Democrats say they’re united behind their newly launched “A Better Deal” agenda, but they appear to be at odds over where the platform is headed.
Party leaders want to keep the focus exclusively on economic issues in hopes of engaging the working-class voters who flocked to President Trump last year.
But a number of Democrats are concerned that excluding liberal social issues — like abortion rights, immigration reform, LGBT rights and the environment — may deflate their base and sink their chances of making big gains in 2018.
{mosads}Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), the minority whip, said that while Democrats will continue to fight for their social agenda, party leaders don’t intend to emphasize those issues under their “A Better Deal” banner.
“That won’t be the focus. … They won’t be itemized issues,” Hoyer told reporters in the Capitol. “Essentially what we don’t want to do is distract people … we don’t want to distract ourselves.”
Yet one of the architects of the “Better Deal” campaign, Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.), has a different idea. Cicilline, a co-chairman of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee (DPCC), said the “Better Deal” will ultimately branch out to include some of the liberal social positions the Democrats have fought for years to advance.
“Democrats have a long, well-established track record on supporting reproductive healthcare for women and civil rights and voting rights, and I think those issues will all be developed over time under the banner of ‘A Better Deal,’ ” Cicilline said.
“We thought it was very important to start with this [economic] priority,” he added. “But obviously Democrats care about a lot of other things, as well. And over the course of the next several months … we’re going to be adding to this ‘Better Deal.’ ”
The different visions surrounding the Democrats’ 2018 messaging strategy reflect the ongoing debate over how the party can speak more effectively to heartland voters — and boost its fortunes at the polls — while staying true to its liberal base.
Trump’s decision Wednesday to ban transgender people from serving in the military highlighted that dilemma. The Democrats quickly pounced, releasing a blizzard of statements, introducing legislation and calling press conferences to condemn the move.
Yet in a statement to Axios, the White House suggested Trump was motivated, at least in part, by a desire to stir up vulnerable Democrats and get them on the record opposing a policy change that may prove popular at home.
“This forces Democrats in Rust Belt states like Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin to take complete ownership of this issue,” an unnamed official told Axios.
“How will the blue-collar voters in these states respond when senators up for reelection in 2018 like [Michigan Democrat] Debbie Stabenow are forced to make their opposition to this a key plank of their campaigns?”
Democratic leaders from both chambers kicked off their “Better Deal” agenda on Monday in rural Berryville, Va., by promoting concrete policy proposals designed to relieve the financial burdens on working-class Americans.
Democrats chose the launch location deliberately. Berryville, roughly 65 miles outside Washington, is a small, largely white town that voted heavily for Trump and is now represented by Rep. Barbara Comstock (R), a top Democratic target in 2018. The Democrats contend their economic prescriptions will go far to ease the financial strains facing similar communities across the country.
Yet some Democrats are warning that an economy-only approach could dampen the enthusiasm of a liberal base that’s latched on to the Democrats’ approach to the environment, immigrant rights and a host of other social issues.
“There’s a risk in not fighting for those things,” said Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), head of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. “I understand the economic populism — I’ve been a critic that we didn’t do enough [in the past], and I’m glad we’re doing something.
“But as you communicate to people who might be disenfranchised with the Democratic Party, in terms of economic message and populism, you also have to seed and nurture those who have been with us through every fight.”
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) left open the possibility that the Democrats will revisit their social agenda as they unveil additional planks of their “Better Deal” platform.
“We have focused on economic issues. We think that is what the American people are most yearning about,” he said in Berryville. “That doesn’t mean we won’t, in future months, discuss other issues.”
But Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), another DPCC co-chair who helped craft “A Better Deal,” suggested the focus won’t stray from the economic issues.
“Our progressive base understands that we will never abandon social justice issues,” Jeffries said. “[But] our approach is to meet the American people where they’re at right now as it relates to the deeply felt economic anxiety.
“That’s what ‘A Better Deal’ is all about.”
Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D-Ill.), Capitol Hill’s staunchest immigration reform advocate, is among the critics of that approach. Noting that the number of Hispanic voters grew by 1.5 million between 2012 and 2016, Gutiérrez warned that a 2018 campaign that glosses over immigrant rights will haunt the Democrats at the polls.
“You can have your argument, as Schumer says, that we made a bad argument [in 2016],” he said. “Latinos showed up to vote, regardless.”