Stacey Abrams thinks Democrats need to totally change their playbook to beat Trump in 2020 — here's how Tom Porter 7m Democratic Georgia Gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams speaks at London's Chatham House on March 6. Chatham House Speaking in London Wednesday, Stacey Abrams laid out the tactics that saw Democrat rocket in Georgia's race for the governorship. Turnout went from 1.1 million to 1.9 million, bringing her within two points of becoming America's first black female state governor. Abrams called for Democrats to embrace "identity politics" and champion marginalized communities. She said: "I talked about issues that were normally kept to the side or certainly avoided altogether in the Deep South." Since her defeat, Abrams has emerged as a leading Democrat, delivering the party's response to Trump's State of the Union address in February. Democratic rising star Stacey Abrams broke down the lessons from her race for governor in Georgia, and outlined why she thinks her party must make a radical break from the past to beat President Donald Trump in 2020. Speaking at London's Chatham House think-tank on Wednesday, Abrams described how got within 55,000 votes of victory in the historically red state in November's mid-terms. Her tactics were a wholesale rejection of Democratic orthodoxy, and the divisive politics President Trump has been accused of waging. Democratic gubernatorial candidate for Georgia, is welcomed by a crowd of supporters in Fayetteville, Georgia, U.S., October 25, 2018. REUTERS/Lawrence Bryant Democrats are fiercely debating how to beat Trump in 2020, with some claiming that a narrow focus on so-called identity politics, or claims for recognition by minority communities, could turn away white voters and lead Democrats into the electoral wilderness. Some observers claim that Democrats' best hopes lie in addressing the concerns of voters who have deserted them for the Republican Party, such as the elderly and white blue-collar workers. But Abrams said that the historic high turnout of black, Latino and Asian voters in the state — which nearly got her into office — vindicates her campaign's efforts to reach out and address the concerns of a swath of the electorate usually ignored. "In our campaign we intentionally centered on people of color and marginalized communities. I proudly proclaimed myself an ally of the LGBTQ community, I talked about issues that were normally kept to the side or certainly avoided altogether in the Deep South," she said. "Because I believe that people cannot vote for things that do not include them, and cannot be seen unless we speak them into existence." She said that success will come from in embracing those who usually feel excluded from the political conversation, and giving them a voice. "What I realised from my campaign — what we realised from the very beginning — is that people want to be seen. They want to be heard. They want to know that their lived experiences are valued and recognised and that the barriers that they face have the possibility of being eroded and moved away. Former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams delivers the Democratic response to the U.S. President Donald Trump's State of the Union address in this still frame taken from video, in Washington, U.S., February 5, 2019. REUTERS/Reuters TV "They want to know that being a member of a community that is disabled does not mean they are excluded from participation. She said that she was able to address the needs of diverse communities without alienating white voters — the most common fear of people who reject a focus on identity. "Not only did we increase the turnout rates of all those communities of colour all those marginalized communities, I actually increased the white participation rate for Democrats for almost 25 years. This is what happens when identity politics takes center stage. All identities are recognised," she said. "That is why, in our campaign we created opportunities for every single community to have a voice, to be seen and to be heard and to be invested in," remarked Abrams, the first black woman to run as a major party's candidate for state governor in US history. She said that her campaign was the first to run ads statewide addressing Latino communities, reached out to voters in both rural areas and cities country and urban radio, and tailored its policies for minority communities. The result: an increase in the Democrat vote from 1.1 million in 2014 to 1.9 million in 2019, including a surge of Latino and black voter turnout. Abrams lost narrowly to Republican Brian Kemp, whom she accused of abusing his office to purge thousands of Americans from minority communities from voter rolls during his tenure as Georgia's secretary of state. Kemp has vehemently denied the accusations, and says he was combatting voter fraud. Abrams ended her bid to prevent Kemp taking office in November, and has founded the Fair Fight Action group to combat electoral suppression in the state. Since the loss, she has emerged as one of the key figures in the Democratic Party, delivering the party's response to Trump's February State of the Union address, where she accused the president of using the government shutdown as a "stunt." Oprah Winfrey takes part in a town hall meeting with Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams ahead of the mid-term election in Marietta, Georgia, U.S. November 1, 2018. REUTERS/Chris Aluka Berry Rumours have swirled that Abrams is considering a 2020 presidential bid, but on Wednesday she steered clear of speculation. She said which Democrat she backs in 2020 will be down to their stance on voter suppression rather than sexual or ethnic identity. "I'm not governor in part because of voter suppression," remarked Abrams. "My litmus test is not going to be a litmus test based on race or gender for who is going to be the next nominee for the Democrats - it's going to be whether you talk about voter suppression," she said. "I would certainly would like to see a woman win, I'm an advocate of people of colour getting in higher and higher positions and to communities writ large, she said. "We have to talk about voter suppression, because if we did not create space for people to cast their ballots, then our democracy is in trouble. And that is a danger to us all regardless of identity."
