April 15, 2025

How the Dems Lost It

(Click here if you'd rather read this on the Web.)

Everyone else already seems to have taken a crack at explaining how the Democrats lost so thoroughly in our last national elections — and what they need to contemplate by way of course correction — so I guess it must be my turn to weigh in.

I’m going to employ a couple of different reference models as frameworks for my analysis and commentary. You may not be familiar with them, but I’ll provide some small summaries as we go, as well as links for further details.

I’ll be focusing mostly on image and messaging — although of course actions influence perceptions.

And my commentary will be focused on the progressive wing of the Democratic party, since this is the group that has most forcefully been shaping perceptions of late. (If you’re a long-time member of the party faithful, and offended by my characterizion of the current Democrats, just substitute the word “progressive” whenever you see the word “Democrat.”)

The Developmental Levels Model

The first model I’ll employ describes what are sometimes called Integral developmental levels, although I’ve lately come to think of them as complementary modes of behavior.

Here’s a table briefly summarizing what I’m talking about.

#	Color	Characteristics
1	BEIGE	Archaic, Instinctive
2	PURPLE	Magical, Animistic
3	RED	Tribal, Power Hierarchies
4	BLUE	Traditional, Mythic Order
5	ORANGE	Modern, Rational
6	GREEN	Postmodern, Pluralistic

It’s useful to understand that the odd-numbered ones (BEIGE, RED and ORANGE) tend to emphasize the strength of individual action, while the even-numbered ones (PURPLE, BLUE and GREEN) tend to emphasize the power of the collective.

And then, one more thing: all of these modes can be useful, but individuals and groups tend to favor one or two of these to the exclusion of the others, even when their favored modes become disconnected from the accomplishment of desired results.

So, with that introduction, let’s start listing Democratic mistakes.

1. Excessive Focus on BLUE

The BLUE mode is characterized by rules and rule followers. If you find people who are continually making more rules, and then obsessing over following every one exactly, without question, then you are in BLUE territory.

And, of course, this is where the Democrats have found themselves lately, time and time again. And this is the source of concerns about excessive bureaucracy, and about the so-called “deep state.”

Of course, there’s a good rationale behind many of the governmental rules and regulations and codes. I’m not suggesting they all need to be thrown out.

But at the same time those who want simplification of the rules, and reduction of the rules, and fewer new rules, and more flexibility and autonomy about interpreting the rules... well, they’re not wrong either.

And the Democrats have too consistenly chosen to place themselves on the side of the rule makers and rule followers, without showing much concern for those feeling burdened by all of this.

2. Excessive Focus on GREEN

The GREEN mode is all about being open and egalitarian and treating everyone equally and giving all folks a seat at the table.

And while these concerns are valid and important, the Democrats have often focused on concerns like these to the exclusion of all others.

And so of course the Democrats became obsessed with the institutionalization of DEI, with DEI departments, and DEI classes, and DEI reading lists, and DEI initiatives, and anointed DEI experts, because all of this was the perfect combination of both GREEN and BLUE modes of behavior.

With the result, of course, of fostering the huge DEI backlash we are seeing play out now.

3. Fear of Appearing RED

The RED mode is all about taking direct, forceful action, and about people taking direction from a decision-maker at the top of an organizational hierarchy.

Of course Trump and the Republicans now in power are the perfect examples of this, and clearly take this mode to an unproductive extreme.

But, at the same time, the Democrats seem to avoid this mode so completely that they often seem to have no leader at all, and instead try to form direction from some loose coalition of progressive grass-roots organizations who can never really agree on anything useful other than being against the Republicans.

If you are wondering about how the Republicans won the election, then you have to consider that they at least were unified under a strong, forceful leader for the four years leading up to the election.

In contrast, look at the Democrats then, and now. Is anyone in charge? Do they know where they’re going? Can they agree on anything, without waiting for the latest poll results?

4. Fear of Appearing ORANGE

The ORANGE mode, in this political context, is all about harnessing the power of scientific advances by making bold capital investments in new technology.

And if you look at the US stock market over the last few years, it has been dominated by the Magnificent 7 — seven multinational corporations based in the US that are all examples of this ORANGE energy.

And Trump has made a point of forming alliances with ORANGE business leaders including, most obviously, Elon Musk.

And yet the Democrats have shied away from getting too cozy with these powerful companies and their leaders, instead often portraying them as billionaries who need to be cut down to size.

But why can’t the Democrats show some pride in these companies, and indulge in some messaging that might make it seem that they like new technologies and successful companies that can take advantage of them?

Instead the Dems seem to repeatedly look to Hollywood and to labor unions for their alliances.

The last time I checked, though, these groups weren’t actually responsible for cutting paychecks, or paying dividends, to very many voters.

The Tribal Model, from Michael Morris

The next model I’ll use comes from the book Tribal: How the Cultural Instincts That Divide Us Can Help Bring Us Together, by Michael Morris.

Morris talks about four primary tribal instincts, and there are reasons why the Dems have managed to run afoul of all of them.

5. Tribal Belonging

The first basic human instinct in this regards is the tendency to seek tribal belonging.

The Dems have been too squishy in this regard. To which tribe do they belong, and how do they provide benefits to members of their tribe?

Trump and the MAGA faithful have made it clear that they value their belonging to the American tribe, made up of current US citizens, and that they are focused first and foremost on their well-being.

The Dems, on the other hand, don’t want to leave anybody out, and want to be global saviors, so they tend to consider everyone to be part of their tribe.

This gets them into trouble with voters, especially as we consider the next three tribal instincts.

6. Maintenance of Traditions

All humans seek to learn from their forebears, and to preserve and observe the traditions that they have passed along.

