This is a very interesting article from Propublica that highlights a frustration that I and other Blacks and Latinos have felt for years: the Democrats take us for granted. Instead of actually getting on the ground in our communities and talking to us about the issues that most effect us and trying to win our votes, Democrats start off with the assumption that Blacks and Latinos will simply vote for Democrats because, after all, where else will we go ? That's just simply what we do. We vote for Democrats !
And even when they do know what will win our votes they nevertheless fail to advocate for us for fear of alienating the demographic they feel will get them over the finish line: White working class voters. How's that been working ?
The answer is not to shy away from issues that may lose you more White working class voters because, the truth is, most of them are gone and the White vote is relatively static. The Democrats need to, yes, advocate for real reforms that address issues of massive economic inequality in the hopes of minimizing loses and hopefully gaining with ALL demographics. But what they need to do in addition is actually talk to Blacks and Latinos to find out why we are leaving. The answers may surprise them.
Case in point: Propublica actually took the time to talk to Latinos. And it turns out that a big reason Democrats lost Latino support was because they weren't supportive ENOUGH of immigration reform. The conventional wisdom has it that if Democrats openly advocate for a pathway to citizenship for undocumented residents this will lose them support with White voters. But what happened was it was the lack of a clear pathway plan that lost them support among Latinos.
Many Latinos who have been here for decades have lived in the shadows while asylum seekers have been allowed to live and work legally. This created resentment among those who have been living, working and paying taxes but are still not citizens.
What does it matter, they can't vote anyway ? Yeah, but millions of undocumented residents have over the decades had millions of children who were born citizens and who now vote. And feeling that the Democrats abandoned them and their families when it came to immigration they voted for Trump. Sure, it doesn't make sense. But in our two party system there's only two ways to protest: stay home or vote against Democrats. They did both and we lost.
What's the lesson? The Democrats need to STOP TAKING THEIR BASE FOR GRANTED. They don't need to run from what they truly believe, they need to double down on it. The White vote is what it is and has been for decades (the last time a Democrat won the White vote was 1964). It is the Black and Latino vote that gets us all over the finish line and has the greatest potential for growth. This was not an election of realignment. It was an election of frustration. The loses are not permanent. Not yet.
The Republicans are terrified of their base. Even Trump won't go against them (that's why he never talks about the vaccines developed under his administration). Given the possible future consequences for our democracy of continued Republican success among Blacks and Latinos, it's time for the Democrats to fear... and LISTEN !
