Jason Benell lives in Des Moines with his wife and two children. He is a combat veteran, former city council candidate, and president of Iowa Atheists and Freethinkers. He first published this essay on his Substack newsletter, The Odd Man Out.

A common refrain, particularly in centrist-to-liberal spaces, is that in order to make any kind of progress or reach consensus, we must always be conciliatory and tread lightly when discussing topics with folks who oppose the prevailing Democratic viewpoint.

The post-election analysis of 2016 was a good example of this, when “economic anxiety” became a stand-in for folks who were just uninformed on the issues. We saw it again in 2020 with folks being “skeptical of COVID” instead of simply uninformed.

Already, we are seeing it again—but notably, a lot less—in the aftermath of the 2024 election. We hear folks were “worried about the economy” despite, once again, folks just being uninformed.

This isn’t me shooting from the hip calling these voters uninformed. In many cases, voters have admitted they didn’t understand the issue after learning new information about whatever they had cited as their reason for supporting Donald Trump. It isn’t a shock that some of the most popular Google searches the day after the 2024 election were “what is a tariff” and “Can I change my vote.”

Time and again we see studies and research indicating that progressive policies or aspects of Democratic policies are wildly popular – so long as you don’t associate them with Democrats. Hell, even in conservative states, voters have approved progressive ballot measures (like raising the minimum wage, or expanding Medicaid) while still electing Republicans who seek to undo those same policies. This is not the behavior of an informed electorate, but a hyper-partisan and myopic one.

Progressive policies are popular – so long as you don’t actually say who supports them!

And really, I am kind of over treating this like it’s some kind of mistake or a demographic or electorate that is “out of step” with one party or the other. This ignorance and hyper-partisan behavior are a choice, a very specific choice that both parties support at some level. Republicans tar Democrats as the next coming of StalinHitlerGodzillaSatan while Democrats are the first to talk about meeting in the middle or trying to see things from the other side.

Truly, do we wonder what the perspective is of someone driven by lies and propaganda to vote against a group comprising less than 1 percent of the population? Do we really think that voters citing trans issues are people capable of critical thinking about that issue? Who thinks that the price of eggs is worth mortgaging their children’s future? That investing in water quality and preservation plans are bad actually, and pollution is good? And if they see Democrats as StalinHitlerGodzillaSatan, do we really expect them to negotiate in good faith?

Or are they just lying to avoid discussing their ignorance, sexism, racism, and apathy?

This is contemptible behavior from Republican voters, who are quite literally willing to sell their neighbors down river for the promise of a tax break. But it’s also contemptible for Democrats and media institutions that fail to call it out for what it is: people are willfully ignorant about some things, because they think ignorance is strength and explaining things means you’re losing.

I’m not saying they should bully these voters or mock them in publications or mass media. You can leave that to people who post online and have their own small events. Anyway, bashing people over the head with their ignorance or mistakes doesn’t necessarily yield the best results. Though there seems to be some evidence that those who believe blatant lies can’t be persuaded by facts. So it may not be as harmful as many would like to believe if folks are a bit more up front with the benefits of good policies and not dwell on their uninformed responses.

By this I mean, let us stop taking that step towards ignorance to curry favor from people who will never change their vote. Let us stop ceding the ground of reason to people who genuinely do not care if what they say is true. The folks voting against progressive and Democratic ideals aren’t doing it because they genuinely have principled positions on taxation, the environment, or child care, and they just need to hear the right thing to change their mind.

No, they are doing so because of the multitude of grievances they can contrive and justify their ignorance upon.

Rather, let us move around those voters and reach people who are interested in becoming informed and are receptive to new ideas. Let’s not preclude a better future because of what some fictional reasonable voter may reject. They have shown themselves time and again to be uninformed and dishonest, and yes, unreasonable about things that matter to them or what they believe in.

No reasonable person votes based on what a trans person might do in the bathroom. No reasonable person votes for a raise in tariffs without knowing what they are. No reasonable person thinks their religion should be foisted on children in public schools but is afraid of other religions being recognized. No reasonable person thinks that criminal convictions and sexual assault allegations are better qualifications for public office than professionals and experienced workers.

So instead of treating them like they are reasonable, we should just go around them and reach out to folks who may genuinely may not know any better. Lets talk about the benefits of increased wages and worker protections and clean water and secular governance instead of preemptively moderating our positions to appeal to someone who doesn’t exist.

Democrats need to stop trying to out-fox the Republicans with slogans and conciliatory messaging to the imagined middle. They need to build from the ground up with younger, more dynamic folks in leadership positions. They need to pay these people to go knock doors and attend meetings in places they aren’t often a part of.

Social media isn’t working and only makes the problem worse with these cut-off media echo chambers. It’s going to take people physically going to places (and being compensated for the work!) to excite people about government working for them instead of against them. Allying with an extremely wealthy donor class is not a long-term winning prospect and cuts off the ability of any party to grow and lead. Going as Republican Lite isn’t working, especially with uninformed voters who see this as more of the same, just in a shade of blue instead of red.

Primarily though, Democrats need to stop trying to inform the intentionally uniformed and light a fire under the ass of the apathetic young voters. Progressive policies are popular, especially when the party affiliation is removed from them. Go with the policy, put these great ideals in front of people, and the votes will come. Pandering to a non-existent “middle voter” just cedes the ground to the uninformed and the ignorant, which will result in even more regression.