What Now for the Democrats?

This year’s defeat was devastating for the Democrats. It made it clearer than it has ever been that there is no clear path to victory for the minority party. It is much like the position the Republicans found themselves in from 1932 until about 1980, when the Roosevelt coalition dominated American politics.

It is a party out of touch with much of the country. It is not a party that evangelical Christians can be comfortable in, and with which much of America seems uncomfortable. In the eyes of much of America, it seems, it is the party of the rich, of the social avant garde, of California at its most flaky, of New England at its snobbiest.

I must confess to share its bewilderment.

But who do the Democrats attract? As for much of the 20^th Century, the party of the new century attracts those who are out of the white, Protestant mainstream. In some respects, this was less true in this election. While the Democrats maintained their majorities among Hispanics and Jews, more in both groups voted Republican this time. Catholics, once resolutely Democratic, are now firmly Republican. On the other hand, blacks remain a solid part of the Democratic base. Gays, of course, are a newer element in that base. The unions, still a bulwark of Democratic strength, are a much weaker force than they were two and more decades ago.

Paul Krugman, writing in The New York Times, was right that there are elements of the Republican’s coalition that the Democrats cannot attract and should not try to. Democrats will never be the pro-life party, nor can they ever prove themselves more anti-gay than the Republicans.

So who are the Democrats?