What the Democrats Need to Do, Part 3: Play the Long Game

In the last two posts, I've tried to lay out a plan for how the Democratic Party can regain its momentum and move forward in the face of the relentless opposition of the GOP and the traditional ignorance and disinterest of the American voter. Today, the third and (for the moment) last element of my plan ...

Play the long game.

Republicans have invested years of effort in shaping the political environment at the local and state levels. They have steadily concentrated on winning the political offices that shape life and thought at the level where people actually live ... the local officials, the mayors, the governors, the school boards, the overseers of elections, etc, etc. They have done this by studying and understanding the people at the local level, playing on their needs, wants, and fears (real or imagined). 

Republicans have ruthlessly gerrymandered congressional districts to ensure that they will win elections without the inconvenience of having to win the popular vote. To be fair, Democrats have done their share of political gerrymandering, but they have never been as scientific and totally focused about it as Republicans. The chances of undoing Republican gerrymandering now underway are slim without passage of national voting rights legislation ... this ought to be the Democratic priority, arguably even more important than the Build Back Better program. Without it, Democrats will be locked out of elections they legitimately win by popular vote for a generation or more.

At the national level, Congressional Republicans have focused relentlessly on filling judicial positions with conservative judges vetted and approved by such conservative think tanks as the Federalist Society. The most flagrant examples of this are, of course, the appointments to the Supreme Court of Neil Gorsuch (after inventing the "tradition" that appointments cannot be made in an election year to block President Obama's nomination of Merrick Garland) and Amy Coney Barrett (after ignoring that "tradition" to push through her nomination just a week before the 2020 election), but equal attention has been paid to staffing circuit and appeals courts with reliably conservative jurists. 

Republicans are playing the long game, planning now for a future in which their white, nominally Christian base will be the minority in a rapidly-changing America.

Democrats must play the long game, too.

They must invest in the local door-knocking and connections with everyday Americans to spread their message face-to-face, without the misinformation and misdirection that's the stock in trade of the GOP. They need to clearly explain their policies and how those policies will benefit not just Main Street, but the most distant and outlying RFD or Star Route, where the most conservative Americans live.

They must clearly explain why government policies that benefit everyone aren't "socialism." 

They must clearly explain things like the difference between common-sense gun safety laws and the conservative scream that "they're coming to take your guns." After all, there have been seven Democratic presidents since the death of FDR in 1945, and not a single gun has ever been "taken" or "confiscated." 

They must understand the visceral appeal of simple GOP messaging and know how to counter it. "Critical Race Theory!," "Replacement Theory!," "Gun Control!," "Activist Judges!," "Lower Taxes!," "Protect Our Heritage!," "Support Local Education!," "Freedom!" ... these are all simple, direct concepts that require no thought, but need an equally simple and direct Democratic response. 

Playing the long game is hard. It requires extensive planning, understanding of local conditions, and a deep understanding of the needs and wants of Americans where they live. Democrats must understand that not every voter is interested in lofty goals and aspirations that don't directly affect them unless they can be presented in clear, unambiguously personal terms.

In summary, these are the first three steps that will help the Democrats regain the support of American voters: 

(1) Define your own programs; don't let the Republicans do it for (or to) you.

(2) Don't focus on gigantic, complicated programs that scare voters ... go for smaller individual initiatives that are easy to explain and defend to voters with the attention span of a two-year-old and the critical thinking skills of a religious fanatic. 

(3) Play the long game. The GOP does.

I have more ideas, but I need more time to flesh them out. In the meantime, what are your ideas? What should the Democrats be doing to improve their image and their electoral performance? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.

Have a good day. More thoughts coming.

Bilbo