Democratic Unity Is Overrated

Marcus H. Johnson
Aug 23, 2017 · 3 min read

We’ve all read the articles about “Democrats in disarray.” About how Democrats have lost seats in Congress under Obama (though they gained seats in the House and Senate in 2016).

Mainstream pundits and far left actors have claimed that the Democratic brand is toxic (despite Democrats winning the popular vote in the past 6 of 7 Presidential elections) and insinuated that Bernie Sanders, who lost the Democratic primary by double digits and refuses to call himself a Democratic, should lead the party.

We’ve heard about the loud clashes between the “Bernie wing” and the mainstream wing of the Democratic Party. We’ve heard Democratic strategists talk about the fear they have of a lack of unity negatively impacting the party in the mid-term elections next year.

Well, I’m here to say that Democratic unity is overrated. The far left and the mainstream Democrats don’t need to come together to sing a song. They don’t have to hold hands and proclaim all the fighting is over. Democrats can win without coming together and there is a recent example they can look to — Republicans under Obama.

Under Obama, Republicans dealt with a similar splinter in their own party. The far right (Tea Party activists, Breitbart readers, white nationalist sympathizers) were at odds with the establishment Republicans. The establishment Republicans, who traditionally focused on lower taxes, free trade, and deregulation, were in a battle with the far right, who desperately wanted to push the party even further to the right on social issues. The far right even called some mainstream GOP’ers “Democrats” for refusing to fully submit to the will of the fringe. To be sure, mainstream Republicans had long winked and nodded at racism during campaigns. But the far right wanted birtherism and anti-immigration rants to headline each campaign rally.

So what happened with the rift between the far right and the mainstream GOP? It never closed. The rift still exists. Brietbart readers still believe mainstream Republicans are sellouts and big business Republicans still think the lunatic fringe is costing them influence and political power. Despite this, the Republican Party still won back the House, Senate, and Presidency in 8 years after Obama was first elected.

The lesson here is that Democrats don’t need to come together to win. Republicans didn’t. What “unified” the GOP was an opposition to a leader both sides of the party despised — Barack Obama. But that opposition to Obama didn’t create a unified Republican message or ideology. Democrats don’t need to unify either. As long as both sides oppose Trump, and run candidates who are opposed to Trump, then the party’s future is on the right track. There’s no “unity!” precondition to winning in the mid-terms. Just look at 2010.

**If you like my writing, you can subscribe to my newsletter by clicking here. I publish 4 stories per week on the resistance, Trump, and race in politics.

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Freelance Writer. Political Scientist. Three point specialist. Tattoo enthusiast. Food aficionado.

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