A Real “Third Way”
Saving the Democratic Party (and the United States)
It is so fitting that this Groundhog Day analysis by Dan Balz, chief political correspondent for the Washington Post, characterizes a report also published today by center-left think tank Third Way as “provocative.” It is anything but that.
Just yesterday, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) elected as chairman Ken Martin, “a longtime Democratic Party insider” from Minnesota, to lead what authors of the Third Way report William Galston and Elaine Kamarck call a “renewal.”
These people are all seasoned experts who recognize the enormous consequences of Harris’ defeat for the party and our nation. But the scope of their analysis and vision for the future are limited to strategies and methods that got them into this predicament.
According to the Post article, Martin’s speech before the vote at yesterday’s meeting referred to the party’s disastrous performance in November as a punch in the mouth; afterward, he said they would be taking their gloves off in the fight against Trump.
OMG. If this is what Democrats consider a rally, they are in serious trouble.
What do the scholars have to offer? The Third Way report begins with an admission that the party has fallen behind and needs to look beyond the next election. Its authors diagnose the problem as a loss of focus on the working class. They present reams of data that show how Republicans outflanked them, especially in “swing” states.
To their credit, they admit the mistake of skipping a primary that might have given Harris or another candidate opportunities to rally support and establish some separation from unpopular elements of Biden’s Administration. They also recognize the folly of counting on Trump’s failures to shoo a Democrat into the White House in 2028. They propose to reshuffle the deck of cards (policy positions) for “a new deal.”
There is nothing wrong with their selection of issues that seem to have made a difference in 2024 (inflation, immigration, and culture), or even in their analysis of where the party misread public opinion or just failed to respond effectively. Missteps in these areas may account for some losses to Trump and especially for poor turnout by Democrats compared to 2020.
However, the blind spot (sticking with the Groundhog Day theme) is the role of Independent voters. The report acknowledges losing ground on that front:
“[Harris’] margin among Independents was just 3 points, down from Biden’s 13, a difference magnified by the 8-point jump by 2020 and 2024 in Independents’ share of the total vote cast.”
No more is said about this.
Since Independents outnumbered Democrats by almost 5 million votes (52.4 vs. 47.7), one would think this deserves closer scrutiny. Merely hanging on to the share captured in 2020 would have meant victory for Harris. That should have been easy after the Capitol assault and everything else that occurred in the interim indicating the threat of another Trump term had actually increased. Where did the Democrats go wrong?
In my opinion, they lost support in their own party and with Independents by failing to live up to their name. A healthy democracy protects the rights of all voters, yet neither major party has shown much interest in that. Both fiercely protect control and advantages by fighting election reforms that they perceive as threats to their power.
New DNC chair Ken Martin can do more than recycle platitudes to comfort lifetime members of the party. He can thank Third Way for their careful autopsy of the 2024 campaign and share the uncomfortable truth that his fellow Democrats need to do more than stare at their own belly buttons if they hope to win majorities in 2026 and retake the White House in 2028.
He should ask every state party to open their primary elections to all registered voters so they can join the resistance and help the party choose its candidates. [1]
They might actually show up in November to support the nominees.
[1] I suggested this in September 2023, closing my essay with the following:
It would turn this race from one based on fear and boredom to one of hope and excitement. It would also position the party as truly democratic and demonstrate a capacity for change that is not yet apparent.
