Liberals' 'abundance agenda' takes time to absorb, but it's worth it

A friend sent me a link to an episode of "Pod Save America" on Sunday with the short message, "This is worth your time." The podcast is a favorite among the left, hosted by a small group of former Obama advisers who describe the show as being for people "who are not ready to give up or go insane." I have occasionally listened to it, but frankly, I didn't want to give it an entire, torturous hour of my precious weekend. A few hours later, I find myself in the middle of a project: learning about the "abundance agenda." Jon Favreau hosted the episode featuring authors Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson and a discussion of their new book, "Abundance." The blurb describes it as "a once-in-a-generation, paradigm-shifting call to renew a politics of plenty, face up to the failures of liberal governance, and abandon the chosen scarcities that have deformed American life." The challenge in that description is obvious. Liberals have to face up to their failures? Oh no, anything but that! Commentary and polling data of late is showing a frustration toward what appears to be a void of leadership on the left. It's a predictable cycle following an election like the one that happened five months ago. The other side won. Electoral minorities don't get inaugurated. They don't have black-tie galas to celebrate their defeat and anoint the poohbah of the resistance either. In the spring following an election like 2024, it is customary for the losing team to still be searching for its recovery plan. However, this moment is clearly different than that typical spring-after. American institutions are being decimated by a Trump administration not because of some ideology or consensus-based ambition of the GOP, but simply for the joy of the decimation itself. Resisting, effective resisting is what the Democrat faithful seem to be demanding more than anything. Democrats, and mathematically, the majority of Americans, can vividly see what it doesn't like happening in Washington. What is less clear to both leaders and followers of progressive politics is what the proactive alternative should be. Abundance, as an agenda, could become that alternative. Basically, the agenda is that blue cites and blue states need to govern better, but not just for the sake of governing. Klein explains on the podcast that abundance, as an agenda, attempts to answer this simple but important question: "what don't we have enough of and how do we get it?"   Connect with Michael Leppert Visit michaelleppert.com to read the full post and links to any resources or articles mentioned. Twitter @michaelleppert  Facebook at Michael Leppert Michael Leppert is an author, educator and a communication consultant in Indianapolis. He writes about government, politics and culture at MichaelLeppert.com. The views and opinions expressed are those of the author only and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Indiana Citizen or any other affiliated organization.