A Dem or a Dictator: Why Voters Are Choosing the Latter

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We are in the midst of a constitutional crisis.  We’re not approaching one.  We’re not getting dangerously close to one.  It is here.  Now.  One party is destroying this country, and the other party is idly standing by watching it happen.  This inaction is exacerbating the problem because voters are leaving the Democratic Party.  As the New York Times recently wrote, in the thirty states that track voter registration by party, Republicans outperformed Democrats in every state.  Nationwide, 53% of all voters view the Democratic Party unfavorably and within the party itself, nearly a third view their own party unfavorably.  I am one of them.   

The Democratic Party needs an overhaul.  I don’t mean this in the sense that the DNC needs new leadership.  I actually like Ken Martin’s vision for the party, but he’s working against a deeply ingrained system that is resistant to change.  But change we must, and we must change now. 

These are the changes Democrats need to address with due haste:

The Individual is the Most Important

People care about one thing above all else: themselves.  We can argue all day about how selfish that is and why it’s wrong to be oriented that way and why voters should care more about the bigger picture.  All that is fine and well, but at the end of the day, people will vote for the candidate they believe will benefit them the most.  That means we need to adjust our politics to how it impacts the voter personally. 

There is a reason why I list this topic first because it is the one thing that has caused Democrats to hemorrhage voters more than anything else.  We stopped caring about and fighter for the everyday American.  We liked sounding like the smartest party in the room, but this elitist attitude doesn’t speak to the average person.  When you really get down to it, all politics, regardless of which side of the political aisle you’re on, is about the basics.  People want to be able to feed their families, they want to be able to afford a place to live, and they want their kids to be safe.  That’s it.  Everything boils down to those basic needs and desires.  We as Democrats need to get back to that.

Trump knows this and he uses it to manipulate voters to the Democrats’ (and country’s) detriment.  That’s why things like the price of eggs resonated with so many during the 2024 election cycle.  Eggs were expensive.  Sure, there were a lot of factors that figured into why that was, but the bottom line was that eggs were expensive.  I personally paid $12 on one occasion for 18 eggs.  Twelve dollars for eggs!  Everyone buys eggs.  So, making that a central issue in a campaign was smart because it is something that everyone can relate to.  During the campaign, I saw many Democrats trying to convince voters that the price of eggs wasn’t that high rather than acknowledging what every American knew to be true and coming up with a comprehensive plan to address it.

The Harris campaign talked a lot about the economy, but the talk was very wonky.  Here’s what Harris said at the Economic Club of Pittsburgh: “We gather at a moment of great consequence in this election.  I believe we have an extraordinary opportunity to make our middle class the engine of America's prosperity to build a stronger economy where everyone everywhere has a chance to pursue their dreams and aspirations and to ensure that the United States of America continues to out innovate and out-compete the world.  Over the past three and a half years, we have taken major steps forward to recover from the public health and economic crisis we inherited.  Inflation has dropped faster here than the rest of the developed world…”  Super yawn.  She went on to give stats and numbers and none of that is relatable to the average person.  But if it were framed like, ‘hey, your breakfast this week is going to cost you fifty bucks, and I don’t like that and I’m going to fix that for you,’ people will sit up and listen.  Voters don’t need a discussion on the sausage making of the economy, they just want to know how it impacts them.

Talk as People, Not a Position

Related to the point above, the Dems tend to talk about things in a broader policy, theoretical framework.  That loses people.  Look at the debate on immigration as an example.  The Democrats talk about this issue in terms of human rights, due process, and general injustice.  All of that is valid, but the average person doesn’t necessarily understand the debate on immigration in those terms.  But if we did more to personalize it, we’d get more traction. 

If we were instead to frame the debate like, ‘my partner fled the country he was born in as a child and came to the United States as a refugee and he is now a member of the U.S. military, he fought in Iraq to protect our freedoms, he has two small children who go to the same school as your kids, and they don’t have to worry about being killed because of their ethnicity because America is a great place.’ Or what about pointing out that about 70% of the people who work on the farms that grow our food were born outside of the United States.  If they go away, the cost of those eggs we are all so worried about is going to skyrocket.  Or the owners of that kabob place where half the town orders from are immigrants.  If they go away, so does your favorite eatery.  There are many, many ways we can humanize the debate and bring it down to the individual, personal level, but the Dems are just not doing that.  They talk about policies and positions at the expense of the people.

But Republicans are personalizing this debate.  When they talk about immigrants, they almost always frame it like, ‘you are more unsafe because criminals are crawling over the border and committing crimes in your town against you and your family.’  That may not be true, it’s generally racist, and there’s an element of fear-mongering there, but it is a framing that resonates with the people because it personalizes the debate.  Democrats are not at all countering that narrative in any personalized way and, therefore, it comes across as just noise.

