The Nation: Spineless Democratic Party leadership may cause a Tea Party-like insurgency

You know what OP. Great headline. It needs to happen. We need our own tea party. Even if it means losing some seats in 26. It needs to happen at this point.

Wall Street & AIPAC pawns.

For the people….all bullshit.

Democrats doing what Democrats do best: shooting themselves in the foot.

At a time when they need to be united in the face of the Trump juggernaut, they want to plav intetnal warfare.

The Tea Party made life miserable for THE OTHER PARTY that had majority power, namely Obama and the Democrats. Why do we want to harass Democrats for the benefit of the Republican party?

I think the point is to elect a tea party like group of Dems that will harass and impede Trump.

Democrats do need to make internal changes in leadership. The party is not popular and is delusional about how to fix it. Even the base of the party lacks enthusiasm, optimism, and any clarity in moving forward.

A tea party within the Dems means a hard left progressive force that bends the rest of the dem party to their will. Kind of a lefty progressive populist movement that sets out to greatly influence if not control the party.

Doing the same against Trump does not make you a Tea Party anything it makes you a member of the opposition.

On another thread here I read that Klobuchar actually said anything like we hope Republicans will work with us to contain Trump. Like, what fucking planet are you living on, Amy?

Another one who's been around too long, apparently.

It's a peculiarity of the American system that is a real weakness. There aren't party leaders. If you don't win the White House, there's really no leadership voice. Anybody can speak for the party (or, at present, no one at all. Except Chuck. Enough said.) The perception of authority is diffused.

In the parliamentary system you're either government or opposition, your party has an elected leader, there is a focus. Going forward, DNC Chair should be chosen selected (probably elected) from an elected member in either the House or Senate. You'd have to restructure some of the party duties among the Vice-Chairs. But there's got to be a credible, dominant voice. It might potentially give the DNC chair an edge in the primary process. So be it. They might actually have earned it. More performance, less popularity contest.

There are too many cooks in the kitchen at present, none of whom seem to be in charge.

The fuck? The Tea Party was completely astroturfed by the same billionaire donors who fund every other Republican propaganda operation.

R9 The GOP Tea Party is alive and well and very powerful today. In fact you might say they now run the entire US Govt.

The Tea Party became Trumps MAGA

R4 has to be one of the dumbest posters ever.

The Tea Party was based on policy (they thought national Republicans weren't being conservative enough on the debt, social issues, etc.).

I don't think most Democrats are upset with the party right now on its policy stances - they're upset with the party for being weak and spineless.

The best these Dems could muster is a Sustainably Sourced Herbal Tea Party.

SCHUMER NEEDS TO GO!

#1 go all in full blown progressive. The kind where AOC looks moderate.

#2 ditch the dead wood progressives and become the party of right leaning and left leaning moderates independents, and moderate Dems. Adopt the policies the middle likes.

#3 do nothing just wait for trump

MSNBC.and CNN for that matter, need to stop overdoing all the racial identity politics and over focusing on black grievances, real and exaggerated. Enough of Jason Johnson and company harping on a single theme.

How about dwelling on climate change, environmental protections, higher education access for all seeking it, upward mobility in the workforce, social media excesses, housing revitalization rather than leveling forests, separation of church and state, health care access, accountability of pharmaceutical companies, tax fairness, human rights for all, judiciary irresponsibility, gun control, etc.

If the new left Tea Party is far left wokeness it will probably not do too well in the heartland and even coastal areas. A more moderate approach is needed to capture 80% of current Dems and another 30% of moderate Reps.

I don't know. Seems all the tea party did at the time was split the Republican party. We can't afford that right now. With the democrats, we need unity of some sort if we're going to get the Repubs out if office.

[quote]The Tea Party was based on policy (they thought national Republicans weren't being conservative enough on the debt, social issues, etc.).

OH MY SIDES.

The Tea Party claimed it was for balancing the budget. The minute Trump got in that was all out the window.

The Tea Party was a direct backlash to the election of Barack Obama. Nothing more.

The Tea Party in 2010 was white Fox/Limbaugh Republicans who were so incensed that a Black man was our President, they could not accept it or handle it. Yes, liberal policy vs conservative policy was a fight, but their furious racism was not a small part of it.

Moderate Dems can get a lot more done with Moderate Reps. Trim the extreme edges off in both parties and you have a working democracy.

R20 That is true. Some right wingers want to claim the Tea Party was a grass roots movement. It was a faux grass roots plan actually sponsored by the Koch Brothers (their father was a prominent racist John Birch Society in the 1950s-1960s. Most of the organizers and promoters were well paid and even many of the regional Tea Party leaders. And yes it was very much a response to the black man who was in the White House.

