Advice for Democrats on how to win the midterms from my barbershop

[lees1975]

https://signalpress.blogspot.com/2025/07/advice-for-democrats-on-how-to-win.html

It's hard to say whether this barbershop customer group is representative of all Democrats. Most likely, from its geographic location, it tilts heavily toward the core of the party. Racially, from my observation, it's a mostly Caucasian group, with a few Chicago natives, mostly older men, and a lot of men like the barbers, from a different ethnicity and national origin. Most are Ukrainian, Greek or Serbian, with a scattering of Polish, Hungarian and Russian natives, almost all of whom are naturalized American citizens now, or in the process. Most are open about their political sympathies for the Democratic party, and I've not met anyone at this barbershop who openly claims to be a Republican or a Trumper.

So I don't know how "mainstream" or "grassroots" all of this is when it comes to what the Democratic party needs to hear from its constituents. But what comes out of these barbershop discussions is a strong desire to see the Democratic party's message return to its working class roots, and to set itself apart from Republicans by our strong disapproval of having a morally bankrupt, valueless, criminal and sexual deviant serving as President of the United States, and by the fact that we think they have been corrupted by him to a point where they have nothing left of value to offer the process of governing the United States.

America is, in most places now, exactly like the crowd that shows up in my barbershop. It is a mixture of native born, lifetime Americans with a wide variety of individuals, mostly naturalized citizens from all over the world, who came here to tap into the freedom and stability that is offered by living here, not to "take" anything from anyone who already lives here. Those who are foreign born tend to understand their role as a contributor to this country, more than those who simply take it for granted, and in a democratic society, they are making a contribution that benefits all of us.

It's interesting how the urban environment contributes to Democratic party values and participation. Communities form around common interests and common needs. Education isn't disdained or considered as false promotion of ideology, it is something to be valued as an uplifting element of society that helps people live better lives. And out of this mix of diverse populations comes a vision which sees the need for the Democratic party to make a strong return to its working class values.

I'd suggest some of our party leaders look up from the attention they are paying to their fundraising efforts and go spend some time in a barbershop or beauty parlor, and listen to the conversation.