Remaking the March on Washington Coalition a Movement of Working People and Changing the Right: A Manifesto of the First Three Years of U.S. Democracy

Mr. Obama rejected the idea that appealing to Reagan Democrats required giving in to white grievance. He warned against retreating in the fight for civil rights when he chaired the Democratic Leadership Council. Moderates scrambling for the middle ground were just as misguided, he argued, as anti-racists implicitly pinning their hopes on a collective racial epiphany. It was thought that a conversation about economics was the best way to beat the right. Instead of trimming their ambitions to court affluent suburbanites, Democrats had to embrace “long-term, structural change, change that might break the zero-sum equation that pits powerless blacks It was only slightly less powerless.

All the pieces of Mr. Obama’s plan fit together: an electoral strategy designed to make Democrats the party of working people; a policy agenda oriented around comprehensive economic reform; and a faith that American democracy could deliver real change. Democrats can resurrect the March on Washington Coalition by mixing political calculation with moral vision.

Majority Minority: The Importance of Black and Latino Identity in Politics and Politics: A Commentary on Latinos on the Ipsos Study

Editor’s Note: Justin Gest is an Associate Professor at George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government. He is the author of six books on the politics of immigration and demographic change including, most recently, “Majority Minority.” The opinions expressed in this commentary are his. View more opinion on CNN.

But Americans – and American demographers – have been distracted by linguistic differences and historically labeled them all, monolithically, “Hispanics.” The Latino identity is masked by this, and many Latino’s carry racial distinctions and sensitivities in the US.

Race has always been a complicated matter in Latin America, where European colonial policies produced distinctions between African-, indigenous- and European-origin subgroups, not so differently from the United States.

The Democratic Party has long viewed immigration policy as a principal way to mobilize support from Latinos, but this is now a priority for a narrower subset of people – around a quarter of Latinos in the Ipsos study.

Donald Trump and the Republicans were not punished as much for their anti- immigration rhetoric in the 2020 election because of this. Today, a majority of Latinos say they support the invocation of Title 42 policy, which the Trump administration enacted in the early days of the pandemic and allowed US authorities to turn migrants away at the border without a trial to reduce the spread of Covid 19. This policy was ended by the Biden administration and it is less popular among people of Hispanic origin who are neither white nor black.

A majority of black and mixed race Latino’s say that they have been subject to racist comments and that they have had someone make fun of a Hispanic or Latino accent.

Meanwhile, Latinos who emphasize their Latino identity and those with university education are less likely to self-categorize as white. Those with higher incomes are more likely to do so.

We will only begin to transcend our divisions by recognizing the ways that people of all racial identities share a common devotion to the American project, a common struggle to pursue the American dream. But in its propensity to sort voters into established coalitions, the American political process is an unlikely bridge.

Raphael Warnock and the State of the State: The New President of the Georgia House of Representatives and Political Consultant Fredrick Hicks

Editor’s Note: Fredrick Hicks is a political strategist and campaign expert. He served as a debate preparation partner for then-candidate Raphael Warnock in 2020. There was no work done by Hicks for the campaign in 2022. He is the owner of his own consulting firm, HEG. The views expressed here are his own. Read the opinions on CNN.

On December 6, Warnock again made history – this time as the first African American US Senator to be elected to a full term in the history of Georgia. If he had lost, he would have been remembered as one of the shortest serving Senators in history, serving just a few months longer than the person he defeated.

A new generation of Democratic leaders, including the likes of House Minority Leader-elect Hakeem Jeffries, Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, and Gov. Rick Snyder of Michigan, are more diverse than their predecessors.

Context is everything, including in politics. Democrats performed better than expected. The red wave washed away many of the powerful Democrats in the south, including Virginia and Florida.

The most prominent statewide Democrat won across the entire region in the cycle. He has been on the ballot five times in two years, winning four of them, including the two elections against White women, and the one against the most famous football player in state history.

Further, as of two weeks before the runoff, Warnock had raised more than $284 million since first becoming a candidate, a figure which will likely approach $300 million after the counting is finished, making him one of the most prolific non-presidential fundraisers in recent memory. In a sport where votes and money are the key to success, his ancestors didn’t know that he had more of both than anyone else.

Peniel Joseph’s Comment on “The Third Reconstruction: America’s Struggle for Racial Justice in the Twenty-First Century”

This is a generational moment and potential opportunity to move a center-left agenda forward for the country. It will be almost impossible for the GOP to win the presidency in the foreseeable future if the nominee is able to win in California, Illinois and New York.

Peniel Joseph is a professor at the University of Texas at Austin and founding director of the Center for the Study of Race and Democracy, a chair at the Barbara Jordan School of Public Affairs. He wrote ” The Third Reconstruction: America’s Struggle for Racial Justice in the Twenty-First Century.” The views expressed here are his own. CNN has more opinion on it.

Walker possessed absolutely no credentials to become the Republican Party’s Senate nominee, other than being a famous former athlete friendly with Trump.

This contest turned into a race to the bottom for Walker, who ran a campaign that wasn’t going to go away easily. Backed by Trump (who reportedly personally recruited the Heisman Trophy winner to run against Warnock) and a MAGA movement running on fumes, Walker served as an extreme manifestation of the ongoing misunderstanding and disrespect of the Black community by the Trump wing of the GOP.

Because of that, we can fully acknowledge the pain left behind by Walker’s candidacy, and even more so celebrate the win because of it. It is a crucial step towards realizing the dream of multiracial democracy.

