Democrats have an identity crisis
Democrats aren’t going to win next year’s midterms just by sneering at progressives and offering repaired roads and bridges in some distant future.
It’s all good to spend $1.2 trillion building or fixing streets and bridges and all the other infrastructure Democrats rushed to approve after their devastating election loss in Virginia.
But guess what? Voters won’t give you credit for any of that unless they can actually drive over those new roads and bridges before they cast their ballots next November.
None of that good stuff will be ready anytime soon. Heck, federal, state and local governments have yet to hand out billions of rental assistance dollars approved months ago for folks facing evictions.
But imagine for a second that government bureaucracy moves at the speed of light and does rebuild America’s crumbling infrastructure on time for next year’s election.
What good would it do for Americans to drive over a smooth road on an empty stomach?
Or that the automobile – or the bridge itself – serves as the only roof above their head?
Or that the paycheck isn’t enough to make ends meet? Or that immigrants keep buying fake immigration papers to get a job that Americans won’t do?
Or that parents can’t pay for babysitting or even send their kids to school without waging a war over masks?
Those are just some of the real problems that Americans across racial and political spectrums face. Yet Democrats are betting future elections on infrastructure and blaming progressives for voters’ rebuke in Virginia?
Yeah, that’ll go well for Democrats. There’s plenty of advice out there: Be less progressive (don’t talk about climate change or human investment). Appeal to white moderates and suburban women (forget minorities). Embrace culturally conservative blue-collar voters. Avoid the intraparty skirmishes. And keep pushing old-guard candidates who can stick to the party’s line.
Say what you may about progressives like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. At least they’re unapologetic about what they want for their constituents and Americans everywhere, reforms such as living wages, cleaner air, lower prescription drugs and access to college and health care.
What do the rest of Democrats stand for? You know, the centrists and conservatives who are more concerned about protecting their own power over the needs of ordinary folks?
The problem is clear. Democrats and others have spent so much energy fighting Trump and his minions that they’ve forgotten to articulate what they stand for – what they actually have to offer.
“The reality is that the (Republican) candidates here in Arizona are doing their best to cater to Trump, they’re doing their best to cater to that base,” Arizona Democratic Party chair and state Sen. Raquel Terán recently told The Arizona Republic. “So for us not to talk about that fact doesn’t make any sense.”
That’s the Democrats’ winning formula?
Sure, they can’t ignore Trump’s grip on GOP candidates in Arizona and elsewhere. But for the millionth time, what are Democrats offering — other than opposing Trump, approving new roads and bridges and talking about the “stolen election?”
Cue Katie Hobbs, the Democratic secretary of state seeking the party’s nomination for governor. She finally pivoted her attack-the-election-auditsham claim to advocate for government efficiency and boosting transparency.
“We will reform your government and work to build the most ethical and accountable administration in history,” Hobbs said during a news conference at the state Capitol after the Virginia vote.
That is the Democratic “frontrunner” being bold and visionary? Talking about efficiency and transparency?
What the heck does that mean, anyway? She never explained but I guess Arizonans will find out later — or not.
Either way, Hobbs’ vague pledges to position herself as a centrist gubernatorial candidate is as appealing as the Democrats’ victory lap over approved funding of roads and bridges.
Democrats problem isn’t just messaging.
It’s an identity crisis.
The party establishment apparently thinks it can win the day simply through new roads and bridges — and by blaming Trump and progressives for everything. Good luck with that, Democrats.