Carte Blanche: The future Of The Democratic Party, Victory And Nothing Else
"You ask, what is our policy? I can say: It is to wage war, by sea, land and air... You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: It is victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be, for without victory, there is no survival."
- Winston Churchill
Recently, the Wall Street Journal hosted a series of discussions with political pundits on both sides to discuss the futures of the Democratic and Republican parties. The conversations were meant to flesh out the ideas under discussion and to be seriously considered by both parties as midterms loomed and the next presidential election approached. The Democratic Party is currently the minority party in both houses of Congress, and, after a close defeat in the 2024 Presidential election, there has been much debate over the party's future and the direction it should take to regain control in the upcoming election year. The two pundits, chosen to offer insight and debate amongst themselves, were American Enterprise Institute Senior Fellow Ruy Teixeira and Perry World House Executive Director Marie Harf. Both come from different backgrounds. Ruy Teixeira was a political consultant who has worked at various progressive think tanks and institutes, including the Center for American Progress. Marie Harf was an analyst for the CIA and then served as the Deputy and acting spokesperson for the State Department from 2013 to 2015. Afterward, she became a Fox News contributor and the Executive Director of the progressive Serve America PAC.
They are both lifelong Democrats who have collectively served in office and in the party's policy and planning spheres. The differing opinions discussed between the two became apparent immediately and speak volumes about the divide in the Democratic Party and the future that can’t be agreed upon entirely. Over the course of the 40-minute moderated discussion, Harf brought forth a stream of criticisms of the Republican Party and Teixeira of the Democratic Party, with a few points of agreement in between. With a 30-year age gap between the two, the generational split in the party and the priorities of those generations are glaring by the end of the discussion.
The central question that seems to dominate the discussion is one that political parties have dealt with from the very beginning. Which is more important, ideology or pragmatism, the wishes of the voter or the party's doctrine, which is the guiding principle of the party? Ruy Teixeira is very much a pragmaticist. From the issues of climate change to transgenderism, and the current foreign policy of the Trump Administration. Teixeira believes the Democratic Party hasn’t learned any major lessons from the 2024 Presidential election or the recent gubernatorial election in Virginia. He points out the disastrous border policy under the Biden Administration, and the mass migration that followed ensured Joe Biden's loss. Not only were Democrats unwilling to admit the overwhelming public disapproval of the administration's inaction at the time, but they are only now admitting the mistakes in hindsight. All the while offering no real policy alternatives to deal with the issues of immigration and the heavy-handed use of ICE in mass deportations. He goes on to point out that outside of holding President Trump up as a boogeyman and calling for ICE to be abolished, there is no coherent plan to deal with the immigration problem that has deeply divided the nation. When the issue of climate change is raised, and whether it is something the party should focus on, he is quick to highlight the costs and the need for cheap, reliable energy to keep the cost of living down. On transgenderism, he points out that it is an issue that most take issue with when it comes to Title IX and girls' sports, and even cites the Olympic Committees' decisions to do genetic testing in upcoming games and going forward. If there is one thing he seeks to drive home, it is that the party must get back to kitchen table issues and not let itself fall victim to the belief that the recent elections prove that the path Democrats have focused on taking the party as the key to success or election victories.
Marie Harf is every bit as upbeat and certain as Ruy Teixeira is soft spoken and pessimistic. She insists that Democrats have learned valuable lessons and offered policy alternatives to address immigration issues. However, she constantly interrupts Teixeira and the moderator to point out that the Party is focusing on the right things or that issues such as climate change and the public perception of transgender issues are important to members of the party as a whole. Her focus throughout is that of victory. When it comes to the Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner, who has drawn controversy over his Nazi tattoo, which he promptly had covered up, and his views on taxing the rich, and his remarks about Israel, Harf insists he is riding a wave of populism and can challenge the establishment. James Talrico in Texas is another candidate whom Harf finds important and much more palatable than Platner, and he uses him as an example to show that progressive ideas are attractive to mainstream voters. But this, too, is something she takes time to remind the audience of: as long as either can win and bring votes to the Democratic Party in Congress, then they are acceptable and preferable, regardless of their past or controversial ideas. As the discussion comes to a close, Harf says there are two things she looks for in a potential candidate, because polling has told her that's what people want. First, authenticity in a candidate, and she uses AOC and President Trump as examples that voters have pointed to. Second, the ability to “wage a campaign” in the modern media environment. This again highlights the focus she believes Democratic leadership should prioritize when endorsing a candidate. The ability to be liked and to fight as aggressively as the campaign calls for to win.
The divide in the nation transcends all parties and group identities. The Democratic Party is no exception. The great error of the party's leadership and political ideologues is their focus on election victory rather than on governing the country. The blatant disregard not just for the public opinion of the average voter, regardless of party, but also for ideological dogma that will only sow greater instability, is not a recipe for long-term stability. There isn’t anything wrong with people organizing and creating parties to seek representation on the political stage. However, when that party is focused solely on gaining and maintaining power and on the desires of the few rather than the common good of the nation, it represents no one but the powerful, to the detriment of those who vote for it and those who don’t. The future of the Democratic Party is likely to be much the same as it is now until the point of implosion or explosion of those who believed in what it once was and those who seek to use it for their own gain. Whatever is likely to be true, one thing will certainly become true: on its present course, the party is not likely to last much longer.