Below is a very interesting article from Tyler Jones, a South Carolina Democratic Strategist who worked on the Martin O' Malley campaign in 2016.
In it he rightfully contends that Democrats and Progressives need to reestablish positive links with rural communities that feel the Democrats have abandoned them. He also rightfully feels that the Democrats should have a Big Tent approach that attracts centrists and conservatives as well as progressives. Where there is disagreement with Mr. Jones is that he thinks the Democrats should focus on three themes: balancing the budget, eliminating the debt, and investing in the future. Essentially this is the Clinton and Obama Programs. While these programs were instrumental in creating solid economic foundations that were and are currently being dismantled by the succeeding Republican administrations that followed them, they, largely because of Republican obstructionism, did not go far enough in investing in the future for the very people Mr. Jones contends we should re embrace. The very people that Mr. Jones says we should connect with are those that rewarded Republican obstructionism by falling for the snake oil prescriptions of two Republican Popular Vote Losers/Electoral College Winners in 2000 and 2016. Why did these people connect with George W. Bush and Donald Trump? Because they both promised to invest in the future by programs like compassionate conservatism, rebuilding our country, making Washington work, and getting health care that is better and cheaper than Obamacare. That the reason Washington did not work was because Republicans in Washington obstructed everything remotely designed to move the country forward like raising the minimum wage, infrastructure programs, and a public option in the Affordable Care Act should have occurred to our people in the heartland. Frankly, our fellow citizens in this part of the country need to make a better effort to become informed so they could make good decisions. That is not condemnation, That is what needs to be done so they are not perpetually conned by the likes of Trump. That said, these people are yearning for solutions to help them lead better lives and move our country forward. They are not looking for handouts. It is not a handout to want a living wage. It is not a handout to want your children to attend college for a reasonable tuition. It is not a handout to want clean water in your community. It is not a handout to want accessible and affordable health care. This is not some left wing liberal fantasy echoed by Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. This is what people all over the country want. They want our policy makers to work within the financial constraints of a balanced budget but they feel that all things that can move the country forward can be achieved with a balanced check book. Mr. Jones is correct that Democrats should have a big tent for people from all regions, occupations, and viewpoints. However, we should all remember that the people want us to aim high when we plan for investing for tomorrow.
http://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/357677-to-win-in-2018-democrats-must-resist-moving-further-left
While I agree with 97% of what has been said, the Democratic party cannot just overlook that the move to single payor ( while not dealing with insurance industry greed), largely will contribute to what happens in the upsoming election. It seems to be completely overlooked again here. People perceive now that they have been lied to twice (Obama/Trump) regarding healthcare and Democrats had better come with a solid and explainable solution for fixing the problems that existif 2018 /2020 is to be a reality.
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