Democratic Party: A Broken Kaleidoscope?

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) arrives to sign legislation during an enrollment ceremony before sending it to U.S. President Donald Trump for his signature to end the partial government shutdown on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., Jan. 25, 2019. (Joshua Roberts/Reuters)

Commentary

The seemingly calm seas of old have turned into large and turbulent waves for some congressional Democrats and the Democratic Party as a whole.

To say that congressional Democrats have an identity problem would be an understatement. From the day that President Donald Trump was elected, congressional Democrats have systematically “investigated” or pursued various individuals and groups in hope of finding something against the president, including, but not limited to: President Trump; Melania Trump; Donald Trump Jr.; Attorney General William Barr; ICE; Alexander Acosta; Justice Brett Kavanaugh; Justice Neal Gorsuch; and Steve Mnuchin.

Obviously, the common denominator among these individuals and groups is President Trump. In other words, all of them were, in some way, related to (or helped) the president.

At the outset, when congressional Democrats had some semblance of hope that their investigations would produce information that would satisfy their relentless and unwavering efforts to remove the president, they were all on the same team. In reality, aside from their shared commitment to remove the president from office at any cost, the Democrats, led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), were a party without a message and without an identity.

One need not look further than the recent and publicized dispute between Pelosi and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) regarding the issue of immigration.

As reported by Fox News:

 "Ocasio-Cortez complained on Twitter about the Problem Solvers Caucus, bemoaning their refusal to include accountability measures on funding for immigration enforcement.

“‘And to think this week the GOP & Dem ”Problem Solvers Caucus” fought to eliminate ALL accountability amendments from funding,’ she said. ‘They just wrote a multi-billion dollar blank check for misconduct.’

“Ocasio-Cortez, the youngest woman to serve in Congress, regularly used social media to advance her message—as did her fellow freshmen Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich).” Also, according to Fox News, “Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) called the Problem Solvers Caucus—a group of moderate Democrats—the ‘Child Abuse Caucus,’” writing on Twitter, “Since when did the Problem Solvers Caucus become the Child Abuse Caucus?”

As expected, Pelosi tried to minimize the tensions within her own party.

As reported by Fox News, Pelosi stated at a meeting with the Democratic caucus:

“So we’re a family and we have our moments and we’re like a kaleidoscope—sometimes all of us on this side of the room are in agreement vis a vis them to the back of the room or to the front of the room.

“But we’re all a resource to each other and we must never undermine the strength of anyone in our caucus.” Pelosi might be oversimplifying things. The infighting within her party isn’t like a kaleidoscope. In a kaleidoscope, all of the color pieces, while separate, are enclosed within one main structure. The modern-day Democratic Party isn’t like that at all. Rather, the party has significantly splintered and morphed.

For example, the so-called “Problem Solvers Caucus,” while not necessarily moderate in the traditional sense, were blasted by the progressives in the party for being too moderate on the issue of immigration.

Conversely, others, such as Ocasio-Cortez, continue to push socialist agendas such as passing the Green New Deal, opening the borders, eradicating ICE, and dissolving the Department of Homeland Security. Some in the party also promote “Medicare for All,” free health care, a ban on firearms, and free college.

Given the dramatic shift to the left among many of the new and vocal Democrats in Congress, along with the apparent shift in power within the party, it’s become increasingly difficult to define what the party stands for.

When time was on their side, congressional Democrats had the luxury of attacking and investigating the president and others in hopes of removing Trump from office. This was a common goal among most Democrats and served to seemingly “unite” them.

However, as the 2020 elections get closer, the pressure on the Democrats will become more palpable. Given that their efforts to remove the president have failed (so far), they’re now being forced to focus on the issues, to formulate an identity, and to sell a specific agenda for America’s future.

The problem for them stems from the major disconnect between what many of their candidates are selling and what the American people are willing to buy. People such as Pelosi, a seasoned politician, probably recognizes this dilemma, which is one likely reason for the infighting. There’s no unified message, no identity, and nothing that is worth selling to the American people.

There’s only the noise of a broken kaleidoscope as its pieces hit the ground and scatter in a hundred different directions.

Elad Hakim is a political writer, commentator, and attorney. His articles have been published in The Washington Examiner, The Daily Caller, The Federalist, The Algemeiner, The Western Journal, American Thinker, and other online publications.

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.