Democrats are trying to recapture voters who have turned away from them by changing their messaging. It won’t work, because Democrats cannot change what their party is fundamentally about no matter how many podcast appearances they make.
Democrats have been struggling with how to respond to the 2024 elections, even as President Donald Trump has slowly sabotaged himself to start his presidency. The Democratic Party is particularly focused on winning back men and working-class voters. In swing states, Democrats lost men in every age bracket, including 30- to 44-year-old men by 7 points. That would be the demographic of men who were young voters when former President Barack Obama won, which was supposed to permanently change the electorate.
Democrats failed to convince men that vice presidential nominee Tim Walz was a man’s man, so they have decided on a new strategy: podcasts. Axios touts that Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA), former and future presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) have all appeared on podcasts in the “manosphere” as part of their renewed efforts to reach out to men.
Democrats lost voters without college degrees by double digits in swing states and lost voters whose family income was below $50,000. They have decided to drone on about “oligarchy” in response, employing the age-old tactic of tying the GOP to the wealthy. The New York Times has a glowing profile on Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX), the progressive lawmaker who is trying to pitch progressivism to the working class once again.
All of it is inauthentic. Democrats lost men because the party resents them, no matter their race. Obama shamed black men for not supporting Kamala Harris in 2024, all but outright calling them sexists. Democrats have for years dismissed issues facing men, particularly young men, because they view men as privileged oppressors. Buttigieg pandering to black voters who haven’t liked him since his 2020 run by talking about “discounts” on black children for adoption isn’t going to change that.
MAYBE DEMOCRATS SHOULD TRY LISTENING TO MEN
The same goes for working-class voters. Casar’s profile begins by talking about how he voted to lift the ban on homeless encampments in Austin, Texas, which residents voted to reinstate. Left-wingers cut from the same cloth as Casar have prioritized the needs of criminals and homeless people, leading to declines in the quality of life in the cities they run. When they aren’t doing that, left-wingers are focused on their postgraduate base, including forcing working-class voters to cover the student loans of wealthy college graduates and postgrads.
As always, Democrats think they can just change their messaging and all their problems will be solved. A couple of podcasts or a speaking tour doesn’t change the Democratic Party’s ideological animosity toward young men or the fact that the party has been captured by rich activists and homelessness nongovernmental organizations, both of which advocate against working-class voters. Democrats want the voters without doing the work, which is why they lost so badly in 2024 in the first place.