Democrats Map Out a Different Strategy

WASHINGTON — Reeling from their party’s loss in the presidential election, some key Democratic financiers and strategists say they have learned a clear lesson: Next time around, no Northeasterners need apply.

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Harpootlian, the South Carolina Democrat, said the party is too dominated by its various interest groups, alienating a key voter in many red states: the white male.

“You can’t go to a [Democratic National Committee] meeting and have the first act be to divide up into the caucuses: the African American caucus, the Asian American caucus, the Pacific American caucus, the lesbian and gay caucus, the Native American caucus,” he said. “As a white guy from South Carolina, where’s my caucus? Where’s the white guys’ caucus?

“That defines the problem of the Democratic Party,” he added. “They’ve got to make folks like me welcome, and make it so I don’t have to take a hard swallow every time I go to a DNC meeting.”