Top 10 Keys for NC Democratic Political Recovery

Rule #10: Find a New Balance or Fall like a House of Cards; A lesson for NC Democrats in Pope Francis’ warning to the Catholic Church

September 23, 2013        Vol. VI, No. 20           3:13 pm

This is the final report in the 10-part series on the keys to political recovery for North Carolina Democrats that began on June 6, 2013, with a report on the importance of reestablishing ideological balance in the Democratic legislative caucuses in order to restore the party’s mutually beneficial and long-standing relationship with the state’s business community.

I argued in that first report that Democrats had become “so powerful that they no longer saw the value in maintaining ideologically-balanced state Senate and House caucuses.”  Evidence of the lack of ideological balance in the caucuses is found in the 2011 business ratings of North Carolina Senators and House members conducted by the business-backed North Carolina FreeEnterprise Foundation:

• Only 2 of 19 Senate Democrats had business ratings above 70% (business-friendly is 70%+)
• Only 6 of 52 House Democrats had business ratings above 70%

I thought about that first report when I read the statement Pope Francis made in an interview published September 19, 2013, in La Civilta Cattolica, the Italian Jesuit magazine, urging the faithful to “find a new balance; otherwise … the church is likely to fall like a house of cards.”

Likewise, finding a new balance is the overarching key to political recovery for state Democrats.  In the absence of ideological balance, the party is likely to fall like a house of cards.

Pope Francis has shaken the worldwide Catholic hierarchy to its core with statements about how the church condemns those who have liberal views on social issues like marriage, contraception and abortion; women in the priesthood.  Those who disagree are driven away.

For many, the church seems to hate the sin and the sinner. Thus the need for a new balance.

Centrist Democrats and Moderate Independents are Not Welcome

Now you know how those who are center-right on fiscal and other issues feel in today’s North Carolina Democratic Party.  They feel condemned by the liberal inquisition of the left; not welcome.

Most of those who have left the North Carolina Democratic Party do not want to be Republicans.  They are simply fiscal conservatives or center-right Democrats on the most important issues of the day.

North Carolina voters are not becoming more Republican.

If the state was becoming more Republican, it would show up in the voter registration numbers.  The fact is, the percentage of Republicans on our voter rolls is shrinking.  Why?  They are just like the Catholic Church and the state Democrats; they condemn and drive away all but the hardliners.

• January 25, 2011, the day the first GOP legislative majority in a century was sworn in, Republicans had 31.54% of all NC voters (Democrats 44.59%; Unaffiliated 23.70%)
• Today, after three years of Republican legislative dominance, the GOP has shrunk to 30.77% of all NC voters ((Democrats 42.77%; Unaffiliated 26.13%)

As you can see, voters are choosing not to register with either party. They do not feel welcomed. They are now Unaffiliated, numbering 1.7 million of all North Carolina voters.

This report is the final in a 10-part series on the keys to political recovery for North Carolina Democrats.  The rules thus far are:

• Rule #1: If You want to Lead a Purple, Business-Friendly State, You have to Recruit a Purple, Business-Friendly Slate.
• Rule #2: It’s All About Who Does the Asking; Get the Right Person to Ask the Right Person to do the Right Task.
• Rule #3 Moral Mondays – A Therapeutic Dose of Political Energy Restoring Rhythm to the Heart of the Democratic Party.
• Rule #4:  Investors will Return to the Party of Bold, Visionary Leaders and Ideas when it has Bold, Visionary Leaders and Ideas.
• Rule #5:  There is Gold to be Mined among Professional Women for the Next Generation of Candidates and Campaign Leaders.
• Rule #6:  Stale Bread and Butter Social Issues won’t Nourish Moderate Voters Hungry for a Meat and Potatoes Economy.
• Rule #7: Where are the others? The Next Generation of Young Democratic Candidates and Party Leaders. (A guest report written by Madison McLawhorn, NCSU)
• Rule #8: A New Covenant with North Carolina Voters Modeled on an Old 1991 Speech by Bill Clinton on Accountability and Responsibility.
• Rule #9: Win North Carolina’s Prized Independent Voters by “Improving Public Education” to a Globally Competitive Standard.

Today, I am adding Rule #10: Find a New Balance or Fall like a House of Cards; A lesson for NC Democrats in Pope Francis’ warning to the Catholic Church.

Finding a New Balance by Recruiting Business People

Looking back over the series in preparation for the final Rule #10, I realized that the need for finding balance has been the essential message of all of the reports.

For example, Rule #1: If You want to Lead a Purple, Business-Friendly State, You have to Recruit a Purple, Business-Friendly Slate, emphasized the need for Democrats to rebuild their relationship with the state’s business community by recruiting local business people to run and serve in elective office.

The success of the North Carolina Democrats during the 20^th Century was founded on the collaboration of business, education and government leaders on mutually beneficial economic development initiatives.  The world’s leading technology-based corporations came to North Carolina because of government investment in an infrastructure of research parks supported by an internationally acclaimed university and community college system.

The added value of the party’s historic relationship with the business community is that they are leaders in the political investor community.  Democrats need investors because you can’t govern if you don’t win political races.  The Democratic Party’s strength has always come from a bond with business.

The simple reason that only 8 of 71 Democrats in the 2011-2012 North Carolina General Assembly had pro-business ratings is that Democrats did not recruit business candidates. Recruiting business candidates is a task that simply must become a priority if the party is to find a new balance.

Finding a New Balance by Recruiting Women and Young People

Speaking of strengthening the party by recruiting candidates and party leaders, this series reminded Democrats that since 2000, there have been 40 statewide NC General Election races that came down to a male candidate vs. a female candidate, and that women won 31 of those 40 races, or 77.5%.

