opinion

Wisconsin progressives need to build a bigger boat

The saying goes: A rising tide lifts all boats.

National political trends and the divisive, distracted, disappointing quarter century of Scott Walker as a Wisconsin elected official could mean progressives and Democrats in Wisconsin will need a bigger boat in 2018.

But whatever waves are roiling the national political scene, the key to electoral victories is always the same — getting more votes than the other side.

There is a formula for progressives to achieve what has recently been the all-too-elusive goal of electoral victories. But it requires the courage to change.

For the last 25 years, the economic message out of Washington D.C. for Democrats has centered on Social Security, Medicare and “my employer-provided pension is under assault.”

These are all critical issues. But for those of us under age 50, it doesn't relate to our day-to-day lives and fails to speak to many concerns of women and people of color, bedrocks of the progressive electorate.

The broad swath of younger, diverse voters are, on issue after issue, more progressive than the Republicans who currently hold power here in Wisconsin and nationally.

Post-baby boomers face a different economic situation than our parents or our grandparents had. But the economic message of Democrats does not yet reflect that.

Gen X and millennial voters care about affordable child care and family medical leave. We think about how we are going to retire, since we are overwhelmingly relying on 401(k) accounts. Our personal budgets are burdened with debt older generations never had, including student loans. Women and people of color share these concerns, in addition to dealing with race and gender discrimination.

Failure to engage these voters on the issues they deal with every day has translated into lackluster political performances from progressives and Democrats. That needs to change.

The November 2016 election shows why having a message that resonates with and motivates younger voters is so critically important.

Combined, millennial and Gen X voters accounted for the majority of the ballots cast nationally in the November 2016 election, nearly 70 million. Further broken down, voters between the ages of 36 and 51 cast nearly 36 million ballots while even younger voters cast roughly 34 million.

As shown in the recent Alabama U.S. Senate race, when engaged, African American women are a potent political force, with the power to determine election outcomes.

Progressives won’t come out on top in a race againstc Scott Walker in November just by saying the governor is going to make Wisconsin worse.

Scott Walker can be beaten by a candidate who connects with voters on the issues they care about, a candidate who shows how he or she is going to make the state better.

Make no mistake, Scott Walker holds the advantage as an incumbent. He can go anywhere around the state and hold a press conference where he refuses to take questions and gets to deliver his message, and get wonderful coverage.

But now, there are also 15 Democrats who are traveling the state, even where there are not a lot of progressive members of the state Legislature, to articulate the problems with the Walker agenda.

That’s half the equation. They must also articulate a vision for the direction in which Wisconsin needs to go.

So get with the program, progressives. Let’s come out with an economic message that speaks to the issues Gen X, millennials, women and people of color care about. Let’s talk about it relentlessly, in every corner of the state.

If Democrats want to ride a blue wave in 2018 and yank control of state government from the jaws of the machine created by career politician Scott Walker, they’re going to need a bigger boat.

Scot Ross is the executive director and Analiese Eicher is program director of the progressive advocacy organization One Wisconsin Now, and members of Generation X and the Millennials, respectively.