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How Bad Does It Have to Get Before the DNC Declares an Emergency?
Apparently not bad enough yet
Midway through this month, Democratic Representative Hakeem
Jeffries sent out a fundraising text saying that he
“recently announced a 10-point plan to take on Trump and the
Republicans.” But the plan was no more recent than early
February, just two weeks after President Trump’s
inauguration. It’s hardly reassuring that the House minority
leader cited a 100-day-old
memo
as his strategy for countering the administration’s
countless moves since then to dismantle entire government
agencies, destroy life-saving programs and assault a wide
range of civil liberties.
Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is so unpopular with the Democratic base that a speaking tour for his new book – abruptly “postponed” just before it was set to begin more than two months ago – still hasn’t been rescheduled. The eruption of anger at his support for Trump’s spending bill in mid-March made Schumer realize that being confronted by irate Democrats in deep-blue states wouldn’t make for good photo ops.
Last month, a Gallup poll measured public confidence in the Democratic congressional leadership at just 25 percent, a steep drop of nine points since 2023 and now at an all-time low. Much of the disaffection comes from habitual Democratic voters who see the party’s leaders as slow-moving and timid while the Trump administration continues with its rampage against democratic structures.
Away from the Capitol, the party’s governing body – the Democratic National Committee – is far from dynamic or nimble. Maintaining its twice-a-year timetable, the 448-member DNC isn’t scheduled to meet until late August.
In the meantime, the DNC’s executive committee is set to gather in Little Rock, Arkansas on Friday for its first meeting since December. That meeting is scheduled to last three hours.
The DNC’s bylaws say that the executive committee “shall be responsible for the conduct of the affairs of the Democratic Party in the interim between the meetings of the full (Democratic National) Committee.” But the pace of being “responsible” is unhurried to the point of political malpractice.
The extraordinary national crisis is made even more severe to the extent that top Democrats do not acknowledge its magnitude. Four months into his job as the DNC’s chair, Ken Martin has yet to show that the DNC is truly operating in real time while the country faces an unprecedented threat to what’s left of democracy. His power to call an emergency meeting of the full DNC remains unused.
This week, Martin received a petition co-sponsored by Progressive Democrats of America and RootsAction, urging the DNC to “convene an emergency meeting of all its members – fully open to the public – as soon as possible.” The petition adds that “the predatory, extreme and dictatorial actions of the Trump administration call for an all-out commensurate response, which so far has been terribly lacking from the Democratic Party.” Among the 7,000 signers were more than 1,500 people who wrote individual comments (often angrily) imploring the DNC to finally swing into suitable action.
As several dozen top DNC officials fly into Little Rock’s Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport, they will bring with them the power to begin shifting the direction of the Democratic Party, but the chances of a positive course correction look meager. The DNC’s current executive committee is a bastion of the party establishment, unlikely to signal to grassroots Democrats and the general public that the party is no longer locked into automatic pilot.
The pattern is a sort of repetition compulsion, afflicting Democratic movers and shakers along with the party as an institution. While many journalists focus on the ages of congressional leaders, the lopsided power held by Democrats in their 70s and 80s is merely a marker for a deeper problem. Their approaches are rooted in the past and are now withering on the political vine.
Even with the rare meeting of the DNC’s executive committee just a couple of days away, the official Democratic Party website was still offering no information about it. The apparent preference is to keep us in the dark.
But anyone can sign up to watch livestream coverage from Progressive Hub, during a four-hour feed that will begin at 12:30 pm Eastern time on Friday. Along with excerpts from the executive committee meeting as it happens, the coverage will include analysis from my RootsAction colleagues Sam Rosenthal, who’ll be inside the meeting room in Little Rock, and former Democratic nominee for Buffalo mayor India Walton. The livestream will also feature an interview with Congressman Ro Khanna, who has endorsed the call for an emergency meeting of the full DNC.
Right now, the Democratic Party appears to be stuck between Little Rock and a hard place. The only real possibilities for major improvement will come from progressives who make demands and organize to back them up with grassroots power.
