Some Democrats Fear “Free Stuff” Will Hurt Party

A two-day conference held in Charleston, South Carolina, last week, by the moderate Democratic group Third Way was focused on trying to determine the best path to victory in 2020.

The group is concerned that the left-wing of the Democratic party is overshadowing the more moderate and larger segment of the party.

Axios reported that former North Dakota Senator Heidi Heitkamp said the Third Way is sick of the economic messages that focus on “free stuff” rather than opportunity.

The group produced polling data that showed there is a significant difference between “Twitter Democrats” and Democrat primary voters on these issues and other extreme positions.

For example, a poll among 1,291 Democratic primary voters indicated there is a 17-point difference in support for Medicare for All between “Twitter Democrats” and Democratic primary voters as a whole.

Also, only 29% of Democratic primary voters support abolishing the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency. By contrast, abolishing ICE is very popular with the hyper-engaged or “Twitter Democrats” ; a full 64% support this idea.

Anna Tovar, mayor of Tolleson, Arizona said, “Things like free college are “fluffy” and perceived as “handouts,” and particularly with Latin Democrats. “They want to work towards [those opportunities] and be proud of that,” she said.

The Third Way website states that:

If campaigns take their cues from just this narrow segment of voters—and come to believe that they are a proxy for the whole pool of Democratic voters—we could go off course and find ourselves in a weakened position against Trump come next November.

Jon Cowan, Third Way’s president, took a direct shot at Senator Bernie Sanders when he said, “I don’t believe a self-described Democratic socialist can beat Donald Trump.”

Will the upcoming debates reveal candidates in the “Democratic primary voter” lane or will the campaign continue to be dominated by “Twitter Democrat” candidates?