Democrats aren't going to want to hear this (remember, for context, I'm not a Democrat - I actually liked the Bush years), but the Bill Clinton approach might work. Find a Democrat voice that seems to repudiate the "woke", and is not "threatening" to the core of MAGA (which is their rejection of a party that centers "Other" over them). S…
Democrats aren't going to want to hear this (remember, for context, I'm not a Democrat - I actually liked the Bush years), but the Bill Clinton approach might work. Find a Democrat voice that seems to repudiate the "woke", and is not "threatening" to the core of MAGA (which is their rejection of a party that centers "Other" over them). Someone with charisma and regular guy, down-home charm. Tim Walz had some of that, but he also had a very liberal record in a very liberal state like Minnesota, so he was a non-starter. Maybe the governors of NC, KY or PA? They seem to be able to appeal to the same voters who provided Trump his margin. One thing is certain - women need not apply, at least not for now, and especially not a fire-breather like AOC. Keep them far away from this effort.
Once you have the right messenger, the message needs to be "we are moving away from all those things you find icky about Democrats, and are ONLY going to focus on fixing the things you find frustrating about the 'New GOP' - the meanness, the rudeness, the lawlessness, the destruction of norms, the casual disregard for the economic interests of anybody but Trump and his billionaire pals." Also, this straight, white, male candidate needs to be able to convey to the voters who matter "I care about people like you, but more importantly, I LIKE people like you".
You're not going to get the hardcore MAGAs (but they are hopeless, and you don't need them anyway). You are playing to the Nikki Haley/Establishment GOP that have been repudiated by MAGA, the Indies and conservative Democrats who left Joe Biden and wouldn't vote for Kamala Harris, and generally everybody who hates Trump and knows deep down, he is an ass. Keep in mind, though, most of those voters have a far bigger problem with Trump the ass and MAGA the attitude, than they do with Trump/MAGA the policy. If you lead them to believe they'll be trading MAGA for a heaping helping of liberal policy, they will almost certainly stick with MAGA.
Let's be clear,...this is going to suck for progressives and liberals - just like the 1990's did, but it won't be as bad for them as Trump, Vance, DeSantis would be. The Left won't get any of their priorities from whatever/whoever can turn this ship around. That is going to take decades and moving the Overton window back to the Left again. 2024 was a referendum on two world views: progressive/woke vs whatever the hell MAGA is (a strange witches' brew of corporate conservatism and white nationalist faux "populism"). And MAGA won everywhere it mattered.
Right now there is only Trumpism and Woke, so people chose Trumpism. First you need to win elections. Then, you can begin to address attitudes and policy. You can't win them over to what the current Dem party is perceived to be offering.
Offer a third way, and you might reach enough of them to replicate the 1990's, which eventually paved the way for what turned out to be Obama and Biden.
Democrats aren't going to want to hear this (remember, for context, I'm not a Democrat - I actually liked the Bush years), but the Bill Clinton approach might work. Find a Democrat voice that seems to repudiate the "woke", and is not "threatening" to the core of MAGA (which is their rejection of a party that centers "Other" over them). Someone with charisma and regular guy, down-home charm. Tim Walz had some of that, but he also had a very liberal record in a very liberal state like Minnesota, so he was a non-starter. Maybe the governors of NC, KY or PA? They seem to be able to appeal to the same voters who provided Trump his margin. One thing is certain - women need not apply, at least not for now, and especially not a fire-breather like AOC. Keep them far away from this effort.
Once you have the right messenger, the message needs to be "we are moving away from all those things you find icky about Democrats, and are ONLY going to focus on fixing the things you find frustrating about the 'New GOP' - the meanness, the rudeness, the lawlessness, the destruction of norms, the casual disregard for the economic interests of anybody but Trump and his billionaire pals." Also, this straight, white, male candidate needs to be able to convey to the voters who matter "I care about people like you, but more importantly, I LIKE people like you".
You're not going to get the hardcore MAGAs (but they are hopeless, and you don't need them anyway). You are playing to the Nikki Haley/Establishment GOP that have been repudiated by MAGA, the Indies and conservative Democrats who left Joe Biden and wouldn't vote for Kamala Harris, and generally everybody who hates Trump and knows deep down, he is an ass. Keep in mind, though, most of those voters have a far bigger problem with Trump the ass and MAGA the attitude, than they do with Trump/MAGA the policy. If you lead them to believe they'll be trading MAGA for a heaping helping of liberal policy, they will almost certainly stick with MAGA.
Let's be clear,...this is going to suck for progressives and liberals - just like the 1990's did, but it won't be as bad for them as Trump, Vance, DeSantis would be. The Left won't get any of their priorities from whatever/whoever can turn this ship around. That is going to take decades and moving the Overton window back to the Left again. 2024 was a referendum on two world views: progressive/woke vs whatever the hell MAGA is (a strange witches' brew of corporate conservatism and white nationalist faux "populism"). And MAGA won everywhere it mattered.
Right now there is only Trumpism and Woke, so people chose Trumpism. First you need to win elections. Then, you can begin to address attitudes and policy. You can't win them over to what the current Dem party is perceived to be offering.
Offer a third way, and you might reach enough of them to replicate the 1990's, which eventually paved the way for what turned out to be Obama and Biden.