From the happy, coconut-strewn island of the Democratic National Convention, where Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) and Hillary Clinton get the same rapturous response and the voices of Gaza protest are quickly silenced, it is easy to forget how fast History can move. But much has changed in the last few years, especially within the world of left politics.

In the decade that began with Occupy Wall Street in 2011 and ended with Bernie Sanders’s primary defeat in 2020, a new American threw itself into national politics — at outdoor rallies, marathon canvassing sessions, and yes, the trenches of social media warfare. If the unashamedly electoral focus distinguished this generation from earlier left-wing movements, Bernie Bros, much of Democratic Socialists of America, and the “dirtbag left” online retained a deep skepticism toward both major party establishments.

Scanning social media over the last year — and especially the last month — this no longer feels remotely true. In place of a once-defining hostility toward the Democratic leadership, we now see an enthusiastic affirmation of the party’s major players and personalities. This is not limited to progressive figures like AOC or Elizabeth Warren, but extends eagerly to the mainstream leaders of the really-existing Democratic Party: Kamala Harris, Tim Walz, Gretchen Whitmer, Andy Beshear, and so on.