______________________
Norman Solomon is the national director of RootsAction.org and executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy. The paperback edition of his latest book, War Made Invisible: How America Hides the Human Toll of Its Military Machine , includes an afterword about the Gaza war.
Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is so unpopular with the Democratic base that a speaking tour for his new book – abruptly “postponed” just before it was set to begin more than two months ago – still hasn’t been rescheduled. The eruption of anger at his support for Trump’s spending bill in mid-March made Schumer realize that being confronted by irate Democrats in deep-blue states wouldn’t make for good photo ops.
Last month, a Gallup poll measured public confidence in the Democratic congressional leadership at just 25 percent, a steep drop of nine points since 2023 and now at an all-time low. Much of the disaffection comes from habitual Democratic voters who see the party’s leaders as slow-moving and timid while the Trump administration continues with its rampage against democratic structures.
Away from the Capitol, the party’s governing body – the Democratic National Committee – is far from dynamic or nimble. Maintaining its twice-a-year timetable, the 448-member DNC isn’t scheduled to meet until late August.
In the meantime, the DNC’s executive committee is set to gather in Little Rock, Arkansas on Friday for its first meeting since December. That meeting is scheduled to last three hours.
The DNC’s bylaws say that the executive committee “shall be responsible for the conduct of the affairs of the Democratic Party in the interim between the meetings of the full (Democratic National) Committee.” But the pace of being “responsible” is unhurried to the point of political malpractice.
The extraordinary national crisis is made even more severe to the extent that top Democrats do not acknowledge its magnitude. Four months into his job as the DNC’s chair, Ken Martin has yet to show that the DNC is truly operating in real time while the country faces an unprecedented threat to what’s left of democracy. His power to call an emergency meeting of the full DNC remains unused.
This week, Martin received a petition co-sponsored by Progressive Democrats of America and RootsAction, urging the DNC to “convene an emergency meeting of all its members – fully open to the public – as soon as possible.” The petition adds that “the predatory, extreme and dictatorial actions of the Trump administration call for an all-out commensurate response, which so far has been terribly lacking from the Democratic Party.” Among the 7,000 signers were more than 1,500 people who wrote individual comments (often angrily) imploring the DNC to finally swing into suitable action.
As several dozen top DNC officials fly into Little Rock’s Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport, they will bring with them the power to begin shifting the direction of the Democratic Party, but the chances of a positive course correction look meager. The DNC’s current executive committee is a bastion of the party establishment, unlikely to signal to grassroots Democrats and the general public that the party is no longer locked into automatic pilot.
The pattern is a sort of repetition compulsion, afflicting Democratic movers and shakers along with the party as an institution. While many journalists focus on the ages of congressional leaders, the lopsided power held by Democrats in their 70s and 80s is merely a marker for a deeper problem. Their approaches are rooted in the past and are now withering on the political vine.
Even with the rare meeting of the DNC’s executive committee just a couple of days away, the official Democratic Party website was still offering no information about it. The apparent preference is to keep us in the dark.
But anyone can sign up to watch livestream coverage from Progressive Hub, during a four-hour feed that will begin at 12:30 pm Eastern time on Friday. Along with excerpts from the executive committee meeting as it happens, the coverage will include analysis from my RootsAction colleagues Sam Rosenthal, who’ll be inside the meeting room in Little Rock, and former Democratic nominee for Buffalo mayor India Walton. The livestream will also feature an interview with Congressman Ro Khanna, who has endorsed the call for an emergency meeting of the full DNC.
Right now, the Democratic Party appears to be stuck between Little Rock and a hard place. The only real possibilities for major improvement will come from progressives who make demands and organize to back them up with grassroots power.
______________________
Norman Solomon is the national director of RootsAction.org and executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy. The paperback edition of his latest book, War Made Invisible: How America Hides the Human Toll of Its Military Machine , includes an afterword about the Gaza war.
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I don't understand why you even bother writing about the Democrats. They have become an empty vessel that years ago sold out to the consultants, the image makers and the wealthy. They are the leftovers from a time when most politicians cared about such quaint ideas like the Constitution and Democracy.
