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NDN News: Biden’s Call for Unity Met With Extremism, Prof. Ben-Ghiat on “Strongmen”

Biden’s Call for Unity Met with Extremism – Despite his calls for unity during a time of national crisis, Joe Biden’s Presidency has been met with a degree of political extremism that reminds us that the radicalization of the GOP we saw under Trump, like COVID, is not just going to disappear.  

In a new Medium piece Simon details the unprecedented roadblocks being thrown in Biden’s way by a bitter GOP – a violent insurrection which we now know resulted in 140 police officers being injured, and one killed; an ongoing refusal to accept the results of the election and the power Democrats gained from it; McConnell’s outrageous blocking of the Democrats from taking over full control of the Senate; and no signaling of cooperation on any Biden priority by the Republican leadership, including urgent ones like COVID and the economic recovery.  

Trump has left behind a battered nation, and a radicalized Republican Party. It is why for the good of the nation NDN has called on the GOP to begin a purposeful deradicalization process.  Given the recent violence, this process is an urgent one – and as difficult as it may be, tossing off this dark legacy of the Trump years is the only way back for the GOP to become a modern, constructive center-right party again.  

Despite these extraordinary circumstances and challenges, we remain deeply impressed with Biden’s early days.  The Inauguration, despite all the challenges, was flawless; his speech uplifting, direct and necessary; his organization and team have been impressive; and their collective focus on what needs to be done now is so so welcome.  In a recent op-ed Simon offered his thoughts on Joe Biden’s historic opportunity to “build back better” here in the US and around the world, and our colleague Rob Shapiro offers an early take on the new President’s economic plan in a new Washington Monthly essay.  

You can catch Simon talking more in depth about these ideas in new “Unpresidented” and Tex Mix podcasts, and another one from a few months back with Salon’s Chauncy DeVega.  

Events: Fridays 2pm ET With Dems, Feb 2nd “Strongmen” w/Ruth Ben Ghiat - In our addition to our weekly Friday presentation of With Democrats Things Get Better, NDN is excited to be hosting noted author, historian and television commentator Ruth Ben-Ghiat for a discussion about her new book, “Strongmen,” and America’s current struggle with authoritarianism.  You can register for the event here, and learn more and order her acclaimed new book here. 

Young People Turned Out Again in 2020, Voted Overwhelmingly Democratic - Another big political trend we’ve been following here at NDN is what appears to be a significant awakening among young people in recent elections.  In both 2018 and 2020 young people turned out in very high numbers, and were critical to Democratic victories in both cycles.  According to the Exit Polls, 18-29 year olds went for Biden nationally 62-35 (+27), up from 55-36 (+19) for Clinton four years ago.  18-24 year olds went for Biden 67-29 (+38), up from 56-34% (+22) four years ago.  These are big and consequential shifts.  

We cover this trend in depth in our “With Democrats'' presentation, but you can find Simon discussing it in these recent stories on CNBC, the Washington Post (here and here), Politico, US News and the Raleigh News and Observer (and again). A recent Washington Post story on the youth vote in Georgia cites NDN’s work: 

“A distinct youth politics has emerged in America, with its own issues like climate, racial justice and gun safety, and now with its own communications medium and idioms,” said Simon Rosenberg, president of the liberal think tank NDN, who has been tracking youth turnout. “What we are seeing with influencers and TikTok is new, different, constantly evolving — it’s all being invented in front of our eyes. It’s a new form of politics for sure.””

The Growing Importance of the Southwest to Democrats – In 2004 Republicans held 6 of 8 Senate seats in AZ/CO/NM/NV and won all the region’s Electoral College votes.  With important wins in AZ and CO this last election, Democrats now hold all 8 of the region’s Senate seats and have claimed all of its 31 Electoral College votes.  

The modern Democratic coalition is much more Western than in the past, something you can now see now in its leadership – a VP and Speaker, HHS Secretary, DGA/DSCC/DCCC Chairs.  4 of the 6 Senate seats won by Democrats in the last 2 elections have come from AZ/CO/NV.  See our new analysis for just how important the heavily Mexican-American parts of the US have become to the national Democratic Party.  It includes a link to our recent interview with Rep. Ruben Gallego, one of the architects of the political transformation we’ve seen in Arizona.  

Onward, 

Team NDN

 

 

 


 

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