Democratic Report Explores Blue-Collar Struggles: 'Our Brand Is Pretty Damaged'

[RandySF]

Last fall, Democrats pulled off significant victories across the industrial Midwest, reasserting power in a region that had become increasingly favorable to Republicans — but the party still faces stark and sometimes worsening challenges in largely white, working-class counties that will help decide the outcome of the next presidential election.

That is among the conclusions of a new, unsparing report from Democratic strategists on their party’s vulnerabilities and opportunities in towns and counties hit hard by deindustrialization in Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. In the 2016 election, Democrats faced staggering setbacks in many of these areas, but the party has worked to regain ground since.

“Our brand is pretty damaged in these places,” warns the report, a project of the nonprofit group American Family Voices, which is assessing blue-collar voters outside major metropolitan areas and refers to the places in the study as “Factory Towns.” “Voters are both cynical about what we are saying now, and unaware of all that Democrats have accomplished that will directly benefit them.”

But, the report adds, pointing to recent legislative achievements, “Democrats have their best opportunity to make progress in these counties in a generation.”




https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/22/us/politics/democrats-factory-towns-2024.html

[Hermit-The-Prog]

1. Can't count on the teevee to tell about the accomplishments.

[roamer65]

2. +1000

[emulatorloo]

3. +++

[Pinback]

15. Or AM radio. (nt)

[GusBob]

4. No snark but cant access the article

sounds interesting

[Fiendish Thingy]

5. Beware of consultants advising Dems to move to a Republican-defined "middle"

Dems need to be less concerned about white boomers with no college education who hang out in Midwest diners who might vote for a democratic candidate, and instead focus resources on young voters in their 20’s who, when they show up to the polls (and have been in increasing numbers), are predictable, dependable Democratic voters.

Increasing turnout among young voters by even just 10% would have significant impact on results up and down the ballot, and across the nation.

But the consultant class can’t make as much money from that theory.

American Family Voices, the dark money PAC that created the report, is a very small organization run by former staffers for Bill Clinton and Mike Dukakis.

https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/american-family-voices/

IMO, this is a headline grabbing tactic to drum up business before the 2024 cycle, and should be completely ignored.

[Keepthesoulalive]

8. Thank You

Please stop chasing people who don't want to be reached . Lets make sure our Rainbow coalition can vote.

[leftstreet]

9. +1

[TheRealNorth]

10. Yeah, it's fucking weird

These people were devastated by free trade agreements and the loss of labor power, but they are going to vote for neoliberal Democrats? I am kind of doubtful of that, and I suspect these people are more motivated by perceived cultural grievances than progressive economic policies.

[lapucelle]

11. Do dark money pacs usually list their donor organizations?

From your link:

Donor Organizations
American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) (Labor Union)
All Hands on Deck Network (Movement Voter Project) (Non-profit)
American Bridge 21st Century Foundation (Non-profit)
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) (Labor Union)
American Federation of Teachers (AFT) (Labor Union)
Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) (Non-profit)
Communications Workers of America (CWA) (Labor Union)
NEO Philanthropy (Non-profit)
NextGen Climate Action (Non-profit)
Proteus Fund (Non-profit)

==========================================================================

Also from your link:

Mike Lux
Mike Lux is a Democratic political strategist affiliated with Democracy Partners, and his own firm, Progressive Strategies LLC. His client list has included the League of Conservation Voters, Planned Parenthood, and Democracy Alliance. He is a board member at the Arca Foundation and was involved in the founding of the Center for American Progress. He is also on the advisory committee of Our Story Hub, a project of the Proteus Fund which advises left-of-center politicians and groups on communications strategies.

Lux was a White House employee during the administration of President Bill Clinton, served on the Obama–Biden Presidential transition team, and was also a staffer for the 1988 Joe Biden Presidential campaign. In the late 1990s he worked at People For the American Way.

He has written two books. How to Democrat in The Age of Trump (2018) is a strategic manifesto advising Democrats they will win more elections and reconnect with “working class” voters by pivoting away from centrist Democrats and more strongly toward the “grassroots” left on issues such as energy policy, criminal justice, campaign finance restrictions, immigration, and attacking the financial industry. The Progressive Revolution: How the Best in America Came to Be (2009) is Lux’s history of the ideological conflict between the left and right throughout American history and the instances where he believes “progressives” have won these battles.

[brooklynite]

12. Disagree...

We CANNOT win elections (especially Statewide and national) based solely on urban/Blue State base voters and young college grad voters.

Consider our desire to win more Senate seats or Electoral votes. Name a new state where base voters will deliver victories we don't already have.

[Fiendish Thingy]

19. Increasing young voter turnout by 10% in swing states

Would make them no longer swing states, but blue states, at least for presidential elections, but with ripple effects all down the ballot.