Unless they reconnect to ordinary people and their needs they will continue to be irrelevant.
Unless they reconnect to ordinary people and their needs they will continue to be irrelevant.
Trump has rolled back all the goodwill and friendship that had been built up with Europe over the last 80 years. Its relationship with the UK and Canada is at its lowest point since 1812. His policies towards Russia have put the rest of the western world onto a war footing. His policies towards international trade are such that he is pushing the entire planet, and most particularly the United States, towards a nearly unprecedented recession (the last time intrest rates were falling during a tariff war was 1929–1932 - and we all know what that era was called).
The man is an egotistical megalomaniac who cannot comprehend of anything he does as being wrong, and who is in the pocket of despotic rulers and plutocratic billionaires. He is a danger to civilization.
We’re long past the stage of laughing.
The man is an egotistical megalomaniac who cannot comprehend of anything he does as being wrong, and who is in the pocket of despotic rulers and plutocratic billionaires. He is a danger to civilization.
We’re long past the stage of laughing.
For more information:
http://www.freetranslations.foundation
EDITORIAL: Democrats need a wake-up call RIGHT NOW
Voters rejected Democrats in 2024—They’ll keep doing it unless the party evolves
by David Pakman
May 11
Donald Trump has now been back in the White House for more than 100 days. His second term is underway, bolstered by Republican control of both chambers of Congress. For the Democratic Party, the consequences are already becoming clear: a flurry of conservative executive actions, judicial appointments poised to reshape the courts, and a legislative agenda aimed at dismantling years of progressive policy gains. The 2024 election wasn’t just a defeat—it was a turning point. And unless Democrats absorb the lessons of this loss quickly and completely, they risk further marginalization in American political life.
What happened in 2024 was not a fluke. It was the culmination of years of warning signs: shrinking margins with key voter groups, underperformance in rural and working-class communities, and a messaging strategy that failed to meet the emotional and cultural dynamics of the electorate. The same approach that worked against Trump in 2020—offering stability in contrast to chaos—proved insufficient in 2024, when voters were looking for leadership, vision, and direct results.
As the party in power, Democrats underestimated how much the electorate expected them to deliver—and to communicate that delivery clearly and emotionally. While the administration emphasized policy successes like infrastructure investment, economic recovery, and environmental action, these accomplishments often lacked resonance with voters’ daily experiences. Instead, Republican messaging—simplistic, emotional, and relentlessly repeated—dominated the conversation. On issues like immigration and crime, Democrats were largely reactive, relying on technocratic explanations while Republicans leaned into fear and identity.
The Democratic Party’s communication strategy continues to lag behind the Republican machine. While Republicans unify around clear narratives, reinforced across television, digital platforms, and grassroots media, Democrats remain fragmented. Party leaders often speak in policy-heavy language that fails to cut through the noise. In an era where politics is shaped by viral content and emotional appeals, precision alone is not enough. A party that cannot stir passion, pride, or urgency will always struggle to mobilize voters—especially in competitive states and districts.
This failure is not due to a lack of talent or ideas. The Democratic bench includes capable lawmakers, popular governors, and experienced policy minds. But what’s missing is a unified narrative—a story that connects with the public on a visceral level. Too often, the party defaults to slogans about “defending democracy” or “protecting rights” without grounding those concepts in people’s lived realities. Without a message that moves people emotionally, even the most well-intentioned policies can feel abstract or irrelevant.
Meanwhile, the Democratic coalition shows signs of fraying. Younger voters, progressives, and working-class communities of color—once reliable components of the base—are increasingly disengaged or disillusioned. These groups are not turning to Republicans in large numbers, but many are tuning out altogether. Instead of treating these shifts as temporary or blaming apathy, the party must ask harder questions: What is being offered? Who is being listened to? Where is the inspiration?
The 2024 election results should serve as a wake-up call—not just about candidate selection, but about the party’s overall strategy and identity. If Democrats remain tethered to cautious incrementalism and risk-averse messaging, they will continue to lose ground. To regain relevance, the party must embrace a more aggressive, emotionally resonant, and coalition-driven approach. This means investing in media infrastructure, recruiting messengers who can speak across cultural lines, and lifting up bold ideas that give voters something to fight for.
