The Democratic Brand

Since the days of Federalists, Whigs and Democratic-Republicans, Americans naturally divide into two political groups: land and business owners versus working men and women. One side believes government must temper capitalism to protect workers from the excesses of businesses, manufacturing and finance. The other side believes that free capitalism is the best path to general affluence. Each side maintains a political party to protect and promote its competing economic beliefs and interests.

In the past, social issues were important but secondary to both parties. Both parties had isolationists and interventionists, liberals and conservatives. The Republican Party had liberals like Abraham Lincoln, Robert La Follette and Teddy Roosevelt; plus conservatives like Robert Taft, Herbert Hoover and William McKinley. Democrats had conservatives like James Polk, Grover Cleveland and George Wallace; plus liberals like Franklin Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson and Harry Truman. Where each party's base differed was on economic issues (e.g., taxes, tariffs, currency, workers rights and jobs). Election after election, pocketbook and job issues were the constant and most basic differences that  defined parties and their candidates.

Democrats upended this natural split in the 1960s. Instead of being the party of the working class, with liberal and conservative wings, Democrats expelled conservatives and became a social liberal party focused on civil rights. This rebranding was – and remains – disastrous for Democrats, for multiple reasons.

·        First, America’s temperament leans more towards conservatism than to social liberalism. According to polls, twice as many Americans self-identify as conservative as opposed to liberal. By rebranding itself as “liberal,” Democrats turned themselves into a minority party – and Republicans into a majority party.

·        Second, the elderly and wealthy are, as a group, cautious and conservative – and they vote 50% more often than young and poor Americans. As America’s median age continues to rise, the votes of conservative-leaning older people produce an even larger pro-Republican impact.

·        Third, The Electoral College is conservative. The 11 states of the Old Confederacy (160 votes) plus the Plains (32) and Western (27) states that regularly vote Republican = 219 Electoral College votes, 81% of the 270 needed to win the Presidency. These states also comprise 44% of seats in the US Senate. Those are tough numbers for Democratic candidates to surmount before a campaign even begins.

By rebranding itself as the party of social liberalism – as opposed to the party of the working men and women – Democrats ironically made social liberalism more difficult to achieve. Major social legislation requires long-term working majorities throughout government, including the courts, Congress, state houses and the White House. Democrats can produce this working majority if they identify – as Job #1 – the rights and wealth of working men and women. This historic brand will create the necessary political wins that can produce social liberalism. However, branding social liberalism as Job #1, the Democratic Party dooms itself into minority status, unable to produce socially liberal legislation. For liberals and working people, it is a self-destructive strategy.