More significant, 24 of those 31 female winners were Democratic women.  Only 7 were Republicans.  Democratic women have defeated Republican men in 80% of statewide matchups since 2000.

In addition to emphasizing the importance of recruiting women in the party’s political recovery strategy, this series also brought attention to the need to recruit young Democrats.

In the compelling guest report, Where are the others? The Next Generation of Young Democratic Candidates and Party Leaders, Madison McLawhorn, a 21-year old Senior Communications Major at North Carolina State University, wrote, “There is a leadership deficit in the party right now.  The emerging generation of Democrats needs to be more involved. The party needs us, and must make the next generation of young Democratic candidates and party leaders the priority.”

McLawhorn argued that young Democrats should be shadowing every key person in political campaigns, from pollsters and opposition research professionals to the TV ad producers and fundraisers.  “The campaigns could get more free help,” said McLawhorn, “and students would have an opportunity to actively participate in the process and learn hands-on lessons for the future—which may, in turn, become their future in politics.”

Finding a New Balance with Issues that Welcome Persuadable Voters

Reestablishing an ideologically balanced Democratic Party through recruiting candidates and party leaders was the primary focus of half of the 10-part series.  The other half of the series focused on reestablishing ideological balance through issues.

Although Moral Mondays have been like a defibrillator for the hearts of Democrats, a life-saving jolt sparking a renewed sense of possibility, persuadable voters are more interested in Unemployment/Jobs, Healthcare and Education than photo IDs or the number of days for early voting.

In fomenting a successful political rebellion, you have to do more than stand against the opposition.  Your credibility comes from offering a more compelling slate of policy solutions to the problems facing the state, including revised solutions to your own failed policies.

Do Democrats really think that they are going to retake the purse strings of the tenth largest state in the nation by protesting the morality of Republican election law reform?  Leaders in both parties can claim the Sermon on the Mount as moral justification for all of their political priorities.

Political recovery is not about morality, it’s about the hard work of recruiting and party building and strategic planning and careful targeting and flawless timing and skillful execution of each tactical maneuver.  You can’t do the hard work of recovery with your hands cuffed.

Demographic trends driven by population growth argue that Democrats have a bright future in North Carolina, but how bright and how soon will be determined by how quickly the party finds a new balance with leaders and issues that will make centrist Democrats and moderate independents feel welcomed.

And that’s why today, I am ending the series on the keys to political recovery for North Carolina Democrats with Rule #10: Find a New Balance or Fall like a House of Cards; A lesson for NC Democrats in Pope Francis’ warning to the Catholic Church.

– END –

Thank You for Reading the John Davis Political Report!

John N. Davis, Editor

 SPECIAL Premium Annual Subscription only $199:  If you are not a subscriber, please consider subscribing at the SPECIAL Premium Annual Subscription rate of only $199.  Mail your check to John Davis Political Report, P.O. Box 30714, Raleigh, NC, 27622, or subscribe online at www.johndavisconsulting.com/subscribe

P.S.:  Need a speaker?  Inquire about availability here  JND

Top 10 Keys for NC Democratic Political Recovery

Rule #9: Win North Carolina’s Prized Independent Voters by “Improving Public Education” to a Globally Competitive Standard

September 9, 2013        Vol. VI, No. 19           11:13 pm

Political Mischief is NOT Unconstitutional

I had the pleasure on Wednesday, August 26, 2013 of being the guest commentator at a Civitas Institute luncheon during which they presented the results of their annual statewide poll of North Carolina’s independent “Unaffiliated” voters, now numbering 1,688,079, or 26% of all voters.  The poll, conducted from August 19-20, 2013, shows that North Carolina’s Unaffiliated voters tend to shift their weight to the left on the social policy scales and to the right on economic policy.

If this were an era during which the most important concerns of voters fell under the broad category of social policy issues, then Democrats would have great potential for political recovery using issues like the campaign election reforms enacted by Republican lawmakers this year.  But it’s not.

We live in an era of global economic correction; an era that jealously demands attention to corrective economic policy.  An era in which all polls from all sources show that jobs and the economy are the issues about which Americans are most concerned.  An era in which reforming public education to globally competitive standards is an economic imperative.

The good news for state Democrats is that among the state’s prized 1,688,079 Unaffiliated voters, “Improving Public Education” is seen as important as “Economy and Jobs” on the list of issues they think the North Carolina General Assembly should make the “highest priority.”

• In 2010, 41% of NC Unaffiliated voters said the highest state legislative priority should be “Economy and Jobs,” while only 15% said “Improving Public Education.”
• In 2013, 32% of NC Unaffiliated voters said the highest state legislative priority should be “Economy and Jobs,” and 32% said “Improving Public Education.” 

But what are Democrats focused on?  Republican election law reform.

Despite desperate attempts by North Carolina Democrats to weaken state Republicans by convincing the world that the GOP’s new election laws have returned the state to its roots in social injustice, all they have done is brought attention to just how out-of-touch they are with what’s important to North Carolina voters; especially the state’s 1,688,079 Unaffiliated voters.

But let’s assume for a minute that there was a bit of political mischievousness by Republican Senate and House members with the election law reform package.  Let’s assume that they, like the Democrats before them, enacted election laws that were less favorable to their opponent’s constituencies.

Ladies and gentlemen, an announcement if I may:  Political mischief is not unconstitutional.

The NAACP and other like-minded Democratic organizations are wasting their resources in an attempt to regain political power in North Carolina by demonizing Republicans on matters like election laws, when in fact all that Republicans have done is bring the state in line with laws in most other states.

