The narratives of the Democratic presidential candidates

What are the big stories about America that the Democratic presidential candidates are telling? What pictures are they painting of the country, of the concerns Americans face and what they will do to improve people’s lives if they are elected?

To answer these questions, I read the first major speech of the 12 Democrats who are running for president in 2020: Former Vice President Joe Biden, Sens. Corey Booker (D-N.J.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), former Coloroado John Hickenlooper (D), former Washington Governor Jay Inslee (D), South Bend, Ind. Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Former Rep. Beto 0’Rourke (D-Texas) and Julian Castro.

In 2016, Hillary Clinton ran on the slogan, “Stronger Together.” Three years later, ending divisiveness is the one story that is centered in most of the candidates’ speeches and is present in all but one (Buttigieg’s).

However, some candidates focus more on Trump’s dividing people by race and other identities. For example, Gillibrand says, “The President has tried to reduce America to its smallest self by attacking the values of and institutions of our democracy … rooting for bigotry and discrimination and violence; closing our doors to immigrants and refugees; taking from the many to line the pockets of the few.” These candidates say they will heal the country as, in Booker’s words, “I learned that the only way to overcome the tough challenges is by extending grace, finding common ground, and working together.”

Other candidates appeal to a more general hunger to bring the country together, with Hickenlooper declaring, “When we stand tall for all we believe in and stand up against all that divides us, America will be stronger than ever.”

Clinton’s challenger in 2016, Bernie Sanders, drove his campaign on the message that we need “an economy that works for all of us, not just the 1 percent,” leaning into the economic insecurity facing people, driven by an economic and political system run by the wealthy and big corporations.

This year, Sanders is not alone. Biden for one, is running to “rebuild … the middle class,” decrying that, “They [CEOs] treat their employees in a way that it’s only about how can they maximize their profit, not how can they maximize the circumstance for the employees who help them build the operation.”

Several other candidates also address economic insecurity. Harris describes an “economy not working for working people” with “families living paycheck to paycheck.” But only a few candidates, notably Sanders and Warren, name the corporate forces — including fast-food chains, oil companies, for-profit prisons and big banks — who they say are responsible for low wages and other problems that many of candidates speak to.

Trump’s rhetoric forced race into the center of American politics. Every candidate except Klobuchar mentions race and many do prominently, including the racial barriers embedded in our institutions. As O’Rourke says, “…we must also confront the legacy of certain communities who have been criminalized and cut down based on the color of their skin, confronting, confronting the legacy and the consequences of slavery and segregation…”

Warren links economic inequality to race and division, “Whether it’s white people against black people, straight people against gay people, middle-class families against new immigrant families — the story is the same. The rich and powerful use fear to divide us.”

With two exceptions, Sanders and Gillibrand, the candidates spend almost no time talking about Trump. Instead, they seem to have concluded that they need to make their own case for replacing the President, rather than spend time attacking the bogeyman in the White House who overhangs the campaign.

Of course, the kick-off speech is each candidate’s first version of their story and already we are seeing candidates modify their appeals. Events will also impact what candidates talk about. Just half of the candidates mentioned reproductive rights in their speeches and none made it a major focus. Given the GOP attacks on Roe v. Wade in state capitals, we will certainly see women’s issues becoming more prominent.

Trump’s record on the economy will be how he hopes to keep voters who don’t like him personally on his side. Trump’s approval rating on the economy is above 50 percent, ten points higher than his overall rating. Democratic pollster Mark Mellman has argued, “… unless something changes dramatically, if Democrats choose to fight the 2020 election on the economy, it’s likely to be a losing proposition.”

Democratic pollster, Celinda Lake, along with two of her colleagues agree that Trump has a big advantage on the economy but note that, “a deep sense of anxiety continues to pervade the American electorate” driven by “economic worries.” They advise, “It is imperative that Democrats develop a strong economic platform that employs a clear anti-special interest frame, contrasts with Republicans, and appeals to and energizes voters to show up in record numbers next November.”

The three candidates who are now leading in the Democratic primary polls — Biden, Sanders and Warren — are also the three candidates who are emphasizing the economic pressures on Americans, driven by corporate power. They are also taking on Trump’s divisiveness, rejecting his seemingly racist stance and stressing the need for inclusive solutions.

They are not alone. Most of the Democratic candidates blame Trump — directly or indirectly — for divisive appeals; address issues like criminal justice and voting that are particularly important to black voters; and address the economic pressures facing families. However, not all of the candidates are as sharp on the role of race and propose real solutions to issues of racial injustice and only a handful bring a populist frame to their economics.

The prominence of economics among the leading candidates leads me to believe that even in the Democratic primary where identity politics are most significant, addressing the widespread economic insecurity that most Americans experience every day, even in this “good economy,” is essential to winning. And that the candidate who can do that convincingly, while also making it clear that he or she is committed to taking real measures to stand up against Trump’s rhetoric will have the winning narrative in the 2020 race for the Democratic nomination.

Richard Kirsch is the director of Our Story: The Hub for American Narratives and the author of “Fighting for Our Health: The Epic Battle to Make Health Care a Right in the United States.” Follow him on Twitter @_RichardKirsch.