How’d that work out for you?
Author’s note: this column deals in generalities regarding statewide Democratic candidates. There were a number of candidates in “lower” ballot positions that fought, and won, on Democratic values.
The 2012 election is now a thing of the past and the whining is already fully underway. Utah Democrats are blaming the “Romney Bump” for their electoral woes this year, conveniently ignoring the fact that we haven’t managed to elect a Democratic candidate statewide since 1996. Was Mitt on all of those ballots and I just missed it?
Over the course of the past several months (and years, even) I’ve had numerous conversations with Democratic strategists, party players and pundits about Democratic strategy in Utah. One consistent theme has emerged: An unwavering belief that the only way to win an election in Utah (outside of Salt Lake County) is to act like a Republican and call yourself a Democrat. To those people, I have to ask this question: How’s that working out for you?
Take a look at the top of Utah’s Democratic ticket. Peter Cooke, candidate for governor, felt the need to call a press conference earlier in the summer to explain that his position on LGBT equality is the same as not only the LDS Church, but also that of the GOP presidential nominee, Mitt Romney. Ignore for a moment the disgusting level of bigotry demonstrated by this move and look at the politics. There was absolutely no upside to this spectacle. It’s not like he was actually going to sway any of the hardcore gay-bashing Republican voters out there to vote for him. The fact that he put a “D” after his name had already cost him their votes. All he did was alienate the base of Utah Democratic activists that could have been there for financial and volunteer support.
Move down a notch to the race between Senator Orrin Hatch and challenger Scott Howell. On June 26, Hatch clobbered his intra-party rival Dan Liljenquist. It was Hatch’s first primary challenge since he was first elected in 1976. So what did Howell do? He spent the entire election season harping on the same message that didn’t work for Liljenquist. “Retire Hatch” didn’t convince Republicans to switch to a different Republican, what could possibly have made the Howell camp think that message would convince them to switch to someone who calls himself a Democrat, while acting like just another bigoted Republican.
He then ran around the state touting his conservative credentials, using phrases like, “Just as conservative, twice as competent.” He frequently told the story of how he was tempted to switch to the Republican Party, but was “convinced” by former Mormon President Gordon B. Hinckley to stay with the Democratic Party. He also decided to kick sand in the face of the LGBT community by declaring his support for the Defense of Marriage Act in an interview with Provo’s Daily Herald.
With candidates like this and Utah’s perennial non-Democrat Jim Matheson on the ticket, is it any wonder that Utah Democrats are disenchanted?
I, for one, am tired of the excuses. One year it’s the Mormon vote, the next time around it’s because conservatives don’t like John Kerry, then it’s Mitt Romney. Utah Democrats have one reason for electoral failure: Utah Democrats.
The Democratic Party used to be the party of ideas and ideals. Over the past three decades (in Utah) we’ve developed a collective case of battered-wife syndrome. We have become so afraid of irritating perceived Republican ire that we refuse (for the most part) to stand up and fight.
Every time the discussion turns to social policy, Democrats run for cover. Our top ticket candidates have repeatedly attempted to distance themselves from the party and to position themselves as “Republican-lite.” While this has been effective for Matheson historically, it hasn’t worked for other Democrats who don’t have the advantage of that particular lineage. Yet it continues, to the detriment of party-building and governmental balance in Utah.
Voters are sick and tired of politics as usual, a lesson we should have learned from the Tea Party rise of 2010. While many want to attribute the election of Senator Mike Lee to some form of collective temporary insanity, the answer is actually quite simple: he took a stand. It was a crazy, nutty stand, but he took it and he stood his ground. Voters respected that, responded to it and gave him a shot.
If we, as Democrats, are to rise to anything resembling relevance in Utah, we need to learn from that lesson. We need to stand and fight for our principles, for equality, for choice, for education, for the protection of our environment, and for good government. We need to not only talk about these issues constantly, but we also need to practice them. We can’t complain about the evils of Citizens United while taking money from “super PACs.”
We can’t talk about equality for all citizens and then limit that to housing and employment discrimination. Equality is equality, there aren’t levels or layers.
We can’t talk about choice and then set the circumstances under which women can make reproductive health decisions.
This is not an easy road we have to walk, and it won’t be a short one. The path back to political relevance will be long and hard-fought. But, when we continue to stand on our values, people will respond. We will earn the respect of the voters, and we will earn their votes.
We will need to do this by shifting our focus away from the more “prominent” races and developing our communities. We will need to support our school board, municipal office and legislative candidates as they grow into higher offices. We will make the greatest difference in the smallest places and the tightest races.
If the past few election cycles have taught us anything, it should be that our status quo formula isn’t working. We’ve been going backward and that needs to change.