“This Is the Way You Beat Trump — and Trumpism.”

📰 Summary: How the Democratic Party Can Beat Trumpism

The author argues that the Democratic Party needs a more pluralistic approach to politics to regain power, focusing on representation rather than ideological purification. The core problem is that the number of places where the party is competitive has shrunk.

Winning More Places and People

Need for Pluralism: To win back control of the House and Senate, Democrats must compete in more places, especially those won by Trump (e.g., Alaska, Florida, Ohio, Texas).

Representation Over Ideology: The party should not choose to be one thing (e.g., populist, moderate, socialist) but to be more things. Success requires embracing internal differences as a strength.

Political Tolerance: Drawing on political theory, the author stresses that politics requires accepting the reality of different groups and different interests within a common rule, building genuine relationships with people who are “genuinely other people.”

The Problem of “Preachy” Politics

Alienation of Voters: A key issue is that many voters who left the Democratic Party perceive them as “preachy,” feeling the party looks down on them and does not respect them, leading to a “fundamental feeling of alienation.”

Online vs. Offline Politics: The culture of the professional political classes, which exists largely online and is influenced by social media algorithms, prioritizes expressive politics (aimed at those who already agree) over the work of winning offline elections and building broad coalitions.

Ideological Drift and Political Losses (2012-2024)

The author cites data showing that the Democratic Party’s shift sharply to the left on nearly every issue from 2012 to 2024 has correlated with a loss of support among key demographic groups:

Hispanic Voters: Loss of support due to moving left on immigration.

Young Voters: Loss of ground on guns and student loans.

Black Voters: Loss of ground on race issues.

Asian American Voters: Loss of ground on education.

Working-Class Voters: Loss of ground on economics.

Sole Gain: The only major group in which Democrats saw improvement was college-educated white voters.

The Value of Internal Disagreement

Case Studies in Over-performance: The piece highlights the success of Democrats who maintain a degree of independence from the national party brand, like Senator Joe Manchin (who left the party after retiring) and Representative Jared Golden, who won in a district Trump carried by nearly 10 points. They represent views the progressive wing often struggles with.

Closing the Right: While the party has made room for the left (e.g., democratic socialists), it has “closed down on its right,” treating compromise and difference on key issues as betrayal. Historically, the party succeeded by including pro-life Democrats (e.g., passing the ACA).

Electoral Reality: Democrats cannot protect or restore rights (like reproductive rights) if the coalition that cares about them cannot compete in more places, which may mean representing views Democrats struggle with on various issues.

The Political Opportunity

Public Concern: A recent New York Times/Siena poll found that the second biggest problem facing the country (after the economy) is political division, with 64% saying the country is too divided to solve its problems.

Winning Coalition: The coalition that can demonstrate “liberality”—a generous way of thinking and acting toward fellow citizens, respecting mutual connectedness, and finding ways to turn disagreements into fruitful exchange—has a clear political opportunity to build a majority.