Becki Gray, VP for Outreach at the John Locke Foundation, enumerates the overwhelming number of states that have the very same election laws as North Carolina in a story in the September 5, 2013 Carolina Journal titled, N.C. Maintains Fairly Liberal Voting Laws.  According to Gray:

• NC is one of 32 states allowing early voting (15 states do not allow early voting)
• NC is one of 34 states requiring voters to present identification at the polls
• NC is one of 37 states that do not allow straight-party voting
• NC is one of 37 states that do not offer public funds to political candidates
• NC is one of 40 states that do not allow same-day voter registration when voting
• NC is one of 45 states that do not allow 16-and-17-year-olds to register before they are 18
  

Even if changing the number of early voting days from 17 to 10 and ending same-day registration and straight ticket voting makes voting less convenient, inconvenience is not a constitutional issue.  Frankly, anyone who can’t find time to vote in North Carolina with laws as liberal and voter-friendly as ours is irresponsible.  Unfortunately, irresponsibility is not a constitutional issue either.

If Democrats want to re-establish their political standing, they must do a better job than Republicans of persuading the state’s 1,688,079 Unaffiliated voters that the Democratic Party offers the best hope for reforming public education to the new demands of global economic competitiveness.

This report is the ninth in a 10-part series on the keys to political recovery for North Carolina Democrats.  As with the previous series on the keys to Republican political longevity, no state legislator or legislative staff member was interviewed.  All interviews were conducted with the promise of anonymity.  The rules thus far are:

• Rule #1: If You want to Lead a Purple, Business-Friendly State, You have to Recruit a Purple, Business-Friendly Slate.
• Rule #2: It’s All About Who Does the Asking; Get the Right Person to Ask the Right Person to do the Right Task.
• Rule #3 Moral Mondays – A Therapeutic Dose of Political Energy Restoring Rhythm to the Heart of the Democratic Party.
• Rule #4:  Investors will Return to the Party of Bold, Visionary Leaders and Ideas when it has Bold, Visionary Leaders and Ideas.
• Rule #5:  There is Gold to be Mined among Professional Women for the Next Generation of Candidates and Campaign Leaders.
• Rule #6:  Stale Bread and Butter Social Issues won’t Nourish Moderate Voters Hungry for a Meat and Potatoes Economy.
• Rule #7: Where are the others? The Next Generation of Young Democratic Candidates and Party Leaders
• Rule #8: A New Covenant with North Carolina Voters Modeled on an Old 1991 Speech by Bill Clinton on Accountability and Responsibility 

Today, I am adding Rule #9: Win North Carolina’s Prized Independent Voters by “Improving Public Education” to a Globally Competitive Standard.

Some Good News for Democrats in Civitas Poll

I must acknowledge that there was a time years ago that I was a bit suspicious about the objectivity of the Civitas polls because they are funded by conservative advocates.  However, since the fall of 2008, when Civitas’ polls consistently mirrored the Democrat-friendly Public Policy Polling survey results showing Barack Obama neck and neck with John McCain in North Carolina, I have not doubted the reliability of their opinion research.  More evidence of the reliability of the Civitas polls can be seen in the ample amount of good news for Democrats in the August 2013 poll of Unaffiliated voters:

• If the election for North Carolina state legislature were held today, 39% of Unaffiliated voters would choose the Democrat to only 29% who would choose the Republican (In the August 2012 Unaffiliated voter poll, Republicans led Democrats on this question by 37% to 32%)
• Unaffiliated voters are split on their views of the North Carolina Democratic Party, with 37% having a “favorable” opinion and 37% an “unfavorable” opinion
• However, only 30% of Unaffiliated voters have a “favorable” opinion of the North Carolina Republican Party, with 47% having an “unfavorable” opinion 

So, where are Unaffiliated voters getting that unfavorable opinion about the North Carolina Republican Party?  According to the poll, the opinion of Unaffiliated voters was influenced far more by the news coverage of the protests (64% had heard the protests news) than by news coverage of the General Assembly (only 49% had heard the news about the legislature).

And, by almost 3-to-1, Unaffiliated voters believe that the news media was biased in their reporting on the protests in favor of Democrats, with 28% believing that the news media “Favors Democrats over Republicans” to only 10% who believe that the news media “Favors Republicans over Democrats.”

You can no longer blame that bias on North Carolina newspaper writers, because only 15% of Unaffiliated voters get their news from local papers.  Like the rest of America, almost all Unaffiliated voters get their political news electronically by way of local TV news (56%), national TV news (40%) and news sources online (33%).

Ideologically, Unaffiliated voters are far more likely to be moderate (44%) or conservative (31%) than liberal (22%). However, they identify more with the Democratic Party (32%) than with the GOP (25%).

So why are Democrats not likely to gain a winning foothold with Unaffiliated voters with their emphasis on demonizing Republicans on election law reform and other social issues?

Some Bad News for Democrats in Civitas Poll

Unaffiliated voters make a dramatic about-face when you ask about their ideology when it comes to issues like “abortion and marriage” as opposed to issues like “taxes and government spending.”