Communicate and Explain

How we talk to voters is maybe even more important than what we are talking about.  We need to shout from the rooftops the good things Democrats are doing.  And not just the good things, but the tangible, good things.  Things that have meaning behind them.  We need to tell people what we’ve done for them personally and how what we have done impacts them on the individual level. 

Democrats do not do enough to broadcast the good that they do.  They assume that everyone already knows.  Communication 101 is repetition.  People will not retain things they heard only once.  They need to be told it over and over again for them to associate those good things with Democrats.  But Democrats are largely silent.

Look at Trump’s tariffs.  In both April and September, Democrats were successful in getting some Republicans to oppose some of Trump’s broad tariff increases, but does the average voter know that?  Do they know why Democrats (and those few Republicans) did that?  And rather than using the standard line of ‘tariffs are taxes,’ make it tangible.  Say, ‘your next iPhone is going to cost twice as much as your last one because of Trump’s tariffs, and we voted against that increase.’  That’s something people will understand.  And then say it again.  And again.  And again.  Until voters remember.

Democrats also have a tendency to shove down the throats of voters what they think they should care about.  I talked about this in my piece about trans rights.  Trans rights and the ability to be treated with dignity and respect is a fundamental right, but most Americans do not personally know someone who is trans so to make that a central issue of a party is a recipe to disengage voters.   Talk to voters about things they know personally (e.g., the cost of housing, not being able to afford medicine, grocery prices, how a college education costs as much as a house, etc.) and they’ll support you.  Once you have their support, then they’ll come along in supporting more nuanced issues.

Leaders Who Lead

The Dems need leaders.  Not leaders in name or by position.  We need people who sound and act like leaders.  We’re seeing that with Gavin Newsom, Jasmine Crockett is doing it, and there are a few others, but within the Democratic Party, I can count on my fingers how many people are stepping up, speaking out, and leading.  Democratic voters are thirsty for leadership.  They want someone who can rally the troops.  They want someone who is forging a path forward.  They want someone with bold ideas who aren’t afraid to say them aloud.

Within Congress, I don’t see anyone in a leadership position doing that.  Where’s the plan of how to counter the Republicans’ narrative?  Where’s the absolute outrage at the degradation of our rights?  We look disorganized and out-of-touch and that’s not a good look for Dems.  A press conference in front of the Capitol isn’t enough. 

More than that, our democracy only works when we have checks and balances in place.  Right now, we do not.  The Supreme Court is a political pawn, no longer committed to the objective application of justice.  Congress, especially the Democrats in Congress, are failing the American people by not doing their job.  Things like eliminating agencies that were created, authorized, and funded by Congress, or proposing to end birthright citizenship, are things that should require congressional approval, but no longer do because Congress refuses to challenge the administration.

I’ll say it, though I know others are thinking it: Schumer has to go.

We have a lot of very good opportunities in many traditionally red areas of this country, and Democrats need to step up and lead in these areas.  Look at a place like Kansas.  Farmers are being crushed by Trump’s assault on immigrants.  Other countries that buy our agricultural products are buying them from other countries like Brazil now because of the tariffs.  The dismantling of USAID means that the U.S. government will no longer be buying $2B of agricultural products from U.S. farmers.  Rural healthcare is all but going away to the detriment of many, many people who need those services. 

If ever there was a place where Dems have an opportunity, it’s Kansas.  And they have a great Senate candidate in Christy Davis to go toe-to-toe with the Republican incumbent Roger Marshall who spends more time in Florida than he does in Kansas.  Roger Marshall was recently heckled at a town hall and in response he said, “A lot of folks have traveled a long way to be here. This is really Oakley’s town hall.”  He’s a senator for the whole state and should be willing to answer questions from anyone in the state.  Dems should have been all over that like white on rice, but instead they missed the occasion to pounce.  Democrats have an opportunity here to get a good person into the Senate, and they are not investing the time or money into helping candidates like Christy Davis.  We don’t win when we don’t fight.

Don’t Let the Extremists Dictate the Party’s Positions

Related to that last point, we can’t let the fringes of the party be the loudest voices (and I’m not suggesting Newsom or Crockett are).  We’ve seen how that works on the right and it’s not good for our country.  I’ve talked about this before, but when we have a few who rule the party—and I see this more at the local level than at the national level—and are unaccepting of different perspectives within the left, we alienate voters. 

According to Gallup, independent voters were at an all-time high of forty-three percent in 2023.  Democrats, according to that same poll, are at an all-time low of only twenty-seven percent.  Clearly Dems are doing something wrong or perhaps rather, their messaging is not resonating with voters. 

