Dems In Disarray

Democrats are having a hard time separating two things: what they believe and what will get votes. But they shouldn’t be, because the two are closely related. In fact, a Democrat won last night in Omaha by running on what we say we believe. Making a separation makes it easy for reporters and Republicans to make Democrats seem insincere.

It is also confusing to the politically engaged class like the LGM crowd and source of innumerable fights. How much of what we believe must we give up to be elected? WRONG QUESTION!

Despite what Donald Trump says (and everyone is too easily taken in by his ranting), he won the 2024 election by a little over 1% plurality. That’s little enough for everyone to claim their favorite factor as being decisive! And they are not wrong! All those factors added up to that tiny difference!

The whole discussion of “what it takes to get elected” stinks of confirmation bias. This is MY big issue, so it is what everyone else thinks. Sometimes you can even get a poll or two to agree with you. It is useful to hear the issues people think are important. Not so much if they think they are important because they think other people think they’re important. That leads to an infinite closed feedback loop.

And polls are no guarantee of anything. Ask people “Do you want immigrants who are rapists and murderers removed from the country?” and you get one answer. “Do you want Luis, who runs the taco truck down the street, removed to a torture prison?” gets a different answer. “Do you think it’s unfair for men to compete in girls’ sports?” gets a different answer from “Do you want that weirdo guy on the school board inspecting your daughter’s genitals?” What we’re seeing as Trump’s numbers tank is that people say one thing in generalities and react differently when they see the realities. Or worse,

Here’s some advertising from the Omaha mayor’s race. Which the Democrat won easily.

Polls also change, sometimes rapidly, as Trump’s approval is doing. They change in response to Trump’s actions and those of the people who resist.

So here’s my prescription, not poll-tested nor approved by the consultants, definitely my bias, although I won’t claim that it will win elections, but I think it’s worth a try.

1. Have a vision. I think that Democrats generally have a vision of a more egalitarian society with a secure safety net. Stop fighting about exactly how it is to be reached, and stop insisting that it be described in legal detail. Join hands on the broad vision.
2. Allow a wide range of suggestions about how to achieve that vision. Stop dissing what other Democrats are saying. This gives the media and Republicans fodder for splitting us.
3. Be honest. Don’t tailor your talk to polls or what you think other people think.
4. Take feedback, but don’t be beholden to it. Discuss. I know that last word is alien to today’s sensibilities, but it actually works.
5. Be kind. I personally am exhausted with the namecalling and hostility. We’re all in this together, and we need to work together to do the first step, which is controlling Trump or getting him out of office.
6. Work hard. Walk the talk. You’re not the boss giving instructions.
7. Don’t reinforce Republican talking points. The extreme concern for white men’s egos and the search to placate them, for example, does exactly this. Democrats include women and people of color. We need to talk about them.

That’s most of it. I have another list in mind, expanding on point 1, but for now, I’ll go with the procedural points.