Should Democrats talk about “the American Way” to help win the next presidential election?

Family values include being anti abortion for many Reps, so I dont think you can play that card in any believable way. Now a Christian Democrat, kinda like Bill portrayed, may work.

There is nothing wrong with presenting an alternative to the conservative view of the American Way. We are a nation of immigrants. The inscription on the Statue of Liberty (which has become an embarrassment to those on the right) welcomes “the huddled masses” from other nations. The U.S. has always fostered participation in international organizations. The U.N. is headquartered in New York. There is a progressive thread running through our history – emancipation of slaves, women’s suffrage, trust busting, protection of unions and Social Security and Medicare. It is time for a new round of progressivism.

“The American Way” is a bit of a meaningless slogan at this point but your larger idea of emphasizing immigration, inclusiveness and caring as American values is excellent. It would be good to highlight moral values in a Democratic Presidential campaign. Perhaps something like “Caring for Each Other: the American Way” would be a good rallying cry.

Can you tell me what “The American Way” is?

I think if you put ten people in a room you would have twenty definitions of what the American Way’s definition is.

Until we have some shared vision, the rest of it – using it for politics – is moot.

The daft buggers should concede defeat early, by the end of his second term Trump will be convinced he’s Janet Jackson & can be quietly disposed off with minimum fuss.

“American Values” sounds better to me as a slogan. It isn’t meaningless as these values have been written down. It would be a counter to Trump who has no values beyond making “deals”. No values as regards his personal behaviour and no values as regards his vision for the country. An opponent with integrity would be like a breath of fresh air.

“The American Way?” As in “The Way We Were?”

I don’t think we need to specifically define The American Way, or American Values (another way to put it, which I think is worth considering). When Trump says, “Make America Great Again” it’s abstract. To some people it’s Leave it to Beaver. To some people it’s no gay marriage, Christmas carols in schools, and a prayer before a football game. To some people it’s segregation.

@Kritiper For me, it is not the way we were, but some people might interpret it that way, and that’s fine with me if it evokes positive feelings for them.

@elbanditoroso For me personally? My America is diverse, full of houses with languages more than English being spoken, neighbors helping each other, feeling safe (not completely, but for the most part) and equal rights, treating others as one would want to be treated, and integrity.

@KNOWITALL Point taken about the “family values” tag, thanks for that piece of information. Maybe family values won’t fit as it is used by the right, but I thought maybe American Way might show the patriotism the republicans looks for. I don’t expect to sway hard core Republicans, but the Independents and people in general who will vote for the person more than party might listen up.

If we want to go back to the “good old days” I’d be fine with that. Top marginal tax rate from the 1950’s was about 90%, in the mid 60’s it was around 70%. Unions were at their strongest. And the US invested heavily in infrastructure. I couldn’t find the data, but I suspect that as a percent of the total US budget, the military spending was a fraction of what we’re spending now.

All of these would indicate the Dems should swerve hard to the left if they want to return to the “good old days.” The party is incompetent though, and they will continue to court the Whole Foods Republican at the behest of their big-money donors and the political consultants. They will say just enough to appear to support the working class, but they’ll be sure that no actual changes are made. Christ, Pelosi’s biggest legislative accomplishment was passing what was effectively Romney-Care, which itself had it’s origins from the conservative think tank: the Heritage Foundation in the 90’s—and that was with a SUPER MAJORITY.

Specifically courting Republicans is a moronic strategy. As @KNOWITALL correctly points out, if you’re not anti-choice, most conservatives are still going to pick the ACTUAL conservative instead of the FAKE conservative. Just ask Joe Donnelly (who ran ads with Reagan in them) and Claire McCaskill, who also bashed the left, how well that approach worked out.

@JLeslie Oh so you meant more Patriotism….got it. I’ll stick with someone like Bill as my selection, if you want to sway middle of the road voters and Republicans who are more moderate.

I have to say, as a moderate myself, you’d have to have a dang good candidate to get me to change back to Dem at this point. The contradictions in immigration and other issues, even from Obama’s terms, are complicated even more now. In my opinion, the Dems have backed themselves into a corner by helping create a divide (to differentiate themselves from Trump), that may now be insurmountable with any candidate.

@KNOWITALL I think it could be perceived as patriotism at least in part. Also, valuing our constitution, our freedoms, our culture.

I think talking about assimilation will only bring up discussions of hypocrisy. The Dems have fought loud and hard to say that immigrants coming here don’t need to assimilate to our culture, we need to assimilate to theirs to be inclusive. But I think the question goes to a deeper question. What do the Dems see as “The American Way”? When they start trying to define that, they might have a talking point. The Dems platform always seems to be changing depending on who they are addressing. The only consistency seems to be “Not the Repubs”.

@seawulf575 When have Democrats said that immigrants don’t need to assimilate? What specifically makes you feel that’s the Democrat stance? I’m a Democrat and I definitely don’t fit your idea regarding assimilation. Maybe we define assimilation differently.