We Need to Talk about SAM

Recently, a group of Democratic Party operatives launched an initiative called SAM, or Speaking with American Men.

The project is led by Ilyse Hogue, former president of NARAL, John Della Volpe, a pollster who specializes in polling Gen Z voters, and former Texas Representative Colin Allred. Its goal is to understand why American men, in particular young American men of all backgrounds, have left the Democratic Party and why Trump gained with this demographic by such large margins.

Despite this project being widely mocked by almost everyone, it is not a bad idea in concept. Figuring out why the Democratic Party lost so much ground with young men of all backgrounds and how to recover them if possible is a worthwhile thing to do.

However, it appears that SAM as a project failed to ask some important questions.

Based on what I have read about the project’s results, the people involved asked primarily about feelings and concerns with no questions regarding policy preferences or what influences voting behavior.

It is important to ask about how people feel about things in addition to policy preferences and goals. I don’t fault the project for asking so much about feelings.

But it is a major problem that the people at SAM failed to ask about the policy preferences of these young men or their attitudes in general; if you try to get two parties to get along who see the other as a primary adversary, all you are going to do is make both parties feel angry and betrayed.

You can adjust your ads and marketing to your target audience as much as you want, but if the members of that audience fundamentally disagree with your policies or just don’t like/respect you, they will never listen to begin with.

For example, in the linked article, one of the young men interviewed said he admires Andrew Tate. Good luck trying to maintain the current Democratic edge with women if admirers of Andrew Tate start to influence Democratic Party policy.

As an institution, the Democratic Party already has painful experiences with trying to get primary adversaries to reconcile their agendas.

Just look at what happened inside the Democratic Party after the October 7 attacks in Israel.

As for myself, I am still disgusted with how many Democrats betrayed Jewish voters.

If any of you are wondering how I would have conducted SAM, I would have focused on attitudes toward women, top concerns as voters, and what they prioritize in a candidate.

That would be in addition to the feelings questions the original authors asked. The questions would serve to figure out which sets of young men can be integrated into the coalition without causing problems. See how fast the coalition fell apart after October 7 for why I am so concerned about this.

According to this article from the Bulwark, SAM is far from the only project launched by Democratic Party operatives and donors to try to repair the damage. AND media is attempting to counter the GOP online operation by finding a left wing Joe Rogan while Project Bullhorn is attempting to get more progressive influencers on YouTube.

All of these are worthy projects if done correctly. Though based on how SAM was carried out, I don’t have much confidence.

Where the Focus Should Be

The Democratic Party has some very serious organizational problems that need to be addressed.

I would argue the biggest problem is that the coalition is currently falling apart and has been fragile for quite some time.

The worst problems with Democratic governance are most often due to having to keep an unstable coalition together. The weakest links, I would argue, are the far left, NIMBYs, and, as it turns out, sadly, labor unions.

See the Teamsters for exhibit A.

However, if even half as many general election voters are so upset with Democrats that they will ignore the Trump administration’s serious policy failures, then all the outreach in the world is going to fail until the Trump administration makes such a huge mess no one can ignore it.

Instead, let Trump’s policies cause a recession. Make Republicans own the fact that Trump always chickens out.

Wall Street figured it out.

However, it is time to address the elephant in the room.

So many in the party betrayed President Biden and Vice President Harris.

If I had to use a word to describe the Democratic Party as an institution, it would not be weak or hypercautious, although both do show up from time to time, which is, in my opinion, a manageable problem.

No, that word would be treacherous.

Both the moderate and far-left wings of the Democratic Party thought they could knock off President Biden and they would take over with no consequences or resistance. They shafted a leader who delivered on countless policy objectives, and that tells me they will do this again to another leader.

To put it rather bluntly, my trust in this party has been shattered since June-July 2024. I naively thought that Vice President Harris could put Humpty Dumpty back together again in 107 days along with my trust in the Democratic Party.

The actions of many Democrats to try to appease Trump himself and his movement have made this assessment more ingrained. It has only reinforced my conclusion that the Democratic Party has both impaired morals and judgment.

I trust some individual Democrats across the country, such as President Bill Clinton and Secretary Hillary Clinton. Same for a few current Democratic elected officials such as Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, Texas Representative Jasmine Crockett, and a few others.

But I cannot, in good conscience, donate to or volunteer for the DNC and similar organizations across the country unless they do more than get rid of David Hogg. My conditions for donating to them ever again are the following.

I will support some Democratic candidates in terms of volunteer work and possibly money but only on a case-by-case basis.

Conditions for Regaining Trust (Meaning Labor and Money)

All political operatives who ever worked for Senator Bernie Sanders or possibly Senator Elizabeth Warren in any capacity are to be blacklisted. Any former Sanders staffer currently working for the DNC, DSCC, DCCC, or any other similar body is to be fired immediately. Exceptions can be made on a selective case-by-case basis.

All former Obama campaign personnel are to be blacklisted based on Pod Save America and how many of them betrayed President Biden. Exceptions can be made on a selective case-by-case basis.

New people are to be hired for various campaigns across the country. Experience is good but not necessarily required. No previous connection to the far left is permitted (far left defined as any connections to Senator Sanders or maybe Senator Warren; definition can be worked on).

The DNC as a body must find a way to get the 2028 primary done quickly and cleanly. I would suggest that all states hold their primaries on the same date. No media circus can happen that way. Carefully vet the candidates for experience and qualifications. Do everything you can to limit the influence of the groups on both sides.

These are my starting points. I don’t know about you, but this is what I came up with.

The Democratic Party as an institution has far bigger problems than its vote share with young men.

First, party leaders will have to prove they are trustworthy again.

So far, they are not delivering.

We shall see if they do.