“Senator Schumer must resign.”
That’s according to Adam Parkhomenko, a political strategist and organizer who once served as the national field director of the Democratic National Committee. He’s also the co-editor of the excellent Alt Media Substack.
Once you lose an avowed supporter of Hillary Clinton, you know you need a regime change and a desperate shakeup of a political party that just hit its lowest favorability rating in 30 years.
Change, whether Democratic donors and corporate consultants like it or not, is coming. We’re witnessing an identity crisis and a cold civil war within the Democratic Party, similar to what happened with Republicans during the rise of the Tea Party and the dethroning of Rep. Eric Cantor during the 2012 election. There’s a vacancy for leadership, and the “old guard,” not referring to age, isn’t made for this moment or built for this brutal fight against a right-wing authoritarian regime.
Earlier today, Rep. Gerry Connolly announced he was resigning as Ranking Member of House Oversight due to his cancer. From a hospital bed, Nancy Pelosi whipped votes for Connolly, who was at a young 74 at the time, to defeat AOC to be the head of the influential Oversight committee. Instead of passing the reins to AOC, one of the most popular Democratic personalities, Connolly has asked 70-year-old Rep. Stephen Lynch to take over his responsibilities until the next election.
Surely, this is how you win over the kids.
Instead of selecting popular firebrand Rep. Jasmine Crockett to be the Chair of the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee, Democrats decided to give it to 71-year-old Rep. Debbie Dingell of Michigan, who has provided all of zero memorable sound bites and media appearances. Meanwhile, Rep. Crockett has been single-handedly taking on Republicans on social media and cable news and has seen her stock rise within the party.
Still, the Democratic Party wants to promote “centrists” like Senator Elissa Slotkin, who was chosen to respond to Trump’s State of Disunion speech and provided no passion, fight, or inspiration. Last week, she used Republican talking points to attack the Democratic base, urging the party to lose its “weak and woke” reputation. Cryptkeepers like James Carville also bemoan “wokeness” without being able to define it and urge Democrats to play possum as immigrants and children continue being kidnapped and deported to foreign gulags.
However, Governor Andy Beshear of Kentucky, Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota, and Rep. Maxwell Frost are showing Democrats that you can win over moderates even in tough districts by championing progressive policies and uplifting the marginalized instead of throwing them to the wolves. Senator Van Hollen, for example, went by himself to El Salvador to obtain proof of life of Abrego Kilmar Garcia. He was rewarded and praised for his determination and bravery. Others, like Gov. Pritzker, are unleashing fiery rhetoric and deliberately picking a fight with the MAGA bully and are now being spotted as potential Presidential candidates.
In this Chai Talk, Adam and I give our insights into what should be the winning “war plan” and “messaging” for Democrats who are seeking to regain power and defeat fascism. Spoiler alert: it doesn’t involve civility and cowardice.
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