For decades, Democrats have relied on the fact that Blacks and other minorities will never identify with any party other than the one that ushered in most of the gains of the Civil Rights Movement. That became the inescapable thinking inside a party that saw itself as the grand savior of the Black community and the institution for progressive causes — even when some of their actions had little or nothing to do with theconcept of progressivism.
Because of that the nation’s liberal elites, including many in Michigan, were comfortable in only talking to their diverse constituencies during elections through carefully vetted and chosen Black gatekeepers. They maintained a caste system that allowed those Blacks to rise only to certain levels inside the party that meet their approval, and often they have to be given talking points to speak on behalf of the overall liberal establishment.
But the second coming of the Donald Trump presidency has basically displaced the standing of the Democratic Party. Since January, there’s been significant dissent within the party about what direction it ought to take. Some prominent members of the party have been questioning their own loyalty as Democrats.
The latest is former President Joe Biden’s press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who has declared herself to be an independent. Her decision follows Symone Sanders Townsend, another top Democratic surrogate and former adviser to former Vice President Kamala Harris, who announced in March that she was leaving the party.
The exit of such high profile Democrats is bound to continue until the party finds its own political bearing in the Trump era.
In fact, at the Detroit Regional Chamber’s Mackinac Policy Conference, it was evident the party was limping on one leg when independent candidate for governor and Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan stole the show. Even though Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer attended the meeting of business and political leaders and delivered her usual speech, the focus on the island was mostly on Duggan, who gave a presentation basically casting his Democratic gubernatorial opponents as part of the problem.
The mayor’s presentation focused on the need for a systemic change, an age-old argument that has been at the center of every movement for social change. Clearly playing on the sentiments of those who see our current political infrastructure as a broken system, the mayor talked about how a corrosive system can actually render good people ineffective.
If that is part of Duggan’s argument on the campaign trail, it is one that has wider implications even for national Democrats. Because even those who feel economically disenfranchised in Detroit and other underserved communities around the country point out that a system that was set up to benefit only the most privileged cannot be expected to cater to the needs of those who are part of the perennial underclass.
That means a systemic change is needed. Can Michigan Democrats equally make that argument or are they going to leave it alone to Duggan?
So far none of the other Democratic candidates running for governor seem to be reading the tea leaves. Take, for example, Lieutenant Gov. Garlin Gilchrist, whose candidacy has gained little traction. Gilchrist, the first Black lieutenant governor in the history of the state, could make potent arguments around the need for a systemic change. He comes from a community that has known nothing but the wrath of an injustice system and other inequities that Black people have had to deal with for years. But when Gilchrist speaks, he always appears to play it safe by sticking with the liberal talking points that often are out of touch with the realities of everyday Detroiters.
It’s notable that Gilchrist and other Democrats in the race for governor seem to be ceding ground to Duggan so early instead of fighting back.
If Duggan is able to sway a significant number of Detroiters to join the independent bandwagon, it would spell lasting trouble for the Michigan Democratic Party. They would have to come up with innovative strategies to keep the Democratic coalition from falling apart completely. They would have to do more than just send out panic emails virtually every week asking for donations and exaggerating their impact.
X (formerly Twitter): @BankoleDetNews
bankole@bankolethompson.com
Bankole Thompson’s columns appear on Mondays and Thursdays in The Detroit News.
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