Writing in Salon and reprinted in Alternet.org, Paul Rosenberg writes that beating Donald Trump in 2020 might not be Democrats’ most important task. Yes, retaking the White House is essential, but for truly long term policy change, Democrats need to be creating the infrastructure for a 2nd, possibly larger, Blue Wave focused on flipping seats in the House, Senate, and state legislatures. Some of this is happening: The DCCC is initially targeting 33 additional GOP-held House seats for 2020. 20 of those 33 House seats are occupied by GOPers who’ve never served in a minority, increasing pressures for retirement.
The article looks at the history of wave elections, when they are consequential and when they are ephemeral. The Blue Wave of 2018 could well undo all the gains for the GOP of their 2010 wave (which undermined the back-to-back blue waves of ‘06 and ‘08), especially if there is a 2nd wave in ‘20. Rosenberg notes the importance of state legislatures for redistricting after the 2020 census. The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee is targeting 12 state legislatures as a beginning. Since the GOP has a better track record in this area, progressive groups would do well to focus some of their own efforts in this state-level area. One progressive group Swing Left is targeting “super states,” but Rosenberg says that more work bridging the rural and urban divide.
The entire article is worth reading.