NY Times editorial declares Democratic Party in denial about 2024 election loss, says it moved ‘too far left’
The New York Times Editorial Board thinks the Democratic Party needs a serious wake-up call.
In a new editorial, the liberal outlet declared that the party is in a state of denial about why it lost the presidency, as well as the Senate and the House in 2024, and said its proposed solutions for getting back on track are delusional as well.
"As comforting as these explanations may feel to Democrats, they are a form of denial that will make it harder for the Democratic Party to win future elections," the board said in the Saturday piece.
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The title of the editorial flatly declared, "The Democrats Are in Denial About 2024."
The Times editorial comes as the Democratic Party’s approval rating has been at one of its lowest points in modern history. According to national polls from CNN and NBC News published earlier this month, just 29% and 27% of respondents, respectively, say they view the party favorably. These represent the lowest approval numbers for the party surveyed by those outlets since the early '90s.
The NYT editorial board hammered "many party leaders" who have "decided that they do not need to make significant changes to their policies or their message" following their "comprehensive defeat."
According to the outlet, the party has turned to a "convenient explanation for their plight," namely that forces beyond its control, like "postpandemic inflation" hurt its chances, as well as the fact that they just need to message better. "If Democrats could only communicate better, particularly on social media and podcasts, the party would be fine," the board stated, summarizing part of their denial.
The outlet mentioned how new Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin insists that the party has the "right message" and just needs a way to "connect it back with the voters." It also provided the example of former Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., recently telling voters that "90 million" people stayed home last election and the party has to get their support.
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It noted Walz’s point that they don’t need to try courting people who voted for President Donald Trump.
The board followed up by citing each of those examples as evidence the party is in denial, and warned that the whole country, even conservatives should be concerned about it.
"The country needs two healthy political parties. It especially needs a healthy Democratic Party, given Mr. Trump’s takeover of the Republican Party and his draconian behavior. Restraining him — and any successors who continue his policies — depends on Democrats taking an honest look at their problems."
The board admitted there is some truth to inflation hurting the incumbent party in the U.S., as it did in other countries irrespective of political parties. "Whether on the political right or left, ruling parties lost power in the United States, Brazil, Britain, Germany and Italy," it wrote.
Still, the board mentioned that "incumbent parties managed to win re-election, including in Denmark, France, India, Japan, Mexico and Spain. A healthier Democratic Party could have joined them last year."
Inflation couldn’t have been the only policy point that crushed the party. The Times editorial pointed out how "voters also trusted Republicans more than Democrats on immigration, crime, government spending, global trade and foreign policy."
It then debunked Walz’s voter turnout point, saying, "Nonvoters appear to have favored Mr. Trump by an even wider margin than voters."
After hammering the Democratic Party, the board offered advice on how it can rise from the defeat, beginning with "more rigorous and less wishful reflection." It then gave specific steps for regaining voters’ trust, the first one being, "they should admit that their party mishandled Mr. Biden’s age."
"Second, Democrats should recognize that the party moved too far left on social issues after Barack Obama left office in 2017," it said, adding that the third step is that "the party has to offer new ideas." The board said former Vice President Kamala Harris "failed" to offer any new ideas in her presidential bid, and that "few Democrats are doing so today."