How come all these democrats who are described here and elsewhere as "rising stars" are losers? Rising star Stacy Abrams- lost her race. Rising star Beta-male Orourke- lost. Stacy Abrams is 100% committed to getting out the black vote because that is what works for her in her own path. That is why after she lost she went right to work setting up a full time get-out-the-vote organization. Self-serving much? It is just another way for her to continue campaigning for the coming Senate race and it may work for her, in her state. But try turning the 2020 national race into an identity politics game as in 2016 and dont be surprised if you end out watching the Price is Right while others are going to work. Hillary was speaking in Selma the other day and brought out the fake southern accent again. Crazy shiite. Dems always trying to be fake something else...fake southerner, fake indian, fake war vet, fake election winner....
Aren't the Dems already all about "identity"? Seems they vote who they are... candidate only matters if they sign on to the voter's identity. "Country" doesn't matter at all.
Yep. They will, however, vote for someone who is different from them if that person can be made to feel guilty enough to give them free shiite. If White Bread Beto runs and calls for reparations for blacks then suddenly he gonna be the man if you are black. Let's not forget that Bubba was our first black president.
A Democrat running on "Identity Politics" in 2020 for President is a sure path to the Democrats losing in the general election. It is a dream come true for Donald Trump. The majority of rational American citizens are tired of the continuous screech of identity politics and lack of addressing the main street issues. Using identity politics will greatly help drive the turnout of voters who will cast their ballots for Trump. If the Democrats want to win the 2020 election they need to focus on the issues important to voters across the country such as healthcare (a "winning" issue in 2018). A Democrat who runs on "orange man bad" and identity politics will surely lose the 2020 presidential election.
Not to put too fine a point on some of this, but it is also worth noting that there was considerable grumbling among blacks last time about how they were just taken for granted by dems in this identity politics game, and that suppressed the black vote. Not that the black vote didnt massively go to dems, but when you play the identify politics strategy you have to get massive turnout. Just as with Trump. If you are just playing to a certain base at the expense of others, you gotta do that to the max. But you hear grumblings among blacks about how gays, hispanics, trans-species bathroom types, and muslims get all the attention while dems have done nothing for them lately. Not to worry though, this is election season, the time when Dems take minorities down off the shelf to use them again before putting them back up there after the election.
Its just going to depend on which side has the most people show up and vote. I'd be willing to bet there will be a big percentage of 2016 Trump voters that just throw in the towel out of apathy at this point. The Dems on the other hand seem to be doing a good job motivating the under 35 crowd to become politically active. It won't come down to who the candidate is on the left, it's pretty obvious to me at least that its going to be a "never Trump" campaign. Not unlike the way Hillary lost. I think Trump will be a one term president. Its just like trading, you can't let emotions cloud the reality of what is really happening around you. I see the under 35 group motivated af to vote. Not sure how their numbers work out though in the bigger picture regarding the EC etc... but odds are Trump will lose some of the states he won in 2016.
You are making the assumption that the under-35 group in many states will cause a lean to Democrats. There is a sizeable under-35 group in North Carolina and other swing states that leans to the right.
All of those are factors, but in regard to "it wont come down to who the candidate is on the left" then I would say "careful dat." Dems are perfectly capable of putting a candidate on the ballot which would allow them to seize defeat from the jaws of victory. Very capable. Plenty of absolute deal killers to choose from.
I'm thinking the Dems will try to figure out which candidate is "most popular" and will pull the most votes (issues don't matter)... could be some jackass like Beto or even AOC if she were eligible. Once they "get the power", they can implement any agenda they want. (That will probably work as the Lefty sheeple are not only brainwashed, but stupid!)