Two Categories Of "Other Voters" to Target To Guarantee Victory in The General

Centrists are touting the need to win "other voters," which they mean as anti-Trump Republicans. And I agree that we need to select a candidate who reaches out to other voters. But I propose that there are much bigger groups of "other voters" who will be attracted by progressive candidates.

There is much talk among the Democratic Centrists, which includes most of the Democratic leadership about attracting "other voters," i.e., voters other than the Democratic voters who most reliably show up. These centrists and the centrist Democratic leaders are thinking about potential never-Trump or maybe-not-Trump Republican voters that Centrist policies will attract, or I'm guessing, be less likely to repel.

But there are several other classes of "other voters,"

non-affiliated independent voters

young people who have never voted before

people under thirty who are usually low turnout voters

People who are not registered voters

I believe there are a lot more of these other classes of "other voters" than there are potential Republicans who might vote for a centrist Democrat.

Let's consider WHY some Republicans might vote Democratic. I would argue that the main reason would be if they were considering centrist who refused to embrace significant change, who promised to keep things the way they are. They'd vote for someone who rejects the possibility of big change. I call these people adherents to the belief in "can't-do-ism."

The problem with this approach is that it is not inspiring. It is not the kind of approach that will motivate new voters or voters who only come out when they really feel the candidate is special. On the contrary, I believe that if a can't-do-ism candidate like Joe Biden, Amy Klobuchar or Pete Butigieg becomes the candidate, he or she will not inspire the "other voter" categories I'm describing to show up at the voting polls.

I believe that if Bernie Sanders, or, to a lesser extent, Elizabeth Warren becomes the candidate, either one will attract the "other voters" I'm describing, and the potential numbers are massively greater than the marginal few percentage points of Republicans a centrist will attract. I believe that these are not people who show up in the polls. Nowadays a huge percentage of people asked to participate in polls decline-- something like eighty percent refusal rate. My guess is that people who might not vote are less likely to respond to polls.

As Bernie Sanders has said countless times, in order to win it is essential to get a massive turnout. I believe that to do that, the candidate must inspire hope and a feeling that voting will actually make a difference. I don't think voting against Trump is enough. I don't believe that aiming to maintain the status quo, or an incrementally little bit more is enough.

So when people talk about attracting "other voters," straighten them out and let them know that they are right that "other voters" are the key to winning, but the true power of attracting other voters comes from the progressive vision of progressive candidates.