Shortly after the Democrats took a drubbing in the congressional races in the November general election, a myth arose and was propagated that dozens of Democrats lost their races because their party had adopted — or at least flirted with — socialism and progressive policies like defunding the police. This was rubbish. The dishonest excuses of losers.
Among the losers offering this excuse were Harley Rouda and Christy Smith. Democratic consultants, The New York Times, and even Judy Woodruff joined in blaming the losses on progressive Democratic policies. There was even a notable Democratic winner who blamed her narrow win and her colleagues’ losses on Democrats being tagged as socialists — Abigail Spanberger.
There is no evidence, exit polling, or political science work to back up these claims. Nevertheless, they got legs and were treated as fact.
The real cause of these Democratic losses can be traced to the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Those geniuses at the top. It was their poor decisions and weak strategy based on bad polling information that left Democratic congressional candidates unable to hold their own in the face of a massive, and massively underestimated, Republican voter surge. The Republicans had an extremely successful ground game. The Democrats had none.
Democratic candidates ran bad campaigns, had no field campaigns or ground games, no get-out-the-vote effort, and did little to turn out Democratic voters. The national party instructed Democratic candidates to avoid door-to-door canvassing, and to not take part in forums or town halls during the pandemic. The direction set by the Democratic National Committee and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee — controlling money, dictating strategy, failing to respond to the Republican voter surge — doomed Democratic candidates. They would not let Democratic candidates go door-to-door or campaign in person.
The Republican Party did canvass door-to-door, and did spend its money on turning out its voters. Their ground game was amazing. The Democrats squandered their money advantage on television commercials — thereby putting money in the pockets of consultants and networks. After a few rounds of television commercials, you have near-100 percent name recognition. Further spending like that is a waste — and annoying to voters. To win a turnout election, you have to canvass, you have to meet the voters, register them to vote, and get them to the polls. The Republicans did. The Democrats, who would rather lose than be impolite, didn’t. The Democrats should be taking responsibility for their own bad campaigns and their own losses.
There’s no evidence that progressive policies are unpopular with voters. During the November 3 general election, Colorado voters approved 12-week paid family and medical leave, Arizona raised taxes on the rich, Arizona, South Dakota, and Montana voters legalized recreational marijuana, and Florida, after earlier voting to allow ex-felons to vote, approved a $15-an-hour minimum wage. National polling shows large majorities favor such progressive goals as universal health care, background checks on gun owners, and steps to mitigate climate change.
Democrats can win with progressive candidates running on progressive issues. They just need to spend their money on turning out their voters.