MI, WI, GA, NV, possibly even NC and OH.

[Pinback]

23. +11,780 (nt)

[Pinback]

16. We should be registering more young, Black, and Brown voters

many of whom live in rural areas. “Rural” doesn’t mean old White conservatives exclusively.

[GusBob]

17. Actually I looked thru the report

I dont seen a boogie-man here. It is well documented that voters in the rust belt towns turned from BO to DT. Blue areas turned purple, purple areas turned red. Swing voters were lost in these areas.

The report focuses on economic issues that are affecting voters there. For example, in some places the Hispanic demographic is sky-rocketing, and it seems they are trending GOP lately

I'm not discounting younger voters at all. I'd bet they would love to be able to own a home instead of paying increasing rent.

If they still lived in their home "factory town", that is. Instead of moving to urban areas where we don't need any more votes. Maybe once the factory shut down, there were no decent jobs in their old home town. Perhaps there are not as many younger voters to court in these areas?

It seems to me the report is about issues affecting voters and residents in specific regions.

Dinner table stuff, wages, inflation, health care, home ownership etc are money issues to voters of all ages

And the report seems to indicate they are more important in these regions than the culture war that is turning to be a GOP issue for 2024. Dont tell the "anti-woke" crowd.

ETA: Biden actually talked about this in the SOTU. Seems your warning is being ignored

[Fiendish Thingy]

20. Biden talked about it in the SOTU as a form of governance

Governing in ways that bring blue collar jobs for infrastructure projects, bring back manufacturing jobs to the US.

I’m not warning against that kind of governing.

I’m warning against consultants promoting that kind of campaigning.

If Dems govern in ways that benefit all Americans, including blue collar workers, they won’t need a special campaign strategy that focuses on blue collar swing voters, and implicitly ignores increasing turnout among young, diverse, dependably Democratic voters.

Young voters are the largest pool of untapped, dependably Democratic voters in the nation.

Period.

[GusBob]

21. Look at the recent win in Wisconsin Supreme Court

She campaigned on VALUES, i.e. things that effect all voters, things they care about, and things they want to hear and to be heard about.

I suggest you look thru the AFV report, its pretty thorough. Way more encompassing than the age of voters. In fact they specifically mention getting the college town voters aint enough to win statewide and nationwide elections. We are already winning there.

I think Hilary C won Manhattan by something like 2 million votes, but lost the nationwide election by 85k or so in Wisconsin, Ohio and Pennsylvania? Thats kinda the point.

I fail to see how concentrating on a single demographic is going to win over small factory town voters.

You campaign based upon how you want to govern

[Fiendish Thingy]

22. HRC would have won if 100,000 more young voters had turned out in the Rust Belt

Thanks for making my point.

The MSM has spent seven years interviewing economically anxious non-college educated white boomers in rust belt diners, crafting a narrative that they are the segment of the electorate upon which all the Dems future hope depend.

Again, I repeat, young voters 18-29, are the largest pool of untapped dependably Democratic voters in the nation, not rural blue collar voters.

Neither segment should be outright ignored, but there’s a big difference between trying to change the mind of a relatively small number of consistent voters who previously voted for Trump, and motivating someone with firm, consistent progressive values to show up at the polls to express those values.

[Magoo48]

6. I wish all our Dem. Congress Critters would borrow Bernie's drums and bang them hard and often.

Keep pointing to corporate greed and tying it to republican payola, keep pointing out how social issues are designed to keep us divided and from focusing on their disdain for working class folks.

[inthewind21]

13. How'd

it work out for Bernie? Until the citizens/voters of this country decide to become responsible for seeking out knowledge on how their own government works and not depending on being "told" we'll be stuck in this hole.

[griffi94]

7. After 30 years of RW media, real world results don't count for much.

That's for the people over 50 years, anyway. They've spent the last 30 years dittoing to Limbaugh
then they moved over to 3-5 hours a day of Fox. Democrats could make it rain money and they'll find
some reason to hate them anyway.
The focus should be on their kids and grandkids. The Boomers and about half of Gen-X are lost forever.

[Peacetrain]

14. Do not be afraid to call out the Trumpians as the traitors they are to our great Democracy

Label them what they are.. Traitors.. there is no way in hell that people have missed what the Putinistas have done.. even if they watch Fox 24/7.. they know.. they are just in denial of the facts I am done with babying them.. taking them by the hand to show them the facts.. they close their eyes and no no no..

[Vinca]

18. If the brand is damaged among blue collar people, it's because Democrats don't talk about their

accomplishments enough. You have to practically beat information into people's heads. I heard a tidbit about the Georgia grand jury, for example, that some had never heard the 11,780 votes phone call before. How does a person miss that????? No wonder they're clueless when it comes to all the things Biden and the Democrats have done for them.