logo
Democrats didn't have such a great 100 days, either

Democrats didn't have such a great 100 days, either

The Hill06-05-2025

Whatever troubles President Trump is having right now with his sinking poll numbers, the Democratic Party is still a listing ship — rudderless, leaking, with some crew members trying to patch the hull with explosives.
Losing the White House and both houses of Congress was always going to be a disorienting blow. But the Democrats have elevated post-defeat turmoil to an art form. True, after the first 100 days of his presidency, according to the ABC News-Washington Post-Ipsos poll, Trump's approval ratings sank to 39 percent — the lowest of any president in 80 years. But the Democratic congressional leadership, with their measly 27 percent approval rating, managed to beat him to the bottom. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's (D-N.Y.) 17 percent approval rating is in the Mariana Trench.
The Democrats seem powered as much by rage as by political strategy. New York Democrats, for example, unable to stop Trump's dismantling of federal support for electric vehicles, have channeled their fury at — of all things — an electric vehicle manufacturer: Elon Musk's Tesla. To punish Musk they have tried to prevent the company from selling directly to consumers.
Instead of raising funds to flip just the heartbreakingly few Republican held-seats needed to win back the House, DNC vice chair David Hogg is raising money to finance primary challenges against Democratic incumbents, which party strategist James Carville called ' insane. '
Rather than deploying messaging that might appeal to the independent voters who swung for Trump, some Democrats running for Congress are — this is not a joke — dropping the f-bomb in their campaign ads, pledging, for example, to 'unf— our country.' Democrats deliver barn-burning speeches, but does anyone really know where they stand on immigration, tariffs, or the economy?
Apoplexy may light fires on social media, but it doesn't chart a path to power. Nor is assuming that Trump's declining approval ratings will automatically convert into Democratic votes a serious strategy. If the presidential election were held today, Trump — despite sacking the federal government and behaving as though he were elected to rescue Americans from their own Constitution — would still beat Kamala Harris, albeit by a narrower margin.
Democrats had better start thinking boldly.
For inspiration, they might look to then-House Minority Whip Newt Gingrich's (R-Ga.) 'Contract With America,' co-authored with Rep. Dick Armey (R-Texas), for the 1994 midterm elections. The Contract promised that if Republicans gained control of the House, they would bring 10 specific bills to a vote.
The proposed bills — including an anti-crime 'Taking Back Our Streets Act' and a 'National Security Restoration Act' — each enjoyed over 60 percent support among voters. With impressive discipline, the Contract excluded divisive issues such as abortion and school prayer. The Contract, signed by virtually every Republican House incumbent and challenger, arguably nationalized the midterms and turned them into a referendum on President Bill Clinton. In a stunning comeback, Republicans won the Senate and — after 40 years in the minority wilderness — the House. All politics wasn't local after all.
A Contract With America has the virtue of explaining what a party and its candidates stand for but it carries the risk that trying to craft such a platform can expose or even deepen internal divisions. Cue David Hogg saying, 'Sign that, and I'll raise money to primary you.'
Democrats, facing a president who is methodically weakening democracy — an existential threat for any minority party — need to summon discipline and boldness. Otherwise, they may find themselves not only out of power, but political roadkill.
So, do you think Democrats are up to it?

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

NYC mayoral candidates face off in forum held by PIX11 News
NYC mayoral candidates face off in forum held by PIX11 News

Yahoo

time15 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

NYC mayoral candidates face off in forum held by PIX11 News

NEW YORK (PIX11) – The top six Democratic candidates for New York City mayor are facing off against one another during a forum airing exclusively on PIX11 News. Comptroller Brad Lander, former Comptroller Scott Stringer, Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and state Sen. Zellnor Myrie are all vying for the Democratic nomination for November's general election. More Local News Polling from Emerson College/PIX11 News/The Hill showed Cuomo maintaining a lead, followed by Mamdani – who's made the biggest dent in Cuomo's popularity. Lander rounded out the top three candidates, according to the poll. It's the second mayoral primary to use ranked-choice voting. Early voting starts in New York City on June 14. 'Seeking City Hall: The 2025 New York City Democratic Mayoral Forum' is airing on PIX11 News, and PIX11+ smartTV app at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday. To learn how to submit your questions to the forum, click here. Erin Pflaumer is a digital content producer from Long Island who has covered both local and national news since 2018. She joined PIX11 in 2023. See more of her work here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Amid LA deployment, Hegseth falsely attacks Tim Walz over 2020 George Floyd riots
Amid LA deployment, Hegseth falsely attacks Tim Walz over 2020 George Floyd riots

Yahoo

time15 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Amid LA deployment, Hegseth falsely attacks Tim Walz over 2020 George Floyd riots

