\nPresident Obama won the 2008 Democratic Primary and then two\nPresidential Elections. Thus began a\ndecade of what became known as the Obama Coalition. There were multiple factors that impacted the\nresults of the 2016 Presidential Election, one of which was the fact that\nneither Hillary Clinton nor Bernie Sanders could unite and energize the Obama\nCoalition. Donald Trump peeled off\nworking families that had felt abandoned, enough to win a narrow victory in several\nkey battleground states. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nMany Democrats like to say Clinton won the popular vote by 3 million\nvotes as some sort of moral victory or to limit the message of the Trump electoral\nvictory. However, she won California by\n4.2 million votes, meaning Clinton actually lost the national popular vote in\nthe rest of the country by 1.2 million votes. \nIn any case, however the pundits try to slice it, Clinton lost the Presidency\nby a total of 77,000 votes spread across Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. It could happen again\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nRather than capitalize on Obama\u2019s victories, the Democratic Party strategy\nhas dangerously devolved into wholesale reliance on identity politics. The party perilously panders to demographic\ngroups \u2013 Blacks, Hispanics, LGBTQ. I do\nnot argue for them to abandon these groups, much the opposite. Their policies and platform should oppose any\nand all discrimination, but also strongly espouse priorities that appeal to all\nAmericans, including members of these groups. \nThe mistake in identity politics is assuming or treating any demographic\ngroup as a political or ideological monolith. \nFor example, there are plenty of faith or values voters in the Black\ncommunity, some of whom do not support LGBTQ rights or abortion rights. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nRace, religion, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation does not dictate\none\u2019s political beliefs and views of the economy, foreign policy, climate\nchange, etc. People of the same demographic\ngroup have different priorities based on their needs, experiences, and beliefs.\n Identity politics plays to\ndivision. These groups have some disparate\ninterests, not complete unity of purpose or priority. Democrats should stop pandering to special\ninterest groups and develop a cohesive platform of strong policies that benefit\nthe entire nation. That should unite all\nAmericans, including a majority of these groups as well as bringing in more\nvoters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nTo be fair, Republicans play a similar game just from the opposite side,\ntargeting reprehensible and illegal voter suppression efforts at minority\nvoters. They believe these voters,\nespecially in lower income, more vulnerable communities, overwhelmingly support\nDemocrats, thus they risk little by preventing them from casting ballots. Republican leaders publicly make false claims\nof voter fraud to conceal what is really their own nefarious conduct to prevent\nauthorized voters to case ballots. They have\nthe power of statewide elected offices and local law enforcement to effectuate\nthese efforts and evade consequence. The\nrecent Georgia Gubernatorial Election was greatly influenced by minority voter\nsuppression. Democrats must press the\nwar against these efforts and see that perpetrators are brought to justice. Same with Gerrymandering efforts that also\ngrossly offend the Constitution, voting rights, and our democracy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nThe Democratic Party must focus on developing a coherent and cohesive\nplatform including critical issues of the economy, health care, climate change,\nimmigration, national security, the national debt, and other pressing issues\nimportant to the American people. Most\nelections are decided on foreign policy, but in 2020 voters need a sense of\nsecurity with vexing issues of China, North Korea, and Iran as well as\nrestoring commitment to NATO and our traditional allies. The stronger their platform, the greater will\nbe their support. That support will\nnaturally span different demographic groups without resorting to identity\npolitics. Democrats can ill afford to\nalienate any demographic or subgroup of voters. \nOnly an effective national strategy, an all of America strategy, will\nrescue the party. Sure, Democrats need\nto remain true to their core values, but need to do so in a way that effectively\ncommunicates to a wider swath of voters across the country. The more Democrats are viewed as a coastal\nelite party, the less competitive they become (remain) to control Congress and\nthe White House. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nIf the Democrats drift too far left, they become less competitive nationally. Republicans have befallen the same challenge\nwhen they drift too far right. Between\nthe extremists in the Republican House, the hard-core McConnell Senate block,\nand the Trumpists hurting the traditional Republic brand, Republicans risk\nbeing seen as too right wing. However,\nif Democrats are seen as too far left, distracted by the Democratic Socialism\ndebate, it could cost them in 2020, a year they should be exploiting the\nRepublican rightward drift and proving themselves as a national party to the American\npeople. Democrats need to demonstrate\nthey are the party of reason and the better option for a stronger future. American voters prefer a center-left\nDemocratic Party to a more right-wing Republican Party. However, voters are less fearful of a traditional\nconservative Republican Party than they are a radical left Democratic Party. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nBecause of the Electoral College, Democrats concede many states to\nRepublicans in Presidential elections, focusing their efforts to solidify what\nthey see as the traditional Blue Wall. The\nBlue Wall worked twice for Obama, but crumbled in 2016, with three key states voting\nfor Trump and a few more close calls. The\nstrategy is not reliable because it leaves little room for error. It also fails to account for the paramount\nneed to win the Senate, making that goal harder to reach. By conceding those states to the Republican Presidential\ncandidate, Democrats make it harder for the Democratic Senatorial candidates in\nthose states. Additionally, by conceding\nstates to Republicans, it allows them to focus resources on more challenging\nraces to achieve Congressional majorities. \nraces and increase their number of victorious races for the White House\nand all of Congress. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nIt is not enough for Democrats to win the White House. They must take control of the Senate or any\nDemocratic President will accomplish little. \nRemember Merrick Garland? \nRemember Mitch McConnell\u2019s pledge that his only goal in the Senate was\nto make Obama fail? McConnell held up\nthousands of judicial nominations, holding the seats empty for years hoping\nRepublicans would win the White House in 2016. \nWith McConnell now operating at lightning speed, Trump has packed the\ncourts with extremist judges that will influence the judiciary and the nation\nfor decades. McConnell is ramming every\npick through, needing only 50 votes after the rule change. Democrats have little or no opportunity to\nvet the nominees and certainly no ability to block any that are not qualified\nor problematic. McConnell will not allow\nany votes on legislation Trump opposes, no matter how otherwise popular or\nnecessary. With a Democrat in the White\nHouse, he would refuse to allow votes on Democratic legislation as he did with\nObama. This is not how the Senate was\nsupposed to function and is detrimental to our national interests. Democrats must win control and only a\nnational strategy will produce that result with the ability to maintain control. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nDemocrats must field the most competitive candidates in every House and\nSenate race. The nominee must play\nstrongly to the needs and priorities of their constituency. However, the national party must push a\nplatform and communications strategy that supports candidates across the\ncountry and in all states. No more\nconcessions. The party can push core\nvalues and priorities, but in a way that does not alienate and eliminate so\nmany potential voters that it becomes impossible to win Congressional\ncontrol. For example, faith voters\nvehemently oppose abortion, but often share more Democratic values on the\neconomy or climate. Democrats must do a\nbetter job of increasing their voter base, albeit without abandoning core\nvalues. Otherwise, the party shrinks and\nbecomes less competitive. 2020 will be\nan extremely important and telling election. \nAre Democrats up to the task? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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