While Democrats try to find out how to move on from their 2024 disaster, a former Obama speechwriter is offering some surprising advice: don't ditch celebrities.
President-elect Trump's historic comeback victory has been hailed as marking the end of the Obama era - as Democrats have been left leaderless and at each other's throats.
It wasn't just Obama who lost - Trump dealt a blow to the influence of big stars like Taylor Swift and Oprah, who offered Harris their endorsements to no avail.
The Harris campaign spent millions on glitzy events, but the spectacle failed to move voters and may have even backfired.
Indeed, the popular view is that Harris lost because the Democrats have become too "woke" and out of touch with ordinary people.
But Obama speechwriter David Litt argues that celebrities can still be useful - to drive turnout in midterm races.
“These nonpresidential elections are often decided by ‘differential turnout.’ The party that gets more of its base to the polls has a big advantage — which means that celebrity endorsements can provide a decisive boost,” he said.
Democrats have been locked out of power in D.C. until 2026, at least, after Trump won the presidency and the popular vote while helping Republicans take back the Senate.
In his column, Litt argued it would be a mistake for Democrats to give up their traditional advantage when it comes to celebrities.
“As Democrats stare into the political abyss, they can voluntarily cede their advantage in celebrity support to Donald Trump and the GOP,” he said.
“Or they can use that advantage to boost turnout in nonpresidential races, broaden a shrinking coalition, and reach politically unengaged voters. Given the likely consequences of the 2024 election, it’s hard to overstate how much depends on Democrats making the right choice,” he said.
Litt also recommended that Democrats try to expand their coalition by targeting cultural spheres typically coded as Republican, like NASCAR and country music.
"Can the next wave of Democratic candidates augment their typical enthusiasm from Hollywood with supporters from surprising places: country music; NASCAR; the tech bro-sphere; or the unapologetically masculine, politically incorrect corners of hip-hop and comedy? The future of the party, and possibly the country, may hinge on the answer," he wrote.
This is wishful thinking, to put it mildly. How are Democrats going to win over NASCAR fans and "bros" after years of PC, woke garbage and demonizing rural America at every turn?
At the end of the day, Litt's analysis is as good as anyone else's. Democrats are going to have to dig deeper than this if they want to get out of the ditch they are in.
They have lost touch with America, full stop. There is simply no substitute for authenticity - and Trump has that in spades.
