It's been nearly 8 months since the Democrats propped up a losing presidential candidate and still have not learned anything about the temperature of middle America. In fact, Democrats have gone 0-4 in special elections for House seats which were left vacant after Republicans were selected to be in Trump's cabinet.
In continuation of how the Democrats ran the presidential campaign, the drum beat of bashing Trump and blaming Russia for every problem under the sun still doesn't seem to be working for the Dems. Their elections continue to be lost and out of touch Democratic leadership sticks to the same losing strategy. Even just announced today, a group of 25 House Democrats, including disgraced former DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, have been working for the last few months on a bill that would remove Trump from office. Perhaps instead of spending a substantial amount of time writing a useless bill, maybe they could've been writing a progressive policy platform that could excite millions of Americans. But that's crazy talk if you suggest this to any Democratic official.
The worst part about watching the Democratic party repeatedly shoot themselves in the foot is how simple it is to point the gun away from themselves. As we've witnessed in the presidential election and special elections, pushing blame upon Trump simply won't win elections. Congressman Tim Ryan of Ohio might be onto something as he recently stated "Our brand is worse than Trump. We can't just run against Trump." If the Democrats want to start winning elections, they have to present progressive ideas to the American people. Frankly, stop the blaming and announce bold, progressive party platforms which will get people excited about much needed change. However, with the 'politics as usual' leadership with Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi in charge, it’s hard to see the strategy changing from a top-down perspective. But there is still hope!
Changing the Democratic strategy to focusing on progressive policy ideas seems to be bubbling up from some of the candidates in the base of the Democratic party. Candidates like union iron worker Randy Bryce, who is running to unseat Paul Ryan in Wisconsin, has taken the state and nation by storm by running on platforms like single-payer health care and a $15 minimum wage. Or Cathy Glasson, a union leader who is running for Governor of Iowa, has based her platform on a $15 minimum wage, universal healthcare, and improving the public school system. These types of unapologetic candidates who state bold, progressive ideals, stand behind the issues, and present an attractive alternative are exactly what the Democratic party needs if they want to start winning elections. Until the Democratic leadership wakes up and starts taking clues from candidates like Bryce and Glasson who are presenting progressive ideas, count on Trump and the GOP to keep raking in the wins.