Carville in NYT: "48 percent of the people that vote are males. Do you mind if they have some consideration?"
One of the all-time leading Democratic strategists calls on Biden and the Dems, as well as the media, to pay more attention to men
James Carville, the Ragin’ Cajun, calls it like he sees it. Therefore, I was encouraged to read his quote in the New York Times, in an interview with Maureen Dowd (partial paywall), about how the Democrats are facing challenging poll numbers, in part due to their lack of attention to men:
“If you listen to Democratic elites — NPR is my go-to place for that — the whole talk is about how women, and women of color, are going to decide this election. I’m like: ‘Well, 48 percent of the people that vote are males. Do you mind if they have some consideration?’” (bold mine)
Yes, thank you! As a registered Democrat of 35 years and advocate for male well-being, I often feel like I’m out by myself on an island. So, it was refreshing to hear one of the all-time great strategists, who led Bill Clinton’s campaigns to two consecutive White House victories in the 1990s, put forward this idea. Keep in mind that President Clinton is just one of two Democrats to win twice since World War II, with President Obama being the other. Carville is in rare company as a leader of multiple winning presidential campaigns — this guy knows what he’s talking about.
We need to listen to people of all demographics which is why I have been calling for a Democratic All-Demographic Strategy. Abortion is clearly one of the major topics this election, and throughout the year there have been many women’s issues front and center of Biden’s campaign including billions for female health research, as well as LGBTQ issues. These are and will continue to be major parts of the campaign as they should be [edit: clarity].
However, in terms of overall messaging, Carville is also concerned, as am I, that Biden may fall into the trap that Hillary Clinton fell into in 2016, according to Dowd’s article:
Carville has been sounding an alarm about progressives getting too censorious since he advised Hillary Clinton in 2016. … He complained that “woke stuff is killing us,” that the left was talking in a language that ordinary Americans did not understand … and with a tone many Americans found sneering, as in Hillary’s infamous phrase “basket of deplorables.”
I, too, am concerned that Biden is going too far to the political left in his campaign messaging. Despite that, I’m surprised by how poorly he is showing in the current polling; Biden is making up a little bit of ground, but the movement is slow. I’m still waiting for some major direct outreach to male voters, so we’ll see if the Biden campaign shifts its strategy at all in the coming months.
You can hear Carville along with veteran journalist Al Hunt as co-hosts of the excellent podcast Politics War Room .
You can also follow them right here on Substack:
Politics War Room with James Carville & Al Hunt
Thanks for your work James Carville. And thanks for reading!