Why Dems Have 35% Approval—Nearly 10 Points Lower Than Republicans
A case study of how corporate democrats have ruined our party and must be ousted for the party—and democracy—to survive
I’m going to share a real life politician’s platform, and I want you to vote what party you think this person belongs to? This person has voted repeatedly to repeal the Affordable Care Act, voted to gut the Americans With Disabilities Act, voted to deregulate banks, voted to offshore drill and frack, accepts fossil fuel money, accepts defense contractor money, is anti-reparations for Black people, anti-universal healthcare, and has never passed a single actual piece of legislation in Congress.
Once you take the above poll, read on for the big reveal. One week ago Democrats celebrated historic victories nationwide. We won in blue seats. We won in purple seats. We won in red seats. We won seats we weren’t supposed to win, and won with historic turnout seats we were supposed to win. And yet only five days later, eight Senate Democrats took the wind from our sails and capitulated to Trump on a shutdown deal that has once again reminded everyone that there are two main political parties in America—one is evil, and one is spineless.
And just like clockwork, after those eight Democrats capitulated, Republicans responded by demanding even more restrictions to abortion access before they would begin to negotiate ACA credit extensions. It’s Lucy and the football, every single time.
At 35%, Democrats have among the worst approval ratings in history. Meanwhile despite supporting an actual fascist in the White House, the Republican approval rating is at 44%—nearly 10 points higher. This is no accident and we must understand how we got here. Simply blaming the GOP is not a strategy. The American people, particularly the Democratic Party’s base, is sick and tired of the hypocrisy in politics in general and in our own Party specifically. And until we change, the Democratic Party—and our republic—will continue to fall. Let us name the culprits who got us here, and work to overcome their obstructionism: Corporate Democrats. Let’s Address This.
What Democrats Believe
Let’s start with some basic facts.
More than 90% of Democrats believe climate change is real and caused by human activity, particularly by big oil corporations like Exxon.
More than 90% of Democrats believe civil rights are sacred and should never be compromised for corporate profits.
More than 90% of Democrats believe banks should be regulated and taxpayers should stop bailing out major corporations.
More than 90% of Democrats believe corporate money has no place in politics, and want politicians to be people funded, not corporate or superPAC funded.
More than 70% of Democrats believe healthcare is a human right, want to join every developed nation on Earth to ensure universal healthcare.
More than 70% of Democrats believe in an end to the arms trade—indeed 77% wanted the Biden administration to stop arming Netanyahu.
While not an exhaustive list, each of these are wildly popular policies among Democratic voters, that every Democratic politician should support. Thus, this article is not about theory. Instead, I provide a clear case study of a corporate Democrat who is virtually indistinguishable from the Republicans he claims to oppose. And sadly, he’s not alone. Too many corporate Democrats follow this model—as exemplified by the eight Senate Dems who capitulated—and it is unsustainable. These saboteurs are complicit in the collapse of our Republic because they betray Democratic party principles, side with MAGA Republicans at critical moments, and give Republicans cover to claim that their cruel (sometimes fascist) policies have “bipartisan” support.
So in our case study, I present to you Congressman Bill Foster, a corporate funded multi-millionaire politician who is on the wrong side of each of these policies, and has actively worked with Republicans to undermine our basic civil rights and human rights. Yes, he really is the politician I described above. And that’s the problem.
Bill Foster (IL-11): The Corporate Democrat Who Betrays Our Values
Corporate Democrats like Bill Foster (70), aren’t just a problem for the Democratic Party—their policies are a threat to our democracy. This is not hyperbole, it’s a factual observation of his eight terms in Congress. Foster’s voting record, his financial ties, and his outright refusal to stand for core Democratic principles reveal the truth: he’s effectively a Republican hiding behind a blue label.
But don’t take my word for it. Let’s break down Foster’s disgraceful record.
Healthcare: A Corporate Puppet Hurting Working Families
Democrats are supposed to believe healthcare is a human right—Bill Foster’s voting record doesn’t.
At first glance, it’s encouraging that Bill Foster voted in 2009 to pass the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Mortifying, however, is that afterwards he accepted hundreds of thousands in campaign contributions from Big Health, then voted at least three times with Republicans to gut the ACA. Specifically, he voted to gut the part of the ACA that protects people with pre-existing conditions (HR3350), the part that bans charging women more than men (HR3522), and the part that protects seniors (HR1190). Had these bills that Bill Foster supported passed, it would have meant that children like my daughter, who has an incurable disease that is fatal if not treated, would be denied care. Worse, Foster opposes guaranteed healthcare, and calls it “unrealistic”—even though every developed nation on Earth has implemented it at half the cost we are forced to spend on for profit insurance.
