Lauren, while I find myself being drawn more and more leftward, I respectfully have to dissent somewhat from your thesis. You use the terms “base” and “progressive base” interchangeably. According to the latest Gallup study, 2018 was the first year when 51% of Democrats characterized themselves as liberal. The rest are moderate or conservative. Gallup also points out that the left has strengthened its hold on the Democratic Party and the right on the GOP because party affiliation has shrunk. More and more people are unaffiliated. Overall, only 26% of Americans call themselves liberal. Nancy Pelosi is Speaker not because of victories like those of AOC-a Democrat beating a Democrat. Democrats took the House because of victories like those of Conor Lamb-a Democrat beating a Republican. I feel pretty certain Conor Lamb is not a Democratic Socialist, nor are any of the Democrats who won in Trump country. I give credit to our progressive base in that they are coalescing around a set of programs that deal with real problems. Now they have to learn how to deal with the problems that a majority of Americans recognize as problems.