Issues, Etc. The Need for Pro-Marriage and Family Democrats – Delano Squires, 2/20/26 (0513)
Feb 20, 2026
Delano Squires, Director at the DeVos Center for Life, Religion, and Family at The Heritage Foundation and family-policy author, lays out how Democrats shifted away from talking about marriage. He discusses Obama’s unique role, progressive critiques of pro-marriage rhetoric, cultural and legal shifts since the 1960s, the success sequence for avoiding poverty, and policy ideas to strengthen families.
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Obama As The Last Pro‑Marriage Democrat
- Barack Obama was the last major Democratic officeholder to publicly tie marriage and family structure to social outcomes.
- Delano Squires cites Obama's 2008 definition of marriage and his 2013 Chicago speech promoting marriage and fatherhood as examples.
Leftwing Pushback On Obama's Fatherhood Messages
- Progressives pushed back on Obama's pro-family remarks by accusing him of talking down to black fathers and stigmatizing single mothers.
- Squires recalls specific criticisms, including a Rutgers radical feminist and reactions after Obama's Father's Day and Chicago speeches.
Democrats No Longer Emphasize Family Structure
- The Democratic Party largely stopped publicly prioritizing marriage and family within about the last decade.
- Squires notes it's now rare for Democrats at national, state, or local levels to link family structure to social, economic, or educational outcomes.