Leaders in the Democrat Party like Chuck Schumer understand the existential threat the party is currently facing. This is why they have adopted the "Better Deal" platform. We are all threatened by the interests of the billionaire class.
Unlimited amounts of corporate money in politics is one of the biggest threats to the Democrat Party because Republican special interest groups have far more wealth than Democrat special interests. We need to get money out of politics. Now is the time to come together with a unifying message.
The richest individuals in the nation have historically sought to divide the working and middle classes, because it deflects attention from the fortunes they are accumulating, while the rest of us struggle. Some of the wealthiest individuals want to divide the middle and working classes because if we are unified we seek fair wages, which hurt their profits. This is currently manifest in the way some talk radio show hosts try to pit private sector employees against public sector employees.
Psychology indicates that our views on social issues are heavily influenced by our social influences and the information we have been exposed to. Confirmation bias, groupthink and group polarization highly influence some of our beliefs on these issues.
Democrats were at their strongest when unions were at their strongest. Economics are the unifying message that the majority of voters care about and agree on. We will not win elections without making them the main focus. We need to be intellectually honest and admit what history and psychology teach us about human nature. Humans are generally self-interested and primarily care about what personally affects them. Although some individuals are an exception to this rule, the vast majority are not.
In a Democratic republic you have to convince the majority. The average CEO pay has jumped to 343 times that of the average employee, when in 1980 it was 42 times greater. People are working longer hours for less pay, and the middle class is shrinking; we are losing jobs to automation and globalization. Do we really believe that identity politics will win elections? The working class is in distress because its fair-paying union jobs have been sent overseas.
Let me be clear, there are individuals of all races, sexes and sexual orientations that are hurting financially. Working-class individuals of all races died in Vietnam. Even if it wasn't the main motivation in starting the war, some of the wealthiest individuals in the nation benefitted financially in these wars that their own kids did not fight in.
More people will get behind a message of class and economics than other issues. If we don't come together with a unifying message on economics, then we will lose. To those who are feeling confusion or cognitive dissonance with this message, it is essential to understand that the rights of women, LGBTQ and people of color cannot be defended if we lose elections. The environment will not be protected if we lose elections, and future generations will be negatively impacted.
The party has fought and will continue to fight for these groups, but past state and general elections show that this is not the message that will help us win. Focusing on economic issues will help us win elections because humans are self-interested and economics affect everyone. On this subject, one professor suggested to me that the party may have lost the forest for the trees; let's look at the big picture. The coming elections are the time to stand together around economic issues for the benefit of us and future generations. As Abraham Lincoln said, "A house divided against itself cannot stand."
Kason Kendall is president of the College Democrats of Utah.