This is from the centrist site The Argument:
On Wednesday, I went to WelcomeFest, the annual gathering of centrist Democratic operatives and D.C. types.1 The purpose of the conference is to advocate for moderation in order to flip Trump districts in the House and ultimately to nominate a moderate candidate for president in 2028.
Unfortunately for them, that second part is probably not going to happen.
When the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) came to prominence in the 1990s with the goal of shoring up the party’s moderate faction, the party’s liberal wing was the minority. But today, the liberal wing of the party is the majority, and that means that the DLC strategy of simply bulldozing the left won’t bear fruit in 2028.
If centrists want one of their own as the nominee, they will need to do something that seems anathema to them: Find common ground with the organized progressive movement.
There’s a bunch of polling at the link pointing to the obvious fact that the base of the Democratic Party is more “liberal” and so on and so forth. Read it if you wish. I don’t think there’s anything there that will surprise regular readers of this blog.
It’s funny that the author is only giving up on the Presidential candidate. The notion that somehow the Democratic base will chose overly “liberal” candidates for Trump majority House seats lacks evidence. Plus, the idea that some centrist’s definition of “liberal” means anything is questionable. I think Trump-majority districts can be flipped with the basic “progressive” or “liberal” policy agenda of better healthcare, ending the war in Iran, prosecuting MAGA corruption, etc. I’m not wavering from my belief that it’s authentic fighters who will win, not candidates who soft-pedal the Democratic agenda and water down their message to consultant-approved lumpy mashed potatoes.
On the topic of the message, former guest of the pod Mark Jacob has 15 recommendations on the Democratic message for 2026. I thought it was a good summary of what I’m guessing Joe, Kay and readers here would advocate:
1. Make change part of the message.
I’m convinced that one reason Democrats lost the White House in 2024 is because they were, in essence, running to extend Joe Biden’s presidency, even after Kamala Harris took over the race. There’s a deep feeling of dissatisfaction in this country. People want change. One of the biggest mistakes Democrats could make is basing their campaigns on going back to “normal.” People don’t want to vote for the same Democrats who seem to be in the process of losing our democracy to Trumpism. To win, Democrats must trumpet a bold, new agenda. For example, there’s an illegal war going on. Oppose it.
2. Don’t waste time trying to crack the cult.
Our messaging should be aimed more at past non-voters than at current Republican voters. The majority of MAGA cult members are lost to us. Getting apathetic non-voters to show up at the polls is a more achievable goal.
3. Don’t focus only on Trump.
When Trump is your sole target, you do a favor to every other Republican who enables his fascism. Trump’s not actually on the ballot, and his political lackeys who are running this year will try to create distance from him before the midterms. We want people to vote against Republicans as a group. A good term to use is “Trump Republicans.”
4. Be a good ally.
One of the most exasperating behaviors of progressives is to attack people who agree with them almost all of the time instead of people who always disagree with them. This is not to say you have to support awful Democrats like Chuck Schumer. But keep a firm grip on who your allies and enemies are, and treat them differently.
5. Keep bringing up Epstein.
This issue has power because the regime is still covering up the truth about Trump’s former friend, sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. The reason to keep the Epstein scandal front and center isn’t to get right-wing extremists to vote for Democrats; it’s to get them to have such disgust with Republicans that they stay home.
6. Martyrs matter.
Keep reminding people about Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Republican politicians are OK with masked government thugs murdering peaceful Americans in the streets. But the vast majority of voters are not.
Follow the link for the rest. It’s pretty good.
The “centrism is best” stuff is baked deep into today’s Democratic Party, so I’m under no illusion that one pollster writing at a centrist site will sway the rest of them. But, it’s a good start.
