Yuval Levin, the director of Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), wrote a compelling argument that Republicans could win over parents with a proper agenda that focuses on parents and their concerns.
“Parents constantly mix worry with hope,” he said. “They are not a natural audience for the bitter brew of panic and despair that now too often emanates from the right. Parents who share that outlook are likely already Republican voters. Those who don’t will be persuaded not by fear and loathing of the Left but by a practical approach that suits their aspirations and concerns and is oriented to the future – as parents naturally are.”
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By Yuval Levin
For the National Review
Republicans looking to expand their party’s coalition have a problem. The public identifies them above all with Donald Trump, who is decidedly unpopular. Voters who can possibly stand Trump (and even some who can’t) are already Republicans. And when Republicans talk about something other than Trump, it is generally the Democrats. So swing voters know that the GOP staunchly opposes the Left, but what does the party offer them instead?
Republicans avoid that subject in part because they are divided about it. Among elected Republicans, as well as in the Right’s intellectual circles, there are now deep disagreements about spending, taxes, entitlements, trade, defense, foreign policy, the role of government, and many other issues that once mostly brought Republicans together. It is harder to envision a unifying policy agenda than it has been in decades, and Republicans have proposed precious few ideas of late.
These two challenges — the absence of clear substantive appeal to voters and the absence of coalition-unifying issues — would need to be addressed together. And addressing them might require not so much agreeing on proposals as agreeing on a growth constituency to which Republicans should direct a variety of appeals.
If Republicans were paying attention, they would see that just such a constituency is now looking for a home and a voice. It is defined not by ideology, race, ethnicity, or geography but by a demonstrated investment in the future of America. Parents could be the next great Republican voting bloc, if the party would only try.