• On fiscal issues, like taxes and spending, only 13% of Unaffiliated voters are Liberal; the rest are either Moderate (39%) or Conservative (43%)
• On social issues, like abortion and marriage, three times as many Unaffiliated voters considered themselves Liberal (39%); the rest are either Moderate (27%) or Conservative (29%) 

That’s the bad news for Democrats in a nutshell.  They do well on the issues at the bottom of the “most important problems” list, like “abortion and marriage,” but fall behind Republicans on the issues at the top of the “most important problems” list like “taxes and government spending.”  Other issues of import:

• 50% of Unaffiliated voters think tax increases “harm economic growth and cause jobs to be lost,” to only 25% who believe that tax increases will improve the economy
• 56% of Unaffiliated voters support exploring for oil and natural gas on land and off the coast of North Carolina to only 36% who oppose
• 64% support requiring voters to show a photo ID; 34% oppose 

The biggest ray of hope in the Unaffiliated poll for North Carolina Democrats is the issue of public education.  That is the issue at the top of the list of what Unaffiliated voters remembered most about the news coverage of the political protests.  Education was also the issue at the top of the list of why Unaffiliated voters favored Democrats over Republicans in legislative races, and was tied with “Economy and Jobs” as the issue Unaffiliated voters thought should be the highest legislative priority.

And that’s why today, I am adding Rule #9: Win North Carolina’s Prized Independent Voters by “Improving Public Education” to a Globally Competitive Standard.

– END –

Thank You for Reading the John Davis Political Report!

John N. Davis, Editor

 SPECIAL Premium Annual Subscription only $199:  If you are not a subscriber, please consider subscribing at the SPECIAL Premium Annual Subscription rate of only $199.  Mail your check to John Davis Political Report, P.O. Box 30714, Raleigh, NC, 27622, or subscribe online at www.johndavisconsulting.com/subscribe

P.S.:  Need a speaker?  Inquire about availability here  JND

Top 10 Keys for NC Democratic Political Recovery

Rule #8: A New Covenant with North Carolina Voters Modeled on an Old 1991 Speech by Bill Clinton on Accountability and Responsibility 

August 30, 2013        Vol. VI, No. 18            8:13 am

 Borrowed money spent on yesterday’s mistakes

The North Carolina Democratic Party needs a new covenant with the people of the state, one that values governmental accountability and personal responsibility.  That’s what helped national Democrats restore their standing with American voters in the 1990s.  It can help state Democrats today.

I got the idea for a “new covenant” from a political speech I overheard in the fall of 1991; a speech to Georgetown University students.  Notice I “overheard” the speech.

I had walked into the den at home when I heard a political speaker on the TV in the kitchen. After listening for a couple of minutes, I drew two conclusions: the speaker was a Southerner; the speaker was a Republican.  He had to be a Republican because he used the word “responsibility” time and again.

The next day I read a news story saying that Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton, candidate for the Democratic nomination for president, had used the word “responsibility” 32 times in remarks to students at Georgetown University.  The speech, delivered on October 23, 1991, was titled, The New Covenant: Responsibility and Rebuilding the American Community.

Throughout the fall of 1991, Bill Clinton delivered a series of policy speeches to students at Georgetown University, his alma mater, reflecting his centrist “New Democrat” views of governance.

“We’ve got to move away from the old Democratic theory that says we can just tax and spend our way out of any problem we face,” said Clinton, adding, “Expanding government doesn’t expand opportunity. And big deficits don’t produce sustained economic growth, especially when the borrowed money is spent on yesterday’s mistakes, not tomorrow’s investments.”

President Clinton, who prescribed centrist remedies to economic problems throughout his two terms from 1993 – 2001, presided over the longest period of economic expansion in US history and left office with the highest end-of-office approval rating of any president since World War II.

“Stale theories produce nothing but stalemate,” Clinton added for emphasis to his conclusion that Democrats were bogged down in old solutions to the more complex problems of the day.

That’s where North Carolina Democrats are today.  Stale theories.  How do they break the stalemate? By drafting a new covenant founded on government accountability and personal responsibility.

This report is the eighth in a 10-part series on the keys to political recovery for North Carolina Democrats.  As with the previous series on the keys to Republican political longevity, no state legislator or legislative staff member was interviewed.  All interviews were conducted with the promise of anonymity.  The rules thus far are:

• Rule #1: If You want to Lead a Purple, Business-Friendly State, You have to Recruit a Purple, Business-Friendly Slate.
• Rule #2: It’s All About Who Does the Asking; Get the Right Person to Ask the Right Person to do the Right Task.
• Rule #3 Moral Mondays – A Therapeutic Dose of Political Energy Restoring Rhythm to the Heart of the Democratic Party.
• Rule #4:  Investors will Return to the Party of Bold, Visionary Leaders and Ideas when it has Bold, Visionary Leaders and Ideas.
• Rule #5:  There is Gold to be Mined among Professional Women for the Next Generation of Candidates and Campaign Leaders.
• Rule #6:  Stale Bread and Butter Social Issues won’t Nourish Moderate Voters Hungry for a Meat and Potatoes Economy.
• Rule #7: Where are the others? The Next Generation of Young Democratic Candidates and Party Leaders

Today, I am adding Rule #8: A New Covenant with North Carolina Voters Modeled on an Old 1991 Speech by Bill Clinton on Accountability and Responsibility

Clinton’s 1991 Speech a Model New Covenant for NC Democrats

In preparation for this report, I determined to find the 1991 Clinton speech at Georgetown.  Well, one Google search click and a millisecond later there it was, The New Covenant: Responsibility and Rebuilding the American Community, by Governor Bill Clinton.

I did a search of the speech text for the word “responsibility,” and sure enough, Clinton mentioned it 32 times.  After reading the context of the use of the word “responsibility” over and over, 32 times, I decided that the value of Clinton’s words could not be improved upon as a source for drafting a new covenant by the North Carolina Democratic Party with the people of the state.  It is a perfect model.

Clinton begins his speech by lamenting that America should be celebrating the spread of the American dream around the world but it is not.

