Democrats must take a
strategic approach to the nomination of a successful presidential
candidate. Even though they feel people should be outraged by Trump
and his narcissistic behavior, they must remember how they doubted
people would take him seriously in 2016. No amount of belief will
suffice for action. Not one vote should be taken for granted.
To oust Trump from office,
Democrats must not broadly and mistakenly paint his supporters as
“deplorable” again – doing so only serves to create deep
division and alienates those who cast their votes for “the lesser
of two evils.” To win, Democrats must increase turnout among their
base – including minorities, women, and the young – while gaining
among white, non-college-educated voters.
In November 2018 midterms,
they did just that. Democrats further broadened their appeal by
running better and more diverse candidates who symbolized a more
inclusive America. And, they elected a record number of women while
activating many more women as volunteers and donors. They ran strong
nonwhite candidates and drew more minority voters. They supported
younger candidates and attracted a greater percentage of millennials.
LGBTQ Democrats won some tough races.
Respecting diversity is an
important key to victory, but not the only needful strategy.
Democrats must not write off blue collar whites, a group that still
comprises 44 percent of the electorate; 50 percent in every
Midwestern state; over 60 percent in Indiana, Iowa, Ohio and
Wisconsin; and 80 percent in key Pennsylvania counties – the places
that made Trump president.
Choose the Right
Candidate
After one term of Trump,
does the country yearn for a return to normalcy? Credibility would
seem to be a most needed quality for a successful Democratic
candidate. Considering Trump's propensity to lie and to incite fear
and hatred with nationalistic and often bigoted rhetoric, it would
seem a more dignified candidate would appeal.
One group of candidates is
stressing the importance of controlling the center of the electorate
and winning center-right independents and soft Trump supporters who
may have grown disillusioned more with the turmoil than the policy
choices of his presidency.
But, according to James
Carville, the renowned campaign manager for Bill Clinton in 1992, the
party's liberal vanguard may be focusing too narrowly to reach the
broad audience that may be available against Trump. He says …
"I think that the
country does not want to reelect Trump, and my great worry is
Democrats can talk them out of that. We are pushing ourselves to a
place that's dangerous when we get to the general election."
Perhaps
a dose of reality – no matter how painful the sting to women and
minority candidates – is apropos in 2020. A survey found that 82
percent of Democrats and independents say it's important to nominate
"someone who can beat Trump." A large majority (74 percent)
of Democratic and independent respondents said they were "personally
comfortable with a female president," but only 33
percent believed their neighbors would be. Sad, but true?
More than half of
Democratic voters overall (56%) believe a white male candidate is the
most likely to beat President Donald Trump. Voters chose a white male
more often than other generic categories regardless of whom they
support—and in most cases regardless of their own ethnicity and
gender – (June 2019) USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times national
tracking poll shows. Is it a time to favor electability over
equitable advancement?
However, Don't Abandon
Priorities
The Democratic Party must
work hard and stick to their priorities. It is tempting to run on the
“just defeat Trump” ticket, but the party must clearly support a
platform for a better America. Voters need to understand the value of
making a needed change. Democrats must make it clear they will …
Combat climate change and
protect the environment.
Fight to expand
health-care coverage and reduce costs.
Find ways to make the tax
code more progressive.
Support raising the
minimum wage.
Work to raise public
school standards and reform the head start program.
Support the long-term aim
of having low-cost, publicly funded college education with low
tuition fees.
Fight for equal
opportunity for all Americans regardless of sex, age, race,
ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, creed, or
national origin.
Endorse the principle that
no one should face discrimination based on their gender, sexual
orientation, and gender identity.
Grassroots To Victory
People
are envisioning, electing, and beginning to enact a truly progressive
agenda to advance the nation’s democratic ideals of economic
fairness, social justice, and equal opportunity for all. These people
are mainly Democrats, not Conservative Republicans, and certainly not
dyed-in-the-MAGA Trump supporters. One can expect Trumpers to stay
with their candidate no matter the logic of the opposition.
Democrats must understand
the need for exciting their base. They must now move out to the
grassroots reality of ordinary Americans. The future of the party
doesn’t require moving left, center, or right. Those are
ideological positions. First, Democrats need to organize voters
year-round. And second, they must recruit the same type of coalition
of people of color, women, Millennials, and progressive whites that
elected Barack Obama twice.
Jenifer Fernandez Ancona,
a co-founder of Way to Win, says …
Hastings
College of the Law Professor Joan Williams, author of White
Working Class:Overcoming Class Cluelessness in America, believes
Democrats don’t need to choose between working-class white voters
and the old Obama coalition. They have the money and grassroots
energy to reach out to both in all parts of the country.
Williams says …
“It’s a false
choice. These races are so close that Democrats need everybody.”
Of course, Democrats need
to instill a vision that goes beyond a Trumpless White House. They
must offer a positive agenda and not succumb to the temptation to
simply attack the policies and character of Trump, as valid as such
criticisms are. The large panel of presidential candidates should
find a unifying platform that will unite all the party's supporters,
not push ideas that differentiate them from one another. In short,
they need more than well-argued politics to appeal to the masses of
potential Democratic supporters.
The Democratic Party must
motivate the electorate. Don Baer, White House Communications
Director for President Bill Clinton, says elections are not won, for
better or for worse, in rational detailed debates about the fine
points of policy; however, they largely turn on visceral issues and
are decided in the guts of voters rather than in their minds.
And
last, the party must be honest with itself – it must acknowledge
the failures of the recent past. Political success
depends less on communicating the specifics of a policy and more on
demonstrating that the successful candidate understands the needs and
feelings of voters.
So, will Democratic
primary voters prefer a nonwhite, nonmale candidate or stick to the
the common belief that it’s safer to choose a white man for the
general election? (Though a new study suggests that strategy could
backfire, because a white male nominee could lower Democratic
enthusiasm in the general election.)
A Politico survey
found, “at least in the 2020 Democratic presidential campaign,
candidates are likely to be viewed more favorably for being nonwhite
and nonmale – but not for being nonstraight.” The survey suggests
that a nonwhite or nonmale candidate is likely to emerge as a real
contender – and when that happens, their identity will be a selling
point rather than a hindrance.
Back to Square One for the
best Democratic candidate to defeat Trump? Perhaps. In fact, many of
us feel we are merely holding on in a topsy-turvy environment that
more closely resembles a white nationalist past than a progressive
present. Short of abandoning important beliefs on gun control and
abortion, we Democrats find ourselves open to new strategies to
appeal to hardcore centrists. Challenge accepted. New vision with
purpose in progress.
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