--- [ ARCHIVE ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/archive) # Can the Dems Handle Success? November 12 2012 Written by Paul Hatfield. [](https://www.addtoany.com/share) ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/images/stories/Nov-2012/cw1091d.png)PERSPECTIVE - Volumes are being written and millions of words spoken about what the Republican Party needs to do to maintain its relevance in the future. I can’t add anything new to that discourse, so I won’t. But it is worth sharing thoughts about what the Democratic Party should consider. Hey, the Dems just re-elected President Obama and gained a little in the Senate and the House. The demographic trends support the growth of minority groups favoring the party. With these favorable developments, why on earth would they need to entertain thoughts about the party’s future? Do you think the New York Yankees would have gone on to build on the team’s championship tradition if they had rested on their laurels after 1927? Successful organizations always tinker with their long-term strategies. The Republicans didn’t after 2004 and paid the price on November 6. There are risks ahead for the Democratic Party and they may involve some touchy issues. The analysts point to [the role coalitions played](http://campaignstops.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/07/douthat-the-obama-realignment/) in 2012′s success. But coalitions are fluid over time. They can change just as normal human cells can become cancerous. If you don’t catch the changes soon enough, you are dead. As minority groups advance up through the middle class, as women attain more power in the corporate world and as today’s young voters eventually acquire wealth, expect some of them, enough of them, to tweak the characteristics of the current Democratic coalition. It wouldn’t take but a change of a handful of percentage points in the right regions to radically alter the electoral map. Just look at history: enough Roosevelt Democrats supported Ronald Reagan for two terms and helped create a golden age for the Republicans. One of the most volatile issues the Democratic Party will have to wrestle with is how hard to push on immigration reform. It might even be more important than tax reform. If they present a plan that is perceived as a covert form of amnesty, some groups within the coalition might resent the strategy, labeling it unfair to them. Change will happen; it is only a matter of degree and timing … and direction. It will take brilliant and balanced management on the part of the Democrats to build on success. We could face the same type of turmoil that realigned or even eliminated political parties in the years leading up to the 1860 election. Exciting times are ahead. *(Paul Hatfield is a CPA and serves as Treasurer for the Neighborhood Council Valley Village. He blogs at Village to Village, contributes to CityWatch and can be reached at: phinnoho@aol.com)* –cw CityWatch Vol 10 Issue 91 Pub: Nov 13, 2012 [ ![usa radio musem](https://mail.citywatchla.com/images/banners/usa%20radio%20museum%20wide.jpg) ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/116 "USA Radio Museum - Wide") [ ![save up to 4000 on used evs](https://mail.citywatchla.com/images/LADWP/dwp%20ev%20ad2.png) ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/107 "LA DWP | Save $4K, Green | Priority Ad") [ ![LA DWP #2 (Power Savers)](https://mail.citywatchla.com/images/LADWP/2026%20LADWP%20PowerSavers%20300x250.png) ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/82 "LA DWP #2 (Power Savers)") [ ![Pay Water Bill Help](https://mail.citywatchla.com/images/LADWP/dwp%20-%20cares-ad.jpg) ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/97 "Home - LA DWP #2 (Pay Water Bill Help)") ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/images/banners/signup-for-cw.png) ## Get The News In Your Email Inbox Mondays & Thursdays Phone [ ![something you should know, podcasts](https://mail.citywatchla.com/images/banners/something%20you%20should%20know2.jpg) ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/110 "Something You Should Know") --- ## Featured CityWatch Stories [ ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/media/yootheme/cache/86/089k-865bc454.png) ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/election-2024/33710-bass-is-out-raman-is-in-is-los-angeles-trading-failure-for-a-bigger-crisis) ### [Bass Is Out. Raman Is In. Is Los Angeles Trading Failure for a Bigger Crisis?](https://mail.citywatchla.com/election-2024/33710-bass-is-out-raman-is-in-is-los-angeles-trading-failure-for-a-bigger-crisis) THE BOTTOM LINE - Karen Bass lost the confidence of Los Angeles voters. Nithya Raman won their support. But can a new m… [ ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/media/yootheme/cache/08/089l-0888bed0.png) ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/los-angeles/33704-nithyas-budget-buzz-saw) ### [Nithya’s Budget Buzz Saw](https://mail.citywatchla.com/los-angeles/33704-nithyas-budget-buzz-saw) LA WATCHDOG - Nithya Raman, our new mayor, will inherit a budget that is a river of red ink. According to the First Fi… [ ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/media/yootheme/cache/a7/088n-a7fbb4ae.jpg) ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/voices/33687-first-test-of-next-governor-s-leadership-demand-a-full-forensic-audit-of-bullet-train) ### [First Test of Next Governor`s Leadership: Demand a Full Forensic Audit of Bullet Train](https://mail.citywatchla.com/voices/33687-first-test-of-next-governor-s-leadership-demand-a-full-forensic-audit-of-bullet-train) NICK’S VIEW - For a case study in lost public trust and squandered taxpayer money, look no further than California’s hi… [ ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/media/yootheme/cache/a0/089r-a0ef2305.png) ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/voices/33698-a-great-night-for-america-and-a-warning-to-both-parties) ### [A Great Night for America—and a Warning to Both Parties](https://mail.citywatchla.com/voices/33698-a-great-night-for-america-and-a-warning-to-both-parties) FRED TALK - The opinions in this column are solely mine and I stand by them. I did not write yesterday because I wanted… [ ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/media/yootheme/cache/5b/089g-5ba64d91.png) ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/los-angeles/33709-progress-not-presto-chango) ### [Progress, Not Presto-Chango](https://mail.citywatchla.com/los-angeles/33709-progress-not-presto-chango) IN MY VIEW - If We Want People Off the Streets, We Have to Give Them Somewhere to Go. I was about five years old, wa… --- ## [ ARCHIVE ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/archive) [ ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/media/yootheme/cache/d4/034e-d424a385.png) ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/archive/15339-early-intervention-and-jobs-are-key-to-stemming-chronic-homelessness-in-los-angeles)### [Early Intervention and Jobs are Key to Stemming Chronic Homelessness in Los Angeles](https://mail.citywatchla.com/archive/15339-early-intervention-and-jobs-are-key-to-stemming-chronic-homelessness-in-los-angeles) ### [Tucker Carlson and Gay Rightwinger Blame California Wildfires On Hiring LGBTQ People](https://mail.citywatchla.com/archive/18755-tucker-carlson-and-gay-rightwinger-blame-california-wildfires-on-hiring-lgbtq-people) ### [Anti-LGBTQ Veep Just Can’t Stop Talking about Mayor Pete](https://mail.citywatchla.com/archive/17690-anti-lgbtq-veep-just-can-t-stop-talking-about-mayor-pete) [ ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/media/yootheme/cache/26/033j-26aa2dd8.png) ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/archive/15316-news-pulse-corrupt-system-reason-for-not-voting-in-2018-majority-wants-more-than-two-parties)### [NEWS PULSE: ‘Corrupt System’ Reason for Not Voting in 2018 … Majority Wants More Than Two Parties](https://mail.citywatchla.com/archive/15316-news-pulse-corrupt-system-reason-for-not-voting-in-2018-majority-wants-more-than-two-parties) [ ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/media/yootheme/cache/08/1404d-08c93632.png) ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/archive/10245-dead-dog-set-on-fire-sparks-fears-for-strays-in-los-angeles)### [Dead Dog Set on Fire … Sparks Fears for Strays in Los Angeles](https://mail.citywatchla.com/archive/10245-dead-dog-set-on-fire-sparks-fears-for-strays-in-los-angeles)