While the concept of “free college” was all the rage back in 2016 when Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., popularized it, Democrats have mostly avoided the concept two years later.
The Wall Street Journal notes that Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., seldom mentioned the idea of tuition-free college in her 2018 Senate campaign despite being a major proponent of it in the past.
Why the sudden policy change? Because it didn’t bring enough votes.
The Left is justifying the sudden pivot by concluding that the proposal wouldn’t provide enough financial support to needy students.
Sure, many college students loved the idea (and still do), but Democratic strategists quickly realized with the election of President Trump that it didn’t resonate with white blue-collar voters.
Stunned by how the concept didn’t bring a wave of advantageous youngsters to the polls, Democratic pollsters and political operatives did some research with swing groups and found that potential voters either didn’t relate to the idea of college for themselves or their family, or saw the benefit as something that would “flow to others.”
“The feeling people had was, ‘Don’t impose your version of the American dream on us,’” one Democratic strategist told the Wall Street Journal.
Are voters finally waking up to the reality that there are other paths to the American dream that don’t involve an expensive four-year degree?
The Trump administration has been ahead of the game by encouraging young people to pursue apprenticeships and vocational training for lucrative careers in a booming economy. In June 2017, he signed an executive order to greatly expand apprenticeships. Last July, he signed another executive order aimed at aligning government training programs with the economy’s demand for skilled workers, partnering with companies and unions to advance the effort.
Narrowing the skills gap has been a key component of Trump’s agenda. Trump and others realize that free college tuition won’t ever be enough to solve this growing issue.
The tide may have turned, but Sanders and other progressives are still riding the wave, and have not turned back on this empty promise. As a top contender for the Democratic nomination, that may change in a couple years.
Brendan Pringle (@BrendanPringle) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. He is a freelance journalist in California.
