I know what Democrats need to do.
"It's time for Democrats to grow a backbone and stand up for what we believe."
Former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, 2012 Democratic National Convention
What I have seen from Democrats until recently reminds me of Coach Klein in “The Waterboy.” It is as if Republicans are Red Beaulieu, taking Coach Klein's playbook and daring Democrats to do something about it. Over the past 45 years, starting with Reagan, I believe that Democrats have not fought hard enough for the people who vote for them. Especially us in the black community. Instead, they appear to be influenced by Republican messaging.
In both 2016 and 2024, the claim was that the election of Trump was caused by Democrats pushing identity politics. It was said Democratic obsession with political correctness and policies of inclusion angered most of the voters and that Democrats must moderate themselves if they want to win. While Republicans whine about how everybody should be moderate, they legislate from the extreme right. So as Republicans over the years have complained about the imaginary far left ruling the Democratic Party, Democrats have made sure to try making certain that everybody saw just how moderate they are. This moderation looks like Democrats standing for nothing to people who are observers like me.
Observing Gavin Newsom's conversation with Charlie Kirk was quite discomforting. As a result, I will not vote for Newsom should he be the Democratic nominee. Appeasing racists, sexists, misogynists, homophobes and anti LGBT types to win an election is just not the way to go, and if people are offended by unapologetic opposition to such people or ideas, then go join the Republican Party. This kind of appeasement is why 85.9 million Americans didn’t vote in 2024, and this kind of appeasement is going to make it so that 85.9 million more won’t vote in 2028.
It may be beneficial for some Democrats to recognize that the current Democratic Party differs significantly from the Democratic Party of the 1980s and 1990s. Maybe Democrats need go look at the presidential election results over the last 50 years. But hey, I’m just a 65 year-old man living in Kansas, so what do I know? Democrats, consider the following question: “When, in the past 50 years, have the majority of white voters supported a Democratic candidate for President?”
In the 13 Presidential elections between 1976 and 2024, the white vote averaged 55 percent for Republicans. During the same time frame, Democratic politicians and consultants have frantically chased white voters. They have gone on for years about how they should get back the white voters they have lost. What about the voters from diverse backgrounds, such as Black, Hispanic, Asian, and Native American communities that Democrats have attracted?
According to the same data over the same 13 elections, blacks averaged nearly 88 percent voting Democrat. Hispanics 65 percent. Asians have averaged 61 percent voting Democrat. Native Americans have historically voted Democrat, and in 2024, 57 percent of Native Americans voted for Harris. It appears that the Democratic Party receives the majority of votes from Black, Asian, Hispanic, and Native American communities. These are populations that Democrats have generally taken for granted while focusing on a group of people who have not voted Democrat in the majority for at least the last 50 years. No longer can Democrats ignore the needs of these groups and then show up during election year asking for votes.
Democrats can no longer continue using the same consultants and the same strategy for political campaigns. Nor can the media continue using old political consultants for analysts. If Democrats intend to succeed, they should recruit new analysts and implement strategies tailored to the current Democratic electorate.
There have been 7 presidential elections this century, and the Republican candidate has won the popular vote twice. If Democrats want to continue losing, they will keep listening to Republicans telling them what they should do. The Tennessee Titans can’t tell the Seattle Seahawks how they need to change the way they play football because they won a game. Deval Patrick told us what Democrats needed to do more than a decade ago. It’s time for Democrats to get their clothes dirty and to never again accommodate extremism.