Democratic Party Strategies for 2018 and 2020

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As all of you will no doubt know Donald Trump has seized victory in yesterday's election and will go on to be president. I do not think this is a total disaster for the Left as a backlash against a Trump administration could lead to victories for the Democrats come 2018 and 2020 we just need to play our cards well.

So this is why I have created this thread in order to discuss what we did wrong and learn from our mistakes so we can win in the next election cycle.

One mistake I think the Democratic Party made this year was dismissing Republican voters as racist. From this I believe we ended up alienating voters that might have been swayed to join Hillary's side. If we want to win an election one thing is clear, dismissing people as part of a basket of deplorable does not work.

A second mistake that we likely made was also to nominate an establishment candidate with ties to wall street. By being linked to Wall Street Hillary Clinton was perceived as being corrupt and controlled by special interests. By being part of the establishment as well people perceived Hillary as being the candidate who represented no change.

Very stupid to call potential voters -- "deplorable".

I told my mom, "Clinton is calling you a deplorable". She went to work, and told all her friends, "Clinton is calling everyone deplorable". They went and passed it on to others .... so forth and so on ....

Just because millions of undecided voters may align with Trump presently, doesn't mean they won't switch, but well, if you're gonna call them names ...I guess you don't really need their votes.

I'd ask the third party voters.

After thinking about it, I take that back because Clinton won the popular vote and she campaigned in the battleground states and spent more money than Trump. I honestly don't think anything could have been done - I think people wanted a real change and they didn't want another politician. That's why Cruz lost. Cruz was only being chosen I believe for his religious values, but people wanted a non - politician more. I also think when Trump was shooting off at the mouth - that's what got him further - he was saying what other people could only think.

Last edited by nurseangela on 09 Nov 2016, 10:28 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Yeah and it is a real pity to see it being spread around in so many circles these kinds of ideas when spread might drive a dangerous wege between Republicans and Democrats. We as Democrats shouldn't try to feel superior to Trump supporters by dismissing them as racist all it does it makes them more distant and add to the feeling of resentment to the other side.

Should have gone with Bernie...oh wait it is too late for that one.

I'm still baffled as to why Elizabeth Warren didn't run.

I am guessing Tim Kaine will run in '20. I doubt Clinton and Sanders will run again because of their age.

Simple strategy - listen to your voter base plus your opponents and see what they want, or what common ground can be struck. Also never underestimate your opponents. Never make people who disagree with you your opponents. A president is a unifier, the general public should never be in a position where they feel they need to oppose you.

Trump never attacked Hillary voters. He asked for them to give him a chance because they've been not giving the likes of him a chance and they've been failed. He welcomed the people Hillary shunned. He said he'd fight for Hillary voters even if they didn't like him or his policies, and would still try to make America work for them. This is how he managed to surge in almost every voter demographic unlike any other Republican in the last 30 years.

Hate to say it, but learn from Trump, his voters, and the voters let down in the liberal factions.
The political elite and media lived in the same bubble protected from the common person, and it was bound to burst sooner or later.

"Trump never attacked Hillary voters."

That's a great idea right there, but totally opposite from what they're used to. May be too far out of their comfort zone.

Neither did Hillary. She attacked racists, sexists, and homophobes; in the same speech she emphasised that lots of Trump supporters were ordinary, good people who were just dissatisfied. It's quite telling that she said "racists are deplorable" and people heard "Trump supporters are deplorable".

Trump, of course, attacked large sections of the electorate that typically vote Democrat, such as Hispanics, Muslims, and women. It just didn't stop him winning.

