Are Democrats In the Wilderness? Of Course! But Why?
11 Power Line by John Hinderaker
The liberal press is finally acknowledging what the rest of us have been saying for a long time: the Democratic Party is in a steep decline. Politico, a D.C. insider, left-leaning outlet, headlines: “Democrats In the Wilderness.”
Politico is honest about the facts: since Barack Obama took office, the Democratic Party has lost 63 seats in the House, 11 Senate seats, and, most important, 13 governorships and a remarkable 947 state legislative seats. Rejection of the Democratic Party has been general, across the U.S. In sum, “[t]he Democrats’ desolation is staggering.”
Politico’s very long analysis offers numerous explanations for the Democratic Party’s eclipse, and dissects various barriers that stand in the way of the party’s resurgence. But one explanation is conspicuously absent: Politico never mentions, let alone fairly assesses, the possibility that the Democrats have drifted too far to the left, and need to take more moderate positions on the issues. That seems like an extraordinary omission, certainly one we would not see if the Republicans were faring equally badly.
Politico is not alone. The Associated Press headlines: “Democrats in sad shape: Power deficit as Trump era begins.”
Democrats begin the Donald Trump presidency in sad shape. They lack a clear power base, they’ve got no distinct national leader, and party brokers are searching for a formula to counter the new Republican-dominated government and figure out how to win again.
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Outside Washington, Democrats now have just 16 governors and run 14 state legislatures, compared to 33 Republican governors and 32 GOP-run legislative bodies.
The AP’s analysis is all about tactics, seen exclusively from a Democratic Party perspective. Once again, the question whether the Democrats are too leftist for most Americans never arises.
This is good, I suppose, for us Republicans. If Democrats and their press allies are too myopic to understand why they keep losing, we can look forward to more victories in election cycles to come. |
