Democratic strategists concede party brand is 'in the toilet' - and that's being 'generous'
The Democratic Party brand is "in the toilet," according to party strategists Monday.
The New York Times held a "written online conversation," hosted by contributing Times opinion writer Frank Bruni, with progressive campaign consultant Anat Shenker-Osorio, Democratic communications strategist Lis Smith and former Ohio representative Tim Ryan to discuss the remains of the party after brutal losses in November.
"The Democratic brand is in the toilet," Smith said. "Many of the Democrats who succeeded this cycle — our best over-performers in House races, for instance — are people who ran against the Democratic Party brand. Trump tore down the blue wall in the industrial Midwest, but he also expanded his vote the most in our bluest and most urban areas."
"’The toilet’? Yikes, Lis, that’s severe. Do you really think it’s that bad?" Bruni asked.
"When the best way to win as a candidate is to run against your own party, it’s that bad. Our candidates down ballot are good. It’s what the ‘D’ next to their name means (the status quo) that people don’t like," Smith said.
Ryan explained the Democrats "got pinned as the status quo party" and "failed to redefine themselves on the culture issues," though Shenker-Osorio was more critical.
"Well … toilets have clear utility, so perhaps the comparison is even ‘generous,’" Shenker-Osorio said.
They also agreed the biggest issue was Democrats failing to repel the image of "elitism" over the working-class voter.
"The sign outside HQ now should say "Beware: Entering an Echo Chamber,’" Ryan said. "I said move to Youngstown, but it could be Pittsburgh or Cleveland or Toledo or Detroit or Milwaukee. But I am dead serious that it should not be in Washington or anywhere on the coasts. We need to send a bold signal that we are committed to reconnecting to people out in the real world."
Bruni asked whether Democrats need to stop "mooning over Hollywood celebrities and tugging them en masse onto the stage," with which Ryan agreed. Smith, however, said there needed to be deeper reflection.
"We need to look to who succeeded and overperformed this cycle and why," she said. "Some of the top overperformers in House races couldn’t have had more disparate profiles…What they had in common was that they were willing to run against the party brand, they met voters where they are on their frustrations with the border and public safety issues, and they talked more about their vision for the future than how bad Donald Trump is."
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"I’d also throw in another thing — these members largely were among the first to call for Joe Biden to step down as nominee. They weren’t in the crew of Democrats who told voters not to believe what they’d seen with their own eyes in that first debate," Smith added.
The panel’s comments were published after a Democratic polling firm study found that some voters were disillusioned by the Democratic Party, with one participant saying they were "not a friend of the working class anymore."