In a recently released Washington Post-ABC News poll, while the public at large doesn't hold Republican President Donald Trump in high esteem, Democrats don't have much reason to feel overly confident about their prospects in the 2018 and 2020 elections. According to this poll, approximately 67% of the public feel the Democratic Party are "out of touch." Crazier yet, only 52% of self-described Democrats feel their party is in touch, while 44% do not. Not only that, but just 18% of Independents feel the Democrat Party was in touch. While I feel these numbers will improve among the Democrats' base as we move toward the midterm and general elections, the fact we're even talking about the party having trouble with its base is quite telling. So what can they do to improve these numbers?
First of all, the Democratic Party needs to find and expose their leaders of the future to help capture people's excitement much like Barack Obama did leading up to the 2008 election. Let's be honest, since the advent of television, the winning candidates have typically been the less dull of the two. From John F. Kennedy to Ronald Reagan to Barack Obama to Donald Trump, the candidate who found a way to consistently grab viewers' attention typically won their election. Now, while I know it's next to impossible for either party to consistently find a candidate as charismatic as Bill Clinton or Barack Obama, Democrats need to do better than they have been over the past five decades. Over the past 13 election cycles since 1968, Democrats have won 5 times, 4 of which came courtesy of Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, with the other victory being a protest vote for Jimmy Carter following Richard Nixon's Watergate scandal. In the 8 elections they lost, their candidates were as follows: Hubert Humphrey, George McGovern, Jimmy Carter, Walter Mondale, Michael Dukakis, Al Gore, John Kerry, and Hillary Clinton. While some of these candidates were undoubtedly more qualified than their opponents, they were also too vanilla to garner enough enthusiasm to win the presidency. There's a reason why Bill Clinton won two elections - he was able to showcase a powerful relatability to the American people. There's a reason why Barack Obama won two elections - he was able to inspire people to believe they could help make a difference in this country. There's a reason why Bernie Sanders came out of seemingly nowhere and almost won the Democratic primary - he spoke passionately about his liberal values and showed no shame in doing so. The Democratic Party needs to learn from these election cycles and try to more consistently find candidates who are able to inspire people to get out and vote on election day. While I voted for Al Gore, John Kerry, and Hillary Clinton, they weren't very charismatic candidates. Looking ahead, while Bernie Sanders may be hampered due to his age, he has a steadfast following. Along with him, other names to watch out for include: Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, Julian Castro, Amy Klobuchar, and Al Franken, just to name a few (Joe Biden as well, but he recently said he wasn't going to run, so I'll exclude him from the list for now).
Secondly, and most importantly, the Democratic Party needs to improve on their messaging and outreach. While, as the country diversifies, the Democratic Party is in a better position than the Republican Party when it comes to future elections, the GOP currently controls the House, the Senate, the Oval Office, state legislatures, and governorships. So while the future can't seem to come soon enough for Democrats, we've yet to reach that point, and if we don't improve our messaging and outreach, unfortunately, we're likely going to go through similarly disappointing election cycles until the continued diversification helps override white Republican voters. That right there is the demographic in which we need to show the most improvement - whites, elders in particular. While Democratic candidates can't take minority, college, and women voters for granted and should continue to work for their votes, they can't forget about the majority either. Democratic candidates' campaigns need to start showing more balance toward all demographics. While it's important to fight for immigration reform, for equality in the LGBTQ community, to fight for the respect of Muslims, etc., we can't lose sight of the demographic which makes up roughly 60-65% of the country - whites. Sadly, while minorities (women included) continue to fight for equal rights and opportunities in this country, whites haven't typically had to worry about such things, have taken these rights for granted, and unfortunately, since these equality battles don't directly apply to them, they can tend to lose interest in candidates whom focus a great deal of time and attention on such issues. What do these individuals tend to care most about? Jobs and security. While Democratic presidents have created more jobs than Republican presidents, they haven't been as effective in tooting their own horn, and even if they're uncomfortable in doing so, have to start playing the game better and letting it be known they will create new jobs and better-paying ones at that. When it comes to security, once again, while Democrats may be just as effective (or more effective) in thwarting domestic attacks, Republicans tend to be much more vocal about it, and like it or not, Democrats need to start matching the GOP's outspoken and at times catchy rhetoric to win the majority on election day. I'm not saying they should be as careless as Donald Trump, speak before thinking, and anger half the world with a single sentence. However, they should not feel coy about being more outspoken on fighting terror and preventing another 9/11 from occurring on our soil. The demographic I think Democrats are really making a mistake in not going after more are elders. Who's fighting for sustaining (or improving) Medicare, Social Security, as well as marijuana legalization, etc.? Typically, it's the Democrats. On the flip-side, who's typically fighting to cut spending in Medicare and Social Security, not to mention keep marijuana illegal? Typically, it's the Republicans. Democratic candidates need to make more of an effort to reach out to the older generation, let them know the facts on where they and their opponents stand on issues important to the elderly community, and see better results on election day, for the most consistent voters, both in the midterms and general elections, are elders.
