Democrats Know The Values The Party Stands For, But "Not Trump" Will Work For The Time Being

For the last two days, the punditocracy has been pounding away on the same theme about the Democratic wave that occurred on Tuesday night. Namely, that Democrats may have had a good night, but we still don’t know what the Democratic party stands for.

Tom Perez did the rounds of the political shows yesterday and he was constantly asked that very question, “What does the Democratic party stand for?”.  Besides specifically mentioning healthcare, Perez consistently refused to lay out specific policies but couched his answer in broad slogans such as Democrats are telling workers and middle class families that “we have your back”. In every interview, that admittedly vague answer was interpreted as illustrative of the fact the Democrats still don’t have a clear message.

But it’s really not up to Tom Perez to craft that Democratic message. And, in fact, it is dumb politics to do so at this time. Next fall, there will be 468 individual elections for Congress. Policies that may be popular in Massachusetts will obviously not necessarily be appropriate for, say, Joe Donnelly in Indiana. Democrats’ focus right now should be on expanding their competitive presence at the state and local levels across the board, regaining the House of Representatives, and holding their own and, less likely, perhaps even picking up a seat or two in the Senate. Most of these races will revolve around more local issues that will require Democrats to probably take a variety of positions based on the race they are running. There will be no need to try to nationalize these elections because they will already be nationalized on the issue of Trump himself. Trump will be the overarching issue on the ballot.

But, beyond the tactics Perez is rightfully taking, the evidence of what the Democratic message really is was right there in the two major campaigns that resulted in Democratic victories on Tuesday night. Both New Jersey and Virginia may be blue states but you can hardly say they are both liberal bastions. Yet both Phil Murphy and Ralph Northam had a surprising and considerable overlap in the policies they espoused. Both supported the $15 minimum wage, the legalization of marijuana, expanding educational opportunities, and some restrictions on guns. And on the number one issue that concerned voters in both states, health care, Democrats are committed to the popular position of making health care a right.

Now, those policies won’t necessarily work everywhere else in the country, but there is a theme in there which mirrors Perez’s pitch that Democrats “will have the back” of workers and middle class families. But beyond this, let’s look at the contest of ideas between Republicans and Democrats. As far as I can tell, the GOP is still running on ideas from the 1980s – tax cuts for the wealthy, less government, trickle-down economics, and gutting the social safety net. They can still win elections with those policies largely because they are hidden by culture issues, extreme gerrymandering, and a massive propaganda machine.

On the other hand, look at the ideas coming from the Democratic side. Making healthcare a right by expanding Medicaid, either for all or to the age of 55, and/or a single payer plan, increasing Social Security, the $15 minimum wage, experimenting with a basic income in order to prepare for the age of AI, a carbon tax to deal with climate change, stronger antitrust enforcement, and more. All of these positions are at least looking to solve the problems our country will surely be confronting in the next few years. Meanwhile, the Republicans are trying to reprise the 1980s or even the 1950s.

Moreover, Democrats have absolutely no power at the national level. They are in opposition and that is what the party should be engaged in. Opposition always means you are going to be reactive. Yes, it’s nice to be able to build a message and a lay out a set of policies for the next election. And Democrats have tried, with limited success, to do that. But laying the groundwork for the future is particularly difficult especially when Trump and this group of Republicans require Democrats to rally the opposition virtually each and every day.

One of the big takeaways from Tuesday is the overwhelming support of educated women and voters under 45 for Democrats. That is the electorate of the near future and they are looking for solutions to the problems they are and will be confronting. While it might be nice to have a slick, pithy slogan that encapsulates those various policies, at least Democrats will have policies relevant to the problems of the day. Yes, in 2020 we will need to have something that will make what we stand for easily understood. But, for now, at least until 2019, all Democrats need are the policies they are espousing today and the slogan “we’re not Trump” will suffice for the overarching message.