Col#285-6/8/26
CAN THE DEMOCRATS RIGHT THE SHIP?
By
Richard Davis
Although Trump’s ratings are in the toilet, that does not necessarily translate into support for the Democrats. That is a political problem that the Democratic party needs to work on, among others. If they do not find a way to become more vocal and more powerful and make a case that they can run the country better than Trump then we will end up with Trump III and that will be the final blow that kills our republic, its constitution and the rule of law.
The Democratic party is not doing well in terms of favorability. Most polls that I have found show unfavorability above 55%. That is alarming. The question to be answered is who will people vote for if they don’t like either party. Will they stay home in large numbers from the mid-term and next presidential election?
It all my come down to the Democrats fielding strong candidates. They have a few in the mid-terms and if they can flip the balance in the House and/or the Senate that will be a good start. If that happens, they have to get tough and push hard against all of the bad things the Trump administration is doing. I don’t know if they have what it takes.
Then there is the next presidential election. So far we are not seeing any strong candidates emerge. Governors often throw their hat in the ring and there are a few making moves, but there is no star to emerge. A charismatic star is needed, and perhaps one will emerge. Unless that happens the mess we are in may get worse.
The Democratic party has a platform that addresses all of the key issues facing Americans. It is the same old double talk. Nothing is new and the rhetoric is as stale as Chuck Shumer and all of the old white men who are running the party. Their platform will have very little effect on the voting habits of Americans unless they address the elephant in the room.
They need to show people that they have a realistic plan to make living in this country more affordable. The Iran war is an issue and hopefully that will be over before the presidential election. If not, they need to end the war on day one if they take over the White House. But that is only one issue. They need to dig deep and look at the root causes of poverty, hunger and unaffordable health care.
The Democratic presidential candidate needs to be someone who can make people believe that they can actually improve our lives. It is hard to imagine what the two year lead up to the election will look like. J.D. Vance may be the Republican candidate and that means we will have to listen to more lies and hateful rhetoric. He will use any tool he can find to get elected and Trump will help him in ways that we cannot even imagine.
In order to counter Vance, or a similar candidate, a Democrat will have be tough and have a track record of a successful political career. They will have to campaign harder than any candidate before them and they will need to find a way to turn all of the Trump garbage to their benefit. That is the key.
