The Secret to Winning in 2020

[mia]

...There is only one quality — beyond, of course, charisma — that Democrats should demand in their nominee. The Democrats need a candidate who can and will run as an economic populist.

They need a candidate who will organize the 2020 campaign around fighting for the little guy and gal. (And most of the potential Democratic nominees could do so.) It would be a campaign about Republican politicians and corporate lobbyists who are rigging the game, a campaign that promised good jobs, rising wages, decent health care, affordable education and an end to Trumpian corruption....

Trump’s populism is a mirage, but many voters believed it in 2016. He was the rare Republican who criticized free trade and seemed to care more about protecting Medicare than reducing the budget deficit. Trump managed to out-populist Hillary Clinton, and it’s a part of why he won.

Four years earlier, Barack Obama was the populist candidate. He ran for re-election casting himself as the defender of working people and Mitt Romney as an out-of-touch rich guy. The 2012 Obama was “more populist than any major party presidential nominee in decades,” as a column in The Guardian put it. The 2008 Obama, of course, ran against the financial crisis occurring on George W. Bush’s watch....

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/16/opinion/democrats-2020-election-economic-populism.html

[spicysista]

1. Why tRump Won........hmmmm

"Trump managed to out-populist Hillary Clinton, and it’s a part of why he won."

You may be right. Then again, maybe not. In addition to local voter suppression efforts, voter suppression efforts by a foreign government, a letter sent and press conference by a sanctimonious FBI agent, a gutted civil right's act, extra 3rd party candidates (also propped up by said foreign government).......she had to run assertively against a "man" that ran the populist playbook most familiar to my grandmother (those others are coming to get you). And, she still won by three million votes!
She ran as an alternative to blaming others for your problems and she won.

American populism makes me very nervous. I'll post an article that looks at populism from a different perspective. It talks about how easy it may become to cast gender, race, and sex issues as non-important distractions. As if these issues do not impact one's economic standing!


Check it out:
https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/democracy/reports/2018/05/10/450552/drivers-authoritarian-populism-united-states/

From the article:

A recent study from Diana C. Mutz at the University of Pennsylvania found that the fear of losing status was a more significant factor than economic anxiety for white Trump voters in their decision to vote for Donald Trump in 2016.41 The loss of status among groups experiencing economic decline can furthermore exacerbate cultural and racial resentment.

32At the heart of exclusionist authoritarian populist narratives is a distinction between a corrupt elite and those who belong to the relevant group of supposedly good, ordinary people. The distinction between the two is not necessarily based on ethnic or racial grounds, but it frequently is.



Why Dump won? Well, it wasn't because of his economic message.

This Newsweek article puts it very plainly.
From the article:
The report presents a torrent of interesting statistics. More than half of the white working-class voters surveyed said they believe whites face as much discrimination as racial and ethnic minorities—a view that’s sharply at odds with college-educated Americans, of whom more than 70 percent believe racial and ethnic minorities face greater discrimination.

The bottom line: Democrats may not be able to win back these voters simply with an appealing economic message, but may have to address their concerns about immigration and the changing culture.

Original article found here:https://www.newsweek.com/who-doomed-clinton-606272



Again, you may be right. Maybe....not. All I'm certain of is that we must win.

[mia]

3. Thank you for sharing these articles about populism,

especially this:

The task for America’s political establishment is nothing short of revolutionary change—change that realigns the establishment with the demands of alienated political bases but eschews anti-democratic populism. In the United States, extreme partisanship and unresponsive government is a driver of the gridlock, frustration, and extreme populism that has developed over the past quarter century. It has been supercharged by new technologies and social media. But the ascendance of extreme populism need not be permanent. A return to constructive partisanship combined with bipartisan cooperation on fundamental issues—such as the opioid epidemic, criminal justice reform, economic inequality, and the protection of American democracy from foreign interference—could restore the fortunes of politicians who hold true to democratic values, including equality before the law, an independent judiciary and freedom of the press.

https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/democracy/reports/2018/05/10/450552/drivers-authoritarian-populism-united-states/

In the end it's probably all about this:
"They may forget what you said but they will never forget how you made them feel." (Carol Buchner)

[spicysista]

4. ;)

"Feelings, nothing more than feelings!"

In the end it's probably all about this:
"They may forget what you said but they will never forget how you made them feel." (Carol Buchner)

For a certain segment of the population, that is very often the case. My circle tends to be filled with pragmatists, but that's another topic for another day. Cheers!

[delisen]

2. Actually Obama came out in favor of bailing out the banks

as soon as Bush marched into Congress with his tale of woe about the financial crisis in, I believe it was, October 2008. Obama raised a record amount from Wall Street, and too be fair the Democtatic party backed the bailout without significant protections for the citizenry

In 2008 the average recompense for a Goldman Sachs employee was over $640,000. We saved them, we paid a big price and now the banks are gearing up for another crash.

What we need is focus on children and that focus will most likely come from a female candidate.

We need to face the fact that our 2016 election was compromised by Russia and that lots of Democrats, including many who consider themselves progressives fell for Russian propaganda.

Putin wanted to crush Clinton and make the world safe for dictatorship. He was able to enlist many so-called progressive publications such as Common Dreams to do just that in 2016. Even after election dy so many on the left insisted on framing Clinton's "loss" as a personal failure and tried to downplay the Russian interference. We did the same with gore and with Kerry.

Democracy is not built by caving or leaning into prejudice and injustice; it is built by promoting equality and justice.

The problems we are facing now are not going to be solved by blind faith in "alpha male" leadership.

Too many democrats still want to "whitewash" our history, The facts is this: the New Deal leaned heavily on racism and misogyny embodied in the Dixicrat movement. We've changed but we are only partway on the road to full equality for people and our biggest battles are ahead of us. Tell the truth to the people and stop leaning into phony political populism which is a mask for authoritarianism.

[mia]

5. "Barack Obama was the populist candidate...

He ran for re-election casting himself as the defender of working people and Mitt Romney as an out-of-touch rich guy. The 2012 Obama was “more populist than any major party presidential nominee in decades...."

I took this to mean that populist appeal has been a good thing for Democrats. Obama promoted equality and justice for all without demeaning anyone's history.