Clinton: “Why? Because all of us fear down deep inside that even as the American dream reigns supreme abroad, it’s dying here at home. We’re losing jobs and wasting opportunities. 

The very fiber of our nation is breaking down: Families are coming apart, kids are dropping out of school, drugs and crime dominate our streets.”

Clinton then begins building the case that Presidents Ronald Reagan and G.H.W. Bush were responsible for a 12-year “gilded age of greed and selfishness, of irresponsibility and excess, and of neglect.”

Clinton: “Middle-class families worked longer hours for less money and spent more on health care and housing, and education and taxes.

Poverty rose. Many inner-city streets were taken over by crime and drugs, welfare and despair. Family responsibility became an oxymoron for many deadbeat fathers who were more likely to make their car payments than to pay their child support.”

Clinton continued making the case that Presidents Reagan and Bush contributed to the nation’s economic crisis by tripling the nation debt, lowering taxes on the wealthiest Americans and neglecting the middle class.

Clinton: “For 12 years, these forgotten middle class Americans have watched their economic interest ignored and their values literally ground into the ground.

Responsibility went unrewarded and so did hard work.”

Clinton then turned his attention to solving the problems of the day.

Clinton: “We need a new covenant, a solemn agreement between the people and their government to provide opportunity for everybody, inspire responsibility throughout our society and restore a sense of community to our great nation. A new covenant to take government back from the powerful interests and the bureaucracy and give it back to the ordinary people of our country.”

He continued the “new covenant” theme by saying that the covenant would “embed the idea that a country has a responsibility to help people get ahead but that citizens have not only the right but the responsibility to rise as far and fast as their talents and determination can take them, and most important of all, that we’re all in this together.”

Clinton then points to the Democratic Party as a part of the problem, noting that middle class Americans
are deeply troubled with the loss of values like personal responsibility.  He says, “They’re right.”

Clinton: “Make no mistake. This new covenant means change, change in my party, change in our leadership, change in our country, change in the lives of every American.

Out there you can hear the quiet, troubled voices of forgotten middle class Americans lamenting the fact that government no longer looks out for their interests or honors their values, values like individual responsibility, hard work, family and community. They believe the government takes more from them than it gives back and looks the other way when special interests only take from our country and give nothing back. And they’re right.”

Clinton talked about one of his professors at Georgetown who taught “the idea that the future can be better than the present and that each of us has a personal moral responsibility to make it so.”

Clinton: “But I can tell you, based on my long experience in public life, there will never be a government program for every problem. Much of what holds us together and moves us ahead is the daily assumption of personal responsibility by millions and millions of Americans from all walks of life. 

And today that’s what I want to talk about: the responsibilities we owe to ourselves, to each other and to our country.”

Clinton: “We need a new covenant that will challenge all of our citizens to be responsible, that will say first to the corporate leaders at the top of the ladder, we will promote economic growth and the free market but we’re not going to help you diminish the middle class and weaken our economy.

We will support your efforts to increase your profits — they’re good — and jobs through quality products and services, but we’re going to hold you responsible for being good corporate citizens, too.

In short, the new covenant must challenge all of us, especially those of us in public service, for we have a solemn responsibility to honor the values and promote the interests of the people who elected us, and if we don’t do it, we don’t belong in government any more.”

Clinton then made it abundantly clear that Democrats have an obligation to be responsible and accountable with the investment of government resources.

Clinton: “Democrats who want to change the government … have a heavy responsibility to show that we’re going to spend the taxpayers’ money wisely and with discipline, that we can spend more money on the future and control what we spend on the present and the past.

Responsibility is for everybody and it’s got to begin here in the nation’s capital.”

Clinton then turned his attention to the private sector, calling business leaders “the most irresponsible people in the 1980s.”

Clinton: “All of you who are going into business, it is a noble endeavor. It is the thing which makes this country run. The private sector creates job, not the public sector. But the people with responsibility in the private sector should know it is not enough simply to obey the letter of the law and make as much money as you can.

In the 1980s we didn’t do enough to help our companies to compete and win in the global economy. We didn’t. But we did do way too much to transfer wealth away from hardworking middle class Americans to rich people who got it without good reason and without contributing to production and wealth in this country. There should be no more deductibility for responsibility.”

Clinton really showed his Deep South conservative roots when he talked about education.

Clinton: “In my state we say, if someone drops out of school for no good reason, they lose the privilege of a driver’s license. All over America we have to re-examine this problem and say you have a responsibility to stay in school, you have a responsibility to learn, we have a responsibility to give you a good education.

But education doesn’t stop in school. Adults have a responsibility to keep learning, too — learning for a lifetime. And all of us are going to have to work smarter in the next century if America is going to compete and win.”

Clinton talked about America’s inner city youth, how many fear that because they are a minority “their future choices in life will be jail or welfare or a dead-end-job.”

Clinton: “Because I believe in them and what they can contribute, they can’t be let off the responsibility hook either. All society can ever offer them is a chance to develop their God-given capacities. They have to do the rest. Anybody who tells them anything else is lying to them, and they already know that.”

Clinton stated his position against racial quotas by saying, “You know from what I have already said today that I can’t be for quotas. I’m not for a guarantee for anybody. I’m for responsibility at every turn.”

He also emphasized his belief in every American’s responsibility to “shoulder the common load.”

Clinton: “When people assume responsibility and shoulder that load they acquire a dignity they never had before. When people go to work they rediscover a pride in themselves that they had lost.

I’ll never forget, once a welfare mother in my state was asked, when she moved from welfare to work, what was the best thing about having a job. And she said when my boy goes to school, and they say that does your mama do for a living, he can give an answer.”

