For brief descriptions of and links to recent posts, click here. For an inverse-chronological list with links to all posts after January 23, 2017, click here. For a subject-matter index to posts before that date, click here.
As an incisive op-ed in the New York Times argues, a Democratic strategy that focuses on attracting undecided “independents” would be suicidal. For starters, it’s wrong on the numbers. Yes, Trump’s 2016 margins of victory were tiny in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. And yes, the numbers of “swing” voters who voted for Obama in 2012 but for Trump in 2016 were larger. But much larger still were the number of voters for protest candidates and the number of Democrats and independents who didn’t even bother to register and/or vote.
Motivate them and Dems win. Fail to inspire them, and—at very best—Dems spin the roulette wheel again. We all know how that turned out last time.
People who haven’t chosen sides by now are brain-dead. Voters are either trapped inside the Fox-Trump-Twitter alternate universe of conspiracies and lies, or they are pumped to remove a sitting president, more than they have ever been in their lives. The notion that there is a significant group who just can’t make up their minds is nonsense. For Democrats it’s insane, suicidal nonsense.
Trump understands this basic truth. It’s why he’s getting even more insulting, nasty and belligerent than usual. This will be a “base” election. It’s all about which side can turn our more voters.
Quite rightly, Biden has tied up the “moderate,” ”middle of the road” voters. If he wins, he will be in charge. Now the question is what to do about the Democrats and independents who think Biden and his program don’t go far enough. Fail to motivate them and we likely will suffer another four years of Trump. Then we could lose our democracy forever.
The most important thing Biden could do before November to motivate progressives and minorities is to pick the right running mate. That means someone like Stacey Abrams, Elizabeth Warren, or a Latina: Michelle Lujan Grisham, governor of New Mexico, or Senator Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada. So Rachel Bitecofer, the author of the must-read op-ed, writes.
But I would add a twist. To me, Elizabeth Warren would make the best president, although not the best campaigner, of anyone running as a Dem this cycle. Nevertheless, I would cut her from the running-mate list (while putting her in the Cabinet!) for three reasons.
First, minorities will make or break this election for Democrats. Their enthusiasm will be decisive. Yet many are apathetic, and many more think their votes just won’t count, literally. Without their solid support, Dems will likely lose this election.
Second, African-Americans and Latinos offer unique prospects for winning outside the upper Midwest. Dems now have shots at turning the Old South purple and the Southwest solidly blue, even including Texas. Democrats no longer have to depend on the upper Midwest to win presidential elections, if only they’d look to the future.
Third and most important, Trump’s fanatics are overwhelmingly white. That means a huge chunk of whites is irreconcilable with Democrats, no matter how “centrist” they claim to be. The future of Democrats, progressives and small-d democracy in this nation must include minorities. The time is long past when Democrats could win by baiting minorities during the campaign and then switching after winning the election.
By far the best way to enthuse minorities is to pick a qualified running mate from their own ranks. And nothing else could so forcefully and credibly, in a single stroke, repudiate the vile notion of white supremacy.
Then, if Dems win, they will have a solid coalition of minorities and white progressives for the foreseeable future. We won’t have to wait until 2043, when the US will be a majority-minority nation, to enjoy sensible, popular and progressive government that reflects our marvelously diverse people. If Dems drag their heels in forming that coalition, we might find ourselves in a majority-minority nation that is a democracy only in name.