Dems aren't dead

Democrats shouldn’t minimize our problems.

Nor should we exaggerate them.

The New York Times, in an article headlined “Six Months Later, Democrats Are Still Searching for the Path Forward,” said the party’s standing “has plunged to startling new lows — 27 percent approval in a recent NBC News poll, the weakest in surveys dating to 1990.”

That’s not good, but remember what happened just two years after 1990: Bill Clinton defeated President George H.W. Bush, carrying 38 states and winning the electoral vote by 370-168.

Things can change fast.

One reason for the 27% approval rating in the NBC poll is that 20% of Democrats themselves – one in five – disapprove of the party.

That happens when you lose.

Neither party is popular. The Republican Party’s approval in the poll is just 39%.

Democrats can drive up Republicans’ negatives if they hammer away relentlessly at Trump’s Big Beautiful Billionaires’ Bonanza Bill.

It takes away healthcare and food assistance from millions of Americans.

It blows up the national debt and drives up interest rates so young people can’t buy homes.

It gives mega-billionaires like Elon Musk more big tax cuts.

Meanwhile, Trump’s tariffs are raising prices for cars, smartphones, clothes, groceries and everything at Wal-Mart.

Polls are great, but elections are what matter.

In Wisconsin in April, Democrats won a Supreme Court race by 10 points, despite Elon Musk spending over $20 million there.

Wisconsin was a swing state in 2024, and Trump carried it by less than 1%.

In the two special congressional elections this year in deep-red Florida districts, Republican candidates underperformed Trump by 10 points.

Democrats need to get a better perspective on what happened in 2024.

President Biden’s age and weakness defined the party in the public mind. We didn’t have a competitive contest for the nomination. Kamala Harris had only 100 days, and she didn’t separate herself from Biden.

Despite all that, she lost to Trump by only 1.5%

I can name five governors who could well have beaten Trump: our Roy Cooper, Andy Beshear of Kentucky, J.B. Pritzker of Illinois, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan.

The 2026 elections are coming fast. The canary in the coal mine will be Virginia this November, when thousands of federal employees – fired, laid off and under attack – get to vote.

In two years, the House and even the Senate could be Democratic.

Trump then will have to answer to Congress for his corruption, economic chaos and bungling of world affairs.

In 2028, Democrats can pick a new candidate – and a new face for the party – from a deep bench of talented leaders across the country.

There’s plenty of life left in the party.