One of Foster’s beloved donors? UnitedHealth—yes, the same company caught using AI to deny more than 90% of Medicare claims for senior citizens. Foster took their money, never returned it, never apologized, and continues cashing their checks.
How can we trust a man in this current fight for the ACA, when he is quite literally paid by the very corporations exploiting our most vulnerable?
Climate Justice: A Scientist Who Sides With Climate Deniers
Democrats are supposed to believe climate change is real—Bill Foster’s voting record doesn’t.
Foster loves to tout his PhD in physics, claiming that his background as a scientist makes him uniquely qualified to lead on climate policy. But his voting record says otherwise. He voted with Republicans to expand offshore drilling, he supports fracking, and he pushes the junk science of carbon capture—the same nonsense Exxon and Big Oil use to justify continued pollution.
Speaking of Exxon, Foster has happily taken thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from Exxon. We are in a climate catastrophe but perhaps Bill Foster is too busy counting Exxon’s dollar bills in his campaign account to notice.
If a scientist like Foster gives climate destruction a stamp of approval, it lets corporations like Exxon say, “See? Even the scientists support us.” That’s not just hypocrisy—that’s complicity in climate disaster.
Economic Justice: Protecting the Wealthy, Betraying the Working Class
Democrats are supposed to believe in fighting for working people—Bill Foster’s voting record doesn’t.
Foster is worth $20 million—and unsurprisingly, his policies prioritize the wealthy at the expense of working families. We see a similar pattern in his voting record as we did with his healthcare hypocrisy.
Foster voted for Dodd-Frank bank regulation under Obama. Then he took absurd amounts of money from major banks. And then in 2017 he voted with Trump to deregulate banks. Hypocrisy notwithstanding, what does it say about a person’s ethics and intelligence if he trusts Donald Trump—the convicted felon and known bank fraudster—on banking and finance? This deregulation directly contributed to the near-collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), which Biden then bailed out on the taxpayer’s dime.
And yet, while Foster fights for bank bailouts, he refuses to support student debt cancellation. So when billion-dollar banks need help after his deregulation lets them run wild, taxpayers foot the bill. But when working-class students, crushed under predatory loans, ask for relief, suddenly, the government can’t afford it. What else would you expect from a politician who takes campaign contributions from Amazon? Yep, while Amazon avoids taxes and exploits its workers, Bill Foster is happy to cash their campaign contributions.
And don’t even get me started on Foster’s refusal to co-sponsor HR 40, a bill to merely study reparations for Black Americans. Apparently, even voting for research into economic justice for Black Americans is too much for the scientist.
Americans trust Republicans over Democrats on the economy, in large part due to corporate Democrats like Foster who refuse to prioritize the needs of working families.
Civil Rights: Undermining the ADA and Expanding the Surveillance State
Democrats supposed to believe civil rights are sacred—Bill Foster’s voting record doesn’t.
Foster’s betrayal doesn’t stop with healthcare, climate, and economic justice. He has actively undermined civil rights by co-sponsoring a bill with Republicans to weaken the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). H.R. 620, which was misleadingly called the “ADA Education and Reform Act of 2017,” would have eroded what the ACLU called “a key tenet of that landmark [1990] civil rights law.” And Bill Foster chose to co-sponsor this cruel bill with Republicans in hopes that Donald Trump sign it into law. Again, a similar pattern. Foster brags about his father writing the Civil Rights Acts, then Foster took thousands from a lobbyist group that wanted to avoid making their businesses ADA-compliant, then Foster voted to gut the ADA.
Yes, Bill Foster—the same guy who brags that his father helped write civil rights legislation—actively worked to make life harder for people with disabilities. Foster apparently believes disabled Americans have too much power in this country, and he made it his mission to stop this grave injustice. (Satire, obviously—because what else could justify his cruelty?) As you see Trump gut civil rights, know that he can point to corporate Democrats like Bill Foster as among his ardent bipartisan supporters.
And gutting the ADA notwithstanding, Foster also voted to extend the Patriot Act, continuing the mass surveillance and erosion of civil liberties that both progressives and libertarians oppose. Again, as you see the Trump regime arbitrarily arrest Latino US Citizens and deport documented immigrants, know that the groundwork for such extremism was perpetuated by voting to renew grotesque bills like the Patriot Act, thanks to corporate Democrats like Bill Foster.