The road ahead is not easy. Trump’s return to power signals a dangerous consolidation of far-right politics in the United States. But it also offers clarity. The status quo is not working. It is time for Democrats to abandon assumptions, rethink priorities, and begin building a strategy grounded not only in policy—but in persuasion, passion, and purpose. Without that shift, 2024 may be remembered not as the bottom, but as the beginning of a deeper decline.
Voters rejected Democrats in 2024—They’ll keep doing it unless the party evolves
by David Pakman
May 11
Donald Trump has now been back in the White House for more than 100 days. His second term is underway, bolstered by Republican control of both chambers of Congress. For the Democratic Party, the consequences are already becoming clear: a flurry of conservative executive actions, judicial appointments poised to reshape the courts, and a legislative agenda aimed at dismantling years of progressive policy gains. The 2024 election wasn’t just a defeat—it was a turning point. And unless Democrats absorb the lessons of this loss quickly and completely, they risk further marginalization in American political life.
What happened in 2024 was not a fluke. It was the culmination of years of warning signs: shrinking margins with key voter groups, underperformance in rural and working-class communities, and a messaging strategy that failed to meet the emotional and cultural dynamics of the electorate. The same approach that worked against Trump in 2020—offering stability in contrast to chaos—proved insufficient in 2024, when voters were looking for leadership, vision, and direct results.
As the party in power, Democrats underestimated how much the electorate expected them to deliver—and to communicate that delivery clearly and emotionally. While the administration emphasized policy successes like infrastructure investment, economic recovery, and environmental action, these accomplishments often lacked resonance with voters’ daily experiences. Instead, Republican messaging—simplistic, emotional, and relentlessly repeated—dominated the conversation. On issues like immigration and crime, Democrats were largely reactive, relying on technocratic explanations while Republicans leaned into fear and identity.
The Democratic Party’s communication strategy continues to lag behind the Republican machine. While Republicans unify around clear narratives, reinforced across television, digital platforms, and grassroots media, Democrats remain fragmented. Party leaders often speak in policy-heavy language that fails to cut through the noise. In an era where politics is shaped by viral content and emotional appeals, precision alone is not enough. A party that cannot stir passion, pride, or urgency will always struggle to mobilize voters—especially in competitive states and districts.
This failure is not due to a lack of talent or ideas. The Democratic bench includes capable lawmakers, popular governors, and experienced policy minds. But what’s missing is a unified narrative—a story that connects with the public on a visceral level. Too often, the party defaults to slogans about “defending democracy” or “protecting rights” without grounding those concepts in people’s lived realities. Without a message that moves people emotionally, even the most well-intentioned policies can feel abstract or irrelevant.
Meanwhile, the Democratic coalition shows signs of fraying. Younger voters, progressives, and working-class communities of color—once reliable components of the base—are increasingly disengaged or disillusioned. These groups are not turning to Republicans in large numbers, but many are tuning out altogether. Instead of treating these shifts as temporary or blaming apathy, the party must ask harder questions: What is being offered? Who is being listened to? Where is the inspiration?
The 2024 election results should serve as a wake-up call—not just about candidate selection, but about the party’s overall strategy and identity. If Democrats remain tethered to cautious incrementalism and risk-averse messaging, they will continue to lose ground. To regain relevance, the party must embrace a more aggressive, emotionally resonant, and coalition-driven approach. This means investing in media infrastructure, recruiting messengers who can speak across cultural lines, and lifting up bold ideas that give voters something to fight for.
The road ahead is not easy. Trump’s return to power signals a dangerous consolidation of far-right politics in the United States. But it also offers clarity. The status quo is not working. It is time for Democrats to abandon assumptions, rethink priorities, and begin building a strategy grounded not only in policy—but in persuasion, passion, and purpose. Without that shift, 2024 may be remembered not as the bottom, but as the beginning of a deeper decline.
For more information:
http://www.freetranslations.foundation
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