In line with my efforts to see all sides of an issue, I keep up with ideas on both the left and the right. CNN and Washington Post (WP) columnist Fareed Zakaria usually provides good insight into establishment thinking, especially on foreign affairs. His latest  WP column is an eye-opener. He calls into question the left’s efforts to benefit the working class.

Most noncollege graduates in Red states voted for Trump and Republicans, even though the Biden administration made significant efforts to provide job-producing projects there. Instead of appreciating their benefactors, the ingrates voted for the opposition.

Zakaria feels the left’s prevailing theory is to move away from a market-oriented economy to one with sweeping government interventions. “It passed massive infrastructure and climate spending bills, explicitly designed to help noncollege educated Americans.” Zakaria points to two congressional districts, one in Texas and the other in Mississippi, that received the most significant government-backed projects but still voted increasingly Republican.

Attributing the continuing working-class Republican migration to race, identity, and culture issues among noncollege-educated whites, he thinks the Democrats should concentrate on their “solid base of college-educated professionals, women and minorities,” and strive to add moderate swing voters. He observes, “Biden keeps touting his pro-union credentials but is increasingly speaking of a bygone era. In 2023, only 6 percent of private sector workers belonged to a union.” The votes to win are elsewhere.

Shortly after reading the Zakaria article, I read Peter Suderman, Reason Magazine’s features editor, “Biden’s Legacy: He Didn’t Build That,” “…over and over again, that’s what happened under Biden: Vast sums were spent or authorized, but nothing came of it.” Maybe that’s why the people in Texas and Mississippi aren’t thrilled if there is no lithium refinery or battery factory. Because of red tape, opposition, and slow-moving bureaucracies, building things in the U.S. takes forever or never gets done.  

Elon Musk moved Tesla to Texas from California because doing things there is more effortless. It’s too hard to do things in California. Biden continued to send billions to the Golder State for the long-delayed high-speed rail link between L.A. and San Francisco, yet even completing the shrunken Merced-Fresno link is beyond them. Everything may be built in the Red States because it’s even more complex in the Blue States.  

Still, there is no lithium refinery in Texas. There is red tape, legal challenges, and bureaucracy across the nation.

The idea you could buy working-class votes with expensive projects without reforms allowing you to do them in a timely economic fashion is both horrifying and silly.

Zakaria would’ve been better off acknowledging people’s inflation pain and their dismay at the lawlessness at our borders and on our streets. It wasn’t just whites moving to the Republican column, but also Latinos, blacks, and Asians. Prices and crime affect everyone. Rather than being ungrateful for Biden’s largess, they understood reckless spending gave them high prices. They weren’t amused.

The interesting thing is that even though Zakaria got much wrong about the working class, he may be on to something about the direction of the Democratic Party. The Suburbs, especially suburban women, comprise the bulk of swing voters needed to win elections—the Soccer Moms, if you will.

Compassion for others is generally the rule in this group, so they’re open to the Democrats’ “fairness” arguments. They pay the most attention to fashion and are attuned to new trends. Maybe the Democrat’s media allies can play to them due to an “ingroup mentallity.” It worked in the past.

However, these people are keen on quality of life issues. Crime and working services are high on their list, and education for children is at the top of their minds. They want all this at a reasonable price.

To win this swing vote, Democrats must increase their competence level. People flee democratic inner cities because they failed to provide the basics. Virtually all Blue cities in Blue states are losing population. Texas, Florida, and many other Red Cities benefit from this migration.

Nothing shows this difference better than comparing Ron DeSantis’ Florida with Gavin Newsome’s California handling of natural disasters. Florida handled them with skill. California didn’t. Further, Florida provides high-quality services and education at a reasonable cost. High-speed trains run between population centers. Sadly, we’re all aware of what California lacks.

Florida strives for the Reaganite conservative virtues of personal freedom and choice, free markets rather than government direction, and a sensible budget. Nothing shows this mentality more than when Floridians walked on the beach during COVID-19, and others were locked down. Florida gets things right.

Democrats can make this turn. They’ve done it before. Bill Clinton accepted the Reagan Revolution by ushering in reforms and a smaller government. He said, “The era of big government is over.” He even had a balanced budget.

To do so today means turning to Governors like Pennsylvania’s Josh Shapiro or Colorado’s Jared Polis. It will mean having some “Sister Souljah Moments,” where the left wing is repudiated. Does Zakaria see leaders ready to take on Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her squad friends?

All this doesn’t mean it isn’t possible. It’s going to take a lot of work and commitment. Bill Clinton helped form the “New Democrats.” Are Zakaria and others in the left media willing to turn from their previous positions and explain why?

If the Democrats move toward a smaller but more competent government operating on free-market principles, they may pass a Republican party headed in the other direction.

While Trump still talks of curbing the government, his tariffs constitute industrial policy. Tax breaks for various voting groups, those working for tips, and retirees aren’t conservative. Spending restraint has never defined his policies, as evidenced by removing mandatory spending such as Social Security and Medicare from cuts. Cozying up to the same private sector unions, Zakaria would set adrift. He’ll issue a ton of executive orders as soon as he’s sworn in. These are actions a present-day Democrat might be comfortable doing.

Will the world be turned upside down? Will I be voting Democrat in the future? Stay tuned.