“I’m not a member of any organized political party. I’m a Democrat.”
Will Rogers’ saying of a century ago is just as true now, even though the political positions of the parties have reversed.
Republicans are united. Once you’re in, all you need do is follow the leader. They make it easy. You never have to think. It doesn’t matter if the leader is a madman, or you’re taking the country off a cliff. That’s why Joe McCarthy wasn’t fatal. Neither is Trump.
Democrats remain a collection of interests. Instead of ethnic machines and southern whites, it’s a rainbow of McGovern-era complainers.
Democrats make it very hard to be a Democrat. Liberal elites are constantly creating new red lines, and anyone who crosses one crosses them all. Anything that goes wrong, whether large or small, is a sign of the apocalypse, a sign to surrender rather than attack.
Every time I turn to Twitter I’m met by predictions of doom, by demands for loyalty from this group or that side, rather than the whole party. I’m supposed to feel guilty over having money and a roof over my head, because others don’t have these things. I’m supposed to feel bad over every plastic bag. I’m supposed to hate anyone who fails to measure up on any issue, or ever did. Thomas Jefferson was a slaveowner. Abraham Lincoln was a white supremacist. Teddy Roosevelt was an imperialist.
Stop measuring the past by the present. Measure it by the past and be ambitious about the future. Start selling hope again. Don’t predict the end of the world. Tell us how to avoid it. Tell us what we can do about it.
For Democrats to succeed, they must make common cause with the rising economic tide. That’s technology. That’s software. Stop treating technologists as fascists. Also, stop treating tax hikes as sacrifices. Treat them as what they are, investments.
Stop acting like the economy’s going to hell. We’re dominating the world. Talk about why, and about what we need to do to keep doing it.
What the U.S. economy needs is more trained, empowered minds. That means everyone needs to be learning, all the time. That means we must be open to imported minds. Jensen Huang and Satya Nadella were worth it.
But it’s not just about tech. Creativity comes in many forms, and all forms can be monetized. Taylor Swift and Jay-Z work hard and earn their money. Encourage them and go after anyone who discourages our economic winners as economically backward.
If Democrats just sold a positive message, if they encouraged tech investments in media and showed how Republican actions degrade the economy, they would win going away. Even in the countryside. Even on Wall Street.
