One of the masterminds behind Pete Buttigieg’s rise in national politics said Monday Joseph R. Biden’s path to the White House hinges on presenting voters with a positive alternative vision for the nation, and not getting too wrapped up “Trump derangement syndrome.”
Lis Smith, a senior advisor to Mr. Buttigieig’s 2020 bid, said the coronavirus has provided Mr. Biden with an opportunity to think outside the box when it comes to campaigning and said she hopes the party learned some lessons from the party’s mistakes in 2016.
“There is a theory in the Democratic Party that if we just kept giving Donald Trump rope that he would eventually hang himself,” Ms. Smith said on Political Playbook virtual interview. “Well, he didn’t, and I think it is completely wishful thinking to think that he will self-destruct and that we can just run against Trump and Trumpism.”
Ms. Smith said Mr. Biden should look at the messages that Democrats – including Reps. Andy Kim of New Jersey, Colin Allread in Texas and Lauren Underwood of Illinois – ran on, and won with, in swing districts in 2018 as possible blueprints for how to win battlegrounds in 2020.
“These are not the AOC or Rashida Talib types,” she said, alluding to liberal firebrand Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her far-left Michigan ally.
Ms. Smith said these less liberal candidates drew distinctions with Mr. Trump but did not make him their primary focus.
“They were not yelling and screaming from the rafters about how Donald Trump was a tyrant or whatever it is,” she said. “They offered an alternative view for the Democratic party – you know, holding up how we could improve health care and making sure they did have a positive and permanent vision for the country.”
“I think that sort of provides a path forward for Joe Biden, which is not making this all about Trump derangement syndrome, and actually focusing on ways the Democratic Party can make people’s lives better.”
