Democrats’ Past Blunders: A Progressive Call to Clear Out the DINOs

By A. Truthseeker, WPS.News

August 15, 2025 – As Democrats, we’re often nostalgic for the charisma of Bill Clinton or Barack Obama, but let’s peel back the rose-tinted veneer and examine their legacies. Their missteps didn’t just bruise our party—they left lasting scars on the working class, communities of color, and progressive ideals. It’s time to ask: What did our Democratic heroes do to us, and how do we boot the Democrats In Name Only (DINOs) to build a bolder future?

Clinton’s 1990s “Third Way” triangulating was a masterclass in selling out. His 1994 Crime Bill supercharged mass incarceration, disproportionately caging Black and Brown Americans—over 2 million by 2000 (Alexander, 2010). Welfare reform? It slashed safety nets, plunging families into deeper poverty while crowing about “ending welfare as we know it” (Edelman, 1997). NAFTA? A gut-punch to unions, shipping jobs overseas while corporate fat cats toasted (Faux, 2006). These weren’t oopsies; they were calculated betrayals of the New Deal’s spirit.

Obama’s tenure sparkled with hope, but his pragmatism often fizzled. The Affordable Care Act expanded coverage yet left millions uninsured and enriched insurance giants (Rosenthal, 2017). His drone strikes escalated, killing civilians abroad while he deported more immigrants than any predecessor—nearly 3 million (Chishti et al., 2017). Bailing out banks post-2008 while homeowners drowned in foreclosures screamed “Wall Street first” (Taibbi, 2014). As David Axelrod admitted, Obama’s caution often alienated the progressive base, leaving young voters and minorities disengaged (New York Times, 2025).

These aren’t personal gripes—they’re policy failures that eroded trust in our party. DINOs like Clinton and Obama cloaked centrism in progressive rhetoric, cozying up to corporations while tossing crumbs to the base. The result? A fractured party, with 2024’s electoral drubbing proving voters crave authenticity over slick compromise (Atlantic, 2025).

Can we do better? Hell yes. Progressives must demand leaders who fight for Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, and defunding militarized policing—not half-measures. Grassroots movements like the Sunrise Movement and Justice Democrats show the way, pushing policies that resonate with workers, youth, and marginalized communities. But DINOs clogging Congress and statehouses—those fossilized moderates peddling “electability”—must go. Primary them. Vote them out. Replace them with firebrands like Zohran Mamdani, who toppled a Cuomo dynasty with unapologetic socialism (New York Times, 2025).

Democrats, it’s gut-check time. Do we want a party that panders or one that delivers? Let’s ditch the nostalgia, learn from our past, and shove the DINOs out the door. The future’s ours—if we fight for it.

References
Alexander, M. (2010). The New Jim Crow. The New Press.
Chishti, M., et al. (2017). The Obama deportation record. Migration Policy Institute.
Edelman, P. (1997). Welfare reform’s impact. Atlantic Monthly, 279(2), 68-78.
Faux, J. (2006). The Global Class War. Wiley.
Rosenthal, E. (2017). An American Sickness. Penguin.
Taibbi, M. (2014). The Divide. Spiegel & Grau.
The Atlantic. (2025, June 18). The Democratic Party slides into irrelevance.
The New York Times. (2025, June 25). A new political star emerges.