the democratic party is releasing a guide for how to actually start winning elections again. i read most of it and i believe it’s a good start:
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Focus our policy agenda and our messaging on an economic program centered on lowering costs, growing the economy, creating jobs, and expanding the social safety net.
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Advocate for popular economic policies (e.g., expanding prescription drug price negotiation, making the wealthy pay their fair share in taxes, raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour) rather than unpopular economic policies (e.g., student loan forgiveness, electric vehicle subsidies, Medicare for All).
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Convince voters that we share their priorities by focusing more on issues voters do not think our party prioritizes highly enough (the economy, the cost of living, health care, border security, public safety), and focusing less on issues voters think we place too much emphasis on (climate change, democracy, abortion, identity and cultural issues).
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Moderate our positions where our agenda is unpopular, including on issues like immigration, public safety, energy production, and some identity and cultural issues.
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Embrace a substantive and rhetorical critique of the outsized political and economic influence of lobbyists, corporations, and the ultra-wealthy, while keeping two considerations in mind: First, voters’ frustrations with the status quo are not the same as a desire for socialism. And second, criticizing the status quo is a complement to advocating for popular policies on the issues that matter most to the American people, not a substitute.
Much of this reads like what the Democrats’ strategy has already been for the last 10 years or so with some additional calls towards a “moderate” “centrism” that has not proven to be as popular as left populist policies with most Americans. And a lot of it seems confused or just wrong. For example, Medicare for All is not an unpopular policy. Last I checked it it was polling at around a 60% approval.
Even if your politics are more centrist, I don’t see how this represents a substantive shift in any way. It’s minor tinkering around the edges or slightly altering messaging. That’s what the moment calls for? That’s the key to success and the way to fight back against an increasingly overt and ascendant strain of fascism in the country? If that’s what the Democratic leadership thinks then one must honestly wonder if the party is institutionally incapable of the change that would need to happen to actually win elections and improve their godawful approval ratings. And based on their donor base, this shouldn’t actually be surprising. The leadership is still utterly captured by and beholden to wealthy interests that would rather jump off a bridge than acknowledge that what Americans want is a party that will fight for meaningful material benefits in their standard of living as this implies meaningfully raising taxes and imposing costs or regulations on their businesses to ensure benefits for regular working class people who are struggling mightily.
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