Needed: A Strategic Plan for the Democratic Party
Philip Kotler
A recent ad announced that Pete Buttigieg, former mayor of South Bend, Indiana and a well-known Democrat, is considering running for U.S. President. The ad asked whether readers would back him. Pete said he considered running because the Democrats need to figure out what they stand for. He called on Democrats to lead with new ideas for the new times we live in, and not just run against Trump. He called for a stronger Democratic vision that speaks directly to voters. He stressed the urgency of defining what Democrats stand for — and are fighting for. Would he get enough grassroots support?
The Democrats Seem to be Asleep
The news is constantly filled with what Trump is doing to take control of the American economy and society. Republicans control the majority of U.S. States and their legislators, many of whom are election deniers, and are controlling the next election. They even aim to privatize the U.S. Postal System to control the mail-in vote. Trump and his Maga fans take direct shots at Democrats calling them “scum.” Trump would be happiest if he could eliminate the Democratic Party.
The Democrats seem to be quiet or disorganized. One leading Democrat, James Carville, proposed that Democrats should lie low because Trump will eventually destroy himself with his aggressive tariffs and his authoritarian actions. But the real problem is that the Democratic Party is highly fragmented between left-wing thinkers and centrist thinkers. The Democratic party doesn’t have a unified message. David Brooks reported that his Democratic friends saw the Democratic Party as “currently rudderless, weak, passive, lacking a compelling message.” The Democratic party is being managed by several people but lacks real leadership to unify the party. Potential great leaders exist such as Pete Buttigieg of Indiana, Grechen Whitmer (Governor of Michigan), Mark Kelly (Arizona Senator, astronaut, and naval officer), Josh Shapiro (Governor of Pennsyvania), J.B. Pritzker (Governor of Illinois), Andy Beshear (Governor of Kentucky) and Rahm Emanuel (former mayor of Chicago and Ambassador to Japan).
Meanwhile, Trump Republicans maintain a strong and clear policy of America First. Their stand is to get rid of illegals, cut down the number of federal workers, cut down federal spending on health, education and social services, and lower taxes on the rich. The Republicans have command of the airwaves and circulate their slogans and policies while Democrats offer no unified message.
Members of the public are depressed, confused, and unhappy. Many people feel that nothing is happening to make things better. Wages have stopped rising. People cannot afford good housing. Infrastructure needs modernization. Many workers worry about their jobs as AI rises to replace them. College students can’t find jobs. There is widespread anxiety that the economy is sluggish and even stagnating.
This despair sits on a larger set of economic, social and political problems. Climate change is worsening. People are buying more guns while gun laws are inadequate. Women needing abortions can’t get them in a growing number of states. Trump is running mass arrests of illegal immigrants and sending them out of the country, many of whom were gainfully employed in growing our food and caring for our elderly and handicapped citizens. Income and wealth disparity is growing more extreme. More Americans are poorer and many of their entitlement benefits are being cancelled. More countries, including the U.S., are involved in war. The threat of nuclear war hangs over us. Every sign points to a growing authoritarian regime taking over and destroying American democracy.
What Do the Democrats Need to Do?
Martin Luther King Jr. famously stated, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” These words express hope and perseverance in the face of adversity. Before Trump’s recent return to power, the world was at relative peace and prosperity. Today both peace and democracy are vanishing.
The Democrats need to develop an answer to our unsatisfied needs and desires. What can be done to build an equitable and sustainable society? Public citizens expect adequate food, clothing and shelter. But much more is needed.
Democrats, in formulating their message, need to look back at what made America great. Having a great Constitution enforced by Supreme Court decisions provided a steady influence. America’s ideals are historically dramatized by our four most admired U.S. Presidents whose images are sculpted at Mt. Rushmore: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt. All four adopted policies that advanced the idea of American democracy.
We need to add Franklin Delano Roosevelt as a fifth President that needs to be sculpted at Mt. Rushmore. He defined the nation’s means of helping unemployed Americans live through a ruthless depression with agencies designed to give them meaningful work and support. FDR helped Americans respond to Japan’s horrific attack at Pearl Harbor and Germany’s mass destruction of Europe. He always appointed the most able and talented Americans to cabinet positions to help manage these struggles.
Democrats need to define what they stand for. It would be simple to say that Democrats stand for the three P’s of Progress, Peace and Prosperity. Both political parties could claim this.
In recent times, Democrats have focused on the theme of well-being of all Americans. America is a multicultural society where all cultures are to be treated with respect. Democrats support the human rights of free speech, free assembly, and religious freedom. Democrats have a passion for justice and a well-defined legal system. They have a passion for a check-and-balance political system involving the President, the legislature, and the court system. They have a passion for improving the well-being, education and health of all persons living in the United States.
How is this to be effectively messaged?
Americans carry so many varied views of Democrats and of Republicans. Trump Republicans have their slogan to “Make America Great Again.” Even here there is a distinct difference between the Trump view of the Republican party and the traditional Republican Party. Traditional Republican party voters believed in conservatism, family, religion, morality, and business freedom.
Democrats need to do a better job of brand marketing. They need a slogan of a few words that express their promise to their voters and to the country at large. I would suggest “Make America America again.” This is quite different than Maga’s slogan. It can be put in other words, such as “Restore the American Dream,” or “Building a Brighter Tomorrow.” or “Fairness, Freedom, Justice and Opportunity.” or “Leadership You Can Trust Again,” or simply “Hope Over Fear.”
Each Democrat running for office has to shape his or her best slogan. The slogan must ring true to their history and values. Each candidate needs a longer narrative with story telling features. Their remarks need to be memorable. The effect of all these statements should clearly show the difference between what Democrats believe in and what Republicans believe.
Trump Republicans have continued to attack Democrats as liberals and Woke. Yet these terms describe our great American Presidents. Democrats need to say they are proud of these terms. They prefer these labels to those of Trump Republicans who are favoring a dictatorship where one ruler uses fear and command to tell everyone what they should believe.
