Democrats and independents who generally vote for Democratic candidates range across at least half of the ideological spectrum, from self-proclaimed socialists, to very progressive activists, to centralist moderate,s and even moderates who are a tad bit conservative.  Rather than being an asset, this diversity is our greatest weakness when it comes to electing candidates on the national stage.  Even more alarming is animosity harbored by those on the far left for more moderate Democrats and the extent to which it is often returned in kind.

I first encountered this phenomenon on social media during the 2016 Democratic primaries.  At the time I was an active participant on a discussion website called “The Democratic Underground” where some of the most politically active Democrats and progressive independents on the internet gathered to discuss all things political and in particular the candidates for the Democratic nomination, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.  On DU, as it is often called, the battles between the supporters of Clinton and Sanders started out nasty and grew more fierce and cutthroat over time.

As the primaries progressed it became clear that regardless of which candidate ultimately won, the supporters of the loser would have difficulty even voting for the eventual nominee in the general election.  In fact, after the last primary was completed, some of Sanders’ most ardent supporters swore on DU that they would sit out the general election or vote for Jill Stein, the Green Party candidate.

For better or worse Republicans seem to close ranks to support their candidates better than we do.  As you will recall in 2016 many of the candidates for the Republican nomination viciously attacked Donald Trump calling him (accurately it turns out) everything from totally unqualified, to a con man, to mentally unbalanced.  However, when it became obvious that Trump was going to be their nominee, the supporters of the other Republican candidates joined in lockstep to support him at their convention. Meanwhile over at the Democratic Convention there were endless chants of “Bernie! Bernie! Bernie! and take of revolt even though Clinton had long since locked up the Democratic nomination.

Going into election day Republican voters were almost universally behind Trump, even though some probably wouldn’t invite into their homes, while on the Democratic side the best that many progressives could do was hold their noses and vote for Clinton.  Some couldn’t even do that. We can never know to what extent those who stayed home on election day had on the final results, but the impact of those who voted for Green Party candidate in key states can be easily be assessed.  In each of the three critical states, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, which combined gave Trump his Electoral College victory, Jill Stein’s vote total was greater than Donald Trump’s margin of victory.

I now see some of the same patterns emerging in the Democratic and anti-Trump groups on Facebook and elsewhere on social media as we proceed into the 2020 primary season.  While it is clear that some Democratic moderates don’t like Bernie Sanders, no doubt a holdover from 2016, the dislike of moderate Democrats candidates and their supporters by some of those on the far left is almost palatable.

Sometimes it seems like in their minds, those like myself who are more moderately progressive are considered to members of the enemy camp along with the worst conservatives.  Their favorite derogatory term for us seems to be “corporate democrats” though given my personal belief system they couldn’t be more off base.  The apparently also hate compromises because they call any solution to a problem which could possibly pass through Congress during the best of times as totally inadequate “baby steps”.

If you are one of those people please be advised, we moderate Democrats are not your enemies.  We are friends; we are your best potential allies.  In fact we are the only allies you have and without us your agenda will go absolutely nowhere.  There is a simple reason for this.  You make up only a small portion of this nation’s voting population, and just as importantly, there are more us (moderate Democrats) than there are of you.  You may be louder, and you may be more passionate, and you may contribute more money to your candidates than we do, but you don’t out number us. Regardless of how passionate you are, you have only one vote apiece and we all vote as well.

You may hate that we often advocate taking “baby steps” instead of going all out for sweeping progressive legislation. This is not because we don’t want to solve the problems we face every day as quickly as possible, but because we are practical and understand that politics is the art of the possible.  We also understand that the average voters in this country, the ones who decide every close presidential race, are moderates who may even be a bit conservative.

For instance, you may be a big proponent of Medicare for All, but the majority of working people in this country who are covered under their employers’ private insurance plans probably aren’t inclined to support your plan.   In addition, the national deficit is growing out of control so there is the need to pay for the proposal.  While Republican claims that we would have to double our tax receipts to pay for the plan are over blown, according to Politifacts the best estimates from non-partisan experts indicate that we would have to increase our tax base between 55% and 64% over the next ten years to pay for Medicare for All.  That’s a hard sell for most American voters even if you promise that most of the cost will be borne by the wealthy.  Is it any wonder that more moderate candidates are instead advocating creating a Medicare option to compete with private insurance plans, especially in underserved areas, offering plans to bring the cost of prescription drugs, etc.

Everyone needs to understand that the Democrats took control of the House of Representatives in the 2018 elections only because many moderate Democrats beat Republicans, often incumbent Republicans, in purple districts.  There are now as many moderate Democrats in Congress as progressives. Those moderate Democrats have to get themselves reelected in 2020 if we are to maintain control of the House and they are not going to get reelected by advocating the big bold progressive plans like Medicare for All or the Green New Deal in their purple districts.  Odds are against Democrats assuming control of the Senate in 2020, but if we do it certainly won’t be because our Senate candidates advocated for such proposals in their purple and red states.

The bottom line is that we cannot retain control of the House and take control of the Senate without moderate Democratic House candidates getting reelected in purple districts and moderate Democratic Senate candidates winning their elections in purple and even red states.  In addition, those moderate candidates cannot win advocating bold progressive plans and they would be committing political suicide if they would agree to vote for such plans if elected.

In addition most political experts agree that a moderate Democratic candidate will have a better chance of beating Trump one on one in the general election than a Democratic nominee running on the political left.  So far the vast majority of the polls indicate that those experts are correct.  However, even if someone like Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren were win the nomination and best Trump in the general election, their very progressive proposals will be dead on arrival if we don’t control both the House and the Senate.

So my brethren on the on the far left, remember that we Democratic moderates are not your enemies; and that you need us as much as we need you.  In fact it is only with all of us working together as allies can we consolidate our power in Washington and get anything done.   However, even if we are successful in taking over both houses of Congress and the White House, you probably will have to accept the fact that we will be able to take only “baby steps” toward achieving our goals for the time being. Even if a very progressive candidate wins the presidency, all of those moderate Democratic Representatives and Senators representing purple districts and states who will allow us to control both the House and Senate are not going to want to throw away their reelection chances by voting for sweeping progressive programs.

And one last thing – and this is advice for the supporters of all Democratic candidates:  I know that many of you want to support your favorite candidates for the nomination in any way possible. However, do yourself and your favorite candidate a favor – don’t try to do so by posting negative comments about other Democratic candidates on social media.  Chances are you are not going to change anyone’s mind, but I can almost guarantee that you are going to royally tick of the supporters of the candidates you attack.   Not only will those supporters be far less likely to come around to supporting your candidate should theirs fall by the wayside during the nomination process, they are also be far less likely to enthusiastically support your candidate should he/she win the nomination.

Folks, this is one election we can’t afford to screw up with petty infighting.  The stakes are much to high.  We can either join together as brothers and sisters with a common cause, or we can do our best to make it through another four years of Donald J. Trump.  Frankly, since the Republicans in the Senate will never vote to impeach him, I am not even sure I can make it through the year and a half remaining of his current term, much less another five and a half years.

Cajun      6/1/2019