Democrats, Stop Being Timid and Start Being Mean!

[Celerity]

Democratic messaging is failing to meet the moment. It’s time for the party to embrace the anger and rage of its base.

https://newrepublic.com/article/193486/democrats-messaging-timid-mean-voter-rage

https://archive.ph/kF9Uh



Beneath the seemingly hourly chaos of Donald Trump’s second term is a simple dynamic. Republicans, led by tech billionaire Elon Musk and his gang of teen and twentysomething coders, are all action: gutting entire agencies, upending domestic and foreign policy, and threatening much worse. Democrats, meanwhile, have been caught flat-footed by the seemingly endless onslaught of destruction. The party in power never stops moving; the opposition hasn’t figured out how to start.

For most Democratic lawmakers, it’s unclear what resistance even looks like this time around. A prime example is their disjointed, ineffectual, all-around dismal performance at Trump’s unofficial State of the Union on March 4. Many of the women wore hot pink, a coordinated action with no obvious meaning. (“Pink,” one lawmaker explained, “is the color of protest.” Who knew?) Some lawmakers waved small black signs with messages such as “False” and “Musk steals.” Some stood up and silently walked out while Trump was speaking. Some didn’t show up at all.

Only one Democrat was bold enough to actually speak out: Texas Representative Al Green, who was forcibly removed from the chamber after repeatedly shouting, “You have no mandate” at the president as he addressed the nation. Green’s message hardly differed from the signs his colleagues were tepidly waving. What really mattered was the interruption itself, an act of flagrant disrespect that sought to reflect the seriousness of the moment. Green was doing what you do in an emergency: You freak out.

A day earlier, when House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries urged his caucus to exercise restraint and be a “strong, determined, and dignified Democratic presence in the chamber” during Trump’s address, he may have been trying to head off displays such as Green’s. In his view, childish outbursts or anything else that could be described as “Trumpian” would only draw attention away from Trump.

snip

[Qutzupalotl]

1. Take Al Green's lead

and start raising “cane”!

[bob4460]

2. This is what we need!! N/T

[GusBob]

3. Rally 'round the family

With a pocketful of shells

[stopdiggin]

4. disagree.

and I think it is disputable that 'the base' (meaning majority of D voters) - are any more aligned with Al Green - than they are with Hakeem Jefferies.

[Celerity]

5. Democratic Voters Are Dissatisfied With Their Own Party, See No Clear Party Leader

https://www.dataforprogress.org/blog/2025/3/28/democratic-voters-are-dissatisfied-with-their-own-party-see-no-clear-party-leader

After Democrats’ electoral losses in 2024, the party has been divided over the best approach for opposing President Donald Trump and building a large tent of support to compete in future elections. Some Democrats have taken to the road to call out billionaire influence in Trump’s administration, while others voted to censure a colleague who interrupted Trump’s joint address to Congress.

The tactical divide came to a head earlier this month, when Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer joined eight Democrats and one Independent to vote for a Republican spending bill and prevent a government shutdown.

Two new Data for Progress surveys of Democrats and Independents who lean Democratic reveal a party with no clear leader and a base of voters dissatisfied with their own party. These voters want a leadership willing to fight back against Trump and fight for the working class.

When Democratic voters are asked how they would grade the Democratic Party on its response to Trump, 70% give the party a C or below. About 1 in 5 Democratic voters (21%) give the party an F.

snip

[stopdiggin]

7. and that still doesn't mean that a lot of them are real hip

on Al Green. Understand that there are voices in that corner - but still a long way from convinced that that represents the majority in the party.

[Celerity]

8. I think that if you took a poll asking 1 question: 'Do you prefer Schumer's style of 'resistance' or Green's?' the vast

majority of Dems would say Green's. It wouldn't even be close.

[stopdiggin]

9. we were speaking of Jefferies .. ?

but - nice move on the goal posts there !

[Celerity]

12. I think if the question was Jeffries's style v Green's, Green's would have majority support.

Link to tweet

[stopdiggin]

13. and I'm not sure if I would agree.

I heard very few hosannas sung (outside of DU) on the part of Al Green following his 15 minutes of fame ...

It's entirely possible that we just hang out with completely different groups of people.

(Oh - and I'm not particularly fond of 'God' quotes from my representatives either ... Leaves me pretty cold. But - there again - big tent ... There are obviously a lot of Ds that are not put off ... )

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[Ruby the Liberal]

6. Its gotten to where just the sound of Schumer's voice

has become fingernails on the chalkboard to me. His meandering "my colleagues" approach is grating every fiber of my being.

This surprised me - as I can normally tolerate listening to anyone for at least a few minutes. When he asked Cory Booker to yield the other night, it actually jolted me how repulsed I was by him.

I get that he feels entitled to the job, but he is absolutely the wrong person to be leading the minority in the Senate - there are at least 20 others who could navigate this more effectively.

Guess I needed to get that off my chest.

[radius777]

10. Yep . Though well meaning, he comes across as hopelessly out of touch

with today's politics. Schumer and many like him are from a different era. Trump has thrown out the rule book, yet we're still playing by those rules. Which means we only get played.

We should be doing nothing at all to help Republicans. Total resistance. We should have shut down the government. And we shouldn't lift a finger to help them out of this tariff mess.

[jalan48]

11. It bothers me that he's incapable of speaking extemporaneously.

His dull delivery of his speeches reminds me of a bad college professor.

[thought crime]

14. Have you watched Jon Stewart's parody?

He does a pretty good Schumer impression.

[Ruby the Liberal]

16. I saw him do that the other night!

it was hilarious - he nailed it. He also did Bernie, which was a riot.

[Duncan Grant]

15. Gee, do you think someone would alert on this as a right-wing talking point? (lol!)

Imagine being that stupid.

[Sympthsical]

17. This article feels like bad advice

I can't put my finger quite on why, though.

The biggest problem our party has is that is obsessed with the performative. Performative outrage, performative empathy, the endless array of signalling that you are right there with The Correct Take. It is forever catering to the chronically online portion of the base who are not necessarily reflective of the average American voter. Hell, sometimes it's wildly out of step with actual Democratic voters. I can name a variety of issues off the top of my head where Democratic voters are not at all in sync with what the Online Left thinks is a good idea. All this performance rarely actually does anything. It just lets you know it's making the correct motions.

Lambert, who is in her early thirties, went viral shortly after the election, when she made a TikTok video urging the “Regina George Liberals” to step up to the plate. (For those too young or too old to remember, Regina George is the main antagonist in the 2004 movie Mean Girls, and a master of petty cruelty.) Lambert has since popularized the “Republican makeup” trend, crafting videos that skewer both MAGA women’s makeup and their political beliefs.

This? Reads like parody. And the fact the article ostensibly thinks this person should be turned to for advice is completely symptomatic of the deep messaging problems our party currently has. "TikTok thinks it's a good idea" is not a political strategy. Harris' campaign should've put that one firmly to bed.

There's also this weird self-delusion I have never understood. That we're just not mean enough. We're plenty mean. Do people not read themselves? The problem isn't that we're not mean. It's that we're mean to everyone who is not us - meaning a very narrow band of terminally online, culturally psuedo-hip, ideological through the lens of an eternal college freshman, and obsessed with identity.

Everyone else gets ripped apart. Often.

So, I don't see what this article really helps. It doesn't seem to possess the self-awareness the current moment requires. It feels very facile.