Relying on “Electability” is Problematic

Few words are being thrown around this presidential election season quite like “electability.”

From the onset of this election, some progressives, liberals, but most specifically Democrats, have been attempting to push the narrative that the single most important aspect about this election is to defeat Donald Trump at all costs. It doesn’t matter how or who that is, so long as defeating him is possible. And, while defeating Trump is extremely important, doing so in favor of compromising core progressive tenants to get there will just perpetuate our status quo. That is something that will only further exacerbate tension across the nation.

The problem with the term “electability,” as has been chronicled numerous times is that it is associated with safety in an election. It is associated with the idea that a candidate that does not alienate the most people should be the one elected, not the one with the most enthusiastic base or the one with the policies people support. This often means that a WASP (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant) is the preferred choice because people believe that because of their vastly unchangeable human traits, they stand the best chance to win.

If we relied on traditional metrics for electability, a president like Trump would not be possible, a…