A lot of Democrats hail Zohran Mamdani as a political hero, the future of the party.  His brand of politics may be just fine for New York City, but Democrats would be foolish to think that brand of Democrat will translate nationwide.  Socialism isn’t going to work in most of the United States.  There are cultural implications of that system of government that go beyond the economics of it (e.g., the importance of individualism, a historical fear of communism, that we are a capitalist society, etc.).  This is a topic worthy of a larger discussion, and there are elements of socialism that can be beneficial (like limiting corporate influence on our politics), but for purposes of this discussion, the bottom line is that a candidate like Zohran Mamdani is not winnable in most places throughout the United States and Democrats should not put their stock in similar candidates throughout the country…unless we want to lose.

That’s probably one of the most important points: to win, we need to get people who voted for Trump to vote for us.  Alienating voters won’t get us there.  Endorsing far-left candidates won’t get us there either.  Being the party of “not Trump” won’t get us there. 

Emphasize Party Outsiders

The Democrats cannot continue doing the same ol’ same ol’.  We need new leadership and a new direction.  We need to get back to fighting.  Establishment candidates need not run.  Candidates who want to maintain the status quo need to step aside and those in elected positions who are maintaining the status quo either actively or through their silence and/or inaction need to step down.

We need Democrats who will react sufficiently in the moment, who will seize opportunities.  It’s a matter of having candidates and elected officials at all levels of government who understand the challenges their constituents are facing and then having a plan to address those challenges.  And do that all the while countering the very real injustices coming from the right—the assault on free speech, the erosion of due process rights, and many others.  Say it loudly, explain how these injustices are hurting Americans, and then have a specific plan on what you are going to do better and tell people about it in terms they understand.

Foster a Sense of Belonging in the Party and Engage Voters

Being a Democrat is a dirty word in a lot of places right now.  I’ve been phone banking for certain Democratic candidates and some of the people I’ve spoken to are afraid to be a Democrat.  They don’t want to give to campaigns because they fear being targeted.  Granted, that speaks to a larger issue about political violence and retribution, something I’d strongly argue is a sentiment Trump himself has fostered in this country.  They don’t want a public record of supporting Democrats even if they do support the candidate.  We’ve lost our democracy if people are afraid of stating and standing up for their political beliefs. People shouldn’t have to feel like they need balls of steel to say who they support politically.  The fact that some Democrats do feel this way, particularly in red areas, shows just how weak the party is at the moment.  People want to feel they are a part of something and that their party has their back. 

I cannot say right now that I feel like the Democrats are actively engaging in efforts that work to improve my life and a lot of people in many other places feel the same. 

At the local level at least, I see Democrats raising my taxes making a very expensive place to live—Arlington, VA—all the more unaffordable, while they lecture voters about affordability.  Democrats talk about voter suppression but then propose rules that takes away the right to vote from tens of thousands of people.  They talk about a big tent party but then are deeply critical of more moderate candidates.  They cry out against racism but then drag their feet in speaking out when one of their own does something blatantly racist.

I don’t know what the solution is to bring people back, but I do know it starts with building trust, listening to voters, showing people that you are out there advocating for them, and then working towards policies that improve our lives in actuality, not theoretically. 

Democrats need to make voters proud to be a Democrat again.

It also begins with engaging voters at the ground level.  I’m not delusional to think one person can change everything (though some may argue one person—Trump—is changing everything, albeit for the worse).  If we can get many people each do small things to support our democracy, collectively we will make a difference.  And when voters feel like they are making a difference, however small, they will be supportive of larger party initiatives and more importantly, they will support Democratic candidates.  Democrats ask for money, incessantly with a thousand text messages a day, but we must go beyond that and ask for action—making a phone call, writing an op-ed, attending a rally—in order for voters to feel like they are doing their part to move the needle forward.

Acknowledge When the Right is Right

Although the instances are few and far between, there have been some good things that have come out of the Trump administration.  Things like removing processed foods from school meals, phasing out artificial dyes from our food, putting a flagpole up in front of the White House, these are not bad things.  When we acknowledge the good things the other side is doing, it gives us credibility.  We aren’t seen just as being obstinate for the sake of opposing everything the other side does—we’re seen as being willing to work together for the common good. 

Believe it or not, but I don’t think the average American appreciates our current state of politics.  That could be the understatement of the century.  They don’t like the fighting and dysfunction.  They want to see politicians as the people they’ve elected to make our lives better and when all they see is fighting, it breeds distrust in our government.  Distrust and cynicism are like the c. diff of society.  C. diff is a bacteria that grows when the good bacteria in your body dies.  I had it once after I got a nasty infection (read: I almost died) after donating my kidney.  When there’s no good, the bad will flourish.  Finding moments of agreement is the foundation to dig ourselves out of the mess we find ourselves in today with our democracy. 

The things I list above are not an ala carte menu.  We need to be doing all these things now, today, not waiting for the next election.  I am scared about the state our country is in right now and I worry much about the irreputable damage it is doing.  I have had literal discussions about what I need to have in place in case I need to leave this country.  But before that happens, I want to fight.  I want to do my part in making sure we still have a democracy.  And I will do my part.  I hope you’ll join me.