It always curious and somewhat amusing to watch the so called political centrists run up to the fence of their enclosure and bark at Progressives when they walk by. The anger and vitriol completely out of proportion with the threat.

On Thursday a group of so called Democratic centrists announced the formation of a new initiative called Promise to America. Their first coordinated act appears to be the writing, signing and release of a letter that’s central theme is, We Are Capitalist, Not Socialist. Noteworthy in its absence is the endorsement of Democratic House Leader Hakeem Jeffries who has made a career in Democratic politics of derailing progressive candidates.

The formation of Promise to America appears to be a rapid response to the remarkable success of Progressive candidates in New York’s recent Democratic primaries backed the organization Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). The tone of the letter has the feel of being something of a line in the sand or challenge. Is it also a declaration of civil war within the Democratic party? It may be a bit soon to tell but the potential is certainly there.

The Sanders wing of the party has long borne the ire of the establishment ruling class. To understand the conflict first forget about the term Socialist and follow the money. What the Sanders doctrine espouses is a break in American political reliance on big private money. That is of course anathema to entrenched political systems who view those funding streams as foundational.

One of the core arguments against Progressives and Socialists is that they can sometimes win in the left-leaning mostly urban districts but not in more conservative rural areas, in Manhattan but not in Sheboygan. The counter argument is, that the needs of working people in Manhattan are not vastly different than those in Sheboygan. To that point it bears noting that every time Sanders goes to West Virginia he packs the house wherever he goes. Could Zohran Mamdani do the same thing? Don’t bet against it.

What Progressives and their Democratic socialist allies are saying is they want burn down the pay-to-play American political structure. What the self appointed centrists are saying is they want to burn down the Progressive-Democratic-Socialist alliance. What Rodney King said after nearly and unnecessarily being beaten to death by the LAPD was, “Can we all get along?” More to the point, can we form an effective center-left coalition to preserve the Democratic-Republic? That kind of coalition worked in France and Hungary, but making it work here in the U.S. has proven challenging in the past.

This Piece isn’t as long as what I normally write but I think I’ve made the point. I’ll leave you with one more thought. I respect and do not fear Zohran Mamdani and I respect and do not fear Nancy Lacore the former Admiral who was removed by Pete Hegseth and is now running for Congress in South Carolina. What I do fear is an inability to form a functional left-center coalition heading into this year’s midterm elections. The reality is that literally everything we value depends upon it.

A parting thought, a vigorous political debate is always healthy and productive, civil wars almost never so. By all means let’s have it out on policy but make sure democracy prevails in the end.