The Democrats’ Dilemma

by Newt Gingrich

The Democrats face a real dilemma which may cripple their ability to be competitive in upcoming elections.

There are real cracks forming within the party’s coalition.

The Democratic base and leftwing were furious at Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer when he dared to allow the recent Continuing Resolution to go through to avoid a government shutdown.

Schumer is in what I’d consider the survivalist wing. The survivalists accept that hard left policies and past performance failures have put the Democrats in a vulnerable position. The survivalist wing understands that the party’s current 29 percent national favorability represents a real danger (it is almost comparable to the Republican collapse after Watergate in the 1970s).

As California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently said, “the Democratic brand is toxic.”

Of course, Newsom is a classic leftwing Democrat. He is a totally radical governor – and was a totally radical mayor of San Francisco. He is now hosting a podcast that reaches out to conservatives to reimagine himself as moderate – despite his record and past rhetoric. It’s total opportunism, but it’s based on Newsom’s recognition that the Democratic Party has lost touch with most Americans.

The Democrats’ challenge is compounded by a recent poll showing that their three most popular potential leaders are Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (10 percent), Kamala Harris (9 percent), and Bernie Sanders (8 percent).

There are two obvious conclusions to be drawn from this. First, if no one is above 10 percent, there is no natural leader of the Democratic Party. Second, if the total of the three front runners is 17 percent – and all three represent the radical leftwing of their party – it is going to be hard for the survivalist wing to define the party’s future.

Rasmussen Reports found this confusion extends to Democratic voters. According to its poll:

“Democratic voters are divided over which way their party should go in the future. 

“59% of Likely U.S. Voters believe the Democratic Party needs to be more moderate, while 27% think Democrats need to be more liberal, and 15% are not sure.”

Unfortunately for Democrats who want to moderate, the 27 percent who want a more liberal party have most of the money and grassroots energy.

The activist wing is simply noisier and more prominent. The recent Sanders-AOC “Fight Oligarchy Tour” has attracted big crowds of leftwing supporters – and further branded the Democratic Party as leftwing. Similarly, Senator Cory Booker’s pathetic 25-hour diatribe against President Donald Trump deepened the brand. Ten years ago, Booker was a center-left, pleasant, solutions-oriented senator. His recent escapade made him look crazed. Yet, the Democrats are praising him.

Meanwhile, Tuesdays elections in Wisconsin and Florida offered different lessons.

For Republicans, favoring a total abortion ban with no exceptions is a guaranteed road to defeat (this should have been obvious after the 2022 Pennsylvania governor’s race).

For Democrats, the special elections in Florida should be sobering. Despite outspending Republicans by 6.5:1 and 10:1, in Florida’s 1st and 6th Congressional Districts respectively, Democrats lost by nearly 15 percentage points in each race.

This is hardly the road back to victory.

There are real pressures building in the Democratic Party. It will be interesting to see how long the fracturing, leaderless coalition can hold together.

For more commentary from Newt Gingrich, visit Gingrich360.com. Also, subscribe to the Newt’s World podcast.

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