Democrats Bet on a Populist Message to Win Back Congress

[babylonsister]

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/07/democrats-message-populist-monopolies-congress-trump/534603/


Democrats Bet on a Populist Message to Win Back Congress

The party is promising a “A Better Deal.” Will voters be convinced?
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Aaron Bernstein / Reuters

Clare Foran 6:00 AM ET Politics



Six months after Donald Trump’s inauguration, Democrats in Congress are ready to adopt a populist economic agenda that blends ideas long entrenched in the liberal mainstream, like infrastructure investment, with promises that have not been a focus of the Democratic Party in recent years such as a pledge to rein in the power of corporate monopolies.

Locked out of power in Washington, Democrats lack the ability to implement the agenda, which will be sold to voters under the tagline “A Better Deal: Better Jobs, Better Wages, Better Future.” But party leaders plan to pitch it as a preview of what they would do if Democrats win back Congress. The economic platform is aimed at bridging ideological and demographic divides in the party, and Democrats hope it will have widespread appeal, in rural and urban areas, and with centrist, moderate and progressive voters alike.

The agenda nevertheless showcases the influence of the Democratic Party’s populist-progressive wing. It diagnoses the problems facing America in terms that sound far more like Bernie Sanders than Hillary Clinton, arguing that prosperity and influence have become too concentrated in the hands of a wealthy few to the detriment of working-class Americans. One policy plank promises that Democrats will start “cracking down on corporate monopolies”—an ambition that prior to the 2016 presidential election would be far more likely to be championed by a progressive firebrand like Senator Elizabeth Warren, who has long warned of the dangers of market concentration, than most rank-and-file Democrats in Congress.

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“I think it was significant that they reached out to me knowing that I had been an economic advisor to the Sanders campaign. They wanted to hear from that side, from someone who had been working closely with Senator Sanders, and I definitely think they understand that in order for the party to unify around a broad, ambitious, economic platform, they need to include everyone,” Kelton said.

Democrats plan to unveil more proposals under the banner of “A Better Deal” in the weeks to come. The focus on an economic agenda suggests, however, that the party believes that prioritizing jobs, income and wages will prove more unifying for the party, and more attractive to the kind of coalition they want to attract, than so-called “identity politics” messages that seek to appeal to voters on the basis of race and gender.

The idea of “a better deal,” may sound like only an incremental improvement or a hazy promise. But holding out the possibility of “better jobs” and “better wages” are specific goals that have the potential to resonate widely. For that resonance to translate into electoral wins, Democrats may need to convince voters not only of the sincerity of their message, but that the policy ideas the party is now putting forward are realistic and workable, and would meaningfully improve their lives.

[Chasstev365]

1. Great Agenda

But the slogan sucks!

[a kennedy]

3. I know......come on, can't they come up with something better.......same old, tired words.

Run a contest and see what the public or song writers can come up with......this tired old crap is bull.... JMHO.

[Donkees]

6. Real Deal

[underthematrix]

2. i don't care what they call it, I'm voting straight Dem

We can argue details once we get the house and Senate back

[a kennedy]

4. won't get the house and senate back with old messages. ugh. Need fresh, new, concise, phrases.

Message is everything, short, to the point, and new. JMHO.

[Funtatlaguy]

5. Use this: A Better Deal, A Better Direction.

Or: A Better Way, Better Solutions.

Slogans needs to be short.
The word "better" is good. Just too many lines in what they came up with. It's Too long for banners, signs, placards, bumper to stickers. Two lines is enough.

[Demsrule86]

10. Slogans are meaningless...that means nothing...any of them.

[Funtatlaguy]

13. True. But, they are always going to use them.

So, they might as well use a good one.

[kcr]

14. There's no such thing

Slogans are hokey. I knew the minute the Dems tried this it would be roundly panned. It was always bad advice.

[Demsrule86]

15. As long as we talk about jobs.

[SMS Cohen]

12. Yes!

"Better" is better.

[SMS Cohen]

8. Populism is not why Republicans and Trump are in power

Trump's message was not just populism.

There was a large dose, from day one", of "them versus us" where "them" were Mexican immigrants taking your jobs, raping your women, and committing crimes, Every time he promised to build the wall, he as saying that dark-skinned, Spanish-speaking people are dangerous.

There was his original "claim to fame" of birtherism which was not forgotten by his base. That theme was part of a racist rant against an African-American President.

There was his refusal to promptly refute David Duke. Which made his campamade attractive O the Aryan Nation and others who believe whites have lost their rights and power.

And his talk to ban all Muslims coming to America because they are dangerous to our way of life. That is because they are not Judeo-Christian.

"Make America Great Again" was a thinly-veiled message that things were better way back when, (fifties and early sixties) we didn't have civil rights laws, didn't pay minimum wages, didn't have women in the workforce, and didn't give recognition to the LGBT community.

None of that is a true populist message. Even the Tea Party seemed to have a populist message. But it too was tinged with racism.

The Democrats may try to put out a populist message. True populism is a message that government has grown too big to understand or help the little guy. Populism says you're not getting your fair share, that government programs are taking resources from you and giving it to "them".

But that message is too weak and actually goes against the traditional Democratic values.

And since the Democrats won't flavor that message with bigotry and hatred, that populism may not resonate with the base that elected Trump.

[Tom Rinaldo]

11. Disagree on this: "True populism is a message that government has grown too big"

That is one current strand of right wing populism and it is not even the only strand of right wing populism, authoritarianism is another. To use the classic historical case in point, Hitler's National Socialism was a populist movement also, and it sure as hell did not advocate for smaller government.

Left wing populism, which the New Deal tapped into, promotes people taking control of government and using it to protect our common interests against powerful entrenched special interests. Often that involves strengthening government, installed by the people and acting as the protector of the people.

[Demsrule86]

9. That is a completely meaningless slogan...and if the left calls the shots, we lose.

We live in a center left country. Run on issues important to all Americans...healthcare, jobs and trade. Hopefully individual candidates will run on issue important in their districts and states...as the most successful DNC guy Dean did...we need a 50 state solution tailored to the individual states. There is no one message that can elect Democrats...especially when our opportunities lie in red states his season.