Democrats Need To Change And Fast
The same old playbook that Democrats have operated on for decades has failed, and it's time to change with the times.
As we blow past Trump’s first one hundred days in office, and the unmitigated disaster that it’s been across the board, Democrats need to be organized now more than ever.
Unfortunately, the situation is that Democrats are in disarray, and that’s a problem they find themselves in all too often since 2016. The bigger issue here is that the American people see the party as disunited and at each other’s throats in the face of Trump’s 2024 victory.
YouGov’s April 1 survey found 51% of Americans saying the Democratic Party is more divided, while 23% said it was more united. Contrast that to the Republican Party, which was almost the complete opposite, with 52% saying the party is united and 23% saying it’s divided.
That disunity among Democrats likely isn’t helping their outward image with voters. YouGov’s most recent survey from April 25 found the favorability of Democrats in Congress at 37%, while a staggering 59% of Americans view them unfavorably.
That unfavorable view of the Democratic Party is such for a myriad of reasons, but none more pressing than the fact that people see the party as being out of touch with the public.
The latest Ipsos poll for the Washington Post asked Americans whether they believed the party was in touch or out of touch with the concerns of most people in the US today.
They found only 30% of respondents saying the Democratic Party is in touch with the concerns of most Americans, while an overwhelming share of Americans (69%) say the party is out of touch.
The Democrats find themselves at odds with the American people, unable to land on a coherent message that appeals to their base while capturing the hearts and minds of those still apathetic towards them.
The party cannot simply rely on the unpopular nature of Donald Trump to win elections. One day (Ideally) Trump will be gone, but his party will still remain, and so will his ideas and the support behind them. As such, the Democrats need to craft a narrative, and a policy platform, that will take them beyond the Trump years.
Polling suggests Democrats want the party to take those steps, and move in such a way that champions the working class once again.
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Data For Progress asked Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents a litany of potential approaches, and whether it’s important for the Democratic Party to take action on each one.
By far and away, respondents say the party needs to emphasize how they’ll fight for the working class (92%). Democrats once used to be the party of working Americans, but in recent years, it feels as if they’ve abandoned that cause and allowed Republicans to steal it away.
Democrats need to fight the system, but not tear it down like Trump and the Republicans are doing. They can be reformers of the institutions that Americans believe work against them, but they cannot defend those institutions like they have been. That’s why 87% of Democratic respondents say the party must take on the Democratic establishment and work to end corruption in Washington.
Whether it’s emphasizing how they’ll lower prices (86% support), laying out a bold progressive agenda for economic and political reform (85%), or taking on corporate interests (82%), the base of the party is hungry for it.
Democrats are not enthusiastic about their representatives in Congress. YouGov found only 11% of respondents saying they were enthusiastic about the politicians in the Democratic Party who hold office, compared to 35% of Republicans who say the same for their party.
Americans yearn for a party that gives them real change. It’s why every election we witness the pendulum of control swing back and forth, from party to party. Americans are frustrated, and they desperately want a party that will take charge and make a genuine difference in their lives.
For the Democrats, part of the issue lies with its elderly, outdated leadership.
We watched as AOC jockeyed for the position of ranking member on the House Oversight Committee, only to be beat out by Gerry Connolly, a 75-year-old man in the midsts of battling cancer. Then we heard early rumours that Eleanor Holmes Norton, the 87-year-old representative from DC, was entertaining the idea of running for the position.
There’s a place for everyone in the electoral coalition, but the Democratic Party is stubbornly clinging to the past, and the advanced age of their leadership proves as much. Whether that’s Joe Biden refusing to rule out running in 2024, or Chuck Schumer working with Republicans to pass the CR that brought him and his fellow Democrats immense ridicule, younger Democrats need to take up the torch.
Polling from Data For Progress finds many Democrats agree with the notion. When asked, 69% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents agreed that the party should encourage its elderly leaders to retire and pass the torch onto younger generations.
Support for that position was higher among those under the age of 45 (72%), yet even among those over 45, support is quite high (67%). Only 25% of respondents said they disagreed with the idea, and said that the party shouldn’t encourage its elderly leaders to retire, as they have valuable knowledge and experience.
Removing elderly leadership in the party isn’t a silver bullet, and certainly isn’t the only thing wrong with the party today. However, many of the oldest Democrats in the House and Senate occupy some of the safest seats in the country, and often go without serious challenges when the primaries roll around.
Love him or hate him, David Hogg was right when he said the party should actively be fighting to replace elderly representatives in the safest seats. The party needs younger, more outspoken members in those safe seats so they can champion the messages that those in competitive seats can’t do quite as confidently.
Yet, if there’s one thing the party needs to figure out, it’s who will be the champion of their message going forward.
While we’re still many years out from the start of the 2028 election campaign, we’re already getting polls asking voters who they’d like to see lead the party. Across nine polls between March and May, Kamala Harris remains at the top with 31%.
How much of Harris’ support is simply name recognition from being the most recent Democratic candidate for president, we can’t be sure of. What we can be sure of is that her support is slowly waning as time goes on. Where Harris was enjoying support north of 40% following the election, more recent polls have had her below 30%.
Buttigieg is the next most popular choice for Democrats right now, with an average of 14% across those nine polls. However, the one Democrat that has been quickly gaining steam in these polls has been Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who sits at 12% on average.
AOC has seen her average polling in the 2028 Democratic primary rise from 3% in November and December, to 12% in April. To her credit, she has been out there pushing back against the powers that be, doing rally after rally alongside Bernie Sanders on their “Fighting Oligarchy Tour” that’s seen more than 207,000 people turn out.
Every Democrat will fight in their own way. Some folks are heading down to El Salvador to visit the unlawfully detained and deported of the Trump administration, while others fight within their own communities.
AOC has been focused on the bread and butter issues that Americans are yearning to have answered. She’s consistently been out there fighting for working class Americans, and putting forward policies and ideas that would help to make their lives better.
If Democrats want a shot at winning back power, and for more than just power’s sake, they need to return to their roots. Advocating for the working class, from blue collar jobs to retail workers with expanded public services, better wages, more job protections, and a society free from the domination of the rich.
There’s nothing wrong with trimming waste and abuse in federal spending, with the Pentagon budget being a prime example, given they lose hundreds of billions of dollars a year. That’s money that could be better spent on massively expanding Medicare, Social Security, Medicaid, and other vital public programs for the people.
Put the screws to foreign governments that commit mass atrocities, like the Russians and Israelis, and fight for the people of Ukraine and Palestine with equal breath. While you’re at it, crack down on foreign governments buying politicians in America, or better yet, ban money in politics all together.
The party needs to drop the overly academic language that’s pissed off and confused the average American and talk to them in terms they understand. The party needs to meet folks where they are, and build a broader coalition that brings in people you may not agree with on 100% of the issues.
The next time an election rolls around, the Democratic Party cannot be the party chasing the endorsement of war criminals like Dick Cheney, or promising miniscule changes like boutique tax credits.
Americans want change, they’ve made that clear with the election of Donald Trump not once, but twice. If Democrats aren’t willing to step up and propose bold, new changes they haven’t tried before, then they’ll be destined to keep losing elections.