- Simon Rosenberg became an overnight sensation by challenging the predictions of Democratic doom and highlighting evidence of a different narrative in interviews, blog posts, and tweet streams.
- Clintonism was the central project of the New Democrats, which focused on making the Democratic Party competitive at the presidential level again and resulting in 7 of 8 presidential elections won by the Democratic Party.
- Donald Trump’s rise has been a dark period in our history with the emergence of “Greater MAGA” which is rooted in a narrative of the white tribe rallying around itself and a sense of grievance, loss, and decline.
- In the 2022 election, there were two elections – one inside and one outside of the battlegrounds. Democrats were able to control the information environment and push turnout up through the roof, but outside the battlegrounds, the Republicans were still louder than the Democrats.
- To win 55% of the vote nationally, Democrats must become more competitive in the daily political discourse, build more media institutions, and become information warriors daily.
- The goal should be to expand, not to reposition when it comes to criticism of the Democratic Party.
- The Democratic Party has been highly successful since the late 1980’s. This success is reflected in multiple areas and is something to be proud of.
- The goal should be to expand, not to reposition. This means looking to young voters, Latinos, Never-MAGA or -Trumpers, and young women, post-*Dobbs*.
- The No. 1 job is to increase registration, communications, targeting, and to make young people the center of politics. This will be key for the Democratic Party to be successful in the next two years.
- The right-wing propaganda machines have bullied public opinion. This was the case in the lead up to the 2020 election, and there should be more introspection on why the general wisdom was so off.
- For the Democrats to win in 2024, the economy needs to be good and they need to be successful in Ukraine, while the Republicans need to present themselves differently than MAGA.
Published February 23, 2023
Visit The Atlantic to read Ronald Brownstein’s original post Why This Democratic Strategist Walked Away
