What democrats should do to retain voters after defeating Trump and how populism can help
The outcome of this election, even more than the 2018 midterms, could reshape American politics and policy for years to come.
But if the Democrats are to make the most of their gains, they must be ambitious – even audacious.
Read more about what the Democrats need to change to keep voters on their side in the column by Reed Galen, an American political activist and Founder of Civic Forum, originally published on the Project Syndicate and republished with the copyright holder’s permission: Populism is essential: how democrats can retain voters who turned against Trump.
According to the author, the midterm results, like much of US politics over the last decade, come down to one constant: Donald Trump. Trump is the alpha and the omega of the MAGA era.
While anger at Trump was the main variable shaping the election’s outcome, as the author claims, the Democrats benefited from the high quality of their candidates in most key races. In states like Kansas, Pennsylvania, and Texas, candidates matched the local spirit with the anger of an overwhelmed electorate.
"Here, again, the Democrats are at risk of learning the wrong lesson: when the party’s moderate wing claims credit for flipping red states, it overlooks that the US remains in an anti-establishment, populist economic era."Here, again, the Democrats are at risk of learning the wrong lesson: when the party’s moderate wing claims credit for flipping red states, it overlooks that the US remains in an anti-establishment, populist economic era.
Many of the Democratic winners, such as Texas Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa, are self-described populists," Reed Galen writes.
Populism, especially economic populism, gives professional Democrats hay fever. They find it aesthetically off-putting and incompatible with the dying neoliberal economic order to which they remain stubbornly devoted, as the political analyst believes.
"The time has come for the Democratic Party to cast aside institutional caution and broaden its ambition," Galen continues.
He points out that American voters do, in fact, hate data centers. They also understand that unfettered AI development poses economic, social, and existential risks. If Congressional Democrats bow to Big Tech, they will soon find themselves back where they were two years ago.
According to him, at the state level, new Democratic governors must understand the nature of their own power. To wait for a divided Washington to get things done while Trump still occupies the White House is to waste time. They should hit the ground running with bold, creative agendas that focus not just on bringing costs down, but also on pushing wages up.
The author thinks, over the next 18 months, the field for new ideas, systemic and economic, in the US will be the most open it is likely to be for decades.
But the Democratic Party’s elation will need to cool and harden into determination. Where we are today is not where we need to be, nor is it where Americans expect to find themselves tomorrow, next year, or five years from now.