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”:
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:
You love to see it. You truly do.
– Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym “Sister Toldjah” and can be reached via X. –
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