I'd like to see Western PA go back to the Democrats (Mondale won 9 PA counties that Obama lost) as opposed to being swing-lean D. Actually, I'd be willing nationwide to trade rich Philadelphia/California suburbs to get back the Rustbelt in eastern Ohio, Western PA, WV, etc. I want to bring about a new New Deal Coalition, of the white working class, college students, ethnic minorities, liberal intellectuals, union members (sort of connected with the first one) with a Democratic party closer to Bernie Sanders and Sherrod Brown than Barack Obama and Tim Kaine.
Impossible. There simply aren't enough working class whites in good paying jobs (industry, auto-manufacturing). The old UAW workers are now living in the suburbs, and vote based on cultural issues. Today's union members are mostly hispanic and black service employees who don't make very much money and rely heavily on the state, rather than on the company.
I used to agree with your basic attitudes, in that I was a big supporter of the NDC and believed that it could be duplicated in today's climate. But then I read more about it and came to this conclusion: Every political generation has it's own coalitions, but they can't remain stagnant. The New Deal coalition served it's purpose in the 1930, 40s, and 50s. There was a general post-war consensus within the Democratic Party that government intervention into the economy generated jobs and growth for everyone. That was largely because we weren't competing with anyone as they had all gotten the sh**t bombed out of them. Our economy was thriving, revenue came pouring in, and we could afford a heavily involved government. Then social issues cropped up, leading Southern whites and later the WWC to vote for Republicans like Nixon and Reagan. At the same time, the Democrats began to do better among women, young people, and eventually suburbanites. However with folks like McGovern and Mondale, we clung to the old New Deal mantra. In the economy of post-1960s America, that was simply untenable. Competing with Germany, Japan, China, and the developing world, we can't believe that more government will solve our problems. Clinton recognized that, creating a New Democratic coalition based on the suburbs, minorities, and women. They supported less government intervention in the economy, were socially liberal, and wanted to change the way the welfare state functioned. Obama has built on this.
In short, we can't have the NDC back, nor should we want it. The protectionism of Sherrod Brown and Bernie Sanders hurts many more Americans than it helps. Sure, what's left of our paltry manufacturing base will benefit. But what about consumers, farmers, and tech workers? They have to pay more and sell less of their products. In today's economy, we can't pander to the old wwc which no longer exists in the way it used to. The New Democratic Party needs to be based around smart education, energy, and investment. Not big government.
