The American Left's Patriotism Gap: A Historic Tradition Abandoned

Executive Briefing

• Reveals polls showing Democrats feel proud of America only when their party controls the White House
• Traces a long left-wing patriotic tradition from Frederick Douglass and Eugene Debs to FDR and MLK
• Argues progressive reformers historically used founding ideals as leverage for equality, not rejection
• Contends abandoning patriotism after Vietnam-era radicalism handed Republicans a powerful political advantage
• Warns a left that rejects hopeful American identity cannot build the coalitions needed to win elections