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Similarly, the study laments the lack of attention that Democrats paid to young voters, taking them for granted under the assumption that Generation Z and millennials would be their reliable supporters before Trump snagged significant backing from young working-class men. Winning these young people back isn’t simply about sending them more text messages and streaming videos. The content delivered to these voters and the issues emphasized in these communications are even more important. Progressives and centrists have very different ideas on what to say to young people. Pretending that these substantive differences don’t exist is a poor way of resolving them.
In the meantime, potential candidates are moving forward on their own. The party’s current presidential frontrunner, California Governor Gavin Newsom, recently told an East Coast audience that Democrats needed to be “more culturally normal,” implying that the party’s focus on social and cultural issues has been unhelpful. Newsom has also said that “We have to be a party that understands the importance and power of the border, substantively and politically,” and suggested that he believed that allowing transgender athletes to participate in college and youth sports was “deeply unfair.” And he is encouraging other party leaders to follow his example in adopting a more combative attitude toward Trump. These seem like the type of discussions that could—and should—be led by the national party, shaped by a comprehensive examination of last year’s shortcomings, and provided as guidance to down-ballot candidates across the country.
The review also raises a number of logistical concerns, such as shortcomings in the Democrats’ voter outreach programs, necessary technological upgrades, and the lack of early voter engagement. It’s worth assuming that other tactical questions were addressed in the audit; it’s difficult to see how Democratic candidates will be better prepared next year by having these findings withheld from them.
This column began with a familiar quote from Churchill. Let’s conclude with an even less sympathetic observation from the author Michael Crichton:
“If you don't know history, then you don't know anything. You are a leaf that doesn't know it is part of a tree.”
A leaf that isn’t aware of its origins is not a particularly flattering analogy for a political party committed to regaining its majority. But it is perhaps a fitting one for a party that appears that it would rather avoid fleeting moments of public awkwardness in an odd-numbered year than be as prepared as possible for the challenges of the upcoming campaign season.
Want to talk about this topic more? Join Dan for his webinar “The Dan Schnur Political Report." And read more of Dan’s writing at: www.danschnurpolitics.com.
