The drubbing Democrats took up and down the ballot in 2024 has forced the party to engage in what they see as the distasteful practice of introspection.
Democrats don't like introspection because it forces them to think linearly. "A" leads to "B" which naturally becomes "C." It's far too logical a process for the Democrats, who prefer the chaos of a disordered mind.
Nevertheless, Democrats are deep into a full-blown self-examination of why the American people don't like them very much. Not all of them, of course. But vast swaths of people who used to vote for Democrats — working-class men and women, Hispanic men, and large numbers of black males — have turned their backs on the party of their mothers and fathers, and Democrats want to know why.
It does no good to point to cultural issues like transgender controversies, overburdening small businesses with regulation, and the whole business of counting noses based on the color of their skin. Democrats will never change their stripes on these issues and other issues that define their worldview, and they don't believe they're the cause of their downfall anyway.
The reality for Democrats is that their leaders are too old to run a party that's getting younger and more radical. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is 35, 47 years younger than Joe Biden. AOC is part of a generational war that's being waged to bring younger, more committed Democrats to the fore.
Most Democratic politicians are worried that younger Democrats like AOC will short-circuit the effort to alter the messaging of the party and de-emphasize some of the more outrageous positions on cultural issues.
Democrats frequently refer to Republicans as "extremists" and even "anti-American" for the alleged radicalness of their views. Given the thumping the donkey party took in the recent election, it's worth reexamining just how "extreme" the victors really are. It turns out it's Democrats who moved away from the mainstream of American thought, leaving Republicans closer to the center and more relatable to voters. While that doesn't fully explain the election outcome, it's an important part of what happened.
The mainstream media also pegs Republicans as "extremists" while firebreathers like AOC get a pass. This makes it easy to think of Democrats as mainstream when the truth is that their party leadership and much of the rank and file exist in cuckoo land.
And the data supports that analysis.
"Data shows Democrats taking a sharp turn leftward on social issues over the past decade. This has distanced them from the median voter," writes Financial Times reporter John Burn Murdoch. "We see this not only in Democratic voters' self-reported ideology, but in their views on issues including immigration and whether or not minorities need extra help to succeed in society."
Research shows that "political elites are more supportive of a wide array of progressive policies than the average likely voter," Murdoch writes. He defines "political elites" as "those who hold significant authoritative roles in government, or those outside government whose occupations position them to influence those inside government."
Murdoch concludes, "Whether or not progressives are ready to accept it, the evidence all points in one direction. America’s moderate voters have not deserted the Democrats; the party has pushed them away."
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The Democrats are in the process of deciding who will be the next chairman of the Democratic National Committee. The DNC is not the place to upend the apple cart. They will choose someone whose political views match those of the architects of the 2024 disaster.
If the Democrats elect a younger candidate, it will exacerbate the flight from reality the party is currently experiencing. Younger Democrats are universally more reflexively radical on social issues and have a much more jaundiced view of America than ordinary Americans.
“It is a huge problem in the Democratic Party that we have such an ossifying class of leadership that it needs to become a crisis before they leave,” one Dem operative told Politico's Playbook.
Here’s one more rising young Democrat whom Playbook has learned is considering a run: Michigan state Sen. MALLORY McMORROW, who went viral two years ago after responding to a Republican who accused her of being a “groomer” in a fundraising email and had a prime time role at this year’s Democratic convention.
“If enough people ask, I’m leaving myself open to all kinds of opportunities,” she told Playbook.
We’ve also learned DAVID HOGG, the Gen-Z gun rights activist who now runs a PAC that recruits young people to run for office, is a potential candidate for vice chair; he told us he is “seriously considering” a run. (Longtime DNC member JAMES ZOGBY is already in that race, Holly Otterbein reports.)
Does this sound like a political party coming to grips with its growing irrelevance to ordinary people? I thought not.
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