No, they don’t already do that, because turnout is dogshit, if everyone did that we wouldn’t have that problem.
This is a comforting lie educated liberals tell themselves. The truth is that today, the Democratic party represents voters who vote more reliably, while the Republicans represent more disengaged infrequent voters. This changed over the last decade or so, but people haven’t gotten the memo. It used to be that Republicans did better in low-turnout elections. But now the opposite is true. Republicans now thrive on low-information, low-engagement voters - the exact type of voters that would vote more in your scenario of everyone turning out. If everyone had voted in 2024, Trump would have won by an even larger margin.
This makes sense if you think about it. Today, Democrats’ real only message is, “vote strategically, we aren’t Republicans.” They offer very little of actual substance beyond not being Trump. Low-engagement voters aren’t going to care about your message of not being Trump. They don’t have the same loyalties regular voters do. And they’re not going to educate themselves on things like Project 2025.
Trump won low-engagement voters because he had simple direct messages that could reach them. Trump was going to put money in your pocket and clamp down on crime. That was his message. That was what he offered. Harris offered “I’m not Trump.” To a well-educated liberal, not being Trump is enough, as you pay attention to politics and know exactly what kind of evil shit Trump has gotten up to. But “I’m not Trump” doesn’t work for the low-engagement voters vital to win an election.
This is a comforting lie educated liberals tell themselves. The truth is that today, the Democratic party represents voters who vote more reliably, while the Republicans represent more disengaged infrequent voters. This changed over the last decade or so, but people haven’t gotten the memo. It used to be that Republicans did better in low-turnout elections. But now the opposite is true. Republicans now thrive on low-information, low-engagement voters - the exact type of voters that would vote more in your scenario of everyone turning out. If everyone had voted in 2024, Trump would have won by an even larger margin.
This makes sense if you think about it. Today, Democrats’ real only message is, “vote strategically, we aren’t Republicans.” They offer very little of actual substance beyond not being Trump. Low-engagement voters aren’t going to care about your message of not being Trump. They don’t have the same loyalties regular voters do. And they’re not going to educate themselves on things like Project 2025.
Trump won low-engagement voters because he had simple direct messages that could reach them. Trump was going to put money in your pocket and clamp down on crime. That was his message. That was what he offered. Harris offered “I’m not Trump.” To a well-educated liberal, not being Trump is enough, as you pay attention to politics and know exactly what kind of evil shit Trump has gotten up to. But “I’m not Trump” doesn’t work for the low-engagement voters vital to win an election.