A Check-Up on the Democratic Party

A few months ago, in the early days of this blog, I wrote an article addressing the problems in the Democratic Party and how the party needed to change in order to survive. Like any good doctor, I decided to do a check-up on the Democratic Party to see if any change has occurred, both positive and negative. The main problems I pointed out in that article were the lack of leadership, the need for a new, fresh face, and the disconnect among party leadership and the traditional Democratic base.

            In terms of leadership, Senator Chuck Schumer has assumed that role. As the minority leader, Schumer has led efforts to filibuster and has criticized the President at every turn. He was the leading critic against the travel ban put in place in February and declared victory at the Houses� rejection of the first GOP Healthcare bill. He has been the face of the party in that his reaction and opinion is the first to be aired on TV and many, myself included, expect to see him on the news whenever something major happens on the other side of the political aisle. A lot of people look to him to gauge their outrage in response to the actions of the Trump administration. Because of this, he is the leader of the Democratic Party. Somewhere out there somebody is thinking to themselves, �What about Nancy Pelosi?� Or maybe nobody is thinking that. That is because she has become so irrelevant. If we were living in 2006, I would definitely agree that Pelosi was the face of the Democratic Party. But in 2017, Pelosi still acts like we are living in 2006. She is a face of the past and is honestly just plain boring. There�s no excitement to be found when watching her press conferences. That is why she is not the Party�s leader.

            The task of finding a new, fresh face was a bit more difficult for the Democratic Party. But, they succeeded with Tom Perriello, a progressive populist running for governor in Virginia. His campaign is that of a traditional Democrat that has a blue-collar base. I happened upon the man when I watched a powerful ad that his campaign put out earlier this month. The ad is short and simple. Perriello is standing in front of an ambulance being crushed and pledging to stop the GOP from preventing access to healthcare to people in Virginia. It�s a powerful image. Perriello seems both composed and calm as well as urgent and dire. Needless to say, the commercial stood out to me. The ad specifically focused on economic issues and not social issues which signifies Perriello reaching out to the working class and trying to bring them relief. He is a model Democrat.

            So far, the Democratic Party has made adjustments since my article about the need for change. However, there is still a lot of work left. While Tom Perriello is bridging the gap between the Democratic elite and the working class, few others are. The DNC elected Tom Perez to be the Democratic Party chairman back in February. He is the former Labor Secretary under President Obama and had the support of the Democratic elite. His competition was Keith Ellison a representative from Minnesota who was backed by Bernie Sanders, Bill de Blasio, and the progressive wing of the Democrats. Perez�s victory once again gave the shaft to Sander�s supporters and gave an elitist the power. Democrats once again made the same mistake that they did when they unfairly favored Hillary Clinton to get the Party�s nomination. But, I decided to give Perez a chance�.

            I was not impressed. So far, he has completely ignored allegations concerning last year�s primary elections where questions of cheating and the releasing of emails from the former DNC chair have come to light. He also did not provide proper funding or support to James Thompson in Kansas who almost won the special election that took place in April. A win in Kansas would have been a big upset and a major morale boost for the Democrats. The lack of help from Perez was a blunder. Perez is an establishment Democrat who is a mouthpiece of the anti-Trump movement. But he has done very little to help the Democratic Party.

            My check-up on the Democratic Party has concluded. There has been reform and change in some areas but overall, the only thing really going for the Democrats is their outspoken opposition to the President. 2018 is looking very good for them. Not because there is anything inspiring or attractive about the party, but because they simply are not Donald Trump. So, there is no cause for celebration when the American people favor you solely because you are slightly less worse than your competition. If the Democratic Party were a store, the store-front would be clean and would showcase the best products. However, if you were to walk in, there is not much worth buying. Everything is outdated and expensive and the store itself is in need of repairs. These repairs will take time to make a difference, but they are necessary to secure the continuation of the Party. 

Here is the Perriello ad I was talking about.