Briggs: Indianapolis leftists need to define what it means to win

Everyone loves a fighter.

That's the theme I'm hearing from progressive Democrats who read my column on Jesse Brown, the first-term City-County Council member who identifies as a socialist.

I wrote about the discomfort Brown has caused other Democrats who worry that his aggressive attacks on state Sen. Aaron Freeman will hurt their short- and long-term efforts to advocate for the city at the Statehouse.

Brown's supporters have responded to tell me that aggressiveness is why they like him — and what propelled him to a shocking victory in last year's Democratic primary over then-council vice president Zach Adamson. Most of the responses have said some version of this: They want someone who will fight the Republican-dominated legislature.

My question is: To what end? The old adage, "don't start a fight you can't finish," comes to mind.

I know what other Democrats are trying to achieve. They're building bridges to Republicans in the legislature who either represent Central Indiana or are sensitive to the region's needs.

Democrats and community advocates are focused on diplomacy, hoping to convince enough Republicans to let the downtown economic enhancement district survive or allow IndyGo to use dedicated lanes on the Blue Line. They're working toward creating a fairer road funding formula to give Marion County more money for maintenance.

These efforts fail sometimes, like in 2020 when the Indiana General Assembly nullified Indianapolis' ordinance to protect tenants against bad landlords. In that case, Gov. Eric Holcomb vetoed the legislation and lawmakers eventually softened it, so diplomacy made a marginal difference.

Make no mistake: That result was a loss for the city. But, as is often the case with Indianapolis-focused legislation, it could have been worse.

It's true that "it could have been worse" is a loser's mentality. Many of Brown's supporters say they're tired of that approach. They call Mayor Joe Hogsett and council Democrats doormats for Republicans.

Fair enough.

If leftists want to steer the Marion County Democratic Party in a new direction, though, they're going to need to define what it means to win. Democrats have no tools to determine policy at the Statehouse and no realistic chance to win enough elections to change that.

I see no plausible path to a future in which Indianapolis gains autonomy to set progressive policies. Republicans hold supermajorities in both chambers of the Indiana General Assembly. They can pass any laws they want to dictate terms to Indianapolis and no one — not even the governor or his weak veto — can stop them.

If local Democrats have adopted a loser's mentality, it's because they understand they're holding a hopelessly losing hand and want to make the best of it.

Brown is leading an alternative approach. He demonstrated rare political aptitude in defeating an establishment-backed council incumbent on Indianapolis' east side. He has since mobilized supporters to show up at the Statehouse and put pressure on businesses opposing the Blue Line. His style of politics has produced tangible results.

These tactics face severe constraints in Indiana, though. Brown's fundraising efforts to oust Freeman are more likely to bolster the senator's reelection than to hurt him in a district that swoops down into conservative Johnson County. Even if Brown shocks everyone and leads an effort that takes down Freeman, there are plenty more Republican lawmakers who have their own thoughts on how to govern Indianapolis.

Meanwhile, there is no universe in which Democrats capture political power in Indiana with a coalition to the left of Hogsett. Brown and his supporters represent an energetic, yet small, faction in a moderate county in a conservative state. They have a voice. What they lack is a means of channeling that voice into more mass transit, safer streets and affordable housing.

It all comes back to the question of what it means to win. Brown described a couple paths to winning: He can mobilize disengaged residents to participate in local politics (which he undoubtedly has, albeit with a substantial scalability problem) and he can absorb the anger of opponents, like a pro wrestling heel, and "move the Overton window" to shift the conversation left, even if it doesn't reach as far as his position (I'm more skeptical of this one).

Some of Brown's supporters suggest the emotional satisfaction of defending Indianapolis is success enough. If fighting is an end in itself, though, then waging war on lawmakers risks burning allies, including Republican legislative leaders who have been good to the city, and possibly making the situation worse (more on that in a future column) without any benefits in exchange.

Leftists need a theory for how they can build the city they want. If their fighting is purely a matter of catharsis, then they have more of a loser's mentality than the moderates they loathe.

Contact James Briggs at 317-444-4732 or james.briggs@indystar.com. Follow him on X and Threads at @JamesEBriggs.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Jesse Brown's socialist movement has a voice in Indy, but needs more