Democrats grapple with progressive agenda versus moderate appeal as party regroups in Trump era

Democrats convened as a party for the first time this week since last fall’s electoral bloodletting.

Democrats must right their ship in 2026 and 2028.

But the question is whether the party will still list to the left.

At the Democratic National Committee’s summer meeting in Minneapolis, DNC member Bill Owen focused on DEI.

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“To my Republican friends and fellow citizens, I say, who profess to be active Christians, I remind them that DEI is the very foundation of the Christian church,” said Owen.

Some Democrats are still pitching progressive ideas, like packing the Supreme Court.

“It calls upon us to call on Congress and the White House when Democrats retake them, to revisit the size and structure of the Supreme Court,” said DNC member Laurence Zakson from California. “It is important to all of us that the courts be a check on the executive branch.”

President Trump isn’t on the ballot in 2026, but midterm elections are almost always a referendum on the president and his performance. That’s why Democrats are still targeting their favorite foil: Trump.

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“We are not giving over this country to some dictator with swollen ankles who thinks that he’s going to be a king,” said Malcolm Kenyatta, a DNC member from Pennsylvania.

One delegate from California argued that because of ICE raids, things were even better during the COVID-19 pandemic for Latinos.

“We’re living in worse times than the times of the pandemic. It is just grueling. Many families, whether documented or undocumented, have gone without working,” said Democratic delegate Ada Briceño. “It’s just a huge struggle.”

Tough subjects still expose fissures in the party.

Democrats remain split over the Middle East crisis. The party rejected one resolution over the Middle East – sidestepping the issue of supplying weapons to Israel.

“The Democratic Party may not have influence when it comes directly to negotiations with Hamas,” said DNC member Allison Minnerly. “But what they do have control of is the weapons and funding that they supply for the Israeli government.”

The DNC finally approved a resolution authored by DNC Chair Ken Martin, demanding a cease-fire and supporting aid shipments.

“This crisis in Gaza is urgent. And my resolution is focused on the humanitarian crisis and makes clear that it must be addressed as the emergency that it is,” said Martin. “Now I know that there are some who are interested in making changes today. But as we’ve seen, there is a divide in our party on this issue.”

The DNC green-lighted the resolution. And then, after adoption, Martin withdrew it.

“No one should confuse unity with unanimity,” said Martin. “We can disagree in this party and still be unified. And as a result, I’m going to ask us to withdraw this resolution.”

So much for clarity.

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That said, Democrats are trying to revert to the former core of the Democratic Party: organized labor. Trump coaxed many blue-collar workers and union laborers into his coalition in 2024. Now Democrats are trying to reclaim that crucial bloc.

“Working people have to understand that a way to stand up and to respond is by organizing and organizing politically through the Democratic Party, because the most important form of resistance is voting and voting Democratic,” said DNC member Stuart Appelbaum.

Democrats are searching for good signs. One is that they have overperformed expectations in more than 40 special elections at the local level across the country since Trump took office. That includes flipping a solid red district in an Iowa state Senate contest in late August.

“We know the work in front of us,” said Martin. “Rebuilding trust with so many people in this country right now who’ve lost faith in the Democratic Party.”

But as the president deploys federal troops to the streets of Washington, D.C., and has his eyes on Chicago, Los Angeles, Baltimore and Boston, one veteran Democrat believes the party remains clueless on crime.

“Democrats should have responded strongly and said, ‘Yes, let’s work together. I’ll meet you in the White House. We’ll see how we could reduce these murders,” said longtime Democratic pollster Mark Penn on Fox.

The DNC concluded its summer meeting in Minneapolis just as there was a deadly mass shooting at a nearby Catholic elementary school.

“Everything we do is to make sure that things like this never happen again. Especially to these little, little children,” said Martin.

In a post on social media, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who analysts believe has his eye on the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, said the country can’t even get through the first week of school without a shooting.

“The GOP will do absolutely nothing” on gun violence, declared Newsom, adding that the Republican response was “sick.”

Democrats have 14 months to figure all of this out before the midterms. Democrats are tinkering with conducting a mini-convention next year to energize voters ahead of the midterms. Success in 2026 would certainly invigorate the party ahead of the presidential election.

“Because we are living in unprecedented times, and, as everyone has said, we have to fight fire with fire,” said North Carolina DNC member Reyna Walters-Morgan, citing what unfolded in recent weeks over congressional redistricting in Texas. “We have to say thank you to the Democrats in Texas.”

An immediate report card will come for the Democrats in less than a month. The Democratic base will watch how House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., wrestle with Trump over a potential government shutdown on Oct. 1. Democrats must demonstrate some fight. Democratic votes are needed to avoid a shutdown. But some Democrats believe that mounting a fierce defense could trigger a shutdown – and that would actually help Trump and the GOP.

What this underscores is that Democrats have incredibly challenging hands to play right now – both on Capitol Hill and across the country.

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But what Democrats must decide first is if they hold to liberal principles or tilt toward the right to attract moderate voters and Republicans who Trump tapped for his coalition.

Running against Trump didn’t work in 2024. So Democrats must chart their own electoral path, even if that infuriates forces which lug the party to the left.

Original News Source Link – Fox News

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