What Democrats Should Learn From Their Loss

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• Kennedy’s Role in Health Policy
• The Shuttering of the ‘Mom and Pop’ Pharmacies

Credit…Kenny Holston/The New York Times

To the Editor:

Re “Democrats Sift Through Rubble, Seeking Answers” (front page, Nov. 10):

Rather than pointing fingers at one another, the party needs to do what the Republicans did with Richard Nixon’s “Southern Strategy” and Ronald Reagan’s “Reagan Democrats”: Figure out who didn’t vote for them; discern what they wanted — but didn’t see forthcoming from the Democrats; develop programs to respond to those wants; and, finally, replicate the communications network, social media and mass media campaign that the Republicans mounted.

The inbox of this registered Democrat was filled over the past 90 days with emails extolling the virtues of Donald Trump and the evils of Democrats. There was also the shrewdest TV barrage I have ever seen.

I would humbly suggest that nobody connected with this election, including the bicoastal Pelosi-Schumer coalition, should have anything to do with the project. As the saying goes, “They blew it, big time.”

Stephen Phillips
St. Petersburg, Fla.

To the Editor:

I appreciate all the recent coverage of reasons for the Democratic defeat in the election — particularly Ezra Klein’s recent podcasts. I am left wondering, however, how the Democrats should best respond.

I suspect that the party will now pivot to the right, à la Bill Clinton, as it tries to woo working-class, non-college-educated voters. But I wonder if that’s the answer.

As a moderate, I cringed at woke rhetoric and thought it was alienating and counterproductive. But I believe in many of the ideals behind it, such as protecting minority interests, showing respect and sensitivity to identity concerns, acknowledging the effects of systemic racism and police brutality, and empowering women.

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