My friend Jason Stanford has a wonderful piece in the Austin American-Statesmen today. Jason correctly points out that liberals waiting for things to get so bad that people will eventually vote out hard-right Republicans is a doomed strategy. He’s talking about the Texas legislature where crazy legislation is the norm.
Here in North Carolina, we should take note. Those of us hoping that the GOP would stop “reforming” and start governing are in for a rude awaking. While the one bright spot might be shelving the so-called “religious freedom bill,” that’s the exception, not the rule. They’ve passed an unnecessary and potentially dangerous 72-hour abortion waiting period bill. They will probably pass the unconstitutional bill that allows magistrates to opt out of marrying gay couples. And they will almost certainly make guns more accessible and permissible in more places.
Unfortunately, most North Carolinians aren’t going cry foul. In fact, they won’t even know the legislation has passed and, if they do, they won’t care unless it directly impacts their personal lives. That’s how politics works.
The religious freedom bill disappeared because Republicans worried that it would scare off businesses, not because of a broad public outcry. While Moral Mondays have helped highlight bad legislation and fire up the Democratic base, they are not part of broad-based popular backlash. To oust Republicans, liberals are going to have to get organized and accept that much of the state is center-right, not center-left.
Politics everywhere is the art of compromise, but it’s even more so in a state as evenly divided as North Carolina. Democrats won’t win a statewide contest with a candidate in the mold of Elizabeth Warren, but they can win with a candidate in the mold of Roy Cooper. They can’t win with a message of punishing the rich, but they can win with a message of helping both the working class and businesses succeed.
The broader debate should be about what constitutes an attractive business environment. Republicans think it’s primarily lower taxes and less regulation. Democrats think it’s more about an well-trained workforce, an emphasis on education, and a high quality of life that includes protecting resources as well as exploiting them.
As Jason points out, it can always get worse and if Democrats don’t respond correctly, it will. We should view Texas as a cautionary tale. The crazy running through their legislature could be coming our way soon. Democrats in North Carolina need to hang their ideological purity at the door and get ready for a political fight.
Thomas Mills is the founder and publisher of PoliticsNC.com. Before beginning PoliticsNC, Thomas spent twenty years as a political and public affairs consultant. Learn more >
I agree that failure to speak up and out for what Democrats are supposed to stand for has cost us elections. If you’ll notice-even if the policies are often diametrically opposed to the best interest of many voters, in a state that is allegedly more Democratic than Republican-the GOP speaks primarily in one voice-continuously and often wrongly. I believe because of their persistence to stand up for many harmful policies they have won elections. It might prove a little more difficult in the future since they won’t be able to wave the anti-Obama flag, although no doubt part of their strategy is to not only put minorities in their place, but to put women in their place. But I have no doubt that as long as Democrats distance themselves from their party and its policies in an attempt to win Republican votes which they will not get-they will continue to lose elections.Seems a bit dumb to me.
Will, you hit the nail directly on the head. It is vital to speak to what is important to what I like to call “real” people. Real people as opposed to political junkies. I think you may be incorrect though to characterize them as unengaged or disengaged. They just aren’t hyper engaged like those of us who live and breath this stuff. They are a bit busy taking care of themselves and their families.
It’s vital to listen to them and speak to what they care about. How we speak to them is critically important too. The last thing we want to do is come off as being shrill and strident and highly ideological as the Republicans do. That is the road to causing these regular people to sit on their hands which cedes the field to the Republicans in too many places where we can compete with and beat them.
A young couple with three kids in day care just got one hell of an education on what Republican tax “reform” did to them. The same is true for the older couple with large medical expenses. We need to be sure these people are clear on who screwed them. And remind them that these Republicans are so blinded by ideology that they still insist that they gave all these folks who paid more taxes a tax cut.
Let the Republicans continue on their witch hunts for ideological purity within their own party. Hell, encourage them.
Democrats need to contest any district that is plausibly competitive with candidates who fit those districts. And those nominees need to be supported. Thinking oneself more intelligent or more moral or feeling superior in any other way doesn’t count for much if you leave the Republicans in the driver’s seat. Screw purity. I want a majority.
Dan, I completely agree. And absolutely take your point. One thing I learned talking to a lobbyist, former staffer is that with the sheer volume of legislation that get’s passed we’re really all uninformed. Some people just obsess over this stuff or are professionally involved and so are a little less uninformed than others!
I like Roy Cooper and expect to happily support him, I will say I’m not sure I agree that an Elizabeth Warren can’t win. There is little way to know as for the most part democrats in red states have decided that they cannot talk too liberal but when they talk too republican it doesn’t work either – look at the failed re-election campaign of Senator Hagan. People like to follow the leader, if leaders spoke proudly of left type policies loudly and frequently, it might be that people would vote for it, teapublicans have made that work for them. We won’t know because people run from it instead. I’m happy to support Roy Cooper I just don’t agree with the premise that we can’t win with a more outspoken candidate, not if the words are spoken with great enthusiasm and support. If they try to hide from it, then yeah, that won’t happen
What if everyone just took the magic oath of office that creates in the political class its super powers?
I really hope that every engaged Democrat will read this article and take it to heart. These days we all live in an echo chamber to some degree and it’s vital to consider the viewpoint of the unengaged voter. Most people are not tuned in and assuming that we just need to wait for the GA to fall on its sword is a huge mistake. Proactivity is essential.