Hakeem Jeffries’ Effort to Craft Pre-Midterms Agenda Runs Into Big Snags
“Our brand is really toxic right now. Everybody’s registering as independents because they’re fed up with this whole thing.”
The aftermath of the 2024 election caused the looming identity crisis in the Democratic Party to boil over, with the various warring factions, including the woke/socialist wing and old guard/establishment types, openly clashing on the way forward for the party, and with some belatedly figuring out they’d been wrong about Donald Trump’s political prowess all along.
“Donald Trump is not an idiot. Donald Trump…let me just be very clear. Donald Trump is smarter than me, you, and all critics. This dude is a phenomenon,” former Obama-Biden official turned CNN commentator Van Jones remarked about a month after the election in an interview with former CNN editor at large Chris Cillizza.
“He is the most powerful human on earth and in our lifetime. And we’re still saying, ‘Well, how is this guy [doing it]’? We look like idiots!” Jones also proclaimed.
It’s been ten months since that election, and we have about 14 months until the midterms. And though prospective 2028 hopefuls like California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker are jockeying for position within the Resistance movement, the party remains leaderless, with “Orange Man Bad” seeming to be their only message.
In a new report, however, The Washington Post noted that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) is working on crafting a “set of principles” that he hopes will guide Democratic House members into 2026, stimulate unity, and also energize the party faithful.
He is, however, running into some snags along the way:
But the effort is running up against the harsh political realities of the moment, from Trump’s aggressive efforts to revamp the congressional map through redistricting in Republican-led states to a tarnished Democratic brand with abysmal approval ratings, according to polls. Jeffries has launched listening sessions around the country and commissioned his own polling to map a way back from the wilderness.
“In 2024 there was a failure to adequately address the high cost of living environment, and as a result, a price was paid. … That’s a mistake that can never be made again,” Jeffries said in an interview after attending a session with party leaders in Las Vegas.
Before leaving for August recess, House Democratic leaders introduced an initial set of principles based around affordability, health care and ending government corruption, which Jeffries and other strategists believe is a key opening for Democrats.
Fascinatingly, two big-ticket issues that have been top priorities for Americans in recent elections haven’t yet made it into that “set of principles”:
10 months after an electoral asswhooping and Democrats still can't come up with a stance as simple as "crime and illegal immigration are bad." https://t.co/GYLWbeatCe pic.twitter.com/Gwss55IaO8
— Zach Parkinson (@AZachParkinson) September 4, 2025
I mean, seriously, how hard can this be? Very hard, apparently, for a party whose brand has become outright toxic to a growing number of voters:
“Our brand is really toxic right now,” Rep. Tom Suozzi (D), who represents a New York swing district, said. “Everybody’s registering as independents because they’re fed up with this whole thing.”
Even if Democrats do manage to regain the majority in 2026 and hold onto it for another couple of election cycles, they still face the real possibility that they’ll be contending with a Republican president for some or all of that time.
Further, after the 2030 census, Democrats are projected to lose seats in states like California and New York… along with the all-important “blue wall.” Why? In large part thanks to the exodus from those states to red states over issues like the high cost of living and doing business, crime, and illegal immigration:
If population projections hold, in 2032, a Democratic presidential candidate who wins Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Nevada… loses the presidency.
We've built an interactive scenario generator –> https://t.co/VgxHjjwfIe pic.twitter.com/gdvvs2h4hu
— Nick Corasaniti (@NYTnickc) August 25, 2025
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Comments
I encourage the vile, stupid and evil Dhimmi-crats to double down on their brazen and unabashed support for: domestic criminals; illegal alien criminals; misogynist, predatory and terrorist tr@nnies; “Anti-fa” terrorist-thugs; genocidal, Islamofascist/Muslim supremacist terrorist-thugs; and, prosperity-/job-destroying and national security-threatening “green”/”climate change” fanaticism and idiocy.
This will ensure that the GOP expands its control of the House and keeps the White House for at least two more terms.
The Republican party needs to add onto this by hiring Scott Presler to lead voter registration drives in states like Nevada, New Mexico and New Jersey. Start working towards flipping seats in those states if not the states themselves. You could also target areas of states like Oregon and Washington.
