Larry Wilson: Democratic Party in such a fine mess

One of the funniest quips ever from an American politician goes right to the heart of why the Democratic Party is in such a fine mess.

When Adlai Stevenson was running for president in the early 1950s a woman purportedly approached him and said, “Governor, every thinking person will be voting for you.” Stevenson’s reply:  “Madam, that’s not enough. I need a majority.”

Stevenson was a super-interesting and qualified guy. I’ve always had a soft spot for him because he’s at least partly why I’m a Californian: My mother left Texas and her entirely Republican family to attend Scripps College in Claremont so she could wear her Stevenson campaign button on her lapel without being heckled.

But Stevenson was also a two-time loser to Ike, a regular guy who’d won the war, and who didn’t pretend to be an intellectual.

Americans don’t much care for intellectuals. They think they are being talked down to by them. They don’t much care for professors, or teachers of any kind. Busybody know-it-alls. It’s one reason, along with campus liberalism, so many Americans don’t want to even send their kids to college these days.

Domenico Montanaro, NPR’s senior political editor, analyzed Kamala Harris’s loss to Donald Trump this simple, brilliant way last week: “Democrats were once the party of the farm and then of the factory floor. Now they are the party of the faculty lounge.”

Some of us don’t mind the idea of the faculty lounge — legs up, with a book and a drink. More than half of us don’t like it at all.

It’s ridiculous, to me at least, that here in 2024 we are backsliding from pluralism, from equality, from an end to gender bias.

But the surest bet you could make about the Democratic nominee for president in 2028 is that he’s going to be White, and he’s going to be a he, and from some heartland state. Parents happen to be South Asian, and Jamaican, and you’re a woman, and from California? Check in with us in a century or so.

Contenders for Democratic leadership include Roy Cooper of North Carolina, Wes Moore of Maryland, Phil Murphy of New Jersey, JB Pritzker of Illinois and Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania.

Can’t forget former veep-wannabe Tim Walz, though he’ll be tagged as a loser, too.

You can forget about Gavin Newsom (wrong state) or the most excellent Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan (wrong gender).

And it’s entirely possible that even being a known up-and-comer today is a negative. It’s the perfect time for an unknown White, male moderate from Kansas, Iowa or Nebraska to appear out of the Midwest and become the next big thing. The guy who will duke it out against JD Vance in 2028. Do you really see anyone else emerging to take on the MAGA mantle? Don’t believe it’s going to be, well, Matt Gaetz, or Marco Rubio, or Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., do you?

If the Democratic candidate is to be a known, then one leading contender has to be the White, male governor of Kentucky, Andy Beshear. Excellent state to come from, un-intellectual-wise. Last week he wrote a — hope this isn’t held against him — eminently smart op-ed for The New York Times, headlined “A Plan for Democrats to Win Again.”

“I won re-election 12 months ago by five points in a state that Donald Trump just carried by 30 points,” he notes, with some justifiable pride. Why? Because, he says, “When most Americans wake up in the morning, they are not thinking about politics. Americans wake up thinking about their jobs and whether they make enough money to support their families. … The focus of the Democratic Party must return to creating better jobs, more affordable and accessible health care, safer roads and bridges, the best education for our children and communities where people aren’t just safer but also feel safer.”

His conclusion:  “And perhaps the best part? These core issues and concerns aren’t partisan, and addressing them helps Democrats and Republicans alike. That’s a path forward for both the Democratic Party and for this country that we love.”

That’s good stuff. He’s the right messenger. Keep an eye on the Bluegrass State. Might be some hope there for the Democrats yet.

Larry Wilson is on the Southern California News Group editorial board. lwilson@scng.com.