http://www.nationaljournal.com/magazine/democrats-populism-movement-america-20150619
As these liberal strategists took stock, most acknowledged that the Democratic side had genuine underlying problems that needed to be fixed. And while the prescriptions they offered varied, one of the common themes that gained momentum was that the Democratic Party needed to strongly identify itself with the fight against economic inequality. For many progressives, the argument was not simply that ending economic inequality was the right thing to do; it was that a populist campaign built around this theme would mobilize what strategists call a "new American majority" or a "rising American electorate"—allowing Democrats to take back the country that they thought they had won in November 2008.
Can this actually work? I would like to think so; the goal of reducing economic inequality is certainly worthwhile. And many of the policies that progressives are promoting under the umbrella of their developing anti-inequality crusade—from raising the minimum wage to requiring paid sick leave to strengthening bank regulation to increasing spending on science, education, roads, and bridges—have merit. But after talking to leaders of this network in recent weeks, and reading carefully the papers and essays that promote the new strategy, I have my doubts about whether a political campaign built around these kinds of proposals will, in fact, create a new Democratic majority.
THERE IS NO SINGLE group that dominates the Democrats' informal network, but the one that has the greatest reach, due to the power of its purse, is the Democracy Alliance. It was founded in 2005 by Rob Stein, a venture capitalist who had worked for master political operative Ron Brown at the Democratic National Committee and the Commerce Department. The history of the Democracy Alliance says a lot about how the Democrats' informal leadership network has evolved over the last decade.
As these liberal strategists took stock, most acknowledged that the Democratic side had genuine underlying problems that needed to be fixed. And while the prescriptions they offered varied, one of the common themes that gained momentum was that the Democratic Party needed to strongly identify itself with the fight against economic inequality. For many progressives, the argument was not simply that ending economic inequality was the right thing to do; it was that a populist campaign built around this theme would mobilize what strategists call a "new American majority" or a "rising American electorate"—allowing Democrats to take back the country that they thought they had won in November 2008.
Can this actually work? I would like to think so; the goal of reducing economic inequality is certainly worthwhile. And many of the policies that progressives are promoting under the umbrella of their developing anti-inequality crusade—from raising the minimum wage to requiring paid sick leave to strengthening bank regulation to increasing spending on science, education, roads, and bridges—have merit. But after talking to leaders of this network in recent weeks, and reading carefully the papers and essays that promote the new strategy, I have my doubts about whether a political campaign built around these kinds of proposals will, in fact, create a new Democratic majority.
THERE IS NO SINGLE group that dominates the Democrats' informal network, but the one that has the greatest reach, due to the power of its purse, is the Democracy Alliance. It was founded in 2005 by Rob Stein, a venture capitalist who had worked for master political operative Ron Brown at the Democratic National Committee and the Commerce Department. The history of the Democracy Alliance says a lot about how the Democrats' informal leadership network has evolved over the last decade.