Agreed. The Dhimmi-crats are self-immolating, but, the GOP and conservatives cannot afford to get lazy and complacent. We need to have solid tactics, strategy and personnel, and, put in the sweat and legwork.
AND, keep a sharp lookout for RINOs.
Nah. The republicans will find a way to fuck it up, as they always do. A little Murkowski here, a little Collins there, add a dash of Thune, throw in a bit of Bill Cassidy, and the result is liberals in sheep’s clothing.
We hate trump is not an agenda, its a tantrum.
A little free advice, Rep. Jeffries: your party cannot continue to be on the ’20’ side of 80-20 splits on issues in our society and plan to win the next election.
Political parties exist to win elections. That’s it. The Pubs traditionally have a lot of trouble figuring that one out and now it appears that your party does as well.
You can get your party on the majority side of issues that people truly care about, or you’ll be keeping ‘Minority Leader’ in your title for the rest of your time in Congress.
“‘Minority Leader’ in your title for the rest of your time in Congress.”
I prefer to call him “Mr Spooky Eyes”.
They’ll still cheat. And the courts will do all they can to help them.
I laughed at this gem: “ending government corruption, which Jeffries and other strategists believe is a key opening for Democrats”
I wonder what Jeffries has been putting on mortgage forms? How many primary residences does he have?
So. I guess that means Jeffries wants to end early and mail in ballots, right?
Never mind. He and his ilk will never be able to pull it off.
Maybe he should have a little talk with Nancy and her ‘insider trading’ husband and see if they’ll go along with his little pipe dream.
BWAAHAAHAA!!
“I wonder what Jeffries has been putting on mortgage forms? How many primary residences does he have? ”
I will be gross “mal-politics” if there is not an unofficial task force giving each member of the Democrat delegation a serious “assessors’ office colonoscopy” to answer those questions. The chances are good that they will find a target rich environment.
Hakeem Jeffries and the word “Principles” should not be used in the same paragraph!
Principles are encountered and adopted, not crafted.
If you have to craft them, they’re ersatz imitations.
You may as well waste your time designing gods.
Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) is working on crafting a “set of principles”
That is funniest thing I have ever heard in my life.
The GoP needs a reform policy for Health IN to go along with HHS revamping ‘Healthcare’. The problem is the extreme bifurcation of haves v have nots in Health IN. It comes down to flawed tax policy of the WWII era that categorized health IN as non taxable. Remove that obstacle and all sorts of very practical reforms can be made. Heck just allow catastrophic care IN policies along with mandating pricing that matches risk. The young relatively healthy can opt for a high deductible plan. Those with chronic conditions can be supplemented with govt funding to assist them in paying premiums. Give every Citizen an HSA and $500 per year deposited into it. Require transparent pricing for medical treatment, hospital/physician services so comparison shopping can be done. This will equalize IN burden so Mom/Pop small business or independent contractors get the same access to IN at a far more economical price as big Corp or Gov’t employers. The unions and others who comprise the current ‘haves’ in our system will work to block this sort of plan.
The dramacrat party and its politicians and supporters are completely toxic, anti-american, anti-western, and a clear and present danger to our way of life.
Jeffries is too stupid to be relevant.
He’s the House version of Spartacus.
The IQ’s of both combined doesn’t break triple digits.
I’m amazed they can remember to breath.
Temu Obama is the perfect nickname for Jeffries.
I don’t see any message that the left can come up with that resonates with the voters. They had the WH for four years and look what they did. It used to be the economy stupid and maybe war but the Dems have made everyday items into battle grounds and lost on every issue. Trans
hackeem
whats in a name???!!!!??
To complicate things, the fantasyland society Democrats have been promoting is now flying apart:
“Deranged transgender Minnesota shooter Robin Westman had recently dumped his longtime girlfriend, raging about her “blue hair and pronouns” (NY Post today)
Clearly, we’re reaching peak woke — when the wokesters don’t only hate normies, they can’t even stand each other.
What’s next? Antifa mobilizing against BLM?
It’s getting even worse for Jeffries. Odds are looking good that Indiana will also join the redistricting movement.
Still talking like a bureaucrat instead of like a leader of men.