Democrats can elect the next president and elect more members to Congress by doing three things in 2020: holding the center, speaking to ancestral Democrats, and uniting the Party. It’s possible for them to do all three, but a few things are holding them back.
I will start with what is now being called the Vanguard Left, but don’t get too comfortable centrists. We’re going to get to you.
A survey conducted in blue-state Massachusetts by Lou DiNatale and Evan Falchuk found that only 22 percent of Democrats support all eight of identified high visibility progressive issues, such as free healthcare to undocumented workers, reparations for descendants of slaves, and decriminalizing the border.
By contrast, 78 percent of respondents support up to five, including Medicare for All, abolishing the Electoral College, and the Green New Deal. This group is called the Big Middle.
While the Vanguard Left uses its social media influence to penetrate traditional media, the Big Middle is quietly staying put. That’s a problem for Democrats because it means that media coverage portrays their Party as being farther to the left than it really is. When November comes, the images voters have in their minds of who the Democrats are will have a huge influence on who they vote for.
There is a reason President Trump likes to call out the farthest left members of Congress. He knows they say things that will be unpopular with the Big Middle, and he wants voters to think they speak for all Democrats. At the same time, the exceptional organizing of the Vanguard Left can bring in enough votes to win in close races. That means they can provide the margin of victory in a general election.
Big Middle centrists, I’m talking to you. Don’t dismiss the Vanguard Left as “fringe.” Recognize their concerns, acknowledge their experiences, benefit from their insights, and find a way to include them.
In the meantime, too many people across the country don’t know what the Democrats will do for them. I’m talking about young people with high school diplomas getting paid $12 an hour, people who want to have families and homes of their own but who don’t see a way to achieve them.
I’m also talking about Gen X and Baby Boomers who didn’t get the raises and pensions their parents did, and who couldn’t get in on the ground floor of the housing market. They’re worried about their retirement and the world their grandchildren will inherit. Will they have a clean planet, a good education, and a decent job that pays a living wage?
A lot of these folks come from families that vote for Democrats and, in their hearts, they want to continue that political tradition. But when they hear Democrats express great concern for everyone but them, they feel abandoned. It makes them vulnerable to someone who comes along and promises change, because any kind of change offers hope. That’s why Ivanka Trump went on “Face the Nation” to talk about how much she loves her kids and cares about “forgotten people.”
But countering that with promises of huge change from Democrats can be off-putting when all they want is a return to the economy that used to work a lot better for people like them. To reach those voters, Democrats need to talk more about proposals they see will have a direct benefit to them, like guaranteeing affordable healthcare, protecting the environment, and providing the education and job training to do it.
So, I kindly offer this advice to all Democrats, with great love and respect for the entire spectrum:
Believe what you believe and hold on to your ideals.
Know that not everyone will agree with you, and respect that.
Be kind to people who disagree with you.
Know that everyone has struggles and pain, and you never know what another person is dealing with.
And please, whatever else you do, do not alienate the Big Middle or dismiss the Vanguard Left.
Democrats need party unity to win, because unless we all come together, we will lose. Please understand that no matter how fervently you support your positions, you cannot win unless you get enough votes from people who don’t agree with you on everything. Do not give in to magical thinking that enough people who agree with you will suddenly rise and start voting in numbers big enough to justify all your positions.
Never. Gonna. Happen.
Hold the center, bring back the ancestral Democrats, and unite as a Party. In 2020, more by far than at any time in our living history, united we stand, divided we lose.
