Listening to a seminar
Progressive Policy Institute Forum with Greenberg, Chait, a Republican pollster. It is a very interesting take on the problems and opportunities available to Dems. One of interesting points made that deserves discussion is that Democrats have not won a majority of the white vote in Presidential elections since 1964. We talk all the time here about minority voters and worry that they are getting alienated by DLC centrism. Well, the party has alienated many people whose eoncomic interests should put them directly into the Democratic party but they don't come. I think we ought to be discussing what steps the party should take to win some of those voters back.
I think trade is the key issue here. It is a brutal choice...do we sell out the desperately poor in developing countries and shut down the borders or do we open the borders and lose the opportuntity to bring on board these white voters who if they joined the Democrats would make possible the kinds of reforms on health care and social problems that we need so desperately in this country? A terrible choice.