Democrats just keep stepping in it, and Republicans are taking full advantage of the liberal party’s mounting pile of political errors.
The battle to fund the government has become the latest PR headache for Democrats, as House Republicans remained united to pass a continuing resolution on Tuesday. As Friday’s funding deadline approached, Democrats gloated over apparent dissent within the House GOP caucus, suggesting that Republicans were incapable of governing and would send Washington into a shutdown.
But Republicans ultimately stuck together, and instead it was Democrats who voted for a shutdown, as all but one (Jared Golden of Maine) voted against the continuing resolution. After weeks of manufactured outrage over the Trump administration trimming the federal workforce, House Democrats ultimately voted against funding the salary of virtually every remaining federal worker.
That irony was not lost on the National Republican Congressional Committee, which quickly launched ads against 34 vulnerable House Democrats for voting to shut down the government.
House Republicans’ success at ushering through a funding bill also put the pressure on Senate Democrats, forcing them to either vote with Republicans to keep the government open or filibuster the bill and be entirely responsible for a shutdown.
If only that were the end of Democrats’ problems.
Things got off to a rough start early in the month during President Donald Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress on March 4. Despite pleas from Democrat leaders to avoid theatrics during the speech, Rep. Al Green of Texas stood up and began shouting and shaking his cane at Trump before House Speaker Mike Johnson ordered him removed from the chamber.
Two days later, the House censured Green for his outburst – a motion that 10 Democrats crossed the aisle to vote in favor of, only adding to the sense of chaos and division gripping a party that has failed to find its footing following Republicans’ sweeping victories last November.
But Green’s antics were far from the only bad press for Democrats following Trump’s speech. Several Democrat lawmakers also brought signs reading “false,” “lies,” “save Medicaid,” and “Musk steals,” holding them up at various points throughout the remarks.
As could be expected by anyone with a modicum of common sense, conservative meme-makers quickly photoshopped images of Democrats holding the signs to read things like “I love war,” “America last,” “I steal from taxpayers,” “illegals first,” and “I voted against women.”
As embarrassing as that fiasco was, it was nothing compared to the backlash over Democrats’ refusal to clap for and show respect to any of the president’s guests, including Allyson and Lauren Phillips, the mother and sister of Laken Riley, Alexis Nungaray, the mother of a 12-year-old girl who was murdered by two illegal immigrants, and 13-year-old DJ Daniel, who was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2018.
Even Democrat Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania admitted, “I don’t think that was the best look for our party.”
But while Democrats refused to clap for any of these heroes, they have heaped praise on Mahmoud Khalil, a radical pro-Hamas activist who was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and is facing deportation.
Khalil is a leading agitator and spokesperson for Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD). Among CUAD’s publicly stated goals is “the total eradication of Western civilization.” CUAD has also called the October 7, 2023 massacre of more than 1,200 Israeli civilians a “moral, military, and political victory” and has declared that “violence is the only path forward.”
“These are the same Democrats who wouldn’t stand to honor the memory of Laken Riley and Jocelyn Nungaray,” White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller responded to a March 10 X post from the official Senate Judiciary Democrats account calling to “free Mahmoud Khalil.”
“Of course Dems stand with non-citizen pro-Hamas radicals. Choosing the 20 of another 80/20 issue. Smdh,” added conservative commentator Scott Jennings.
Unsurprisingly, polling shows that the label of “Democrat” effectively means “out of touch” for the vast majority of Americans. According to Politico, “an internal poll conducted by the Democratic group Navigator Research” shows that “among independents, just 27 percent believe Democrats are focused on helping them, compared with 55 percent who said they’re focused on others.”
Moreover, “Just 44 percent of those polled said they think Democrats respect work, while even fewer – 39 percent – said the party values work. Only 42 percent said Democrats share their values. A majority, meanwhile – 56 percent – said Democrats are not looking out for working people.”
In short, Democrats have a major, major image issue – and continuing to take stances that appease only a small group of far-left activists isn’t likely to help matters. The party has no clear leaders and no clear message.
Democrats’ only saving grace is that the 2026 midterm elections are still well over a year away. But they have a lot of ground to make up, and with the Republican Party firmly united behind President Trump’s popular agenda, their chances of closing the gap become more remote by the day.
Shane Harris is the Editor in Chief of AMAC Newsline. You can follow him on X @shaneharris513.
Read the full article here
