Jonathan P. Baird

It is a brutal time for Democrats. Wimpiness could be their brand. Polls have shown Democrats have their lowest favorability rating ever. Only a third of those questioned in a Wall Street Journal survey said they had a favorable view of the party. A July CNN poll put Democratic favorability at 29%. That is the lowest mark for Democrats in the entire history of CNN polling, going back 30 years. It is a 20 point drop since January 2021.

This is happening at a time when Donald Trump’s approval rating is in the toilet. CNN has his approval rating at 41% with 57% disapproval. CNN says Trump is down 7% points since February. Gallup has Trump’s approval rating at 37%.

You might think Trump’s unpopularity would translate into Democratic advance but that is not what has happened. Democrats have bottomed out. So the question must be asked: why are the Democrats viewed so unfavorably?

I know opinions vary widely among Democrats but I will offer one perspective as a frustrated progressive Democrat. The Democrats don’t know how to fight back and they fail to see what they are up against. They also don’t know how to message.

The Republicans are no longer a traditional conservative party. They have transformed into a fascist cult that doesn’t tolerate internal opposition.

Bullying, insulting and pathological lying are the Trump tools of trade learned at the knee of the fixer, Roy Cohn. For his treatment of those he disfavors, Trump resembles an emotional abuser. Name-calling and gaslighting are his favorite pastimes. Anything that casts him in an unflattering light is automatically dismissed as fake news. Trump’s firing of the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Erika McEntarfer, is a perfect example. Not liking what the statistics showed, he demands propaganda that presents the picture he wants.

Probably it is the Democrats” passivity in the face of the MAGA onslaught that is the most maddening. The weakness and quiet response of so many Democratiic leaders has the feel of acquiescence. They are getting punched in the face everyday and very few call it out. They normalize MAGA fascism.

While maybe it is not fair to cite a single vote, my NH Democratic senators, whom I respect, voted along with five other Democratic senators to support the Homeland Security Secretary nomination of Kristi Noem, the puppy slayer. I know there is such a thing as realpolitik but I don’t get that vote. It reflects the absence of any spirit of defiance. Unqualified capitulation like that gives MAGA more oxygen.

Whatever one’s stance on the Democratic side, whether moderate, liberal or left, we all should be on board with pushing back hard in street demonstrations, other protests, social media and in writing. To say we plan to turn the tables in the mid-term elections in November 2026 is a grossly inadequate response. It is too little too late. No one knows for sure if there will be normal elections then.

Democrats want strong fighters for our side. That is a big part of why Zorhan Mamdani captured the imagination of so many New Yorkers in the New York City mayoralty race. With both charm and fire, Mamdani captivated people. There has been little of that on the Democratic side. Mamdani embodied youth, charisma, integrity, authenticity and social media smarts with an FDR-like politics that was entirely oriented to the needs of the working class.

Mamdani ran on an affordability platform. He recognized the economic crisis facing the great majority. To me, his ideas were anything but radical. They were more like common sense measures to help around the increasingly exorbitant cost of living. Mamdani advocated lower rents, free buses, universal free child care and higher taxes on the ultra-rich.

In a new Gilded Age economy that is now only serving the 1%, he acknowledged the need for systemic change. The labor writer Hamilton Nolan has written:

“When reality becomes radical, moderates become fools. We are living through a lawless, dictatorial descent into autocracy and oligarchy.”

The Democratic gerontocracy needs to be replaced by a new generation of leaders. After the hellish defeat in 2024, it should have been obvious that the old leaders needed to go. Whatever contributions they made in the past, the threat we are facing calls for more combative leadership more connected to younger voters. The old leaders cannot turn out the youth vote which is critical to Democratic success.

Very respected Democratic pollster Celinda Lake has studied why six million Democratic voters who had voted for Biden in 2020 did not vote in 2024. She found that many of the voters didn’t think the Democrats offered an alternative. The group of non-voters skewed younger with two-thirds under 50. These voters actively disliked Donald Trump. They were very tuned into social media. Some didn’t want to vote for the lesser of two evils and some were upset with the Democratic silence on Gaza but most wanted the Democrats to offer a genuine alternative on the economy and health care.

The Democrats need to give the people good reasons to vote. That means reforms that speak to immediate needs like housing and health care. Americans don’t want major cuts to essential programs like Medicaid and Food Stamps to fund billionaire tax cuts.

Many Democrats who are tied to corporate money have favored a mush message advocated by the Democratic consultant class. In the 2024 race the Democrats entirely failed to have a coherent message. That led to Donald Trump defining the issues.

There is no mystery in what could work for the Democrats but they have to get over their fear about having a strong message. As awful as the MAGA message of hate on immigrants and LGBTQ people is, they are not afraid to push absolutely debased positions .For Democrats, a mush message couched in fear is no way to fight fascism. Democrats need to call out fascism and not be afraid to name it. Nor should they fear calling to abolish ICE which is the military wing of our fascism. ICE is creating concentration camps.

It is the 1% versus the 99%. Back in 1936, FDR said about the rich: “ They are unanimous in their hate for me – and I welcome their hatred”. I wish the Democrats today had one-tenth of FDR’s fighting spirit.