By Jennifer Rubin

The Washington Post

ABC News reports: “Democrats say they are mounting a major push across battleground states to court suburban voters — a key voting demographic that was once the bedrock of the GOP but has been shifting away from the party in the era of President Donald Trump.” The report continues, “Political experts see Republicans’ unraveling grip on the suburbs in part due to Trump’s abrasive style and divisive rhetoric — whether in person or on Twitter — driving away independents and suburban voters, particularly women.”

Think of it this way: When Trump goes to a rally, or tweets to tell nonwhite congresswomen to “go back” to where they came from, or he lies for days about his Sharpie-modified hurricane map, or fires his third national security adviser, or invites the Taliban to Camp David, his spinners on Fox News will attack the media for reporting such things and insist that the Great Leader is a victim. That may fly with his super-duper fans, but when these incidents pop up (and they are doing so at a faster clip these days), I imagine a few thousand more voters in the suburbs — businessmen and professional women, 20-somethings back home and looking for work, high tech workers, stay-at-home moms who care for a parent or volunteer in the community, etc. — rolling their eyes in disgust and vowing not to vote to give this guy four more years. And remember, we are talking about suburbs that are now much more racially and ethnically diverse than they were a generation ago. Many are immigrants.

These are the quintessential “work hard and play by the rules” people who Bill Clinton once referred to. And what they really don’t like is seeing the president of the United States do and say things that they would not in a million years get away with: racist outbursts, making money off his position (e.g., self-dealing, taking foreign money), lying, paying off porn stars and being an all-around bully.

Maybe they detested Hillary Clinton, or thought Trump would grow into the job, or thought he’d never win so they could cast a protest vote. They might have even stayed home in 2016. In 2020, however, they are somewhere between fed up and furious at the Trump routine, and they have also noticed that the Senate has gotten nothing done. And they cannot believe we don’t have reasonable gun-safety laws.

That is the target audience for Democrats. Aside from reminding voters that Trump would be even worse if reelected, their job is not to induce these voters into staying home or, worse, retreating into the Trump camp. What would turn these voters off? Someone they perceive as not serious about defending them from terrorists; someone vowing more destabilization; someone clueless about their priorities (cheaper prescription drugs, funding schools, gun safety); someone who spouts extreme ideas (legalizing illegal border crossings, for example); or someone who is a phony or doesn’t identify with the stress and strain of everyday life. They don’t want a candidate prattling on about arcane bills or one who seems ready to pick a fight with everyone.

Normal. They consider themselves normal and they would like a normal president who seems more normal than the White House’s current occupant (a low bar) and — dare we say? — presidential. Trump has already turned off millions of voters, doing much of Democrats’ work for them. Now, Democrats need to remember whose votes they didn’t get last time and will need if they want to oust Trump this time around.

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