement, and surging support for institutional guardians of democracy, such as unions and late-night comedians. Such activism casts serious doubt on the perspectives proposed by MAGA-friendly legacy media.

Collectively, the hard data should inform Democrats as they seek to transform political consensus into electoral results. First and foremost, the cliché that we are a “divided” country is a dodge to avoid recognizing how badly MAGA is faring. In a country of more than 330M, calling us “divided” is platitudinous nonsense. The issue is whether we are irretrievably divided, i.e. paralyzed, when it comes to finding consensus on democratic values. That is not the case. Democrats turn out to be precisely aligned with a supermajority of Americans on democracy, diversity, inclusion, and personal freedom.

In a country as large and varied as ours, there will always be enough fodder for endless “fresh takes” (and handwringing Democratic consultants’ podcasts) to dwell on the millions of Americans in the roughly 30 percent of the population who don’t adhere to democratic values. However, that misses — or intends to conceal — the magnitude of the shift in momentum in favor of pluralistic democracy, or the outpouring of joyful anti-authoritarian engagement.

Democrats, therefore, would be wise to engage vigorously on the ground of shared progressive political values. The vast majority of Americans agree with Democrats on defense of the rule of law, respect for other Americans, and the right to dissent. Republicans’ compulsive reliance on mean, schoolboy taunts about transgender Americans, for example, does not mean they have the public behind them; it means they increasingly have nothing else to offer.

Democrats such as Texas Senate nominee James Talarico have it exactly right: Confront the small, dumb tactics as being beneath voters, and refocus on serious topics, while doubling down on our commitment to human decency.

The Interfaith Alliance’s Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons in March explained:

Talarico’s message is not about moderating progressive commitments to win over religious conservatives. It is about courage. It is about saying plainly that support for LGBTQ+ equality, reproductive freedom, public education and church-state separation can flow directly from Christian faith. He’s openly Christian and firmly pluralistic.

That does more than close a messaging gap: Talarico and those like him can change the terrain. When leaders speak about faith with confidence instead of defensiveness, they show that democracy and devotion are not in conflict.

Whether Democrats respond in religious or secular terms, they have a once-in-a-generation opening, thanks to Trump’s triggered backlash. It turns out Americans don’t like it when politicians mess with our democracy and try to impose a theocratic regime on our diverse and irreverent society. (They really do not react well when the government kills fellow Americans in the streets and then withholds the truth about what actually happened.)

Voters should have no confusion about which party reflects their deeply held principles, and which is desperate to conceal its own demise. The louder MAGA dead-enders screech, and the more they struggle to blame others and hide their expanding waste dumps, the more confident Democrats and the larger pro-democracy coalition will become.

If they want to prevail in 2026 and 2028, and more importantly, in the battle to secure democracy’s future, Democrats should not apologize for the progressive principles they hold, shy away from confronting authoritarian bullies, or fall into a defensive crouch. As the Lincoln Project puts it, “Stop with the self-doubt.” Democrats are winning the valiant battle for democracy — and must make certain Americans know which party stands with them on the right side of history.