One of two things will happen in a democratic society in which much of the political class has become unrepresentative of the values of a majority of the population. Either the society sees the deterioration of democracy, a fall into one or another form of authoritarianism, or it witnesses a renewal, a rebirth of appreciation of and fidelity to the spirit and the essential processes of democracy.

The Renew America Movement (RAM) was founded to fight like hell to see to it that the current crisis of American democracy ends in resurgence rather than decline.

Right here, right now, in Pennsylvania 2022, RAM has entered this fight.

Amid an increasingly divided political landscape, recent polls show that most Americans view the politics of both the Democratic and Republican parties to be either to the left or right of their own views, with only about one in five saying either party’s politics were “about the same” as their own. 

RAM knows there is a center-right American majority. On issue after issue, this majority feels less and less at home in either of the major American political parties.

For example, the majority of Americans admire immigrants to our country, and welcome their many contributions to our economy and culture, but don’t want open borders.

This majority doesn’t want the United States to fight wars for purposes it can’t understand and endpoints no one can define, but it wants our country to remain the strongest on Earth and will accept sacrifice in the face of clear dangers to both our security and the human rights of others in grave peril.

It doesn’t want the country to depend on overseas production for everything from medicine to energy, but also doesn’t want the prices of everything raised through the roof in trade wars.

It accepts and worries about the dangers of climate change but worries as well about a hasty and expensive rush to decarbonize without a better picture of how we all live in that post-carbon future.

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Most urgently, this majority does not want the more extreme elements of both parties, with their oddly shared opposition to free speech and their demonization of political opponents and opposition to the principle of compromise, to be their only choices at the polls.

The Renew America Movement was founded primarily by disaffected or former Republicans who reject Trumpism but are also not raising the banner of the Squad’s Progressivism. We are manning the barricades of civil discourse and coming into the 2022 election cycle with expertise and resources to begin rehabilitating the foundations of American democracy.

We are majority makers. We are the millions of men and women who are tired of radicalism in our politics and ready for reform. At RAM, we are deepening America’s “pro-democracy bench” in three ways:

  • People. We are supporting principled Democrats, Republicans, and independents who have the courage to stand up to political extremists in elections across the country.
  • Policy. We are advancing the policies needed for a healthy democracy, such as the protection of voting rights. 
  • Process. We are investing in reforms to the democratic process itself to increase competition and choice in American elections. 

Most urgently, this majority does not want the more extreme elements of both parties, with their oddly shared opposition to free speech and their demonization of political opponents and opposition to the principle of compromise, to be their only choices at the polls.

By working together across party lines, we can shift the balance of power in Washington away from those who want to dismantle democracy’s guardrails and back to real leaders who will put country over party.

Here in Pennsylvania this year, RAM has endorsed two incumbent members of Congress — Mathew Cartwright and Susan Wild — as “Renewers” and will wage serious and substantial independent campaigns on behalf of their re-elections, and Congressman Perry as a “Divider”, who we strive to help defeat.

We don’t underestimate the swift and swirling currents of ideological extremism and anti-democratic sentiments and actions in our Commonwealth and country today. But neither should the anti-democratic forces underestimate the power of self-correction, which is the strongest force of democracy itself: the possibility and the will for renewal.

Craig Snyder was the Chief of Staff to U.S. Senator Arlen Specter and serves as the Pennsylvania Political Lead for the Renew America Movement 2022. Craig@renewamericamovement.com

3 thoughts on “Craig Snyder: A Keystone for American renewal”

  1. I think the movement of Hispanics to the Rs of late underscores that RAM is not the future. DeSantis lost Miami-Dade by 20 points when he first ran and is now up 5 points there. Texas has seen 30 point swings. All due to R policy shift to cultural traditionalism (no crt, protecting kindergarteners from groomers, letting girl sports be played by girls, authentic commitment not politicians hiding) and populist economic policies (eg, renegotiate trade deals, border integrity, putting Americans first in all decisions, etc) are the future. The shot at “trumpism” makes RAM seems like it’s just yet another repackaging of Romney/McCain/Bushie-ism, which literally has no following among normal people. Specter was a nice man but remember what he did.

  2. Susan Wild has been mum on packing the Supreme Court and on eliminating the filibuster. If she’s the type of elected official RAM is endorsing then I don’t want to have anything to do with RAM

  3. One party attacked our nation’s capitol in a failed attempt to overturn an election they lost and then officially condoned the violence (including the death of a police officer) as “legitimate political discourse”. Now they’re trying to cover up 7 hours of missing phone records from that day.

    “Both parties”?

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