With Donald Trump's approval rating at historic lows for this point in his first term, it might be easy for Democrats to think they don't yet have to learn from their recent election failures, for the country's hatred of the president will inevitably aid them in the coming elections. However, I think it'd be a big mistake for the party to follow through with such a mindset. They can't keep providing vanilla candidates on election day while ignoring certain demographics and expect to come out victorious. The party needs to learn a great deal from recent election failures to reinspire their base, focus more on their candidates' positives than their opponents' negatives, reach out to a wider audience, play tit-for-tat when the situations call for it, and start winning again as a result.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/24/politics/democratic-party-poll/
First of all, the Democratic Party needs to find and expose their leaders of the future to help capture people's excitement much like Barack Obama did leading up to the 2008 election. Let's be honest, since the advent of television, the winning candidates have typically been the less dull of the two. From John F. Kennedy to Ronald Reagan to Barack Obama to Donald Trump, the candidate who found a way to consistently grab viewers' attention typically won their election. Now, while I know it's next to impossible for either party to consistently find a candidate as charismatic as Bill Clinton or Barack Obama, Democrats need to do better than they have been over the past five decades. Over the past 13 election cycles since 1968, Democrats have won 5 times, 4 of which came courtesy of Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, with the other victory being a protest vote for Jimmy Carter following Richard Nixon's Watergate scandal. In the 8 elections they lost, their candidates were as follows: Hubert Humphrey, George McGovern, Jimmy Carter, Walter Mondale, Michael Dukakis, Al Gore, John Kerry, and Hillary Clinton. While some of these candidates were undoubtedly more qualified than their opponents, they were also too vanilla to garner enough enthusiasm to win the presidency. There's a reason why Bill Clinton won two elections - he was able to showcase a powerful relatability to the American people. There's a reason why Barack Obama won two elections - he was able to inspire people to believe they could help make a difference in this country. There's a reason why Bernie Sanders came out of seemingly nowhere and almost won the Democratic primary - he spoke passionately about his liberal values and showed no shame in doing so. The Democratic Party needs to learn from these election cycles and try to more consistently find candidates who are able to inspire people to get out and vote on election day. While I voted for Al Gore, John Kerry, and Hillary Clinton, they weren't very charismatic candidates. Looking ahead, while Bernie Sanders may be hampered due to his age, he has a steadfast following. Along with him, other names to watch out for include: Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, Julian Castro, Amy Klobuchar, and Al Franken, just to name a few (Joe Biden as well, but he recently said he wasn't going to run, so I'll exclude him from the list for now).
Secondly, and most importantly, the Democratic Party needs to improve on their messaging and outreach. While, as the country diversifies, the Democratic Party is in a better position than the Republican Party when it comes to future elections, the GOP currently controls the House, the Senate, the Oval Office, state legislatures, and governorships. So while the future can't seem to come soon enough for Democrats, we've yet to reach that point, and if we don't improve our messaging and outreach, unfortunately, we're likely going to go through similarly disappointing election cycles until the continued diversification helps override white Republican voters. That right there is the demographic in which we need to show the most improvement - whites, elders in particular. While Democratic candidates can't take minority, college, and women voters for granted and should continue to work for their votes, they can't forget about the majority either. Democratic candidates' campaigns need to start showing more balance toward all demographics. While it's important to fight for immigration reform, for equality in the LGBTQ community, to fight for the respect of Muslims, etc., we can't lose sight of the demographic which makes up roughly 60-65% of the country - whites. Sadly, while minorities (women included) continue to fight for equal rights and opportunities in this country, whites haven't typically had to worry about such things, have taken these rights for granted, and unfortunately, since these equality battles don't directly apply to them, they can tend to lose interest in candidates whom focus a great deal of time and attention on such issues. What do these individuals tend to care most about? Jobs and security. While Democratic presidents have created more jobs than Republican presidents, they haven't been as effective in tooting their own horn, and even if they're uncomfortable in doing so, have to start playing the game better and letting it be known they will create new jobs and better-paying ones at that. When it comes to security, once again, while Democrats may be just as effective (or more effective) in thwarting domestic attacks, Republicans tend to be much more vocal about it, and like it or not, Democrats need to start matching the GOP's outspoken and at times catchy rhetoric to win the majority on election day. I'm not saying they should be as careless as Donald Trump, speak before thinking, and anger half the world with a single sentence. However, they should not feel coy about being more outspoken on fighting terror and preventing another 9/11 from occurring on our soil. The demographic I think Democrats are really making a mistake in not going after more are elders. Who's fighting for sustaining (or improving) Medicare, Social Security, as well as marijuana legalization, etc.? Typically, it's the Democrats. On the flip-side, who's typically fighting to cut spending in Medicare and Social Security, not to mention keep marijuana illegal? Typically, it's the Republicans. Democratic candidates need to make more of an effort to reach out to the older generation, let them know the facts on where they and their opponents stand on issues important to the elderly community, and see better results on election day, for the most consistent voters, both in the midterms and general elections, are elders.
With Donald Trump's approval rating at historic lows for this point in his first term, it might be easy for Democrats to think they don't yet have to learn from their recent election failures, for the country's hatred of the president will inevitably aid them in the coming elections. However, I think it'd be a big mistake for the party to follow through with such a mindset. They can't keep providing vanilla candidates on election day while ignoring certain demographics and expect to come out victorious. The party needs to learn a great deal from recent election failures to reinspire their base, focus more on their candidates' positives than their opponents' negatives, reach out to a wider audience, play tit-for-tat when the situations call for it, and start winning again as a result.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/24/politics/democratic-party-poll/
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