Democrats are in the political wilderness and don’t seem to understand how they found themselves there. In response, they recently held a retreat to try to figure out how to appeal to voters again, especially working class voters.
It’s amazing that they needed a retreat for this with consultants and lists of recommendations, but they get a few points for effort, right?
FOX News reports:
Democrats’ ‘comeback retreat’ suggests party to ’embrace patriotism’ to win back working-class voters
Democrats were told to “embrace patriotism” and “get out of elite circles” last month during a retreat focused on how to regain the working-class vote.
Documents first obtained by Politico detailed a “Comeback Retreat” held by the center-left political group Third Way last month that sought “to deliberate on why Democrats are struggling with working-class voters around cultural issues, the nature of the economic trust gap with this critical group and ideas for how to address both problems.”
The documents, later obtained by Fox News Digital, summarized key takeaways from the retreat on why Democrats have a “cultural disconnect” with the working class and why Democrats are “not trusted” when it comes to the economy.
Most takeaways focused on Democrats’ “faculty lounge” problem of being seen as too judgmental and beholden to their far-left members.
Here are ten of the recommendations that came out of the meeting, via Hot Air:
1. Overemphasis on Identity Politics Many working-class voters feel Democrats prioritize niche identity-based groups with overbroad, unifying messages, making them feel excluded rather than included.
2. The “Faculty Lounge” Problem Democrats are often viewed as judgmental, out-of-touch, and dismissive of those without elite education or progressive views. This makes the party seem disconnected from everyday people.
3. Failure to Prioritize Economic Concerns While voters struggle with jobs, wages, and inflation, Democrats are seen as more focused on cultural and social issues than on economic progress and opportunity.
4. Weak Messaging & Communication The party’s language is often vague, politically correct, or overly intellectual, making it hard for working class voters to connect with Democratic policies.
5. Fear of Dissent Within the Party Democrats are perceived as intolerant of internal debate, where questioning progressive orthodoxy results in backlash rather than open discussion. Candidates and operatives need to feel more comfortable just saying NO to activist groups and unpalatable far-left ideas.
6. Attachment to Unpopular Institutions Democrats are seen as defending elite institutions (academia, media, government bureaucracy) while being critical of institutions working-class people value (churches, small businesses, police).
7. Allowing the Far Left to Define the Party Activist groups and progressive staffers push unpopular cultural positions, making it seem like Democrats are more extreme than they actually are. Operatives and campaigns must remember that activist groups exist to promote their single issue and raise money around it, not to make Democrats electable.
8. Reactionary Rather Than Proactive Democrats often let Republicans set the terms of cultural debates (e.g., crime, immigration) instead of clearly defining their own positions in a way that resonates with voters.
9. Overreliance on Buzzwords & Political Correctness Terms like “pregnant people” and “Latinx” alienate working-class voters who see them as out of touch with real-world terms and vocabulary.
10. Lack of a Positive National Identity Message Democrats focus too much on America’s flaws (racism, sexism, inequality) without acknowledging the country’s progress and potential, making them seem pessimistic and unpatriotic.
How exactly are the Democrats going to put any of this into practice? Their base voters reject almost every concept on the list.
And why should anyone trust Democrats if they try to follow this list, knowing that they’re only doing it to fool people into voting for them?