Of course these traditions can change and evolve over time to adapt to new conditions, and incorporate new learnings.

But there is a limit to how much change tribal members can absorb, and how quickly they can accept it.

Same-sex marriage is a good example. It took about sixty years to change our traditions in the US around this institution. But consider that this was just an expansion of a well-established existing tradition, and it did not require much in the way of change for people not involved in such relationships.

But then consider this in comparison to the acceptance of transgender individuals, as just one example.

Suddenly there was a new rule that everyone had to declare their pronouns so that no one would make any assumptions about anyone else’s preferred gender identity. And there were policy decisions to be made about who would be allowed access to gender-affirming surgery, and who would pay for such surgeries. And there then had to be gender-neutral bathrooms, and decisions about what sports teams people could play on, and how those decisions would be made.

None of this showed any respect for existing institutions or traditions. Instead it tried to upend longstanding norms about gender identity, and seemingly tried to do it all within the space of about ten years or so.

None of this is meant to suggest that transgender individuals are any less worthy than any of the rest of us.

But there are a lot of legitimate issues here, and the Democrats’ excessive focus on GREEN seemed to make them insensitive to these issues.

Another example is the sudden passion of the Dems to tear down statues, and to rewrite history books, and to change school curricula. All of these actions have been well-intentioned, but were irrespectful of established and very visible traditions.

7. The Peer Instinct

All humans pay attention to what their peers are doing, and seek to identify and follow tribal norms.

Part of the issue here is that big city norms have evolved so differently from small town norms, and Dems have tended to embrace big city norms, while Republicans have tended to follow more traditional, small town ways of doing things.

The problem is that you have to meet people where they are. And so, while Democratic leaders at local levels have sometimes been successful at fitting in with norms at the level of their state or region, Dems at the national level have often just seemed to be irredeemably following big city norms, while remaining oblivous to small-town sensibilities.

And you have to remember that even voters currently living in big cities, or suburbs thereof, often still grew up in small towns, and still value those norms.

Two examples here are guns and sports. In small town culture, guns are used for hunting, and often for target practice. In big cities, though, guns tend to be used for crime and potential defense against criminals. Inept messaging on this topic often puts Dems at a disadvantage.

And then there are sports. A passionate interest in following your home-town team, as well as playing sports, is something that often serves to unite people across political divides. And yet our recent crop of Dems competing at the national level seem to have left this potential signifier on the table more often than not.

8. The Hero Instinct

Humans tend to focus on the heroes of their tribe, and also seek to contribute to the their tribe in heroic ways.

Again, Dems have repeatedly chosen to ally themselves with people who might play heroes on screen, but the party has generally been uncomfortable with those who have stood out enough to actually be seen as heroes in real life.

While, of course, Trump has always claimed to have accomplished heroic deeds, and has always been good at posing in heroic fashion.

Bottom Line Take-Aways

Here are my top ten take-aways for those who would seek to rescue the Democratic party from itself.

1. The media only cares about battles, and you will not get any media attention unless you are on one side or the other. But reframe the central battle of our time as balance vs. extremism, and speak out on the side of balance. This doesn't mean a retreat to traditional political centrism; it does mean acknowledging that life is full of competing concerns, and it is the job of leaders to find the best balance possible between those concerns. After all, in many ways, balance is the American superpower. Defend it, and don't let the right-wing extremists push you back into the corner of an opposing extremist.

2. The Dems need to get away from the following economic messaging:

   “We’re the richest country in the world, and so....” Nothing good ever follows when you start a sentence like this, because most voters don’t feel rich, so it just makes the speaker seem out of touch.
   “There’s enough for everyone, if the billionaries would just stop taking more than their fair share.” Get real. There’s not enough for everyone, and it’s the companies owned by those with money who provide jobs for everyone else.

3. The Dems need some strong, top-down leadership. Of course none of the progressive rabble-rousing organizations will take kindly to this, but they haven’t won us many elections lately, have they?

4. Be strong on border security, and on limiting rights for illegal immigrants. Stop defending unlimited birthright citizenship. I don’t care what the Constitution says: we have to stop treating illegal immigrants as if they should have all the same rights and privileges as US citizens.

5. Show some pride in our country and its history. Sure, we’ve made mistakes: all history is full of mistakes. But we can’t let that knowledge erase our pride in who we are, and in where we’ve come from, and in our authentic achievements.

6. Embrace both competition and cooperation, especially in terms of global relations. And make sure that those cooperative arrangements are not disadvantaging US citizens and US companies. I know it makes us feel good to act like the saviors of the world, but it’s well past time to shed that role, and simply be content to be a strong country taking care of its own, and a competitive player on the global landscape.

7. Stop putting DEI at the forefront of every conversation, and focus more on the big picture, rather than shallow and often merely performative messaging. (Yes, ditch the land acknowledgments and the universal declaration of everyone’s personal pronouns.) 

8. Show some love for sports and trucks and outdoor recreation and for rural lifestyles. (And, of course, American football is now probably the most thoroughly American of sports.)

9. Partner with big business. Our big companies aren’t perfect, and Dems shouldn’t let them have their way on every issue. At the same time, though, they are significant creators of value for much of our country, and Dems need to show that they're willing to listen to their legitimate needs and partner with them, rather than demonizing them.

10. Treat federal employees with respect, but also provide some direction in terms of reducing bureaucracy and waste. All bureaucracies, if left to their own devices, tend to grow and become more complex and more rules-bound over time. Some top-down direction is usually needed to pare things down to a reasonable level.

Of course, if the Dems follow my guidance, there are many who might no longer recognize the party. But they’ll have a better chance of winning back the confidence of a majority of Americans.

And isn’t that what it’s all about?