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Others on Capitol Hill are already targeting potential areas for partnership, hoping to steer the party toward a common ground, at least in the earliest days of the partisan changeover. The most notable example is the budding debate around defense money, an early focus of Trump and progressives alike, where high spending from the Pentagon has been criticized by some prominent members of both parties.
One Democratic lawmaker, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), is emerging as a leader presenting an alternative way to work with Trump-aligned members of Congress. He told The Hill thathe would “welcome efforts” to engage with Republicans where their priorities meet, including on the military budget.
“I think it’s very important to not categorize everyone into left vs. right,” said Hassan Martini, a Democratic strategistand executive director of the group No Dem Left Behind. Instead, he said, his party should “really look into each person’s comments and actions on an individual basis.”
Still, some top Democrats have reignited their adversarial style against Trumpand his current allies, aiming for consistency in showing that they don’t endorse the right-wing agenda.
“Trump and congressional Republicans are already signaling that they are going to overplay their hand, and we will be ready to hold them accountable when they do that,” said Epting.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who was one of the most outspoken figures in the so-called resistance effort to Trump’s first term, hasn’t changedher posture for his return to Pennsylvania Avenue. She’s been critical of several of Trump’s proposed Cabinet leaders, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the possible head of the Health and Human Services Department.
Warren’s role on the Senate Finance Committee means that she will be a key figure in Kennedy’s confirmation fight, where she has already indicated staunch opposition to his views on vaccinations and other conspiracy theories.
“Say goodbye to your smile and say hello to polio,” the Massachusetts senator said in a recent video clip. “You know, I would laugh if it weren’t so scary.”
Democrats’ postelection slump has alsocaused many to turn their attention toward an election more within their wheelhouse: the race to select the next Democratic National Committee (DNC)chair. Lawmakers, strategists and activists believe they can now craft the direction of the DNC differently than what they had last cycle, where the pro-democracy messaging and large focus on abortion did not work in their favor.
Progressives fear that moderates will angle for more of the same type of centrism that caused Democrats defeats,while middle-ground stalwarts see too much liberalism as the reason they lost to Trump all over again.
A leading grassroots group formed out of Sanders’s 2016 bid, Our Revolution, circulated a memo this week pushed by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and signed byhundreds of activists and donors calling for left-wing policies at the DNC.
“The Democratic Party needs a massive overhaul,” the petition reads. It lists four target areas for reform, including to“ban dark money in primaries”and“hold consultants accountable”over the DNC’s budget moving forward, as well as investing more resources into state parties. It also asks that officials “commit to a progressive platform and small donor democracy.”
“The Democratic Party must return to its roots as the party of the working class and reject the corporate influence and corruption that has led to a loss of voters and loss of elections to Trump (twice!).”
Dems have lost the working class forever, they just don't get it! Plus radicals like Kamala, Elizabeth Warren and others are why they lost.
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5039827-democratic-party-trump-resistance/amp/