Why Democrats are in trouble, and what I think they should do if they want to start winning again

Five years ago, Raymond Teachey voted, as usual, for the Democratic presidential nominee.

But by last fall, Mr. Teachey, an aircraft mechanic from Bucks County, Pa., was rethinking his political allegiances. To him, the Democratic Party seemed increasingly focused on issues of identity at the expense of more tangible day-to-day concerns, such as public safety or the economy.

“Some of them turned their back on their base,” Mr. Teachey, 54, said.

Working-class voters like Mr. Teachey, who supported Joseph R. Biden Jr. in 2020 but either backed President Trump last year or, as Mr. Teachey did, skipped the 2024 presidential election, help explain why Democrats lost pivotal swing counties like Bucks, and vividly illustrate how the traditional Democratic coalition has eroded in the Trump era.

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I am not and have never been a fan of the political left. That said, and writing as a deeply disaffected former Republican, here is my unsolicited advice if Democrats want to start winning elections again.

* Ditch the identitarian politics and move to the center on the culture war issues. It may play well on the left coast and in New York, but in most of the rest of the country it is driving voters away. I realize that some groups need to be reassured now and then that you still have their backs and you can't afford to lose all of their votes. But that should not be the face of the Democratic Party. There is a reason why Bernie Sanders is drawing stunning crowds in deep red states. Bernie is about class and income inequality. Stop focusing on pronouns and start focusing on paychecks. 

* Stop treating people with traditional moral and religious beliefs as kooks, or worse. It's not divisive. It's offensive.

* Stop treating crime as a subject for a sociology lecture in college. Tell people that criminals need to be locked up, and then do it. And tell the "Defund the police" crowd to shut up. You can't treat every fringe opinion as acceptable if you want to win an election. These clowns are costing you more votes than they are delivering. And they are wrong.

* Get serious about the border. You don't have to be xenophobes where the only legal immigrants being welcomed are White South Africans. But illegal immigration was out of control. Trump wasn't wrong about that and Democrats were. 

* Become what Republicans used to be... i.e. fiscal conservatives. Americans are getting seriously frightened by the national debt. And they should be. 

* Become what Republicans used to be... i.e. champions of free trade. Tariffs are a sales tax aimed squarely at the working class and poor. They are also highly inflationary. Billionaires will still be able to afford their yachts. But Walmart shoppers are going to get hurt bad.

* Become what Republicans used to be... i.e. defenders of freedom globally. Isolationism, whether political or economic, is dangerous. Despotism is a form of political cancer. If it's not checked, it inevitably spreads. Ronald Reagan called Soviet Russia "the evil empire" and won the cold war. Can anyone see Trump telling Putin to "tear down that wall?" Start channeling Kennedy and Truman. 

* Move to the center on abortion. Stop endorsing abortion on demand with no questions asked and no time limit. Democrats aren't, and never will be pro-life (unfortunately). But you don't need to be the party of Kermit Gosenll. 

* Shut up about guns. It's a losing issue outside of the most left wing parts of the country.

* Return to traditional Democratic values. Between 1932-1968 the Democrats largely owned Washington. Eisenhower was the only Republican president elected in that 36 year period, and he was not exactly MAGA. How did Democrats do it? By concentrating on core bread and butter issues. A fair shake for the working man. Good schools for their kids and the real hope that they would have a shot at a better life than their parents. And a fair tax system where the wealthy paid their share. I would wager every dime I own that Elon Musk and Donald Trump pay a lower effective tax rate than the guy who changes the oil in your car. If Americans ever came to realize how completely rigged the tax code is for the benefit of Wall Street and the ultra-wealthy, the public outrage would be felt even in Texas.