Democrats are the minority party. What should they be doing?! I think they are postured like the rest of us: let the Trumptards suffer and lead the revolt. Only when Republicans are murdered by constituents will it appear there is a worse fate than being primaried courtesy of Elmo.

Hakeem Jeffry’s such a disappointment and beyond. He should resign. Has no ideas-is scared to death and is repeating ‘’We have no leverage’’- fuck him!

There are strengths and weaknesses of both the Parliamentary system and our form of government, but I agree with the poster above who says that the parliamentary system enshrines a head of each party who speaks for it and can mount an opposition movement based upon his/her statements. In theory, the last US president in the US system could or should be head of the party until a different one is elected, but often the new president-designate is not aligned with the ex-president in policies, so there's a conflict from the get-go. It's pretty clear that Biden didn't consult with Obama, and Obama didn't consult with Clinton. Biden doesn't have the physical energy or stamina now to hold frequent press conferences denouncing Trump's policies even if he wanted to. Right now, we Democrats feel a leadership void. There are lots of people speaking out about Trump, but none of them has galvanized a massive public response, even though people are incensed by Trump's actions and are ready, willing, and able to protest, if given a direction.

The Dems need to forget about forging alliances with Republicans...those days are over. It's very much an "Us vs Them" political world.

Maga IS the Tea Party...they just were lucky enough to have Trump come along to rally everyone to the mid to far right. And, it IS based a lot on the fact they were/are furious that a Black man became president. It unnerved and enraged them.

The Dems lack leadership. Kamala is too bland and nice. Biden is old and done. The Obamas are too busy producing shit for Netflix. The Clintons are dinosaurs.

Bernie is still out there fighting but he's 83. Pete is tough competitor and scrappy but...gay. I don't think America is going to vote in a gay guy. AOC is great but all you boring ass middle of the road types loathe her.

The rest of the Dem govs and senators....meh.

[quote]On another thread here I read that Klobuchar actually said anything like we hope Republicans will work with us to contain Trump. Like, what fucking planet are you living on, Amy?

That post in another thread was from me R8. She was interviewed on IHIP News and said that. I couldn't fucking believe it.

Another is Gerry Connolly who is the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee. Some weeks ago he made a public statement about how he was shocked and dismayed that Republicans wouldn't work with Democrats to require a subpoena for Musk to appear before the committee. He was shocked! JFC. He has to go.

The whole Democratic Party needs to be cleaned out. Ancient career politicians, who are wheeled in and out of Washington on stretchers and shuffle in on Zimmer frames, have held onto their places with an iron grip and have actively prevented younger politicians who are more equipped to spark voters, communicate authentically with voters and are able to operate in the current political environment. Other elderly Boomer people always say "yes but these geriatric politicians have experience blah blah blah"... They don't have experience in the now. The experience they have relates to a time long since past and gone for ever and they are all proving on a daily basis they are incompetent, are not able to communicate and don't connect with anyone anymore. I try not to say bad things about Biden but he and his advisors really fucked us over because they wanted to hold on to their careers at any cost.

The Tea Party was a people's movement. I don't know what the best way forward for Dems is but I do know all the old politicians need to immediately retire for the good of the party and they need to be replaced with younger, more dynamic, authentic politicians who are able to authentically communicate with voters. The Democratic Party needs to swing to the centre. This is imperative. The legacy media is dying out - particularly after the election - and is being replaced with "new media" (streaming media) which has a much larger reach compared to corporate scripted legacy media which people don't watch anymore. Dems are not being heard because no-one is watching corporate legacy media. e.g. CNN has a reach of about 700k on their top rating shows and Joe Rogan has 11 million. The Republican communication machine is flawless and the Dems have to work out how to meet and combat that otherwise 2026 will be another pointless disappointment.

One thing I am certain of is that if the MAGA Party win another POTUS in 2028 then the US is finished as we used to know it. The damage will be too severe and entrenched to repair. This situation is deadly serious - there's no time for fucking around and infighting. One thing about the MAGA is that they all get behind something as one and we have to do the same no matter if we don't like it.

All the old chicken shit career democrats need to hit the road. And maybe the younger ones will feel more free to fight the bastards on the right. Jasmine Crockett needs to start giving classes on how to fuck with republicans.

