2.2 Partisan Norms Among Party Elites
2.2.3 Norms in the Democratic Party
Where it was difficult to uncover social expectations in the Republican party, Democrats see the question of what makes a good Democrat as an easy one. Simply put, Democrats in both Tennessee and New York focus on caring for people, particularly people who they view as vulnerable or marginalized in some way. Some interviewees talked about
this principle in broad terms. Emma, who leads a group for young Democrats in the state, says good Democrats “want to see everybody succeed.” To Emma, that means investing in education and healthcare, and specifically that the government can help provide those goods, “you’re going to find that Democrats are going to be willing to increase property taxes if it means making your education system better, or wanting to do something more of a public option with healthcare.” Another interviewee, Charlotte, believes the Demo- cratic party is “ working for the average citizen, the common citizen, that goes to work every day, and, this is what we have tried to emphasize, is that we try to represent the everyday person.” This was a common theme across my interviews with Democrats — we want to help the average, everyday person.
Many Democrats felt this quite strongly. Adam, a Democrat in the Tennessee state legislature, said he is willing to compromise quite a bit to get things done. But there is one line he wouldn’t cross: “I mean, if I could be convinced that if somebody came in and said, We will, you know, double public education funding and pass Medicaid expansion, if you all will agree to x, like, what are the things that I would not agree to? It’s not a huge list, like it really comes down to like democracy and caring for people.”
Democratic interviewees viewed this desire to care for others through the lens of com- passion. When I asked Emma what sorts of things Democrats tend to do better than Republicans, she said Democratic policies “exemplify compassion much more than Re- publican ideas.” She also mentioned forgiveness as an important part of that compassion:
“[we’re] not trying to punish somebody for, we don’t judge people on something they did on their worst day, but we’re trying to make sure that they have better days in the future.”
Interestingly, Emma believes Democrats are “wired” for compassion — “I think compas- sion is a huge, huge part of it. And it’s just how Democrats might be wired morally or ethically.” Compassion and care are not just personal values, Emma sees them as a fun- damental part of how Democrats think. Timothy, a former member of Hillary Clinton’s campaign and current employee of a progressive nonprofit, believes “bad” Democrats
are ones who have “lost their sense of compassionate connection” to people, and thinks in general Democrats do a better job pushing for compassionate policies.
Lucy, a prominent member of the Tennessee Democratic Party organization, summed up the idea of caring for everyone eloquently: “we believe that everyone, no matter who you are, what you look like, where you live, who you love, how you pray, that everyone deserves and should have an opportunity to have a better life for themselves and their family.”
Democrats tended to have a particular idea about what it means to care for people, as well as specific groups that they view as needing this care and protection. Care was often talked about in terms of equality — to care for someone is to make sure they have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else. Several Democratic interviewees expressed the belief that to be a good Democrats is to seek to rectify inequalities. Here’s what Lucy had to say about correcting historical inequalities: “there were people that are being left behind and don’t have access to the American dream. And, you know, those people should be valued as much as everybody else ... There are many people in this country who are being left behind and what Democrats believe is that, you know, part of our value system is that everyone should be lifted up. And, you know, given the hand up that they that they need to succeed, while we need to dismantle the systems of injustice and inequality and oppression that has existed in this country since its inception.”
While Lucy did not name specific groups, others did. Three groups in particular stood out as targets of this goal to decrease inequality and ensure rights — women, racial mi- norities and the LGBT community. For example, Emma was adamant about protecting women’s rights. When asked what makes a “bad” Democrat, Emma started by saying the Democratic party is a “big tent” — a wide range of different ideas are welcome in the party. After thinking for a moment, though, Emma decided that “personally, its hard for me to consider someone a good Democrat if they don’t think I have autonomy over my body.” Later, when I asked Emma what types of behaviors would disqualify a Democratic
candidate, she immediately mentioned accusations of sexual assault.
Adam was quite firm about making sure everyone feels welcome in the US — “I think we insist that America be a country for everybody. I don’t think there’s much room for debate on that one. Yeah. I think that applies to everybody — African-Americans, LGBT community, it just, it just freakin applies. And that’s a, that’s a hard and fast.” Benjamin, an executive in the Manhattan Democratic party, expressed a similar sentiment:
... across genders, races, religions, national origins, just trying to get it so that ev- eryone in every walk of life is equally respected and can be valued for their individual contributions to society. And without prejudice or bias or bullying or whatever it may be, and just to try to make, you know, the world of better cleaner, safer place for everyone.
Nothing encapsulates the care norm better than my interview with Michael, a long- time fixture in the Tennessee Democratic party. When I asked Michael what makes a
“good” Democrat, he showed me an old plaque titled, “Stewardship: The Tennessee Democrats’ Creed.”7 The document lists seven points, each beginning with the phrase,
“We will be faithful stewards of ...” and then listing a principle. When I asked which of the points was most important, the interviewee paused to look over the document be- fore concluding that the final point was most important. It reads: “we will be faithful stewards of our freedoms of equality, religion and expression so that men and women of all races and faiths can live, follow their beliefs, and express their views without fear of discrimination or reprisal.”