Common Sense: Voters Decide What Is Normal

Democrats seem stuck in place these days.  Their internal debate centers on what is needed to re-connect with voters who do not have a college degree and make $100,000 or more a year (the only group won by Democrats in the last election).  The progressives, their base, believe their problems center on their message and not strongly enough embracing progressive policies.  When it comes to policy, only two things count.  First, does it mean being for or against anything and everything involving President Trump?  Spoiler alert.  The “against” side wins among these folks—every time.  Second, does it help or hurt the maintaining or furthering of the most liberal policies?  Here, you want to be on the “help” side to be a progressive in good standing.

Democrats who think any policy might justifiably be modified or tempered constitute the remainder of the Party.  They do agree with progressives that their Party’s messaging needs to be better.  They also believe there could be opportunities to work with President Trump and the Republicans on some things. In other cases, they conclude fighting Trump and the Republicans provides no political benefit, and might even cause damage to their own brand.   They are even willing to consider the possibility exists that “live and fight another day” is the best political option available.  Most of the time, these folks defer to the progressives.

This is what the debate within the Democratic Party was all about concerning the potential government shutdown.  More on this subject when I do “Remember This” later in the week.

Without arguing which side is right, when it comes to the politics of it, on the issue of abortion, Donald Trump correctly assessed the issue.  The anti-abortion, “no exceptions” side just did not have the votes to prevail in 2022 when the issue was on the ballot in multiple states.  The pro-abortion side (despite actually being for “no restriction” for allowing abortions) was able to make it about being reasonable versus the “no abortions; no exceptions” side.  It worked.  Trump saw this, and his political policy was: “Make. It. Go. AWAY.”  His “first three months and in the instances of rape, incest, and the life of the mother” position for the legal availability of an abortion did just that.  In the 2024, fear mongering by Democrats did not cut.  Victory Trump.  

Let me reiterate that while I do have a dog in the fight (Donald Trump and the Republicans), this column is focused on what is happening and how best to account for it, not what should happen.    

The problem for Democrats today is that on easily understood issues, their base prevents them from adopting the politically winning (by large margins) side.  It has been widely reported that in the recent contest for Chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), it was explained before the voting why modifications were needed to assure the proper balance was achieved for gender, sexuality, and gender identification.  Not many voters paid much attention to this, but you did not need to be part of MAGA Nation to think this is absurd.

That brings us to “restoring norms.”  It says here it is all about matching definition of the term with actual behavior.  One thing for certain is that your rhetoric better match your behavior when the court of public opinion makes renders its verdict.  As of now, Democrats are seen as saying one thing and doing something else in the name of “protecting long established norms.”   

For most rational people, norms center on being able to depend on certain institutions and principles being reliable and durable, even acknowledging the need for them to be adjusted to changing circumstances.  As noted, the problem for Democrats is their behavior does not jibe with their rhetoric when it comes to norms.

Let me count the ways. Remember hearing progressive rhetoric about putting a premium on democracy, even saving it?  Me thinks it was mostly just talk.  

Easiest is the example of transexual “rights.”  By an 80-20 margin, Americans think biological males should not be allowed to compete against biological females, no matter what anyone chooses for their gender identify.  When the 80 percent position recently came before Congress for a vote, two Democrats voted in favor of it in the House, which was two more than in the Senate.  Prior to this, the Biden Administration had threatened to hold back federal dollars from states and schools that refused to let transgender females compete against biological women.  Labeling the Biden position as the “norm” would appear to be inconsistent with what most Americans are thinking.  In a democracy, presumably you should be able to depend on the 80 percent side position being policy.  Not for the progressives calling the shots for the Democrats.

How about upholding the rule of law and preventing the politicization of our judicial system?  Democrats discovered very curious ways to justify prosecuting Donald Trump before the last election. As voters learned of the details about the various cases, the more they thought “this doesn’t smell right.”  Discovering the White House was in contact with local prosecutors hardly seems normal much less proper.  Now the Democrats scream in opposition to the efforts of the Trump Administration to remove those involved in that politicization of justice.  Their loud objections merely confirm the view Democrats have one set of rules for themselves and another for their adversaries.  Nothing about their behavior suggests respect for norms. 

We must not neglect the subject of “free speech.”  When progressives remove students and teachers from schools for the sin of not using the proper pronoun, that seems a little much.  The same can be said for the government putting pressure on platforms, digital and linear, to silence voices who disagree with their preferred version of events.  Hello COVID.  Never mind that pesky First Amendment. 

We could do this on any number of other topics such as immigration, the size of government, the influence of money in politics, protecting the Constitution and so many more.  At the end of the day, the conclusion would be the same.  Restoring norms is the furthest thing from the minds of progressives (who demonstrably control the Democratic Party at this time) when it comes to public policy.  Quite the opposite.

Common sense says:  Normal means just that.  Your positions and rhetoric had best match up if you claim restoring norms is your purpose.  Failure to get this right is a big reason the Democrats are in the position they are.