FAILURE........ lol...
https://www.wsj.com/politics/democr...come-to-grips-with-failure-ee77234c?st=p3kHqp
OXON HILL, Md.—The newly elected chairman of the Democratic Party gripped the sides of his lectern and strained to articulate the awesome task before him. “If it’s not us, who is it?” Ken Martin pleaded. “Who’s going to be out there actually taking on Donald Trump? It has to be the Democratic Party. We have to get into this fight.”
Many Democrats lately are asking the same question—and skeptical that their party has what it takes. As they despairingly watch President Trump dismantle the federal government, reverse decades of policy and attack all they hold dear, the opposition party is reeling, demoralized and at a loss for how to respond. Last week’s Democratic National Committee meeting that elevated Martin to head the party apparatus provided little indication that the party has figured out a way forward.
Martin, a slight 51-year-old in a dark suit and blue tie, stood in front of a wall of signs reading “YES WE KEN” and “ORGANIZE.” A graphic showed a guppy with Trump hair being pursued by a school of red, white and blue fish, representing people power. The erstwhile chairman of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, as it is known there, had won a majority of votes from the members of the DNC on the first ballot. Addressing the media shortly afterward, Martin vowed to “give people hope again that our party’s fighting for them.”
Despite a hotly contested race for the chair position that got nasty as it went down to the wire, there was little to distinguish Martin from his main competitor, Ben Wikler, the chairman of the Wisconsin Democratic Party. Two middle-aged Midwestern white men with rhyming first names and similar résumés agreed on most things and mouthed similar platitudes about the importance of winning back the working class, making similar promises to increase transparency, grow grassroots power and hone the party’s messaging machine. To the extent a distinction could be drawn, Martin was regarded as the insiders’ candidate, Wikler as the relative outsider. Martin benefited from yearslong relationships with his fellow party regulars, while Wikler was endorsed by top officials including the Democratic leaders of the House and Senate.
All of the candidates could agree that the situation facing the party is dire. The Democratic brand is in the toilet, with a recent Wall Street Journal poll showing 60% of Americans view the party unfavorably while only 36% see it favorably. Democrats lost ground with nearly every demographic group last November, including minorities, women, low-income voters and those without college degrees. “Twenty big cities, Aspen and Martha’s Vineyard—that’s what’s left of the Democratic Party,” lamented former congressional candidate Adam Frisch. “And I’m not exactly sure those 20 big cities are getting the best version of the Democratic Party.” Frisch, who lives in Aspen, ran in a red district in rural Colorado; he overperformed the top of the ticket but still fell short.
Yet as the would-be leaders bickered over party mechanics, the very pathologies that many critics argue have alienated Democrats from the American heartland were on display: a party captive to leftist activists, obsessed with divisive litmus tests, out of touch with regular people’s concerns and in thrall to a patronizing identity politics that alienates many of the very minorities it is meant to attract. Nor did anyone dare to argue that the prior administration’s failures might have contributed to voters’ sour view of Democrats, that former President Joe Biden dragged the party down or that former Vice President Kamala Harris was a mediocre candidate. The party’s departing chairman, Jaime Harrison, has been giving interviews standing by his view that Biden shouldn’t have dropped out of the presidential race; his would-be successors had nothing but praise for his tenure. The party’s leaders were vowing to turn the page, but it was clear many things have yet to change.
https://www.wsj.com/politics/democr...come-to-grips-with-failure-ee77234c?st=p3kHqp
OXON HILL, Md.—The newly elected chairman of the Democratic Party gripped the sides of his lectern and strained to articulate the awesome task before him. “If it’s not us, who is it?” Ken Martin pleaded. “Who’s going to be out there actually taking on Donald Trump? It has to be the Democratic Party. We have to get into this fight.”
Many Democrats lately are asking the same question—and skeptical that their party has what it takes. As they despairingly watch President Trump dismantle the federal government, reverse decades of policy and attack all they hold dear, the opposition party is reeling, demoralized and at a loss for how to respond. Last week’s Democratic National Committee meeting that elevated Martin to head the party apparatus provided little indication that the party has figured out a way forward.
Martin, a slight 51-year-old in a dark suit and blue tie, stood in front of a wall of signs reading “YES WE KEN” and “ORGANIZE.” A graphic showed a guppy with Trump hair being pursued by a school of red, white and blue fish, representing people power. The erstwhile chairman of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, as it is known there, had won a majority of votes from the members of the DNC on the first ballot. Addressing the media shortly afterward, Martin vowed to “give people hope again that our party’s fighting for them.”
Despite a hotly contested race for the chair position that got nasty as it went down to the wire, there was little to distinguish Martin from his main competitor, Ben Wikler, the chairman of the Wisconsin Democratic Party. Two middle-aged Midwestern white men with rhyming first names and similar résumés agreed on most things and mouthed similar platitudes about the importance of winning back the working class, making similar promises to increase transparency, grow grassroots power and hone the party’s messaging machine. To the extent a distinction could be drawn, Martin was regarded as the insiders’ candidate, Wikler as the relative outsider. Martin benefited from yearslong relationships with his fellow party regulars, while Wikler was endorsed by top officials including the Democratic leaders of the House and Senate.
All of the candidates could agree that the situation facing the party is dire. The Democratic brand is in the toilet, with a recent Wall Street Journal poll showing 60% of Americans view the party unfavorably while only 36% see it favorably. Democrats lost ground with nearly every demographic group last November, including minorities, women, low-income voters and those without college degrees. “Twenty big cities, Aspen and Martha’s Vineyard—that’s what’s left of the Democratic Party,” lamented former congressional candidate Adam Frisch. “And I’m not exactly sure those 20 big cities are getting the best version of the Democratic Party.” Frisch, who lives in Aspen, ran in a red district in rural Colorado; he overperformed the top of the ticket but still fell short.
Yet as the would-be leaders bickered over party mechanics, the very pathologies that many critics argue have alienated Democrats from the American heartland were on display: a party captive to leftist activists, obsessed with divisive litmus tests, out of touch with regular people’s concerns and in thrall to a patronizing identity politics that alienates many of the very minorities it is meant to attract. Nor did anyone dare to argue that the prior administration’s failures might have contributed to voters’ sour view of Democrats, that former President Joe Biden dragged the party down or that former Vice President Kamala Harris was a mediocre candidate. The party’s departing chairman, Jaime Harrison, has been giving interviews standing by his view that Biden shouldn’t have dropped out of the presidential race; his would-be successors had nothing but praise for his tenure. The party’s leaders were vowing to turn the page, but it was clear many things have yet to change.
