Whither the Democrats?
Ya can’t make it up.
There is the Democratic Party — the oldest political party in American history. It is the legacy of the likes of Democrat presidents with names like Andrew Jackson, Thomas Jefferson, Woodrow Wilson, FDR, JFK, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama.
And it is now a party hung up on… Republican Donald Trump.
Periodically in American history, this kind of crazy has happened before. Once upon a time, Republicans couldn’t get past their hang-up on Franklin Roosevelt. They were obsessed with FDR, and it showed in their inability to defeat him in four straight presidential elections from 1932 to 1944. So obsessed were they with FDR that even after his death in April of 1945, they could not defeat his supposedly hapless vice presidential successor, Harry Truman, in the 1948 presidential election. Indeed, Republicans laughed at Truman, quipping that “to err is Truman.”
But Truman, campaigning on the late FDR’s legacy in 1948, got the last laugh in the first election without FDR on the ballot in 16 years. Defeating the supposed sure-thing GOP nominee, New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey in a famous upset.
And today? Today, it is the Democrats who are lost in an obsession over President Donald Trump. Trump has not only beaten them at the polls; he has become the centerpiece of their opposition. And as they have done just about everything but foam at the mouth over Trump, the results have been zero. As Rush Limbaugh used to say, “Zero. Zilch. Nada.” All of which drives the Dems even battier.
The sensible thing, of course, would be to drop the Trump obsession and focus instead on a policy-driven platform that tells Americans as they approach the midterms what exactly Democrats would do if handed control of the House and Senate. And focus on an agenda that does not include impeaching Trump.
But no. Not a prayer. Trump is so much of an obsession for the Dems that they simply cannot bring themselves to focus on a serious policy-driven agenda to campaign on. Instead, it’s Trump! Trump! Trump! (RELATED: Democrats Won’t Win the Midterms)
Which doubtless has Trump himself laughing all the way to the political bank.
Over there at the Associated Press is a detailed look at the problem. Among other things, the AP reports this on the state of the party’s internals:
But nearly nine months after Republican Donald Trump won a second presidential term, Democrats appear to be harboring more resentment about the state of their party than do Republicans. Democrats were likelier to describe their own party negatively than Republicans. Republicans were about twice as likely to describe their own party positively.
….Overall, roughly one-third of Democrats described their party negatively in the open-ended question.
About 15 percent described it using words like “weak,” or “apathetic,” while an additional 10 percent believe it is broadly “ineffective” or “disorganized.”
Only about 2 in 10 Democrats described their party positively, with roughly 1 in 10 saying it is “empathetic,” or “inclusive.” An additional 1 in 10 used more general positive descriptors.
It is unclear what impact the Democrats’ angst may have on upcoming elections or the political debate in Washington, but no political organization wants to be plagued by internal divisions.
And all of this as the midterm elections loom.
History shows that incumbent presidents frequently wind up on the losing end of midterm elections. All the way back in 1966 was a spectacular example of this. A mere two years earlier, in 1964, Democrat President Lyndon Johnson had wiped the floor with the GOP nominee, Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater. LBJ carried 44 states to Goldwater’s 6. A mere two years later, in 1966, the GOP rebounded big time, winning 47 House seats and 3 Senate seats. On top of winning 8 gubernatorial races. (One of which victories went to a political newcomer, movie and TV actor Ronald Reagan, elected Governor of California.)
Moving on to the 1972 presidential election, Richard Nixon clobbered Democrat George McGovern, carrying 49 states to McGovern’s 1. Then came the 1974 midterms, with Democrats winning 45 House races, gaining 4 Senate seats, and 4 governor races.
This midterm type of loss following a big presidential win for a party, as noted, happens often enough in history.
But times change, to say the least. And time moves on. Here we are at another midterm election. And what will the midterm results be?
It is way too soon to say. But there is one sure thing about this. With the election almost nine months distant, anything can happen.
But it is worth recalling another moment in the history of midterm elections. Go back to that 1966 midterm that produced a GOP landslide.
A major factor in that GOP victory was President Johnson’s decision to expand what had been an ongoing, if low-key, skirmish in Vietnam. But in 1965, LBJ decided to expand that skirmish to a full-blown war. In July of that year, the president announced a major commitment to expand the number of American troops from 75 thousand to 125 thousand. No longer would Americans be in Vietnam as mere “advisors.” They would be engaged as full-fledged combat participants, with the number of troops deployed rising even more — to 180,000 — by the end of 1965.
The political result was a massive Democrat defeat in the 1966 midterms.
Which says, among other things, that a full-scale war in Iran that has not receded but grown by the time of the 2026 midterm elections could, in fact, have a negative effect on the campaigns of GOP candidates for the House, Senate, and gubernatorial races.
If, on the other hand, the result is an out-and-out defeat for Iran’s ability to get a nuclear weapon, that can only help not only President Trump’s poll numbers but also the ability of the GOP’s candidates across the country to win their various election races. It would be a triumph for the foreign policy Reagan used to call “peace through strength.” It would vividly illustrate that, yet again, the Democrats have been stumped by Trump.
But without doubt, the question that leads this column — Whither the Democrats? — will, one way or another, have an answer by November.
With, in turn, those results playing a key role going into the 2028 election to elect a new president succeeding President Trump.
In short? Stay tuned.
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