Democrats go into elections knowing several things:

1. Approximately 35% of voters are dyed-in-the-wool racists and will always vote Republican

2. The media is owned by corporate entities and therefore will never really allow someone like Sanders to have his message come across in the media, and it will also undercut politicians like Clinton who get a head of steam.

3. We have wildly divergent voting processes locally, many of which allow for voters to be caged or tossed off the rolls, especially in areas of high poverty. Fewer machines for voting in poor areas also creates a disincentive to vote.

Given this, Democrats have to plan accordingly:

1. GOTV areas in areas under voting attack (the Clinton campaign didn't do this in Michigan)

2. Tailor media messages to attract the 20% of swing voters who may/may not vote Republican. Clinton had a natural drawing card with such voters--the Detroit Auto Bailout. Instead, she fumbled when Trump talked trade during debates.

3. Get down and dirty at the local level of battleground states--lawsuits, court challenges to voting rights, judicial appointments etc.

I don't buy this argument about identity politics. It just seems to obscure the real pressure points of the election. Those who don't like political correctness are among the 35% who are dyed-in-the-wool racists and would never vote for Democrats anyway. You don't hear much about identity politics anyway until a GOP candidate starts dog whistling and making racist comments in order to charge up that base. Bemoaning political correctness is just bemoaning when people call you on your racist bullshit.

One thing that isn't as evident in Western Europe is the role of religions in elections. In the USA, we now have Christian Dominionists who have infiltrated gov't and who don't seem to care a whit about the traditional system of American democracy, checks and balances. These people are essentially fascist, and there is strong reason to suspect that at their core, the dominant ideology is racial, and not religious at all. Religion is a cover. The KKK was a hard core Christian group.