WASHINGTON – Amid an increasingly militarized response to immigration enforcement protests in Los Angeles, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth attacked Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz for his handling of the riots prompted by George Floyd's killing in 2020. Hegseth implied that federal intervention in Los Angeles is vital to preventing scenes, such as those seen in 2020 in Minneapolis. In June 2020, President Donald Trump praised Walz for his state-controlled use of the National Guard, telling a conference call of governors, "What they did in Minneapolis was incredible. They went in and dominated, and it happened immediately." More: Marines in LA, response to Ukraine: details from Hegseth hearings Hegseth's comments came in response to a Minnesota lawmaker at a June 10 hearing before the House Armed Services Committee. He argued the former Democratic vice presidential candidate "abandoned a police precinct and allowed it to be burned to the ground' during the Black Lives Matter protests in Minneapolis. Hegseth falsely claimed that Walz waited until after the burning of Minneapolis' third police precinct building to call up the Minnesota National Guard. Walz, in fact, ordered a mass mobilization of his Guardsmen on the afternoon of May 28, 2020, several hours before the police building burned. The defense secretary, defending his decision to deploy 700 Marines and around 4,000 federalized National Guard troops to Los Angeles without the consent of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, tried to compare Walz and Newsom's respective handling of the protests. "President Trump recognizes a situation like that, improperly handled by a governor, like it was by Governor Waltz... If it gets out of control, it's a bad situation for the citizens of any location,' said Hegseth. National Guard units, most of whose troops serve part-time and maintain civilian careers, can take days to fully mobilize and deploy. Newsom has strongly condemned President Donald Trump and his administration's actions in response to the ongoing protests, and the California attorney general filed a lawsuit against the administration over the National Guard federalization on June 9. Trump has openly mused about having the governor arrested for impeding immigration enforcement. "[Marines] shouldn't be deployed on American soil facing their own countrymen to fulfill the deranged fantasy of a dictatorial President," Newsom said. More: Marine infantry unit deploying to Los Angeles amid immigration enforcement unrest The anti-ICE protests are poised to roll into their fifth day on June 10. Los Angeles officials blamed fringe groups for the violence and said more than 100 people were arrested Monday evening. Several driverless Waymo cars were set ablaze over the weekend, leading the company to suspend its autonomous taxi service in the city. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Amid Marine LA deployment, Hegseth falsely attacks Tim Walz

New Hampshire extends ‘education freedom account' eligibility to all students, regardless of income
New Hampshire extends ‘education freedom account' eligibility to all students, regardless of income

Boston Globe

time15 minutes ago

  • Boston Globe

New Hampshire extends ‘education freedom account' eligibility to all students, regardless of income

Get N.H. Morning Report A weekday newsletter delivering the N.H. news you need to know right to your inbox. Enter Email Sign Up With this policy change, state-level spending on EFAs is projected to climb from Advertisement Ayotte said these numbers represent a fiscally responsible approach to a core commitment. 'As a mom, I can't think of anything more important than making sure that every child in this state has the opportunity to reach his or her full potential in the setting that works best for them in terms of education, and that's really what this bill does,' she said. Advertisement Ayotte was joined at a bill-signing ceremony by outgoing Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut, lawmakers who supported the EFA expansion, and a cadre of children. The bill's prime sponsor, Republican Senator Victoria L. Sullivan of Manchester, said the legislation will help Although other states in New England have school-choice programs, New Hampshire's policies already ranked highest in the region in terms of ' With its latest move, New Hampshire has 'set a new benchmark for what educational freedom should look like,' Robert Enlow, president and CEO of Until now, the EFA program had allowed those earning up to 350 percent of the federal poverty level (about $112,500 for a family of four) to take money the state would have contributed toward the cost of their public education and instead spend it on private school or certain other educational expenses. Since the state contributes The actual financial impacts will depend in large part on which newly eligible students opt to participate. A student who uses EFA money to transfer from a public charter school to a private school, for example, could save the state about $5,100 per year, but a student who uses the money to continue attending a private school where they were already enrolled could cost the state an additional $4,400 per year, according to legislation's fiscal impact statement. Advertisement In 2021, when lawmakers first considered establishing the EFA program, the New Hampshire Department of Education estimated that What's more, critics have noted that a public school's overhead costs do not necessarily decrease at a rate proportional to the number of local students who opt to use EFA money elsewhere. Megan Tuttle, president of National Education Association in New Hampshire, said the EFA expansion 'will exacerbate the already inequitable public education funding system in New Hampshire.' Deb Howes, president of American Federation of Teachers in New Hampshire, said the state is 'underfunding' public schools, so it's 'appalling' that the EFA expansion will extend subsidies to families who can already afford to pay for the education of their choosing. 'That is the one priority they're going to fund in the budget, while Democratic Representative David Luneau of Hopkinton said spending on the EFA program could balloon more than the budgeters have projected. 'We're potentially looking at north of $100 million once this program is fully phased in over the next few years,' he said, calling the program 'an unaccountable and Advertisement The legislation that Ayotte signed into law includes a circuit-breaker provision to limit how rapidly the EFA program can expand. No more than 10,000 students will be allowed to participate for the 2025-2026 school year. If more than 9,000 students apply, then the cap will increase to 12,500 students in the following school year. (Whenever the number of EFA applicants exceeds 90 percent of the maximum, the cap will increase by 25 percent in the following school year.) Once the number of applications remains below the cap for two consecutive school years, the cap will disappear. There are currently about The state's EFA program is administered by the Steven Porter can be reached at

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store