Jasmine Crockett is an excellent mouthpiece but she needs to be 100% certain that she is telling the whole story and that what she says is 100% factual because there have been several times when I've seen her in interview and she has repeated easily confirmable misinformation or did not tell the whole story so that some of the things she says are easy to pick holes in. It can't just be about the sass - which she is excellent at. She's new at this so I can see her becoming very polished as she progresses. She's not a candidate for POTUS though.

Broadly speaking, the other side of the coin of any social compassion characteristic of the Democrats is weakness (lack of aggression).

Dear Lord let me accept the things I cannot change.

It’s not out of the question that for the rest of your lives you will be living in a country that bares little resemblance to the one I lived thru these many past decades.

This may not be a blip

That has to change R30.

I haven't trusted the Nation since 2016, when Katrina Van den Heuvel and her Commie loving husband were publishing pieces saying the Trump-Russia connection was basically McCarthyism and we should give him the benefit of the doubt. They were pretty anti-Hillary, pro-Edward Snowden back then. I don't know if it's run by different people now, but I'd take what they say with a grain of salt.

Hakeem sounds like Marble Mouth from the Fat Albert cartoon series. He inspires few.

so the democrats always get the blame, how convenient.

What a stupid and pointless post R35.

R35 this time the dem party deserves lots of blame. Not the fucking voters.

People simply don’t want what the Left is selling. Americans care about money. They don’t want to hear about trannies or pronouns and they most certainly don’t want to hear that their country is evil, or being white or Jewish is privilege. AOC’s batshit crazy take on Daniel Penny sums up what is wrong with today’s Left. They’re pro-crime, pro-criminal. Pro-anarchy. No, looting stores isn’t okay because you’re black or because stores have insurance. No, ripping down statues and destroying public property is not okay because racism. No, being male isn’t a crime. People are sick of this.

What people are really sick of right now is Musk and his little incel army wrecking the place for the lulz (or whatever they wreck shit for these days).

That is a golden opportunity and I agree Dems are currently blowing it. But that doesn't mean we have to keep blowing it. Certainly waiting for stale old figures like Chuck Schumer to seize the opportunity will always fail. But plenty of others are actually stepping forward. Not just AOC and Jasmine Crockett, but Gov Pritzker and the governor of Maine (sorry too lazy to check names right now, but bitches know who I'm talking about).

I really don't think we need to be mushy middle on everything. In fact, I think that is probably hurting us more than anything, the idea that Democrats don't know or care what we are and are just muddling along trying to cling to what little power we have. You can see in the reaction to Trump that a lot of people are just happy he's doing something, anything at all, rather than just blathering about stakeholders and listening sessions and accommodating all views and positions. That shit always looks as stale and fraudulent as it is, and nobody wants to vote for it. It's better to be opinionated and definite than mushy, tired, and hopelessly entangled in our own age-old feuds and nonsense about what everybody should have done five, or ten, or fifty years ago.

The good news is nobody needs Schumer's or Jeffries' position to make noise and to carve out some actual positions. It's okay if you're not Ranking Member of the Old Fuckwads Committee or Meet the Press producers don't have you in their contact list. All kinds of ways to be heard these days.

Now, R34 - and others - I see you and I know how to deal with you too - I personally groomed Hakeem Jeffries and ensured his ascent into the role of Minority Leader. And you know I never do anything wrong. And I will never do anything wrong. And I will never leave you. I am here, for you, the children.

R29 Sorry, we tried to run a woman for president twice and lost the election twice. America is just not fucking ready for one. American culture is still too misogynistic and racist to accept a woman or person of color as their leader. Perhaps in another generation or two. Just run a white male for the next one so independents and those Republicans that are not died in the wool MAGA may for Democrat next time.

moderation wins the day

[quote]R29 Sorry, we tried to run a woman for president twice and lost the election twice.

R42 - read the last sentence of my post @R29. It says; "She's not a candidate for POTUS though".

Chris Murphy making waves with voters.

The New Democratic Tea Party needs to focus on preserving Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid & lowering pharmaceutical prices. Upholding the Affordable Care Act and something needs to be done about nursing home/caregiver costs. Add in climate change and basic freedom of speech issues. Maybe the New Tea Party needs a revenge tour to hold the felons & grifters accountable. Democrats need to be ruthless and stop singing Kumbaya. Term limits throughout.

"The New Democratic Tea Party needs to focus on preserving Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid & lowering pharmaceutical prices"

No! Trans rights first. Or ELSE!!!

Chuck Schumer, as boring and old school as he is, is getting “out there” some in New York congressional districts and is doing some appearances on TV news shows. He refuses to retire or even give up his leadership role.

Is Hakeem Jeffries on extended vacation?