Democratic donors and activists

Democratic donors and activists vs. Democratic voters.

I attend enough Democratic fundraising events to have a feel for who shows up to fund campaigns, and why.

Donors at wine-and-cheese events skew old. They are mostly Boomers who are involved because some good cause or issue attracts them. Some are engaged because they are appalled by Trump and disappointed that their Republican social peers tolerate and enable him. They may be old school Democrats who were against the war in Vietnam back in the 1960s. They watched and admired Martin Luther King and carry that admiration to the present. Some are feminists who broke into the professions in the 1970s, or the people married to those women. Some are  people who support reproductive rights because they remember the bad old days. Possibly they celebrated Earth Day back in 1970 and have considered themselves environmentalists for fifty years. They think climate change is real and important. In Oregon they bemoan the summer forest fires and drought. A lot of them drive hybrid cars.

I know those people. They are my friends. I am one of them.

I don't exactly understand the people in their 20s and 30s who staff the organizations that people like me fund, but I see these people at events holding signs, marching, protesting, knocking on doors.  They care a lot about these issues. They expect to be alive to see climate disaster. They are on Facebook, like the older group, but also on different social media sites, like Instagram. They text a lot, instead of telephoning. They are impatient for change, and that I do understand. I was young and impatient myself once. Peace now. 

I get daily messages by email and phone from advocacy groups: Planned Parenthood, Emily's List, NARAL, League of Conservation Voters,, Sierra Club, ACLU, and a variety of groups advocating for wider health access and LGBTQ rights.  I observe at a distance the activities of labor union groups. Their endorsements and money are huge influences on Democrats.

Individual and group donor/advocates send deceptive market signals to politicians. Potentially we are the tip of an iceberg of like-minded people, so we represent the larger body. Possibly the broader public will show up to vote as we urge, if they just see enough of the ads and door-hanger brochures that donors pay for and activists deliver.

The assumption is wrong. We are different from the rank-and-file Democratic voter, and in some respects the opposite of them. The vocal leadership of activist groups embraced #MeToo, "Defund the Police", the Green New Deal, abortion rights, de-commissioning nuclear power plants, banning drilling for oil and gas, stopping pipelines, and sharply reducing  timber harvests. They supported higher pay for public employees and more public benefits for everyone, including immigrants. The public hears that message from donors, issue advocates, and the most articulate and media-savvy of Democratic politicians. Those are people on the progressive, urban left. 

Ruy Teixeira's superb The Liberal Patriot newsletter reports on an NBC poll. A candidate who supports fully funding the police with the resources they need has 75% support; only 11% like hearing a message of defunding. A candidate who supports expanding domestic oil and gas production gets 69%-17% support. A candidate endorsed by Bernie Sanders gets net-negative support, 33%-39%. AOC endorsed candidates lose 22%-39%. Trump is negative 33%-47%

The position of Democrats on abortion--at least in the early weeks of pregnancy--is popular. But Democrats who feel a moral urgency on climate, policing, gender, and other issues have not yet made the sale to the general public. Older donors and younger activists have every right to advocate for their positions, and we do so. I hear lots of talk about holding Democratic politicians' feet to the fire. Donors and issue advocates feel righteous about it. The problem is that Democratic candidates get burnt feet, then lose elections. 

Democracy, if we can keep it, is self-correcting. If Democrats lose badly enough presenting ideas people don't support, new articulate and charismatic leaders will arise from the ashes. 

Tomorrow: Democrats should not despair. Republican activists are worse. Trump may save Democrats again.