creating an environment where entrepreneurs and their businesses can succeed is a key tool in fighting poverty providing economic opportunity and defeating terrorism and one that must not be ignored economic empowerment is needed to fight terrorism democrats have historically been the party of social security and the champion of the middle class so what happened fight for big ideas expand social security when i grew up you could walk into a voting booth and just swing a single lever to vote the entire party line now instead we have entered what i call the era of charismatic politics where personalities determine elections rather than parties this changes the landscape and helps us understand what is to come charismatic politics