“I feel like I am walking on eggshells.”

This is feedback I got from an employee at a place I used to work when they left. The culture at this place was incredibly progressive. Filled with wonderful well meaning folks trying to marry their careers to their purpose. This person’s heart matched the mission of where they were, but the culture kept them from feeling included. A place where failing to master new lingo could be a micro-aggression and disagreeing with others could be a crises. In the 80s progressivism was punk rock — raw, accessible, and focused on empowering ordinary people. In 2024 it has become avant-garde jazz — technically sophisticated but focused on complex terminology and impressing insiders.

While progressives can stand to be kinder in their culture they can also stand to be more machiavellian in their politics. Bad faith claims around Obama’s birth, Kamala Harris’ race, and the integrity of elections proliferated against Democratic candidates. Our failure to master information warfare is knee-capped by an allergy to hyperbole. Meanwhile when holding power in Congress Democrats have been too trigger shy to eliminate the filibuster. We could not get our heads out of asses to expand the Supreme Court after Merrick Garland was denied a seat. We need a gentler heart in our community and a sharper edge in our tactics.

If Democrats want to fight they need to learn to land punches as well as they take them. Republican rhetoric manages to knock down Democrats while raising themselves up: “liberal crybaby” implies the target is dramatic and the critic is levelheaded. When progressives lob criticisms weird is a soft jab where stupid would be a strong blow. Trump has shown us the electorate does not see this kind of language as mean, but as authentic. We would be remiss to ignore this lesson.

The key is to punch up, not punch down. Instead of unleashing our sharpest knives on our family or neighbors we should save them for the politicians and billionaires that tell us our enemies are down the street instead of up in the penthouse. Save your patience for your colleague trying to navigate a changing world and save your fire for the con men that profit off of the fears and struggles of working Americans.

Democrats and progressives also came off in the past year as caring more about the Middle East than Middle America. Voters have limited time and attention. As heartbreaking as the situation in Gaza is, most folks do not see it as pressing as the issues here at home.¹ Wasting oxygen on issues that divide us inevitably hurts our efforts, especially when we can unite behind causes that matter like ending hunger and homelessness.

The path forward requires both humility and boldness. Progressives must rebuild a movement that speaks to ordinary Americans in plain language about the issues that affect their daily lives. This means creating spaces where people can engage without fear of missteps, while still advancing justice and equality. It also means fighting harder and smarter, using the full range of political tools available to us when we are in power.