Democrats’ hatred of Trump is destroying their party
Democrats did not just lose an election in 2024 — apparently, they lost their minds, too.
Consider, for instance, how they kicked off Women’s History Month — by voting against protecting women and girls in sports, against guaranteeing them a fair playing field.
That’s right: Every single Democrat voted down the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, which would prohibit federally funded schools from allowing male transgender athletes to participate in women’s sports.
It would prevent girls and women from being injured by bigger, stronger biological males. And, just as importantly, it would prevent girls who have worked like crazy to excel in sports from being humiliated by a men dressed like women.
Take, for example, the basketball game that took place a year ago between two Massachusetts teams — the Collegiate Charter School of Lowell and KIPP Academy in Lynn. A transgender player for KIPP, at six feet tall and sporting facial hair, injured multiple opposing female players, eventually forcing Collegiate to forfeit the game.
Or consider the gruesome injury sustained by Payton McNabb in a 2022 volleyball match, when a transgender opponent spiked the ball into her head and nearly killed her. Some 79 percent of Americans, including 67 percent of Democrats, favor keeping men out of women’s sports and locker rooms, according to New York Times-Ipsos polling.
So why fall on your sword by defeating a bill that so clearly aligns with the preferences of voters?
This is not the only recent foolish move by Democrats. In anticipation of President Trump’s speech to Congress on Tuesday, 22 senators in the Democratic caucus broadcast videos of themselves all reading the exact same script, which starts with the words, “S— that ain’t true,” mocking Trump’s campaign pledge to bring down prices on Day 1. Conservatives on social media quickly roasted the copycat stunt, and rightly so.
And then we have Democrats’ embarrassing behavior during Trump’s speech. Early on, one of their own, Rep. Al Green (D-Texas), was booted from the chamber for trying to disrupt the president by shouting and waving his cane. Others were more restrained but equally undignified, raising little paddles to signal their disapproval, looking for all the world like spoiled children.
More shameful, though, was their sullen refusal to applaud or celebrate a young black child who had overcome brain cancer and always wanted to be a cop; the return of Marc Fogel, formerly held hostage in Russia; and a steelworker who has been a foster parent to some 40 kids. These were moving stories, but Democrats could not find in their angry souls any compassion for them.
Shame on them.
Here’s the problem for the “Resistance,” as Democrats like to refer to themselves: The policies they are “resisting” are popular with U.S. voters. Take their opposition to Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency? Is there anyone who does not think the federal government is too big and riddled with waste and fraud?
A CBS poll taken after Trump’s speech found that 76 percent of those surveyed approved of the address. Moreover, 77 percent approved of his efforts to cut government waste and spending; 77 percent favored his immigration and border policies; 73 percent backed his position on Russia and Ukraine; 68 percent thought he had a clear plan to tackle inflation; 68 percent say he is right on crime; and 63 percent say he is focused on issues they care about.
Oh, and 74 percent thought his speech was “presidential.”
The audience definitely tilted toward the Republican but even so, that seems like a major thumbs-up for a president Democrats appear determined to oppose at every turn. Maybe Democrats need to rethink their game plan, which seemingly was crafted during Trump’s first term, when the president was less popular than he is now. Perhaps the urge to demean and oppose every single thing he did eight years ago made sense, when his election was considered a fluke and his support was shaky.
But Trump won the popular vote last November, along with every swing state. Moreover, he made great strides with constituents traditionally important to Democrats, including Hispanics and young people. Do they want to double down on the policies, like the open border, that turned those important voting groups against them?
Part of Democrats’ problem is that they are leaderless; Hakeem Jeffries is no Nancy Pelosi, who ruled her fractious House caucus (and her party) with an iron fist. Another issue is that they have ceded far too much influence to the progressive wing of the party.
Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) is one of the few Democrats to abandon the progressive label and hew toward the center after his election. He has voted to confirm some of Trump’s Cabinet nominees and has been supportive of Israel and of restricting immigration. The Pennsylvania senator called his party’s behavior during Trump’s speech a “sad cavalcade of self-owns and unhinged petulance,” and characterized Democrats’ protests against the Trump agenda as “the metaphorical car alarms that nobody pays attention to — and it may not be the winning message.”
Hatred of Donald Trump is neither a message nor a strategy. The question is whether Democrats can break loose of this affliction and begin to recover their footing.
In the coming weeks, they face an important test: Democrats will have to decide whether to sign on to a Republican-sponsored continuing resolution to fund the government. In the past, the party standing in the way of keeping the federal government open has suffered political backlash.
That risk may not dissuade House liberals. Here again, Fetterman emerges as the voice of reason, saying, “I will never vote or withhold that support because we must never shut down our government. That’s one of our core responsibilities, and I will never vote for chaos.”
Will his colleagues come to their senses and work with Republicans to fund the government? Or will they continue down the path of political self-destruction?
https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/5180888-democrats-missteps-trump-hate
Published in The Hill