President Clinton’s emphasis on government accountably and personal responsibility contributed to the strongest economy in a generation and the longest economic expansion in U.S. history.  Under the leadership of a Democratic president, taxes were lowered, the per capita growth of government spending slowed, spending as a percent of the GDP was reduced, the federal workforce was cut, criminal penalties were strengthened, more cops were put on the streets, crime rates dropped, record budget deficits were replaced by record surpluses, welfare rolls were cut to their lowest levels in decades as millions of jobs were created, leading to low levels of unemployment and the highest homeownership and college enrollment rates in history.

The North Carolina Democratic Party needs a new covenant with the people of the state, one that values governmental accountability and personal responsibility.  That’s what helped national Democrats restore their standing with American voters in the 1990s.  It can help state Democrats today. 

That’s why today I am adding Rule #8: A New Covenant with North Carolina Voters Modeled on an Old 1991 Speech by Bill Clinton on Accountability and Responsibility.

– END –

Happy Labor Day!

Thank You for Reading the John Davis Political Report!

John N. Davis, Editor

 SPECIAL Premium Annual Subscription only $199:  If you are not a subscriber, please consider subscribing at the SPECIAL Premium Annual Subscription rate of only $199.  Mail your check to John Davis Political Report, P.O. Box 30714, Raleigh, NC, 27622, or subscribe online at www.johndavisconsulting.com/subscribe

P.S.:  Need a speaker?  Inquire about availability here  JND

Top 10 Keys for NC Democratic Political Recovery

Rule #7: Where are the others? The Next Generation of Young Democratic Candidates and Party Leaders

 By Madison McLawhorn,

Senior Communications Major, North Carolina State University 

August 22, 2013        Vol. VI, No. 17            9:13 am

Editor’s Note:  Today’s report on the role young Democrats can play in the party’s political recovery is written by Madison McLawhorn, a Senior Communications Major at North Carolina State University who has worked with me this summer as an intern.  Madison, a Democrat from Winterville, is related to two former Democratic members of the North Carolina House from Pitt County, including her grandfather, Charles McLawhorn, Sr., and Marian McLawhorn from Grifton. 

Where are the others?

The State Executive Committee of the North Carolina Democratic Party convened Saturday, August 17, 2013 in Greensboro. As expected, the theme of meeting was reparative; it was apparent that many came “fired up and ready to go” and prepared to tackle the restorative effort.

My attendance at my first State Executive Committee meeting this past Saturday was both reaffirming and eye-opening. Of the several hundred members and guests—I’ll estimate 600 total—probably less than 10 percent of those were relatively young, like me. I’m 21.

What was even more glaring was the lack of young women. I had the pleasure of speaking with a couple of college-aged women while I was there from Noon until 8 p.m., when the Sanford-Hunt-Frye reception ended. I spotted only three others.

Where are the others?

I spoke with several leaders of organizations like Young Democrats and College Democrats, and a handful of other twenty- and early-thirty-somethings who take an interest in the party (almost all men, as they seem to be much easier to come by in this realm). Many saw the need for more enthusiasm on the part of college students and young professionals, but several also noted in accord that the party could and should do more to engage this group in the formal party process.

There is a leadership deficit in the party right now.  The emerging generation of Democrats needs to be more involved. The party needs us. And we need those who are experienced to foster our growth to ensure this long-desired comeback will be a lasting one.

Editor’s Note:  This report is the seventh in a 10-part series on the keys to political recovery for North Carolina Democrats.  As with the previous series on the keys to Republican political longevity, no state legislator or legislative staff member was interviewed.  All interviews were conducted with the promise of anonymity.  The rules thus far are:

• Rule #1: If You want to Lead a Purple, Business-Friendly State, You have to Recruit a Purple, Business-Friendly Slate.
• Rule #2: It’s All About Who Does the Asking; Get the Right Person to Ask the Right Person to do the Right Task.
• Rule #3 Moral Mondays – A Therapeutic Dose of Political Energy Restoring Rhythm to the Heart of the Democratic Party.
• Rule #4:  Investors will Return to the Party of Bold, Visionary Leaders and Ideas when it has Bold, Visionary Leaders and Ideas.
• Rule #5:  There is Gold to be Mined among Professional Women for the Next Generation of Candidates and Campaign Leaders.
• Rule #6:  Stale Bread and Butter Social Issues won’t Nourish Moderate Voters Hungry for a Meat and Potatoes Economy

Today I am adding this guest report, written by Madison McLawhorn, as Rule #7: Where are the others? The Next Generation of Young Democratic Candidates and Party Leaders. 

A fresh talent pool is needed

In 2008, Barack Obama surged the young voter demographic through his image, minority and progressive appeal and the strategic use of social media for fundraising. In his campaign, young people were indispensable in grinding out the registration and get-out-the vote efforts that are credited with delivering the ultimate prize.

However, in 2010, Republicans gained control of the state legislature for the first time in a century, leaving Democrats besieged and bewildered.  During the next election cycle, Republican margins in Raleigh increased as the Democratic state party coffers diminished and party morale declined.

Maps were redrawn and Republicans put plans into motion that would effectively destroy the last vestiges of a political dynasty. The proud legacy of power Democrats like Terry Sanford, Jim Hunt and Henry Frye, for example (all for whom an annual get-together of party faithful is named) has fallen victim to a Republican wrecking crew.

So how do Democrats recover? How do they protect the work their party has been credited with for a century, like public education, and take back control of the state?

