The Basics of American Politics

 

"USA is a 40-40-20 country in which 40 percent are hard-wired to either party and 20 percent are swing voters, primarily located in the suburbs. 

After losing to Republicans a game-changing slice of Midwestern working-class voters over trade, immigration and cultural policies, Democrats were steadily gaining in the suburbs, expanding their leads in places like New Jersey and Virginia. 

Without voters in these places, Democrats will be left with only too small of a base of urban voters and coastal elites. 

Unless it recenters itself, the risk is that the Democratic Party, like the Labour Party in Britain, will follow its greatest success with an extended period in the desert."

Now Democrats are giving to much to their basis according to the taste of suburban voters: giving to much  to coastal elites by allowing a lot of cheap  immigrant workers into the USA and giving too much to urban poor by pushing expensive social programs with high risk that suburban middle class voters will end up paying with their taxes for those programs at some time. 

The difficulty of Democrats is to meet the demands of their base (40 percent of their voters)  at the same time not loosing at least part of suburban swing voters (20 percent of voters).