Democrats are at a crossroads. We are severely outnumbered at the worst possible time in our country’s political history. Not since the 1920s has a Democratic Leader other than Nancy Pelosi presided over a smaller caucus. We are the only ones left standing as a bulwark against the very worst instincts of President-elect Trump and decisive Republican majorities.
By any measure, we arrived at this point through some combination of either outright offending or at least failing to inspire nearly every segment of our party’s base voters. If Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and the House Democratic Minority Leader to be selected on November 30th are unable to build a lasting emotional connection to America’s working-class families, we risk failing irrevocably in 2018.
That’s why I am calling for a change at the top of our party’s leadership and why I have announced my bid for Democratic Minority Leader. I decided to run for this position to provide every American with a stronger and more prosperous economic future and fight against the policies and rhetoric of fear and division that we have seen coming from the Trump administration and Republican-led Congress.
If we don’t start speaking directly to our base voters, Democrats risk becoming even more irrelevant in much of the country, while the Republican Party and President-elect Trump push forward a divide and conquer agenda. Our next Democratic Leader must connect with voters in every competitive congressional district in the country and make a direct pitch to those voters on behalf of the Democratic candidate.
“If we don’t start speaking directly to our base voters, Democrats risk becoming even more irrelevant in much of the country.”
I know we can win back the voters we lost to President-elect Trump, those who drifted away during this election, and those too disillusioned to turn out. I know this because I won the votes of tens of thousands of people in my own Congressional district who chose to vote for a social and economic progressive while also voting for Donald Trump. However, we won’t get there unless we are willing to step out of our comfort zone. We must think big, act boldly, and select leaders who have a plan for winning.
The people I represent in Northeast Ohio and the tens of millions of workers across our country are proud to be called blue collar. They have an expectation that a job will be good enough to provide a middle-class life and an expectation of being able to send their kids to college—the American Dream. When we talk about Democrats’ failure with working-class voters, we need to consider that one-third of America’s working class is made up of people of color, while six in ten Latinos and over half of African Americans consider themselves working class. If we don’t connect with an economic message, we risk alienating many of the most loyal elements of our party.
In a globalized economy, however, good paying jobs are more difficult to come by. And despite Americans working harder than ever, their wages have stagnated and the cost of living has risen, forcing families to save less. Many are genuinely scared for their future and need to know that their elected officials understand their plight and are working to make things better. We must not—as President-elect Trump continues to do—make promises we cannot keep. What we will do is speak with an understanding of the very real pain that drove so many Obama voters to give up on the Democratic Party and throw their lot in with a man who has a long record of stiffing his own workers while living in a gilded penthouse.
Democrats can adopt a progressive economic message that focuses on large, direct infrastructure investments, affordable health care, portable pensions, and public-private investments that promote advanced manufacturing. For 50 percent of Americans who are holding onto jobs but still live paycheck-to-paycheck, we will raise the minimum wage, enact progressive family-leave policies, and make child care affordable. We will acknowledge not only the benefits of globalization and technological change, but also the very real and lasting damage those trends inflict on many regions of our country. We will do this without sacrificing the social progress we’ve made in recent years and we will never compromise on core issues like defunding planned parenthood, privatizing Medicare and making sure every American has equal access to the ballot box. Hopelessness is a product of economic and social adversity. That is why Democrats must always be the party of aspiration and inclusion.