North Carolina Democratic Party Chairman Randy Voller, who presided over the meeting, likened the party’s situation to marriage, saying in fewer words that in marriage there is a blissful “beginning part” and then an ongoing phase of “all we’re not.” Perhaps the key to a great renewal of vows for the Democratic Party of North Carolina may well lie with a fresh talent pool.

It would be hard to argue against fostering this possible political jackpot for North Carolina Democrats.  In 2012, “Barack Obama won among young voters by 24 points in a head-to-head matchup with Mitt Romney, 60-36%,” according to the Youth Voting Stats page on the Young Democrats of America website. In North Carolina, voter turnout in the presidential election of North Carolina citizens between the ages of 18- and 29-years-old was 55 percent. Millenials have a propensity to vote Democrat, too. At the last count, 44 percent of them identify as Democrats.

The emerging generation must be the party’s priority

What more could the current and former elected officials of this state do to foster the emerging generation? What could the younger generation do to motivate others to get involved, garner party support and ensure a bright future for the state Democratic Party?

Perhaps a targeted outreach effort should be made to instill in young individuals the general importance of government and the importance of their role in it. What if elected officials made themselves available to college students over a group lunch? The Dean of North Carolina State University’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences makes himself available to students on a regular basis in a “brown bag” forum where students may express their concerns and learn more about the college’s recent happenings in a casual setting.

The North Carolina General Assembly House Page Program and Senate Page Program give students the opportunity to participate in the legislative process through shadowing representatives and assisting with office duties. Another solution to the problem at hand could be this: 2014 campaigns could have young people shadowing every key person in the race. That would include the areas of fundraising, polling, opposition research, television ads and general public relations. Opening up spots like this would be beneficial in arguably every way. The campaigns could get more free help, students would have an opportunity to actively participate in the process and learn hands-on lessons for the future—which may, in turn, become their future in politics.

Many undergrads and recent grads need some help “getting it.” We know health care is important, we know we are supposed to care about taxes and we certainly can see the effects of unemployment and statewide cuts in funding, but such things don’t equate to immediacy in our generation’s immediate-gratification set minds and our world of millisecond Google searches. But those issues are still present and they will impact our lives and there is something we can do about all of them.

Last Saturday, at the State Executive Committee meeting in Greensboro, less than 10 percent of the approximately 600 attendees were young Democrats.  Where are the others? Where is the next generation of young Democratic candidates and party leaders?

There is a leadership deficit in the party right now.  The emerging generation of Democrats needs to be more involved. The party needs us, and must make the next generation of young Democratic candidates and party leaders the priority.

Rule #7: Where are the others? The Next Generation of Young Democratic Candidates and Party Leaders

– END –

 Thank You for Reading the John Davis Political Report!

John N. Davis, Editor

 SPECIAL Premium Annual Subscription only $199:  If you are not a subscriber, please consider subscribing at the SPECIAL Premium Annual Subscription rate of only $199.  Mail your check to John Davis Political Report, P.O. Box 30714, Raleigh, NC, 27622, or subscribe online at www.johndavisconsulting.com/subscribe

P.S.:  Need a speaker?  Inquire about availability here  JND

Top 10 Keys for NC Democratic Political Recovery

Rule #6: Stale Bread and Butter Social Issues won’t Nourish Moderate Voters Hungry for a Meat and Potatoes Economy

 August 15, 2013        Vol. VI, No. 16            10:13 am

To recover politically, Democrats must offer moderate independent voters a new menu with revised recipes for meat and potatoes issues like jobs, the economy, education and healthcare.

Reading and listening to the national and state news commentators this week decrying how North Carolina’s election reform legislation, signed into law on Monday by Republican Gov. Pat McCrory, is returning the state to the days of Jim Crow suppression of black voters reminded me of the old menu.

One of the Jim Crow laws used to suppress black voters was the requirement that you pay a poll tax to vote.  My collection of political memorabilia includes a $2 poll tax receipt from 1937, issued by the Sheriff’s office in Leake County, Mississippi.  In 1937, $1 had the same buying power as $16.40 in 2013.  Paying $2 to vote in 1937 would be like paying $32.80 to vote today.

Would you pay $32.80 to vote?  That, my friends, is voter suppression.  Requiring a photo ID is not.

In 1968, I sat through the week-long murder trial of a Ku Klux Klansman who was one of 13 who raided and burned the home of Forrest County, Mississippi’s NAACP President Vernon Dahmer.  Dahmer died the next day of smoke inhalation.  What had he done?  He registered black voters in his store.

That, my friends, is voter suppression.  Changing early voting from 17 days to 10 days is not.

From the New York Times and CBS News to Hillary Clinton and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, the airwaves and printing presses are afire with bitter hyperbole attacking North Carolina’s new election laws.  But when the dust settles, Democrats are going to realize that all they have done is created a feeding frenzy among the liberal faithful.  That all the NAACP has done is cry wolf … again.

This report is the sixth in a 10-part series on the keys to political recovery for North Carolina Democrats.  As with the previous series on the keys to Republican political longevity, no state legislator or legislative staff member was interviewed.  All interviews were conducted with the promise of anonymity.  The rules thus far are:

• Rule #1: If You want to Lead a Purple, Business-Friendly State, You have to Recruit a Purple, Business-Friendly Slate.
• Rule #2: It’s All About Who Does the Asking; Get the Right Person to Ask the Right Person to do the Right Task.
• Rule #3 Moral Mondays – A Therapeutic Dose of Political Energy Restoring Rhythm to the Heart of the Democratic Party.
• Rule #4:  Investors will Return to the Party of Bold, Visionary Leaders and Ideas when it has Bold, Visionary Leaders and Ideas.
• Rule #5:  There is Gold to be Mined among Professional Women for the Next Generation of Candidates and Campaign Leaders.

