The Democratic Party brand is “in the bathroom,” according to party strategists said on Monday.
The New York Times held an “online written conversation,” hosted by Times opinion writer Frank Bruni, with progressive campaign consultant Anat Shenker-Osorio, Democratic communications strategist Lis Smith and former Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan to discuss what’s left of the party after brutal losses in November.
“The Democratic brand is in the bathroom,” Smith said. “Many of the Democrats who succeeded this cycle (for example, our top candidates in the House elections) are people who ran against the Democratic Party brand. Trump tore down the blue wall in the industrial Midwest, but he also expanded their vote to the majority in our bluest and most urban areas.
The Democratic Party is no longer a “friend” of the working class after the election, one voter argued. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
“‘The bathroom’? Wow, Lis, that’s serious. Do you really think it’s that bad?” —Bruni asked.
“When the best way to win as a candidate is to run against your own party, it’s that bad. Our polling candidates are good. That’s what the ‘D’ next to their name means (the status quo) that people No,” Smith said.
Ryan explained that Democrats “were singled out as the party of the status quo” and “failed to redefine themselves on cultural issues,” although Shenker-Osorio was more critical.
“Well…toilets have a clear utility, so perhaps the comparison is even ‘generous,'” Shenker-Osorio said.
They also agreed that the biggest problem was that the Democrats were not able to repel the image of “elitism” on the working class voter.
“The sign outside the headquarters should now say, ‘Beware: Entering an Echo Chamber,'” Ryan said. “I said let’s move to Youngstown, but it could be Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Toledo, Detroit or Milwaukee. But I’m very serious that it shouldn’t be in Washington or anywhere on the coasts. We need to send a bold signal that we are committed to reconnect with people in the real world.
A New York Times panel criticized the Democratic Party. (Left: (Photo by Leigh Vogel/WireImage), Circle: (Photo by: Michael Siluk/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images))
Bruni asked if Democrats should stop “freaking out Hollywood celebrities and dragging them en masse onto the stage,” to which Ryan agreed. Smith, however, said deeper reflection was needed.
“We need to look at who was successful and made it through this cycle and why,” he said. “Some of the top performers in the House elections could not have had more disparate profiles… What they had in common was that they were willing to run against the party brand, they met with voters on the where they are and expressed their frustrations with the border and public safety and were talking more about their vision for the future than about how bad Donald Trump is.
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“I would also add another thing: These members were largely among the first to call for Joe Biden to resign as a candidate. They were not among the group of Democrats who told voters not to believe what they had seen with their own eyes at that time. first debate,” Smith added.
Some members of the panel blamed President Biden for staying in the race too long as a factor in the party’s losses. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque/File photo)
The panel’s comments were released after a study by a Democratic polling firm found that some voters were disillusioned for the Democratic Party, and one participant said he was “no longer a friend of the working class.”
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