Until the day he died in 1995, if you asked my father who he voted for in any presidential election, he would say “Roosevelt.” In our house it was gospel that the Democrats were the people’s party and the Republicans were the economic monarchists.
That was then and this is now.
Most Americans don’t necessarily see it that way anymore.
The emotional connection between the American people and the Democratic Party has been deeply frayed; The sense that Democrats are the unequivocal defenders of workers is no longer a fact.
Today, there are millions of politically homeless people in the United States. They’re not die-hard Trump supporters, but they wouldn’t call themselves Democrats either.
The issues they care about were scattered like diamonds on the beach in 2024, and Donald Trump came along and said, ‘Great! I’ll take them!’
It was a spectacular failure and the Democrats themselves were to blame.
Until the day he died in 1995, if you asked my father who he voted for in any presidential election, he would say “Roosevelt.” (Above) Williamson in an author, activist and former 2024 Democratic presidential candidate
They discouraged a primary challenge against President Joe Biden, deamplifying and ridiculing anyone who had the audacity to challenge their supposedly superior wisdom in selecting a candidate to take on Trump.
It was the Democratic Party that claimed that the ‘threat to democracy’ posed by the former president was so great that it gave them the right to suppress democracy themselves – and anoint their own candidate.
This questionable strategy was enabled by Democratic voters who were willing to accept it because surely, they must have assumed, the Democratic National Committee knew what it was doing.
It didn’t help that Kamala Harris’ campaign appealed more to disaffected Republicans than to the Party’s traditional working-class base.
It is now clear that the Democrats did not know what they were doing and the elites running the show now have only two options: adapt and change or preside over the continued decline of the Party.
If there is to be any hope of taking back Congress in 2026, major changes need to be made.
So far, we haven’t heard much from leaders other than justifications and blame, the latter seeming to waver between blaming Biden and blaming the voters!
Democrats need to look in the mirror.
It was the Democratic Party that claimed that the ‘threat to democracy’ posed by the former president was so great that it gave them the right to suppress democracy themselves – and anoint their own candidate.
Here’s the deal: the political revolution in America today is between populism and the establishment. The Republican Party has allowed right-wing populists into its ranks, while the Democratic Party has kept left-wing populists at bay.
One of the reasons the Republican Party has been so resilient is because many of its leaders have business backgrounds. They believe: If it doesn’t work on Tuesday and it still doesn’t work on Thursday, then you better change things before Saturday or your business could disappear.
The Democratic Party’s sensibility is pretty much the opposite: If it doesn’t work on Tuesday and it doesn’t work on Thursday, and even if everything falls apart on Saturday, this is how we do things and maybe you’ll win. I don’t realize. But we sure noticed it.
My suggestion to Democratic leaders is to go on a listening tour of the United States. Get off your horses. Don’t just answer their questions; ask some of yours.
Admit that you have lost the trust of voters and say that you would appreciate it if people would explain what they are going through and how the government could help them.
His message to voters now must be: ‘Please come home.’ And performative measures will not be enough. Show some real humility.
The party’s main message in 2024 was: ‘Send money! We need your help!’ But given the panic Americans now feel about the price of grain, your message should be: “How can we help you?”
The Democrats’ power never lay in money; It resided in their values and they left them on the ground.
Today, there are millions of politically homeless people in the United States. They’re not die-hard Trump supporters, but they wouldn’t call themselves Democrats either.
I’m afraid there were too many cocktail parties and fundraisers in DC, Los Angeles, New York, Sun Valley, and Martha’s Vineyard.
At the very least, they could have stopped by the kitchen on their way out and asked how the cooks, waiters, and caterers were doing.
Only serious contrition will be enough to restore the ties that have been broken and recover the essence of the Democratic Party.
This moment may lead to a revival of the party, but only if the Democratic establishment is willing to take it down a notch.
If the establishment allows this to bottom out, they will fly high until the 2026 midterms and beyond. But anything less than that and we can all settle for a long, long period of Trumpism.
The American people deserve so much better.