Reclaiming Connection: Why This Vision Matters
The path forward for progressives isn’t just about better data — it’s about deeper roots.
Every once in a while, a piece of political writing breaks through the noise and actually feels like strategy. The new Medium essay How Democrats Can Win Again - by Scott Anderson, Stephanie Schriock, Marc Solomon, Michael Frias, and Joe Hill — does exactly that.
It’s more than commentary. It’s a companion piece to an in-depth Project Enduring Majority report, and together they lay out one of the clearest, most grounded roadmaps for rebuilding Democratic strength in a generation.
It’s a rare combination of humility and clarity - an acknowledgment that we’ve lost touch with the emotional and cultural foundations that once made our politics powerful. But more than that, it sketches a path for how we find our way back.
We Forgot That Belonging Beats Messaging
Anderson and his co-authors put words to something many of us in the trenches have felt for years: Democrats became technicians of politics. We built models, dashboards, and persuasion formulas - and lost the art of human connection. We talked about voters more than we talked with them.
The right has spent decades building an ecosystem of belonging - churches, talk radio, podcasts, local pages, cultural identities. We built pollsters and press releases. They built meaning.
Their call is simple but profound: we must rebuild the connective tissue between people and politics. Not through better ads, but through community, repetition, and cultural presence.
That’s not just a messaging insight - it’s a theory of power.
Always-On Isn’t Optional
What struck me most is the report’s insistence on permanence. Campaigns end; communities don’t. For too long, Democrats have treated organizing like a seasonal sport. We spin up, burn out, and start from scratch.
But durable power comes from always-on engagement - the year-round storytelling, listening, and relationship-building that makes politics part of daily life. That’s what keeps people connected between elections and inoculated against disinformation.
That’s why I’ve been focusing on community pages, local creators, and everyday storytellers who keep our shared values visible 365 days a year. It’s not about the next election; it’s about the next generation of civic infrastructure.
Authenticity Over Polish
The authors also get something that’s easy to say and hard to do: authenticity isn’t a tactic; it’s a culture. The more scripted and consultant-driven our communication becomes, the more distant it feels from real life. People trust what feels human - even if it’s rough around the edges.
Progressive success won’t come from slicker ads or clever slogans. It will come from teachers telling the truth about their classrooms, veterans speaking about service, and small business owners explaining what fairness means to them.
Authenticity is the new credibility. And the more we empower real people to tell their own stories, the more resilient our movement becomes.
From Math to Meaning
The deeper insight behind Project Enduring Majority is that politics isn’t a math problem; it’s a meaning problem. Data helps us understand what people think - but only culture tells us why they believe it.
If the right has mastered outrage as a cultural language, progressives have to master belonging. That means showing up in the places where people already gather - online and off - not to argue, but to listen, to celebrate, to connect.
When politics becomes an expression of shared values, not a transaction for votes, we win the long game.
A Vision Worth Building On
I finished How Democrats Can Win Again feeling something rare in this moment: optimism. There’s a blueprint here for real progress - one that values humility, accountability, and human connection over gimmicks and graphs.
It’s the same vision so many of us have been quietly trying to build: an ecosystem that blends organizing, storytelling, and culture into a living, breathing civic force.
That’s how we win again. Not just at the ballot box, but in the hearts of people who’ve been told politics doesn’t care about them.
This report and essay remind us that we can rebuild that trust - one authentic story, one relationship, one community at a time.
“Politics isn’t a math problem - it’s a meaning problem. Data tells us what people think. Culture tells us why they believe it.”
About This Piece
This post reflects on How Democrats Can Win Again - a collaborative essay by Scott Anderson, Stephanie Schriock, Marc Solomon, Michael Frias, and Joe Hill - which expands on the findings of the Project Enduring Majority report.
Together, they outline a strategy grounded in authenticity, cultural connection, and lasting infrastructure — building trust, belonging, and meaning year-round, not just during election season.
This has been inside of me for a long time and thank you @Will Robinson for bringing forth this conversation - so here goes…
This piece – so many things you point out. You’re right. We’re drowning in labels. “Progressive.” “Moderate.” “Social Democrat.”
We’ve turned our movement into a taxonomy of ideology, like we’re sorting books in a library instead of building a home for people who are tired, scared, and ready for something real.
But here’s the truth and reality that we need to center voters. Voters don’t wake up in the morning thinking, “I’m a moderate with progressive leanings who supports a social democratic framework.”
➡️ They wake up thinking, “How am I going to pay rent? Will my kid’s school get funding? Can I trust the people in charge to actually care?”
That’s why “When politics becomes an expression of shared values, not a transaction for votes, we win the long game” - its about survival. ⬅️
Right now, we’re in a political environment where the GOP and Trump’s crew are winning not because they’re smarter or better organized but because they’ve mastered the art of belonging. They’ve built ecosystems where people feel seen, heard, and valued. Even if their policies are cruel, they’ve convinced millions that they’re the ones who get them. That’s power.
We, on the other hand, are still stuck in the transactional mindset: “If we give them this policy, they’ll vote for us packaged in a nice PDF .
But people don’t vote for policies, they vote for stories. For belonging. For dignity.
When we center shared values, fairness, care, respect, and community, we stop talking at voters and start talking with them. We stop asking, “What do we need to say to get their vote?” and start asking, “What do they need to feel seen, safe, and valued?”
That’s the long game. Because when people feel like you’re fighting for them, not just their vote, they become part of the movement. They show up at meetings. They knock on doors. They defend you when the other side lies which is a big part of our challenge! They become the infrastructure of power not just the target of persuasion.
And let’s be real we’re not going to win by being the most ideologically pure. We’re going to win by being the most human - - human-ing as my good friend @StephanieGerberWilson has been saying! By showing up in the places where people already gather, not to argue, but to listen. To celebrate. To connect.
Can we please with the labels? Let’s stop arguing about who’s “more progressive” and start asking, “What do we all believe in?” Fairness. Safety. Opportunity. Dignity. These aren’t partisan they’re human.
And when we build politics around those shared values not transactional appeals, we don’t just win elections. We build a movement that lasts. One that doesn’t collapse after November, but grows stronger, deeper, and more rooted in the communities we serve.
That’s how we win the long game. Not by perfecting our messaging but by reclaiming our humanity. HUMAN-ING
Ok - let's test this excellent study in the Real World.
In my home town of NYC, Zohran Mamdani and his campaign have worked tirelessly to accomplish all of these goals, and he is solidly winning the election as a result.
So how has the Democratic establishment responded? Reps . Tom Suozzi and Laura Gillen of next-door Nassau County want to expel him from the Democratic Party.
Why? Because he supports the human rights of Palestinian children and wants to slightly increase taxes on billionaires.
Bernie Sanders, AOC, Brad Lander, Nydia Velázquez, and other progressive New York politicians have campaigned enthusiastically for Mamdani's vision. But the establishment - Kathy Hochul, Hakeem Jeffries, and Chuck Schumer - are barely on board.
We can't build an Enduring Majority if we reject - rather than embrace - the enthusiasm of the working class voters inspired by Mamdani.