Today I am adding Rule #6:  Stale Bread and Butter Social Issues won’t Nourish Moderate Voters Hungry for a Meat and Potatoes Economy.

Most Important Problems

Each month, the Gallup polling organization asks Americans, “What do you think is the most important problem facing this country today?”  They divide the responses into two broad categories, Economic Problems and Non-Economic Problems.

What percent of Americans do you think wake up every day thinking Race Relations/Racism is the most important problem facing the country?  Answer: 1%.

As a matter of fact, only 1% of Americans named any of the following as the most important problem facing the country today:  Abortion, Gay Rights, National Security, Welfare, Terrorism, International Problems, the Environment, Lack of Military Defense, Afghanistan, Gas Prices, Corporate Corruption, Taxes, Gap between Rich and Poor, Care for the Elderly.

It’s not that those 1% problems are not important problems; it’s that they are nowhere near the top of the list of “most important problems” facing the country today.  They are not the issues Americans wake up every day thinking about.

The most important problem facing the country today breaks down as follows.  For 42% of Americans, it is the Economy along with Unemployment/Jobs.  Next in line is Dissatisfaction with the Government, with 16% of Americans naming that issue as one of the nation’s most important problems.  Then comes Healthcare at 11% and concern about the Federal Budget Deficit/Federal Debt coming in at 8%.  See the entire list here.

Groups Most Concerned about Each of the Most Important Problems

Another study of the same poll shows a ranking of groups most concerned about each of the “most important” problems.  If you list the groups who said that Unemployment/Jobs is the nation’s most important problem you will discover that African-Americans are at the top of the list.

African-Americans had an opportunity to name racism or voting rights as the most important problem facing the country today, but they didn’t.  Instead, they named Unemployment/Jobs.  Other groups topping the list of Americans who named Unemployment/Jobs are those who earn less than $30,000 a year, along with Democrats, and obviously the Unemployed.

Another issue where African-Americans were at the top of the list of groups most concerned is Education.  Joining African-Americans among the demographic groups naming Education as the most important problem are Democrats and Women 18 to 49 years old.

African-Americans were the second highest constituency group naming Healthcare as a most important problem, with Women in the 18 to 49 year-old age group topping the Healthcare list.  The third-highest group mentioning Healthcare was Democrats.

Bottom line: Nationally, African-Americans, Democrats and Women in the 18 to 49 year old age group are most concerned about Unemployment/Jobs, Healthcare and Education, not racism.

If Gallup asked North Carolinians, “What do you think is the most important problem facing this state today?” the results would probably be very similar to the national study.  North Carolinians would far more likely be concerned about Unemployment/Jobs, Healthcare and Education than about the new requirement that you have to show a photo ID to vote or the total number of days for early voting.

Democrats Must Reconnect with the Governed

North Carolina is an ideologically balanced state.  It is not a Republican state.  It is not a Democrat state.

The May 2013 statewide poll conducted by the conservative Civitas Institute showed the following partisan breakdown claimed by North Carolina voters:

• 33.7 Republican
• 38.4 Democrat
• 25.4 Independent

Since only about 40% of North Carolina voters are loyal Democrats, the party needs Independent voters.  The problem for Democrats is that many Independent voters are Conservative.  Here are the responses by Independent voters to a sample of questions from the May Civitas poll:

• 67.3% favor a photo ID for voting; 28.8% oppose a photo ID
• 61.4% favor a policy of zero-based budgeting for state government; 26.2% oppose
• 50.3% favor repealing Obamacare; 41.8% oppose repealing Obamacare

Focusing on Moderate Independents is the best hope for Democrats.  They are the true persuadable voters.  There is no better example of that than the 2012 presidential race when polls showed that 90% of “Independent” voters leaned either conservative or liberal and were not up for grabs.  Only Moderate Independents are persuadable.  Here is the ideological breakdown of North Carolina voters:

• 41.5% Conservative
• 31.3% Moderate
• 20.6% Liberal

Looking only at how the Moderate voters answered the sample poll’s questions, we discover:

• 54.5% favor a photo ID for voting; 42.9% oppose a photo ID
• 52.9% favor a policy of zero-based budgeting for state government; 29.1% oppose
• 40.6% favor repealing Obamacare; 52.4% oppose repealing Obamacare

Moderate Independent voters do not want to see Obamacare repealed, but they do want to see fiscal responsibility in state government and they have no problem with a photo ID when voting.

• 38% of 18-to-25-year-olds are Moderate, compared to only 27% of voters over 65-years-old
• 40% of women 18-to-44-years-old are moderate; 29% of women over 65-years-old are
• 43% of Independents are moderate; 36% of Democrats and 19% of Republicans are moderate

In order to recover politically, Democrats must look to the future; they must offer moderate independent voters a new menu with revised recipes for meat and potatoes issues like jobs and the economy, education, healthcare and an improved quality of life.

Rule #6:  Stale Bread and Butter Social Issues won’t Nourish Moderate Voters Hungry for a Meat and Potatoes Economy.

– END –

 Thank You for Reading the John Davis Political Report!

John N. Davis, Editor

 SPECIAL Premium Annual Subscription only $199:  If you are not a subscriber, please consider subscribing at the SPECIAL Premium Annual Subscription rate of only $199.  Mail your check to John Davis Political Report, P.O. Box 30714, Raleigh, NC, 27622, or subscribe online at www.johndavisconsulting.com/subscribe

P.S.:  Need a speaker?  Inquire about availability here  JND