Many Democrats reportedly are concerned their party has learned little from Republicans capturing the presidency and both chambers of Congress in the 2024 general election.
Shortly after President Donald Trump took office in January, candidates seeking to lead the Democratic National Committee gathered in a Washington, D.C., auditorium.
"Over the next hour and a half, the aspiring DNC leaders inadvertently showcased the party's self-absorbed tendencies that strategists argue have driven away swing voters by turns fixating on identity politics, displaying scorn for large swaths of the electorate and failing to focus on the pocketbook concerns of ordinary Americans," Politico's Holly Otterbein wrote.
An example: MSNBC anchor Jonathan Capehart asked the candidates whether they would pledge to appoint more than one transgender person to an at-large seat? Only one of eight contenders refused.
"I don't know if Dems realize how f----d they are right now as a brand," one Democrat strategist told Politico.
"It was a bunch of people politely discussing how many deck chairs on the Titanic should be reserved for transgender people," another strategist told the outlet.
Ken Martin, longtime leader of the state Democratic Party organization in Minnesota, is the new DNC chair after winning a Feb. 1 election, NBC News reported.
It appears he faces huge challenges.
Recent polls by CNN, NBC and Quinnipiac University have shown that Democrats' approval ratings are at all-time lows. A mere 7% of voters rate the party very positively.
"We really got our a---s kicked in, and especially in the Senate, we could have been left a gigantic, smoking hole in the ground," Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., said of the 2024 election, Politico reported.
"We could have easily lost Michigan, Nevada and Wisconsin, and we could be staring down, 56-44. And if we don't get our s--t together, then we are going to be in a permanent minority."
More than 30 Democrat elected officials, party leaders and consultants spoke to Politico, and the result seemingly was a party deeply fractured and struggling to figure out what their basic message and strategy should be.
Progressives want more fight against Trump and his policies from the party's elected officials. More moderate and veteran Democrats want the party to aim for reclaiming working-class voters.
"The Democratic Party has to assess how the self-styled party of the working class became seen as a party of elites and institutions at a time when so many Americans are enraged at elites and institutions," said David Axelrod, former President Barack Obama's one-time strategist.
"I mean, what is it that the Democratic Party offers other than being an alternative to Trump? I haven't seen evidence of that discussion going on."
Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa, agreed with Axelrod.
"Over the last decade, the Democratic Party has had a working-class voter problem. It started out as a white working-class voter problem," Boyle said, Politico reported. "And it has, as I've long feared, spread. It is not just a white working-class issue. It has now spread to the Latino working class and African American working class."
Boyle added, "It's a time for a massive, wholescale reevaluation" of how Democrats got to where they are.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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