Certainly we will probably see an unexpected uptick in some voter turnout, especially in states with draconian abortion laws, because of the court’s ruling against a woman’s right to choose. We will see new life put into Getting Out The Vote. We see people already campaigning on a woman’s right to choose. And we see them campaigning on gun law reform, and on equal rights for LGBQ+ and other minorities. And that’s fine, we should and we will make these important parts of what we campaign for. But there is much more that we need to be reminding voters of.
Let me start by saying the graph used as my image for this, despite not being as current as I’d like, has numbers which have more or less still hold: There are more Democrats and liberal / leftist Independents than Republican conservatives. Pew Research continues to claim, as best I’ve seen to date, that somewhat more Independents, the largest single block of voters, trend left. Also remember 40% of Americans who can vote don’t. That’s a lot of potential power to overthrow the Republican stranglehold on American. The truth is in many gerrymandered places it’s only by a thin margin and easily toppled if enough people left of conservatism show up to vote. A 5% uptick in overall voting participation weighted to our side could present us with lots of landslides. Or to their side.
There are a other things not reported on in our campaigning and it will take the activist community to see that these other things are given equal time. Because they are also motivators and need to be placed in people’s minds thinking about us. Also because our party has a poor record of messaging about our accomplishments where we need to help fill the information gap.
Let me point out a few things that not only are important for defending our rights against theocratic and conservative cultural overreach, but also to enhance our way of living. To strengthen democracy. While I am one of those left of center here who has always been critical of the Democratic party since I joined, I am still amazed at the initially proposed $3.5 trillion Build Back Better bill. At $2 trillion dollars it was still far more than I ever expected in 2019 or 2020 to have on the table. It’s not everything that a 21st century New Dealer such as myself would want by any means, but it is an on ramp towards rebuilding a potential New Deal style, progressive party by winning votes by providing benefits. With only the help in human infrastructure alone the BBB promised, still promises, there’s a lot of potential help for people who are financially in trouble. And lots of ways to expand work and opportunities and other commonwealth needs in the bill. Including for Republicans who have no idea about its benefits to them. It’s still the most progressive thing Democrats have put in place IMO since Lyndon Johnson’s New Society legislation of the 1960’s and the ACA more recently. Things that people forget about unless reminded of again and again and again and again… Things we came close to accomplishing.
I have been impressed with the two Voting Rights bills proposed. The Pro Act. The nearly party-wide push for a $15 an hour minimum wage that’s still almost there given enough Democratic seats. All still technically on the table and ready for another go. We must remind and unpack for the public all the separate things the party is ready to do listed in those bills if we can hold both Houses of Congress. Things which would be laws now had it not been for Senators Manchin and Sinema. Just as we need to unpack the stacked deck of the Supreme Court put into place since the 1970’s or so with the advice of the Powell Memo and the rise of the Federalist Society around the same time. We need to reiterate that we want to pass all those things again in 2023. Which means somehow holding on the the House of Representatives as well. And unpack all the nice things we can’t have because of Senators M&S.
It will be the job of activists to try and increase our hold on the Senate by rightfully demonizing making the case for neutralizing the votes of Senators Manchin and Sinema by a need to gain additional seats. Our leadership still walks on eggs around those two. They are not using them as a means to GOTV in other states. While we need to pressure them or other members of Congress to say that out loud we need a greater number of Senators in any case next year to counteract against their extraordinary party-wide stoppage of our agenda. For going around these two. We need to try to get two seats as a goal for each of theirs, four in total, just as we need two additional seats on the Supreme Court for Garland’s and RGB’s which were stolen by Mitch McConnell.
We have to give people things to vote for in a positive way as much as we need to goad them with the fear of what’s happening with a Republican party which always seems to share power with us every decade. People need to know that in the middle of the 20th century Democratic liberalism dominated the land shutting the GOP out of running Washington DC for about four decades with the exception of Dwight Eisenhower’s presidency and it’s 91% top tax rate on the rich for 8 years and heavy infrastructure spending. That’s how liberal this country used to be when the Republican president did those things because otherwise they had no lasting majorities in Washington. And it may be that way again I believe. Despite being out fund-raised often back then, voters gave Democrats nearly exclusive control of Congress and the White House. Not because of messaging but because they were doing things. Similar to all these things which we are still on the threshold of doing in big ways again.
There is one other thing that we need to understand and capitalize on: We have the numbers, among a combination of Democrats and Independents. Keep in mind there may be more liberal Indies in red and even purple states than Democrats. Maybe we need to pressure Democratic parties in more states to allow registered Independents them to be able choose Democratic candidates they might vote for in their primaries. We should be aware of which candidates, in office or not, have the greatest crossover appeal in our party and outside of it although the vast majority of Independents vote Democratic or Republican. We have the numbers but Republicans with their patriotic fervor or fear or hatred are simply more consistent voters. While liberalism is the land of only voting in our best numbers when backs are to the wall. Our fair-weather liberal voting culture needs to change and this is a way that we start. Republicans at this time simply must be kept out of power. There are far more Indies to the left in America of our ever more authoritarian center right than conservatives to the right that we could ever pick up. All liberal voters are the greater number and we need to be more inclusive throughout from centrist to America’s (so called) relative far left. And I think passing what we failed to pass this time, if given another chance, could be the beginning of the end of Republican political dominance.
I think we have to give people as many reasons to be determined to vote for Democrats whatever their political affiliation as much as all the things we need to be voting for to stop or reverse.