The DNC Needs A Vision, And ‘Justice Democrats’ Have It
With President Trump’s approval rating continuing to drop, the Democratic Party should be thriving. As the natural opposition, Democrats are ripe to gain favour with voters, acting as a guiding light through these dark and odd times. But instead, the Democratic Party approval rating is also dropping.
Sitting at 45% favourable in November 2016, the Democratic Party has sunk to 40% in favourability as of May 2017, while the number of self-identified independents continues to rise far beyond both parties. So what exactly is going on? A lot can be gathered by an answer that DNC Chair Tom Perez gave to a question last week.
In an appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press on July 9th, Perez met RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel for a joint interview with NBC host Chuck Todd. Todd began the interview by showing the below poll and asking the two chairs a simple question; “Why are Democratic and Republican voters afraid of each other?”
McDaniel answered the question with some sincerity;
“I’m not afraid of Democrats, and as Michigan chair especially this election, we had a lot of Democrat crossover for President Trump. Union Democrats, people who hadn’t traditionally voted Republican. I think we do have to have more of a dialogue, talk about our differences in a respectful way. Sometimes it gets elevated too much. But, we have Democrats in our family. I have Democrats in my family, I’m sure — I hope you have Republicans in your family. But, I think that’s part of our job as leaders — it’s to tone down rhetoric and have a discussion about ideas.”
And Perez? This was his response to the question of ‘why are Democratic and Republican voters afraid of each other?’
“Well, I think we need to lead with our values, Chuck. And, health care is a right for all, not a privilege for a few. We are the party of opportunity for everyone, not just opportunity for a few at the top. And, I think when we lead with our values we can command the respect and support of the majority of the American people. Because, I think people want a good job for everyone, they want secure retirement, they want health care, they want a roof over their head. Those are not just Democratic values, those are American values.”
Head meet desk. This is an opportunity to be genuine; to answer the question and connect with voters. Instead, Perez offers up a slew of empty and generic platitudes. The kind of thing that sounds good in a boardroom but fails to hit viewers with any ounce of sincerity.
Is it really that tough to formulate an honest answer? In bizarro world where the DNC Chair is tapped into reality, concerned about the wellness of people over the interests of big money donors, here’s how it could have been answered,
“Well Chuck, I’ll tell you why Democrats are afraid of Republicans; first of all that poll you put up was was taken at the height of the primaries last year. A time when the leading Republican candidate, now President Trump, was incorrectly blaming minorities for all issues Americans are facing. And as a party that is home to a diverse set of voters, it only makes sense that Democrats would be afraid of Republicans.
But part of the reason that fear has taken over is because Democrats have not been fighting hard enough for what we believe in. Instead of presenting and pushing our own ideas, we’ve been relying on voters’ fear of Republicans — a strategy that has now been a proven failure after losing over 1000 seats in 8 years and a general election to Donald Trump.
So how do we fix that? Well, the answer is in what this poll doesn’t represent — that most people now self-identify as independents. And right now who is the most popular politician in America? It’s Bernie Sanders. An independent who caucuses with the Democrats. He’s our key Chuck. I traveled the country with Bernie and saw the massive audiences and excitement that he drew. If we can adopt Bernie’s message; which includes a $15 minimum wage, single payer healthcare, breaking up the big banks, and removing the influence of money on our politics — Democrats, Republicans, and Independents won’t have anything to fear because we’ll be responding to their needs rather than relying on the fear of their fellow Americans.”
Yes, three paragraphs for an answer on network TV is a pipe dream — but you get my point. Instead of actually answering the question directly and then flowing into a response on how Democrats can capitalize, Perez reiterates his 30 second rehearsed answer revolving around ‘values’ — of which he never actually cites what exactly that means in policy terms. Again, is it that tough?
Unfortunately for the DNC, it is. Despite the fact that President Trump now has a 36% Approval Rating, the Democratic Party has just experienced its worst month of fundraising since May 2003. The Democrats are lost. They continue to latch onto corporate money while the base is shouting for some actual representation. DNC Chair Tom Perez can’t commit to specific policy positions because the Democratic members of congress vary wildly.
So the question is, what’s the point of DNC leadership? If the leadership can’t set the course, then who’s steering the ship? If there is no unifying message around policy, or even a commitment to actual voters; then what exactly is the Democratic Party other than a mishmash of corporate, Wall Street, and big donor interests?
When half your time on the job is spent schmoozing with and raising money from rich donors, how can that not have an impact on your decisions in congress, even subconsciously? It’s human nature, of course it affects you; we’re creatures of our environment. Until the DNC (and in fantasy land, the RNC) frees themselves from a reliance on special interest money, it will never truly be a voice of the people.
There is one group that appears to know what it’s doing though, and that’s Justice Democrats.
A group championed by Secular Talk’s Kyle Kulinski and The Young Turks’ Cenk Uygur, Justice Democrats are attempting to run Democrats with only one big requirement — no anonymous or unlimited donations, and no donations from corporations and unions. In other words — they’re running candidates that actually represent the average person. The small-donor Bernie Sanders model that proved a fundraising success in the Democratic primary last year.
So far the list is small, just thirteen Justice Democrats are currently named on their page of candidates, with one, Ro Khanna, already sitting in congress representing California’s 17th District. But having just launched at the beginning of this year, the group is gearing up for a major push in 2018; laser-focused on snatching seats from incumbents who are most affected by their large donor base.
One of the more interesting candidates is Paula Jean Swearengin. A West Virginia-native who’s looking to unseat Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV). Primarying a sitting Democratic Senator may, on its face, sound counter-intuitive. But ask yourself this: What is the point of a Democrat holding a seat if that Democrat doesn’t truly represent its people or liberal policy? As a moderate, Manchin is a Democrat known for voting with Republicans. How is this a better way forward?
In a recent interview with Cenk Uygur on The Young Turks, Manchin (who raises 99% of his money from large donors) claimed to be on board for removing the influence of big money on politics, and voiced displeasure for Citizens United (a ruling that allowed unlimited money to flow into elections). Yet in April, Manchin was one of just three Democrats to vote ‘Yes’ on Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch — a judge notoriously known for supporting the interests of corporations, and supporting the Citizens United ruling itself. At this point, why is Manchin even a Democrat?
Contrast that with Justice Democrats, who have a clearly laid out platform with the aim of going after disillusioned voters, many of which haven’t voted in years. This is where Justice Democrats have an opening to succeed. In putting up candidates that don’t spend their free time raising money from big spenders, these candidates are setup to actually represent the interests of their constituents. It’s not only a winning strategy, it’s a Democratic one.