There are three viable strategies for 2020:

1) Focus more on dissatisfied working class white people. One way of doing this could be by running a left-wing populist like Sanders. This will be particularly viable if Trump's tax reforms prove unpopular. Another would be promising big investment in these states. This strategy focuses on shoring up support in New Hampshire and Maine and winning back supporters in the Rust Belt. Target map: http://www.270towin.com/presidential_ma ... /0GlQR.png

2) Continue with the current coalition of minorities and educated whites. This is a much narrower path. Yes, these voters are concentrated in a few states with high electoral votes, but smaller states get more bang for your buck because electoral votes aren't distributed proportionately. Changing demographics in states like Arizona, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, and Texas might make these more viable for the Dems, but this largely means giving up on Iowa, Ohio, and such. Target map: http://www.270towin.com/presidential_ma ... /K28Ln.png

3) Just hope that Trump's popularity declines further when he gets into office. Small swings in Wisconsin, Michigan, Florida, and Pennsylvania would hand the Democrats a victory - in some cases, less than one in 200 people voting D instead of R. In Michigan, one in 800. Target map: http://www.270towin.com/presidential_ma ... /gv47O.png

(of course there's also #4, which is "nominate an amazing candidate who does #1 and #2 together" (map) but I don't think that's really a strategy - it's a bit like saying "they need to win by getting more votes")

I think the party will split into two or possibly three camps, like the camps we've seen in the Republican Party recently (roughly: Trump/Carson, Cruz/Santorum, Romney/Kasich).

The left of the party will take Hispanic and black support for granted and push to win all through the Great Lakes and North East. Warren and Sanders are the obvious leaders here but are probably too old to stand in 2020 - I wonder whether Joe Kennedy could emerge as a next-generation leader of this group. Andy Cuomo is another option. Neither of those are hard left and may be outflanked by a Sanders type, potentially another total outsider.

Another group will call for a New Southern Strategy: win Arizona, Florida, and North Carolina, and target Georgia and even Texas. Winning Michigan would be a nice bonus. Julian and Joaquin Castro are talked about as the leaders of this group.

Finally, the "business as usual" group will of course slightly change their rhetoric - more populist - but they will focus on the same policies and issues that the party did under Clinton and Obama. Potential leaders here are Cory Booker and Kirsten Gillebrand.

That's not what she said.

Clinton expresses regret for saying 'half' of Trump supporters are 'deplorables'
http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/09/politics/ ... plorables/

NY Daily News: These Democratic candidates may make a run for the White House in four years

Cory Booker could be good.

Yes it is.


Perhaps you should check whether someone is right or wrong before you tell them that they are wrong.

Perhaps, before you tell your mother that Clinton says she is deplorable, you should check whether Clinton criticised Trump supporters, or just the racist ones. Unless your mother is a racist, of course.

Remember that Gallup Inc. 2016 registered voters were largely unaffiliated (40 percent, including myself). Affiliated Democrats (32 percent) and Republicans (27 percent) enjoyed less influence at the polls. This is why Trump campaigned to the unaffiliated independents, not his Republican Party which eschewed him and his campaign. America is no longer a partisan nation.

But, political parties had nowhere to go this year, and so, had no choice but to double down on their hardest of hardcore followers. Even these followers will fall away from their parties, especially those few who remain Democrats despite losing again and again and again. Are they angry? Sure, but anger is the one human emotion that is difficult to maintain over time. To create real "change" takes much, much more than intention and wishful thinking.

No, apart from a huge Trump administration mistake, the Democratic Party is assigned to obscurity for the next generation or more. After all, congressional redistricting will happen again just six years from now. A revitalized economy (however meek) almost ensures Republican control over the 2022 redistricting plan. Then there are the various state governments which will become more Republican in the future than they already are now.

So, a rebound for the Democrats? Ummm, no. It isn't in the cards.

The link I cited shows what she said ....

"To just be grossly generalistic, you can put half of Trump supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables," Clinton said. "Right? Racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic, you name it."

She made an open-ended statement, not restricting her condemnation to simply "racists".

"You name it" means anything a Trump supporter may think is deplorable.

Abolish the electoral college ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Hell if Trump pushed for it himself so it would take effect next election I'd be happy and could even respect him some. His campaign was about being for the people against the establishment. It would be a great gesture for him to dismantle one of the establishments most arcane features.

So California and New York will pick all our future presidents and most states will have no say. No thanks. After hearing the reason for the elector college I support it now. It keeps to our republic system and make sure all states have a fair representation in picking the president.