Democrats think they can win in 2018 by running against the Republican congress and the Trump administration. We will make some headway with this strategy but will not win back either the US House of Representatives nor the US Senate unless something catastrophic happens which is never a good thing. The DNC and the Democratic party need a clear strategy and representative slogan to reach voters and motivate them to vote in the 2018 election. I know that using a slogan to drive a political cycle seems hokey but remember the Republican party used “Make America Great Again” in 2016 and “The Contract with America” in 1994 to win elections. I am not very good at coming up with slogans but I would like the DNC come up with some and try them out to evaluate them soon.
I do have some thoughts about the strategy and some specific items which I think should be used for the 2018 election. The DNC and democrats need to go back to the core beliefs which drew voters to the party in the first place and clearly state the political policies which represent those beliefs. In my opinion the 2016 Trump campaign’s rhetoric included some democratic themes which caused angst in the ranks of traditional republicans and as it turns out was just a ruse to get disaffected democrats to vote for Trump. I believe this tactic contributed to why Trump won the 2016 election.
I think the Democratic party’s 2018 election strategy should include the following:
* “Making the US the World’s Economic Superpower of the 21st Century” by investing in US infrastructure, negotiating and renegotiating trade agreements to make US business more competitive in international markets, and research and development investments in healthcare, energy, technology, and material science to seed the creation of future products and services.
* “Creating a Fair and Just Taxation System” by revamping federal tax laws to have US corporations, businesses, and the wealthy pay their fair share and eliminating the use of off-shore tax shelters to avoid paying US taxes.
* “Making US Healthcare the World’s most Effective and Efficient System” by implementing a “Single Payer System” and making healthcare a right for all US people in the US.
* “Making the US the Shining Beacon for Humanity in the 21st Century” by having immigration policies and laws which are fair and consistent with US values. The policies and laws should provide for a path to citizenship for legal immigrants. Existing illegal immigrants should also be provided with the opportunity to become legal immigrants and a path to citizenship based on criteria which is fair, based their status and merit.
* “Making a 21st Century Guest Worker Program” by re-vamping the H-1B visa program to eliminate the hording of H-1B visas by off-shore outsourcing companies while enabling the US to retain the world’s “Best and Brightest” to drive research, innovation, and the development of new products and services.
In an interview on Fox News Mark Cuban said that 80% of US H-1B visas are granted to offshore outsourcing companies via a lottery system and used by US corporations and businesses to import labor at hourly pay rates which are substantially below that of US workers. This abuse of the H-1B visa program needs to be addressed which is why the “Making a 21st Century Guest Worker Program” program should separated from immigration policies and laws sponsored by the Democratic party. This is one of the concerns I had with the immigration bill passed by the Democratically controlled senate in 2013.
One last thing, democrats need to turn the word “Entitlements” into a political weapon and use it on conservative republicans. I am 61 years old and have been paying for these programs for the past 40+ years. I have bought and paid for these benefits and yes I am entitled to use them. Can the federal organizations which manage and facilitate benefits provided by these of these programs be more efficient and effective? Of course they can be but that is not what republican’s have been trying to do. The republican political agenda and tactics have been to undermine (not improve) and dismantle these programs for the past 40 years and they should be held accountable to the voters for their actions.