Back to the Economy, Stupid

“The Democrats’ stunning defeat in the presidential race and continued struggles in lower-level contests have jolted party leaders into concluding that their emphasis on cultural issues has all but crippled them by diverting voters’ attention from the core Democratic message of economic fairness,” the New York Times reports.

“But even as Democrats agree about the need to promote their agenda more aggressively for the middle class and voters of modest means, especially in parts of the country where the party has suffered grievous losses, they are divided over how aggressively to position themselves on the economic left, with battle lines already forming over the lightning-rod issue of foreign trade.”