Reaching Out or Giving In?
A new report says Democrats need to broaden our appeal beyond liberals and reach out to swing voters.
Reigniting an intense debate within the Democratic Party, a new analysis argues that Democrats cannot return to power by energizing liberals alone, but must rebuild their credibility on foreign policy and values issues and stem their losses among swing voters, notably married women and Roman Catholics.
The report, released on Thursday and prepared for the Third Way, a political and policy group for centrist Democrats, contends that the party must free itself of several myths left over from the 2000 and 2004 elections, especially the idea that the way to win in a polarized era is to do much better at mobilizing the party's political base. The authors argue that this strategy is doomed to fail for the Democrats because there are simply more voters who identify themselves as conservatives than as liberals.
In a consistent trend since the mid-1970's, about a fifth of the voters say they are liberals, about a third conservatives and about 45 percent moderates. That means, they add, that Democrats must not simply break even among the moderates, but carry them decisively.
I think we can all agree the Democratic Party needs to do SOMETHING to stem the tide of lost votes. But the big problem for me is how "centrist Democrats" seem to want to do it by sacrificing issues that I consider vitally important, like reproductive freedom, and by acting like Republican Lite. Check out hese last two paragraphs:
They contend that "Democrats must emphasize the importance of the American military as a potential force for good in the world, and in so doing they need to engage 'Michael Moore Democrats,' who instinctively view American power as suspect."
Similarly, the authors maintain that the party must think anew about values, arguing that Democrats "must avoid getting trapped in the extremes." For example, they said, "they could continue to support the core of Roe v. Wade while dropping their intransigence on questions such as parental notification and partial-birth abortion."
First off, that part about distrusting the military is perpetuating the myth that if you're a Democrat, or like Michael Moore movies, or basically anything besides a Republican, than you hate the troops. Which, fuck you very much. Second, the part about "partial-birth abortion"? That's a term the right-wing media machine invented, just like calling the estate tax a "death tax". To see Democrats regurgitating Fox News terminology is just annoying.
Reigniting an intense debate within the Democratic Party, a new analysis argues that Democrats cannot return to power by energizing liberals alone, but must rebuild their credibility on foreign policy and values issues and stem their losses among swing voters, notably married women and Roman Catholics.
The report, released on Thursday and prepared for the Third Way, a political and policy group for centrist Democrats, contends that the party must free itself of several myths left over from the 2000 and 2004 elections, especially the idea that the way to win in a polarized era is to do much better at mobilizing the party's political base. The authors argue that this strategy is doomed to fail for the Democrats because there are simply more voters who identify themselves as conservatives than as liberals.
In a consistent trend since the mid-1970's, about a fifth of the voters say they are liberals, about a third conservatives and about 45 percent moderates. That means, they add, that Democrats must not simply break even among the moderates, but carry them decisively.
I think we can all agree the Democratic Party needs to do SOMETHING to stem the tide of lost votes. But the big problem for me is how "centrist Democrats" seem to want to do it by sacrificing issues that I consider vitally important, like reproductive freedom, and by acting like Republican Lite. Check out hese last two paragraphs:
They contend that "Democrats must emphasize the importance of the American military as a potential force for good in the world, and in so doing they need to engage 'Michael Moore Democrats,' who instinctively view American power as suspect."
Similarly, the authors maintain that the party must think anew about values, arguing that Democrats "must avoid getting trapped in the extremes." For example, they said, "they could continue to support the core of Roe v. Wade while dropping their intransigence on questions such as parental notification and partial-birth abortion."
First off, that part about distrusting the military is perpetuating the myth that if you're a Democrat, or like Michael Moore movies, or basically anything besides a Republican, than you hate the troops. Which, fuck you very much. Second, the part about "partial-birth abortion"? That's a term the right-wing media machine invented, just like calling the estate tax a "death tax". To see Democrats regurgitating Fox News terminology is just annoying.