Where, Oh Where, Have the Democrats Gone?

Emily Reckard

Feb 95 min read

America has been run by a cruel, vindictive, unqualified, and corrupt billionaire for almost three weeks now, and spoiler alert: it’s not Donald J. Trump. Rather, it's the Tesla-owning, Twitter-ruining, questionable hand gesturing, South African immigrant Mr. Elon Musk gripping onto control of the red, white, and blue. Although voters elected someone equally as dreadful as Donald Trump, Musk has his hands on everything– from the US Treasury to USAID, even to an uncomfortably large MAGA hat (can the plot get any more unserious?).

Now, any good oppositional party would have quite a bit of material to work with, right? I mean, it doesn’t even seem like the man who a slight majority of the American people chose to represent them has the true power of the executive. Said oppositional party would be jumping at the opportunity to fight against this oppressive oligarchic regime with easy messaging, right?

Especially if that party referred to him as a ‘fascist’ (which is correct) during the 2024 election cycle, there should be a strong fight. Instead, we are seeing the Republican party, alongside the Trump-Vance-Musk regime, put forth the plans listed in the GOP playbook, Project 2025, with very little strong pushback from Dems. The Democrats warned against this last year–although way too late– even making it a large part of the DNC messaging. So, the absence is concerning.

Those who traditionally find themselves riding the blue wave are looking outwards and asking themselves the hard truth: Has the Democratic party abandoned them?

What are the Democrats doing?

Democratic messaging over the past few weeks has been either non-existent or ineffective. Instead of planning during the months before Trump took office for how they would handle his policy demands– which were categorically illustrated for them in the Project 2025 playbook– they instead focused on party infighting, blaming leftists for their loss and arguing about whether they went too far to the left or right this election cycle. They even dove into ‘blue Qanon’ territory, trying to come up with reasons why Harris lost other than the reality that she had no substantial message for working-class voters and capitulated to the Biden admin’s policies on Israel.

Democrats rally outside of the Treasury building | AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana

Adding to this, scenes from Washington are just bleak. Dems rallied outside of the treasury building in protest of Elon Musk’s advisory team gaining department information. This is a good idea, however the execution was just laughable. When Chuck Schumer is heading your protest, you know you’ve lost the plot. Shouting “We will win!” to a crowd of people who watched their party lose all power this past election is pathetic.

As for Congress, there is little to report on. Democratic representatives and senators have no power. Trump’s picks are going through with little to no objection, and some Democrats are even voting for them. All Democrats voted for Marco Rubio for Secretary of State. Someone like John Fetterman (D-PA), who has stated and shown support for many of Trump’s cabinet nominees and policies, should save Dems the trouble and go Republican instead of making us go through another Joe Manchin nightmare.

Positive Developments

Now, credit needs to be given when it’s due. The Senate Democrats did hold the Senate floor all night last Wednesday in protest of the nominee and Co-author of Project 2025, Russell Vought. While they have no power to stop the Republicans from confirming him (which they did), no one said they had to make it easy. This is what they need to be doing, use every bit of influence you can gather to disrupt the passing of Trump’s agenda.

There are a few stars in the party who are doing the work. Young congressional members like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Jasmine Crockett (D-TX), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), and Maxwell Frost (D-FL) have been at the forefront of discussions on protecting immigrants, the importance of D.E.I policies, and the dangers of Elon Musk.

Sanders on a Twitch stream with Hasan Piker

However, no one has been as outspoken as Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who has spoken on the Senate floor, appeared in interviews, written op-eds for FOX News, and continuously posted multiple videos a week discussing the rising oligarchy America is becoming alongside the fears of a total kleptocracy. He's consistently been putting in the work for left-leaning populism and remains an avid critic of capitalism during his long tenure in politics, which is what we need in the Democratic party.

How to Move Forward:

The Democrats are acting like a college football team right now. You have a few super-seniors who have outstayed their tenure taking up the spots of the bright-eyed freshman potential.

To put it bluntly, the Dems need to take the strategy of out with the old and in with the new. Life-long Politicians like Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) have to step down to give a younger generation a chance. Politics and America are not the same as when Pelosi got into the game, and she can’t keep disrupting progress to move forward. She is being challenged by a former AOC staff member in 2026 ( yes, she is running again.)

Next, enough with the talk about ‘norms’ and ‘preserving democracy’. It is important, of course. However, Voters don't care – they have seen the so-called important norms be crushed in less than a month by the Trump administration– so the ship has sailed. This type of messaging doesn’t work.

If you want to get solid messaging going forward, follow the famous, and reliable, framework: “It's the economy, stupid!” Focus on the middle class. Call out the price hikes since Trump took office. Explain– in normal people's terms– why tariffs don't work. Express concern over dismantling agencies that provide money to Americans. Reach those on the other side of the aisle through the media, not to convert them, but to amplify your message even further. It's clear: the ingredients are there, we just have to find Democrats who are good in the kitchen.

However, this is the bottom of the barrel. The party needs to do a plethora of things; this article couldn’t possibly touch on the total revampment the Democrats need. This has been a long time coming, and they have to face the reality: the current Democratic party is at its end. Reconstruction is needed, and it’s needed quickly.

The Bottom Line

Democrats need a backbone. There is no longer a world where they can sit on the sidelines, and in their own words, “watch the Trump administration fail”. Will he fail? Yes, but it will hurt millions of Americans in the process. Be the party to offer support. Go back to the working class values that once were unfaltering descriptors when discussing the Democratic Party. If not, even more voters will choose the couch the next election and abandon the party once and for all, creating a ghost of democratic past.