Advice for Democrats

Brian Lehrer (0:10)

It's The Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC. Good morning again, everyone. We'll continue now to cover the conversation the Democratic Party has been having with itself this year over democratic socialism or other progressive left policies versus a more center left approach, both to what's right and to winning elections. We've been having multiple guests from each camp on what they agree on and don't agree on. As regular listeners know, today's guest is Adam Jentleson, a prominent Democratic Party strategist who has a new book that was released this week and who has gone on his own journey in recent years, in his case more toward the center left. But his goal is a very big tent Democratic Party that can win not just say 51 to 49 or 52 to 48 elections, like the Trump era presidential and many congressional elections have been. Look at how evenly divided the House and Senate both are now. But a party that can command a supermajority of Americans, like the party has at times in the past under FDR or LBJ, who he cites. In fact, the book is called Supermajority, How Democrats Can Build Lasting Power.

As an example of the breadth of his own political history, Adam Jentleson supported Elizabeth Warren for president in the 2020 primaries, and has been chief of staff for Senator John Fetterman, the Democrat who spoke at last week's Republican midterms convention. We'll get his take on that too. Jentleson has also started a think tank called the Searchlight Institute that says they're drafting the policy agenda that will restore American social safety net for the 21st century but also says therefore, impact and effectiveness over prevailing orthodoxy. So there's a lot we can talk about. Adam, thanks for coming on. Congratulations on the book and welcome to WNYC.

Adam Jentleson (2:04)

Thank you, Brian. It's great to be here.

Brian Lehrer (2:06)

Do you want to start by telling our listeners a bit about your own political journey in recent years? Many people may be wondering just from that intro, how can the same person go from Elizabeth Warren supporter to John Fetterman's chief of staff?

Adam Jentleson (2:20)

Yeah, I would love to, you know, and I think it might be a journey that a lot of your listeners can relate to. I think, you know, I've spent my career working in democratic politics, and for much of the early part of my career, that involved working for candidates and leaders who held positions that were different from my own. You know, I got into politics in the first place out of my opposition to the Iraq War. I was a college kid in 2003 when Bush invaded Iraq. I marched in the streets to oppose the war, and then I went to work for John Kerry in 2004, who was, you know, a supporter of the Iraq War. And so throughout my career, I sort of got used to working for candidates because overall, I thought, you know, their positions would be closer to my own on a range of issues, and that working for them would advance the causes I believed in.

What happened in 2016 was that the election of Trump really threw me for a loop, and I think threw a lot of people for a loop, and it caused me to wonder whether many of the things that I'd learned about politics were wrong. And this sort of sparked me back towards the center, and that's sort of the journey that I articulate in the book.

Brian Lehrer (3:30)

I mean, before we get to more specifics of how you think the Democrats can build a supermajority, I feel like I have to ask you why you scheduled the release date of this book for September this week, at the height of the general election season, rather than during the primaries, when these issues were in play within the party. Aren't you risking that releasing it now, discrediting the wing of some of your party's swing district nominees, swing state nominees, could hurt your chances of winning Congress in the midterms?

Adam Jentleson (4:01)

No, I don't think so at all. I think that the sort of strategies that I map out in the book are the ones that our candidates are going to need to embrace to win the general election.

I think many of these strategies are more about how you win the crucial stretch between Labor Day and November and beat Republicans rather than win in the primary.

Brian Lehrer (4:23)

All right. On how to win a supermajority, one thing you argue for is embracing a heterodoxy.

I mentioned the line from your website that criticizes, quote, prevailing orthodoxy. Your four heterodoxy, use that word, that reflects how many swing voters think. Do you want to lay out some of the core principles of that heterodox approach and some core policies that it includes or excludes?