The Democratic Party needs to think beyond just passing big policies if it wants to win in 2024 | #193 – April 24, 2022

Developing new strategies to link its popular public-goods programs to a broader American identity could expand its potential reach

I want to start my post this week by acknowledging all of the people who sent feedback to last week’s newsletter about the roots of the Democrats’ structural institutional disadvantage and how they might shrink it. People seemed particularly engaged with the bits on how nationalization has hurt the party’s ability to run in red areas, and why a separate third party might help. Some other notes were more constructively critical, which I’m especially grateful for. I learned a lot from them and have a second post on the topic in the works.

But for now, I want to respond to something else entirely. That something is the ongoing debate over Joe Biden's low approval ratings — and what they mean for the party’s broader grand strategy.

One side argues that Joe Biden's low ratings are a product of today's economic and political environment. According to this side of the debate, he is being dragged down by two forces. The first is polarization. As members of America's two major parties have sor…