海角大神

Throughout the 2016 election campaign and into the first weeks of President Trump鈥檚 presidency, Democrats have struggled to find a united voice and articulate a clear vision for the country. But Congressional Democrats鈥� annual retreat may provide a start.

On Wednesday, Democratic members of the House of Representatives head to Baltimore to begin the retreat. Over the next few days, they will participate in an election post-mortem with the leaders of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), with a focus on why the Democrats failed to pick up as many seats in the House as they predicted. On Saturday afternoon, the candidates for chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) will lay out their visions for the future of the party.聽

And while the tone will be lightened by celebrities like basketball star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and TV personality Chelsea Handler, the primary focus will be on crafting a strategy that will carry the Democrats through the first year of the Trump presidency and put them on the path to victory in 2018.

Though observers caution against expecting too much from the retreat itself, understanding why the party lost in 2016 may provide hints as to how to tackle the next four years.

鈥淚t鈥檚 my sense 鈥� that Hillary Clinton鈥檚 failings were not her policy positions per se but the way she is viewed in society 鈥� and a campaign her people ran that was far more focused on disparaging Trump鈥檚 fitness for office than her own [policies],鈥� explains Josh Pasek, assistant professor of communication studies at the University of Michigan, in a phone conversation with 海角大神.

Following a hard-fought primary election campaign that pitted Secretary Clinton鈥檚 centrism against Sen. Bernie Sanders鈥� progressive platform, the Clinton campaign struggled to rally Democrats around the nominee. Framing Clinton鈥檚 candidacy in opposition to Mr. Trump may therefore have been a logical strategy.

And with Republicans in control of all three branches of government, it鈥檚 a strategy Democrats might be tempted to deploy again. In the weeks since Trump has taken office, he has galvanized the Democratic base, spurring 鈥渦nprecedented鈥� political engagement, according to Matt Dallek, associate professor at George Washington University鈥檚 Graduate School of Political Management in Washington, DC. And that mobilization is likely to continue, he suggests.聽

鈥淓verything that goes wrong 鈥� every job that isn鈥檛 created, every counterterrorism raid that is botched, every executive order that is challenged 鈥� that鈥檚 all on the opposition party,鈥� Professor Dallek notes.

And just as objections to the Obama stimulus powered the Tea Party to victory in 2010, the opposition to Trump could conceivably be channeled into winning seats, a challenge for the party at all levels, he points out. The 2016 election has already encouraged many young progressive women to go into politics at the local level, the Monitor鈥檚 Story Hinckley reported last week.

But Clinton鈥檚 struggles may indicate that more than this negative framing is required to win an election, suggests Gary Nordlinger, a political strategist who is now a professional in residence at George Washington University鈥檚 Graduate School of Political Management.

鈥淧retty much her whole campaign [was] 'Donald Trump is too scary, he鈥檚 too divisive, he doesn鈥檛 have the temperament to be president,'鈥� Mr. Nordlinger tells the Monitor in a phone interview. 鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 a vision that included the people that are getting left behind by the global economy.鈥�

To win voters back, he suggests, Democrats 鈥渉ave to hear Americans鈥� concerns and really listen.鈥� As Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison, who is running for DNC chair, noted, the issues that Trump pushed during the campaign provide a good starting-point for places where Democrats could be retooling their policies.

鈥淭rump banging on 鈥� trade, infrastructure and jobs helped him convince people of all colors that he might be somebody they can vote for,鈥� Rep. Ellison said, according to Roll Call. 鈥淗e鈥檚 already disappointed them, but the fact that he could get them to believe that .鈥�

In other words, Democrats need to be able to counter Trump鈥檚 policies with workable alternatives, making themselves more appealing to Trump voters in the event that his policies fail. But finding compelling policies will take time, Nordlinger points out, so people shouldn鈥檛 expect Democrats to come away from the Baltimore retreat with a full-fledged party platform.

One place to start could be working with President Trump and Congressional Republicans.聽A new Morning Consult poll indicates that 59 percent of self-identified independents聽. But that could end up alienating the base, the poll found, as just 34 percent of Democrats wanted to work with the administration.

All in all, it may be too early for Democrats to know what approach to take in the next election, says Professor Pasek of Michigan.

鈥淚 think the classic question that you ask is: What combination of persuasion and mobilization is going to get my party to outvote the other party?鈥� he says.聽

Historically, he explains, party lines have been clearly drawn, making it easy to choose policies. But Trump isn鈥檛 a traditional conservative, and it鈥檚 too early to tell how his administration will shape up. With that in mind, the Democrats need to be able to appeal to their base if Trump takes a centrist approach, while pushing policies with centrist appeal if he tends more toward the right wing.

鈥淚t鈥檚 good to get started early 鈥� but actually picking a route in terms of responding to Trump is probably premature,鈥� Pasek suggests.