Which issues should Democrats FOCUS on the most?

[AN63093]

I'll answer this from a "Dem strategist" perspective, rather than my own personal desires.  I'm only addressing issues from your list and not adding any of mine.

The best issues to focus on would be these:

-Paid Leave
-Affordable Childcare
-Universal PreK
-Infrastructure
-Marijuana Legalization nationwide

These are good issues for the Dems because most people are OK with them and there is no easy GOP counter that most people either agree with, or doesn't make the GOP look way out-of-touch.  With marijuana legalization, this is a particularly good issue for the Dems to start pressing, since it's one of the easiest ways to lock up millennials and even a lot of conservatives just don't care about it enough to get that riled up.


These are good issues to press, but I would make them secondary to the above.  The main reason to press these issues would be as red-meat for SJWs:

-the Paycheck Fairness Act for gender equality and closing the pay gap
-the Equality Act, adding LGBT to antidiscrimination protection


These are issues that I wouldn't mention, but would covertly work on after getting power:

-Universal Single-Payer Healthcare
-comprehensive Immigration reform with pathway to citizenship for everyone

What the Dems should do on healthcare is basically just lie, and say they aren't for single-payer, but for "fixing Obamacare."  And be as vague on that as possible.  Then when in power, work on single-payer.  Same thing with immigration; basically I would just advise the Dems lie on this issue, then when in power, do basically nothing on the issue (by doing nothing, you are then in effect, covertly granting de facto amnesty).


These are issues I also wouldn't mention, but would let Dem candidates simply answer the litmus test, then move on:

-being Pro-Choice


Finally, these are issues the Dems probably shouldn't touch.  Not much to gain, and too much cost.  Plus these are the issues that are more likely to be vulnerable to GOP counter-attacks that people would sympathize with, or are easily obfuscated by the GOP such that the public gets confused about what the Dems real position on it is:

-Tuition-free College for state colleges
-$15/hour Minimum Wage
-tax reform
-elimination of the payroll FICA tax cap
-Universal Gun Background & Mental Health Checks
-Criminal Justice Reform
-Universal voter registration/updating
-new Public Housing projects
-Bank Breakups
-Cut Military Spending
-Environmental & Animal Protections
-Outlawing coal, fracking, oil drilling
-amendments on campaign finance and the electoral college
-our International Alliances abroad, and value of Human Rights