Democratic politicians and donors are sounding the alarm over the party’s discord during President Donald Trump’s second term, with House Democrats calling for Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) to step down.
Reps. Delia Ramirez (D., Ill.) and Glenn Ivey (D., Md.) are openly supporting Schumer’s ouster, with another House Democrat telling Axios that other members of the caucus would join them but “just haven’t been asked directly or avoided the question.”
Schumer last week voted with Republicans to advance a bill that averted a government shutdown, prompting widespread Democratic backlash. A petition to withhold donations to Senate Democrats until they oust Schumer as leader has amassed around 25,000 signatures as of Tuesday afternoon.
The Schumer situation is part of Democrats’ general failure “to land on a unified message to effectively confront Trump,” CNN reported based on conversations with Democratic donors and activists. Atlanta-area fundraiser Maggie Kulyk, for example, described the party’s situation as “astoundingly bad.”
“It is as if we are dealing with an analog group in a digital world,” Kulyk said.
Recent polling bears out Kulyk’s assessment. A CNN poll released Sunday found that the party’s favorability rating has plummeted to a record-low 29 percent. Nearly 70 percent of voters in swing districts see congressional Democrats as out of touch, prioritizing political correctness over real issues, according to another poll conducted earlier this month.
Kulyk isn’t the only Democrat to worry about the party. Veteran fundraiser Alan Kessler described the mood among Democrats as “despair and hopelessness,” while progressive activist Amanda Litman warned that “very few people are writing checks,” according to CNN.
An adviser to several donors, meanwhile, said that many clients are shifting their contributions away from federal races, as they are “just not seeing leadership at the federal level.”
Original News Source – Washington Free Beacon
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