I think that Wall Street Journal columnist Jason L. Riley may be on to something:
Have Democrats finally come to grips with why they lost the presidential election? On Monday party leaders traveled to a rural Virginia county that Donald Trump won by 20 points. There they unveiled their 2018 campaign platform, called “A Better Deal.†The plan keeps in mind both kinds of Democratic candidates—blue-state progressives and red-state moderates. It includes a $15 minimum wage, a proposal to lower prescription-drug costs, new child-care support and tougher regulation of Wall Street.
One of the document’s authors, Rep. Cheri Bustos, is among the dozen Democrats who won a congressional district last fall that went for Mr. Trump. Ms. Bustos, who represents working-class northwestern Illinois, is precisely the type of Democrat party leaders ought to be listening to, and bully for them if they’re taking her counsel.
“In the last two elections, Democrats, including in the Senate, failed to articulate a strong, bold economic program for the middle class and those working hard to get there,†Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote in an op-ed announcing the new agenda. “We also failed to communicate our values to show that we were on the side of working people, not the special interests. We will not repeat the same mistake.†This is a long way from blaming Hillary Clinton’s loss on those deplorables.
Still, not everyone on the left wants to focus on winning back the voters in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin who backed Barack Obama but rejected Mrs. Clinton. Some would rather try to rebuild the twice-successful Obama coalition of young voters, minorities and socially liberal whites. The mathematical reality is that Democrats will probably have to do a little bit of both.
Is the objective behind the Democrats’ “Better Deal” to make the Democrats the largest ever out-of-power political party? While it might garner some additional support in California, I see very little in it for the states which went for Trump but have historically been swing states or Democratic. And I see nothing in it for Illinois. Indeed, it might even hurt Illinois. We have a pretty heavy concentration of large pharmaceutical firms here.
The Democrats are just as incoherent as the GOP. The reason they lost was running Hillary. When it is crappy policy vs crappy policy, then the candidate actually matters.
Steve
That’s what I’ve been saying since November even as the Democratic leadership and many rank and file Democrats vehemently denied that was the case. Slowly, slowly reality is beginning to dawn on them.
I understand why the leadership has been denying it. To admit that Hillary Clinton was a terrible choice is to admit their own failure in promoting her. I don’t understand why rank and file Democrats have been so slow to admit the truth. Maybe they fall into the “some of the people all of the time” category.
Did you see Trumps announcement that Foxconn is building a plant in Wisconsin.
If this becomes a semi regular thing it won’t matter what Democrats propose or if Trump shoots someone on 5th ave, he will win reelection.
What Democrats should be asking is why when they were in power they never got Apple to get Foxconn to invest here. Apple’s workforce, management, CEO, board are all predominantly Democrats – merely having Obama or Hillary whisper a few words should have done it.
I apologize if this comment takes a too corrupt view of politics.
Democrats seem to have campaign finance all wrong. Look at the Foxconn announcement, it’s like a 10, 20, 50? million dollar legal campaign contribution from a foreign citizen. Forget the Lincoln Bedroom, Mr Gou got the President, the Speaker, to praise him on air in the East Room. Makes a 10 million contribution to the Clinton Foundation so 1995!
They are building this in Ryan’s district? What’s the catch?
Steve
Note that Bustos departed from Obama’s policies on things like allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire and the XL pipeline.
WRT the Foxconn news, if it actually materializes I would interpret it as the company realizing which way the wind is blowing in the U. S.