# What should Dems be doing differently? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [August 24, 2017, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-dems-be-doing-differently/794588 "2017-08-24T19:43:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2017, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-dems-be-doing-differently/794588/41 "2017-09-06T16:57:44Z")
I like [this recent article.](http://www.politico.com/story/2017/09/05/third-way-democrats-jobs-party-242308) It makes the same claim that I and several other Dopers have been making for over a year now. > [@](#): > > Center-left think tank Third Way on Tuesday urged the Democratic Party to rebrand itself as “the jobs party” in a report that warns of the risks of adopting the policies and rhetoric of the far left. > … key voters believe Democrats prioritize poor citizens and some rich ones — but not the middle class. The Democrats also get obsessed with divisive positions like gun control. :smack: Jobs jobs **Jobs!!** That’s what the people want. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2017, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-dems-be-doing-differently/794588/42 "2017-09-06T17:33:10Z")
Selling yourself as the Jobs party is tough when unemployment is the lowest it has been since 2001. That might be different in 2020, but they might not. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2017, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-dems-be-doing-differently/794588/43 "2017-09-06T18:38:53Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Selling yourself as the Jobs party is tough when unemployment is the lowest it has been since 2001. That might be different in 2020, but they might not. > > Regards, > Shodan Wow. Examine [this graph](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/06/02/business/economy/unemployment-rate-1496406829177/unemployment-rate-1496406829177-facebookJumbo.png). Even if we assume that Trump started working his magic way back in November, most people who look at more data than some 4-word summary headline would draw a conclusion **completely opposite** to that of **Mr. Shodan.** Seriously, _ **click on that graph** _. The 2 or 3 millimeters at the far right continuing the trend under Obama is what provoked the above quoted remark? 😕 :smack: :eek: ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2017, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-dems-be-doing-differently/794588/44 "2017-09-06T18:50:58Z")
Obviously employment increased dramatically under Obama because he started with the economy in shambles. But that just segues discussion to the huge rise in unemployment during the Presidency _before_ Obama. The 2007-2008 financial crisis was not caused by an Act of God, nor by a butterfly flapping its wings. Effects have causes. Guess which Party’s Congressmen were pushing unsuccessfully for financial reforms during the Wall St. mischief which culminated in the crisis. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2017, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-dems-be-doing-differently/794588/45 "2017-09-06T19:18:39Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > Even if we assume that Trump started working his magic way back in November, most people who look at more data than some 4-word summary headline would draw a conclusion **completely opposite** to that of **Mr. Shodan.** So exactly how many people total comprise your “most people who look at more data than a 4-word summary headline”? Seriously. I would guess a terribly small percentage. Vastly outweighed by masses whose analysis (if any) went no further than **“Hmm, employment is currently very low, and Trump is currently president.”** IMO far too many of the Dems’ appeals presume far too much sophistication - and even interest - on behalf of a great majority of the voting public. ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2017, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-dems-be-doing-differently/794588/46 "2017-09-06T19:48:00Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > Wow. Examine [this graph](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/06/02/business/economy/unemployment-rate-1496406829177/unemployment-rate-1496406829177-facebookJumbo.png). Even if we assume that Trump started working his magic way back in November, most people who look at more data than some 4-word summary headline would draw a conclusion **completely opposite** to that of **Mr. Shodan.** > > Seriously, _ **click on that graph** _. The 2 or 3 millimeters at the far right continuing the trend under Obama is what provoked the above quoted remark? 😕 :smack: :eek: Your objection is really strange. Did you interpret Shodan’s post as claiming Trump was responsible? Shodan said that unemployment is the lowest it has been since 2001. The graph you posted doesn’t contradict that. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2017, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-dems-be-doing-differently/794588/47 "2017-09-06T20:45:51Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > On another note, Obama created the ACA, bailed out the auto industry (which saved over a million jobs, most of them white working class jobs) and supported labor unions. The WWC responded by voting republican more strongly than they ever have before. I seriously doubt any of those policies, which helped millions of working class whites, won Obama or the democrats much political support from the WWC. Because in the mind of Republican WWC, Trump making a token show of getting some random air conditioning company to save a few hundred jobs (for now) is “inspired leadership”. Obama saving out millions of auto industry jobs is “socialism”. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2017, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-dems-be-doing-differently/794588/48 "2017-09-06T22:23:33Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > Your objection is really strange. Did you interpret Shodan’s post as claiming Trump was responsible? Shodan said that unemployment is the lowest it has been since 2001. The graph you posted doesn’t contradict that. Are you saying that **Shodan** was playing sort of devil’s advocate? He was describing or even lamenting the 1-dimensional thinking of a typical GOP-leaning swing voter? In this case I apologize to **Shodan**. Please interpret my comments above as applying to the hypothetical on-the-fence voter **Shodan** references. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2017, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-dems-be-doing-differently/794588/49 "2017-09-07T02:23:18Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > I’ve got nothing against Gillebrand and Harris and I think they definitely have a place in the democratic party. However, if they become the true faces of the democratic party, it would also possibly be viewed as doubling down on coastal cosmopolitan elitism, which is hurting the Democrats. The Democrats are running deeper and deeper into the cities when they need to be venturing out more into the hill country and bad lands. I’m not against elevating the profile of Gillebrand, Harris, and Booker, but there are still some Democrats who are surviving in Trump country and the party needs to give them some love, too. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin)? ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2017, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-dems-be-doing-differently/794588/50 "2017-09-07T12:33:45Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > Are you saying that **Shodan** was playing sort of devil’s advocate? He was describing or even lamenting the 1-dimensional thinking of a typical GOP-leaning swing voter? In this case I apologize to **Shodan**. Please interpret my comments above as applying to the hypothetical on-the-fence voter **Shodan** references. No, I was talking about your thinking. Unemployment is as low as it’s been for sixteen years, therefore you think that jobs jobs jobs is a winning strategy for the Dems. I don’t think that will work very well. Maybe you should pick out a different issue that has improved over the last decade and a half and make that your focus. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2017, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-dems-be-doing-differently/794588/51 "2017-09-07T12:39:22Z")
What should Democrats be doing? That’s two different questions, so I’ll give my opinion on both. 1. What should Democratic politicians / the party leadership be doing? They should work on having younger, more charismatic people run for office. Democrats won’t regain power with the likes of Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, and Bernie Sanders. The younger leaders in the party need to step up. 2. What should Democratic voters be doing? I think voters, especially those on the far left, should realize that they can’t get everything they want all at once. Voters need to stop making the perfect the enemy of the good. If a moderate Democrat is running against a Tea Party type Republican, those on the far left should realize that yes, there is a difference between the two and that a moderate Democrat would be the better choice and vote accordingly. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2017, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-dems-be-doing-differently/794588/52 "2017-09-07T12:43:30Z")
Everything the Democrats do, politically speaking, should be about getting turnout up among groups (minorities and young people, chiefly) who turned out at much lower rates in '16 than in '12 and '08, IMO. I don’t think there’s any possible way to appeal to Trump-voting “working class whites” that wouldn’t further lower and depress the turnout of those critical minorities and young people. We Democrats have a winning formula, Obama’s: energized young people, minorities, and cosmopolitan white people. If they’re excited, we win, full stop. We need candidates that will excite them (IMO that means charisma plus at least one non-white candidate on a Prez ticket), and we need those candidates to talk about the issues in ways that excite them. Further, those voters will, IMO, be much easier to excite than the Trump voters will be to appeal to. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-should-dems-be-doing-differently/794588.md?page=2)