What they have been able to do is talk to the working class and have much more folksie candidates.
Because they have populist candidates. Obama winning was such a political upset in the GOP that it largely silenced the Republicans who had been suppressing their populist, right-wing flank (the Tea Party, at that time), and once that dam broke they very quickly had tons and tons of young, populist, “folksie” candidates get in office.
The DNC on the other hand has moved to quash their populist flank even harder, and tried to reassert their top-down control of the party. Obama wasn’t the DNC-favored candidate in the 2008 primaries -that was Hilary- and they were eager to ensure that kind of upset never happened again. The easiest way to do that is just to prevent any new blood from getting in.
Because they have populist candidates. Obama winning was such a political upset in the GOP that it largely silenced the Republicans who had been suppressing their populist, right-wing flank (the Tea Party, at that time), and once that dam broke they very quickly had tons and tons of young, populist, “folksie” candidates get in office.
The DNC on the other hand has moved to quash their populist flank even harder, and tried to reassert their top-down control of the party. Obama wasn’t the DNC-favored candidate in the 2008 primaries -that was Hilary- and they were eager to ensure that kind of upset never happened again. The easiest way to do that is just to prevent any new blood from getting in.