Foreign Policy: Blood Money from War Profiteers
Democrats are supposed to believe in ending the arms trade—Bill Foster’s voting record doesn’t.
Foster is funded by defense contractors and pro-war PACs. While the world condemned Netanyahu for war crimes in Gaza and while Americans overwhelmingly demanded an immediate ceasefire, Foster refused to act. Instead, he continued to vote to continue to arm Netanyahu. Despite 92% of Democrats demanding an end to arming Netanyahu, and despite our own State Department affirming that Netanyahu is committing war crimes in violation of international law and our own U.S. Leahy Laws, Foster refused to speak up and demand an end to arming Netanyahu.
If he can’t even stand up against war crimes and genocide when the International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice both confirm them, then what does he actually stand for?
A Career of Meaningless, Empty “Leadership”
Democrats are supposed to believe in getting things done—Bill Foster’s voting record doesn’t.
Adding insult to all of the above injury, Bill Foster has never passed a single actual meaningful piece of legislation. His greatest legislative achievement after 8 terms in Congress? Renaming a post office after Ronald Reagan. Yes, Reagan—the racist, homophobic architect of trickle-down economics who gutted public education, slashed social programs, and made the rich richer while the rest of us suffered.
And this is Foster’s hero?
That tells you everything you need to know about Foster’s lack of moral compass.
The Hard Truth: We Cannot Afford Corporate Democrats Like Foster
Bill Foster is the standard corporate Democrat. What about him is inspiring? What about him makes you think this current Democratic Party is fit to stop MAGA fascism? While this detailed analysis is of his particular failed record, the reality is, he is the standard corporate Democrat and that’s one major reason MAGA fascism continues to advance. Do you really look at this guy who is worth $20M, votes against our civil rights, is funded by the same corrupt corporations who fund MAGAs, and think “yeah, he’s gonna stand up to fascism and for working people?”
Now, some will argue that any Democrat is better than a MAGA Republican. But is that really the standard? It’s that standard that got Democrats to a 35% approval, that helped Trump win twice, and that has us in this current horrible predicament. And let’s be honest—what’s the difference anyway when Foster repeatedly votes with MAGA to gut healthcare, deregulate banks, expand fossil fuel destruction, enable war crimes, and undermine civil rights? His actions give MAGA extremists bipartisan cover to push their corrupt, corporate-driven agenda. I expect nothing from Republicans, but that’s why if Democrats continue protecting these frauds, we may as well hand MAGA Republicans another term on a silver platter.
We cannot let that happen.
Conclusion
I vote Democrat. And I’ll continue to vote Democrat. And I’m also not in a cult, thus I demand accountability. That’s why as a Democrat I’ve also registered with the Working Families Party, who works in competitive primaries to elect Democrats who reject corporate money and actually serve the people. Without letting Republicans win, the WFP works to hold the Democratic Party accountable. Thus, the WFP has given us brilliant leaders like NY AG Letitia James—who successfully and fearlessly prosecuted Donald Trump—and New York City Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani.
If you’re tired of politics as usual, give them a follow and join them as well.
As we watch corporate Senate Democrats once again fold to Trump, remember that this isn’t the first time. And until we get them out of Congress, it won’t be the last either. They exemplify why we need new leadership. It’s no wonder that after Schumer capitulated to Trump on the budget bill last March, a poll asking registered voters what they thought of the Democratic Party revealed the below word cloud—with the most prominent word being WEAK.
Corporate Democrats are weak. And right now, we need fighters, not folders.
And to be sure, this is not a purity test. Four out of five Americans are screaming at the Democratic Party that your corporate Democrat strategy is failing. But listening is not a strength of corporate Democrats. For now I’m reminded of the sage words of Professor Tan Nahisi Coates, where he said:
We are at a moment right now where people are asking themselves why can’t the Democratic Party defend this assault on democracy . . . and I would submit to you that if you can’t draw the line at genocide, you probably can’t draw the line at democracy.
Professor Coates’ words are stinging as they are true. We don’t have to suffer a 35% approval rating—we can do better. And that starts by demanding better. Our nation’s future cannot be left in the hands of politicians funded by the very same corporations destroying it. Whether its morally bankrupt Bill Foster or the eight Senate Democrats who sold out to Trump on the shutdown, meaningful change will only come once we reject the corporate Democrat status quo. It’s time to embrace a new generation of leaders committed instead to working people. Let’s get to work.
Fantastic work Qasim ☮️
As an Independent, I have a difficult time embracing all Democrats, nor am I thrilled with the Republican Party, especially the MAGA Mafia faction.
Thanks for this post, Qasim.