Editor’s Note: Eric Adams is the mayor of New York City and a former New York state senator. The views expressed in this commentary are his own. Read more opinion at CNN.

Underlying the liberal shift among white Democrats is their tendency to hold more liberal racial attitudes. The percentage of white Democrats that hold the most liberal positions on race has increased over the last decade to the extent that their views match those of Black Democrats.

The proposal to change the 2020 presidential nominating calendar was approved recently by the Democratic National Committee. The proposal needs to be approved when the DNC meets early next year.

The Anarchy of a Black City: How the Democratic Party has Failed to Address the Discontents among Working-Class and Lower-Income Blacks

It felt like faith was rewarded in a party that many of us from lower- income, Black background feel has taken our communities for granted. As leader of the largest city in the US, with a Black population of over two million, I am thrilled we are making this statement.

The failures of these have led to the anger of working-class and lower-income Americans over the last decade. Many of them feel betrayed by the Democratic Party and have decided to leave the party.

Pouncing on discontent among working-class people of color, Republicans have been ruthless in exploiting cultural divisions. The share of Black voters supporting Republicans increased from the previous election to the next one, according to exit polling. Latino support for Republicans rose 10 points and Asian voters’ support for Republicans climbed 17 points over that same period of time.

The foundation of our base cracked in key states and congressional districts in New York, California and Florida — and much of that depressed vote was the result of lower turnout of Black and Latino voters, alongside a Republican resurgence with moderate Latinos and Asian voters, from Miami-Dade County to California’s Orange County.

The Realistic Dream of Working People: How the Government Can Support Its Need and How We Can Provide It to People’s Families. A Democratic Manifesto

First, in my experience, they don’t want “help.” They want what they have earned. They do a good job, but they should not have to worry about things like crime, schools, child care or health care. This is not a socialist dream. They spent their hard earned money to do the jobs that keep the country running.

That means our platform must include radically practical approaches to complicated challenges. For instance, the federal government must get back in the business of funding affordable housing.

As the cost of building and subsidizing new homes increases, federal investment in housing could lead to millions of Americans escaping poverty. Similarly, a further expansion of funding for child care would reduce a major household expense while giving children a stronger start in life and freeing up mothers to work and advance in their careers.

Extra money put into working people’s pockets by measures such as the earned income tax credit and child care credit help to protect them from debt and dependence on social services.

These are not handouts. These are investments that are considered to be prudent. And while we as a party have those policies in our platform, they are not our brand because they are not our main message.

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/13/opinions/democrats-2024-primary-calendar-black-voters-adams/index.html

The Second Myth Buster: When Work and Families Meet: Why We Shouldn’t Worry about Working People, but Instead About What They Do

I have a second myth buster. Working people don’t have time for a culture war. They’re working, they’re not on a social networking site. We don’t want to waste time attacking this group. We can acknowledge the injustice and show how we will correct it to the working people. Outrage is not a plan.

I have never been to a community meeting in a lower-income or working-class neighborhood where the residents asked for fewer police. The most entrepreneurial, pro-business people I know are immigrants and first-generation Americans. I cringe when I hear people vote against growth opportunities in my party.

The next presidential election will be a big moment for the Democrats. After years of fighting for the soul of our country against an existential threat led by former President Donald Trump, we may finally be able to win by being who we are, not who we are not.

There is no more effective – and more credible – way to do that than to make the practical agenda of working people our primary platform as we aim to make historically Black South Carolina our first primary state.

A coalition of minorities, mostly blacks, and whites are sympathetic to the challenges faced by minorities in America. Racial identities and attitudes are the common thread that link wealthier, more educated whites with poorer minority constituencies.

There was a race that drove it. Trump was particularly able to attract members of the white working class on the basis of racial (and other) group sentiments — with those disliking minority groups being uniquely attracted to Trump, in a continuation of the division of the working class along racial lines.

How Do White Liberals Stabilize the Democrat Coalition? An Address to Begala, a Democrat, and a Critic

There are people who say the current Democratic coalition is more fragile than Wronski suggests. If you are a Democrat, you may be concerned that the coalition is not stable.

My sense is that much of the college-educated liberal political rhetoric is focused on social signaling to satisfy their own psychological needs and improve their social standing with other college educated liberals, rather than policies that would actually reduce racial gaps in economic well-being, civil rights protections, and other quality of life issues.

Paul Begala, a Democratic strategist, is an explicit critic of the left wing of the party. The Progressives are the greatest challenge for the Democrats, Begala wrote in an email.

Twelve percent of Democrats and Democratic leaning independents are members of the Progressive Left. The most politically engaged segment of the coalition is the group that is extremely liberal in every policy domain, and White non-Hispanic. In contrast, the three other Democratic-oriented groups are no more than about half White non-Hispanic.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, and others won their first primary victories over powerful Democratic incumbents because of crucial support from the disproportionally white wing of the party.

White liberals living in affluent areas are protected against the economic and personal turmoil of low- income communities. They are more concerned with their race and gender identity than liberals were, but less interested in poverty or economic issues.

Parts of the Democratic coalition are talking past each other and sometimes clashing. White liberals don’t want to wait for climate change to make electric cars more affordable for low-income people. When Covid was in motion, rich white liberals could work from home and have food delivered to them by nonwhite workers who also had to leave their jobs or suffer higher rates of illness.

The African Americans of South Carolina preferred Biden over Warren, according to the fact that white liberals were still a better deal than the Republican Party.