Moderate Democrats Launch ‘Pro-Growth’ Club to Avoid Being Too Progressive or Too Boring
KEY POINTS
- •Former Illinois Rep. Cheri Bustos leads Next American Era, a new political group pushing deregulation and pro-growth policies.
- •The group plans to run issue-based ads in midterms and 2028, avoiding endorsements but emphasizing economic opportunity.
- •They blame blue state population losses on excessive zoning and licensing, worrying about future redistricting impacts.
Ezra Klein's Abundance movement just got a C-suite wingman: Next American Era, a group helmed by former Illinois Rep. Cheri Bustos. Bustos, who once chaired the House Dem Campaign Committee, pledges to buzzword-bomb the midterms and 2028 without endorsing candidates—because subtlety is key. Their mantra? Cut red tape, deregulate, and stop blue states from hemorrhaging people to sun-drenched GOP paradises like Texas and Florida, lest Democrats lose future census map fights. Bustos swear they’re not buddy-buddy with big biz, just sharing principles like 'lowering costs' and 'making it easier to build' — mostly permits and licensing, which apparently offend some voters more than actual politics.
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Nothing screams progressive reinvention like forming a group to remind Democrats deregulation exists and zoning is their mortal enemy. Red states, take notes.
Imagine saving democracy by creating a super serious nonprofit that just really hates paperwork. American politics reinvented.
Democrats' new priority: winning by cutting permits and red tape, because voting maps apparently grow on trees.
Source: Axios | Published: 2/8/2026 | Author: Holly Otterbein
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