Have the Democrats Learned Nothing?

They only look dead

Since November 5, 2024, the media is full of stories about how the Democrats learned nothing. “They’re doubling down on what failed!” they shout. Here’s an example from Substack.

The Democrats have learned nothing. My old party lost everything in 2024, but instead of examining what went wrong, they've doubled down on failure.

They're officially the party of Ivy League snobs, self-absorbed race grievance fools, unabashed elitists & unlikable nerds.

David Hogg acknowledges how the Republican party, led by Donald Trump, swung a lot of young voters and their solution for the future was to elevate a smarmy ivy leaguer like David Hogg.

This is all true, of course. I’m not disputing any of it. But this has happened before, so it’s worthwhile to see how that played out.

The 80’s (the Democratic Leadership Council)

In 1984, Walter Mondale, the Democratic candidate for President against Ronald Reagan, lost in a 49-state landslide. This followed Jimmy Carter’s decisive loss in 1980. Shortly thereafter, the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) was formed to move the party to a more centrist position and counter the influence of the New Left

The New Left was a broad political movement that emerged from the counterculture of the 1960s and continued through the 1970s. It consisted of activists in the Western world who, in reaction to the era's liberal establishment, campaigned for freer lifestyles on a broad range of social issues such as feminism, gay rights, drug policy reforms, and gender relations. The New Left differs from the traditional left in that it tended to acknowledge the struggle for various forms of social justice, whereas previous movements prioritized explicitly economic goals

Does this sound familiar? Of course the DLC faced criticism from activists who liked the direction of the party, even though the voters didn’t.

Here’s a partial transcript from the Today Show in 1991, hosted by Katie Couric and Lisa Myers, with leading Democrats including Bill Clinton, at the time Governor of Arkansas, and Sam Nunn, Senator from Georgia:

MYERS: Embarrassed and outraged by the defeat, some moderate Democrats decided to form their own organization, the Democratic Leadership Council...

Mr. SAM NUNN: Let's get started, if we can.

MYERS: ...in an attempt to redefine the party. Because it was predominantly Southerners, it was originally dismissed as the Southern White Boy Caucus. But today, the DLC has chapters in 22 states and includes some of the country's top Democrats--Bentsen of Texas, Nunn of Georgia, Clinton of Arkansas.

Governor BILL CLINTON (President, DLC): We have worked very, very hard to go beyond the sort of established political orthodoxies of both the Republican and Democratic parties.

MYERS: But some complain that the DLC's success has come by bashing other Democrats. DLC literature portrays a national party in deep trouble--weak on defense, hopelessly liberal, controlled by special interests

Mr. PAUL GOLDMAN (Chairman, Virginia Democratic Party): All I've heard from them is a lot of hot air. You know they love to kick other Democrats on the shins, to run other Democrats down.

Mr. AL FROM (Executive Director, D.L.C.): I believe that we need to change the Democratic Party and I'm not hesitant to criticize Democratic policies that I think need to be changed.

MYERS: Over the past few weeks, the battle has gotten ugly. The DLC chairman, Governor Clinton, took a shot at the Democratic National Committee, saying "I'd like us to be what people think of when they think of the D.N.C." Democratic National Committee Chairman Ron Brown fired back, saying that if the DLC wants to field a Presidential candidate, "Too bad it can't be Governor Clinton since he's already announced to the people of Arkansas that he will not be a candidate."

Mr. RON BROWN (Chairman, DNC): And there was a light tap on the shoulder of Governor Clinton. It was merely to say that we've accomplished too much as a party over the last two years coming out of our 1988 defeat to focus on each other.

MYERS: The DLC also snubbed Reverend Jesse Jackson, omitting him from the long list of possible Presidential candidates invited to speak at this convention. A DLC spokesman said Jackson represents "an old style of politics" which has hurt the party. Jackson says the DLC, which he refers to as `Democrats for the leisure class,' is the one hurting the party. [emphasis added]

Conclusion

As of early 2025, you could be excused for thinking the Democrats will never rise again. However, they need to redo the struggle they went through in the 80’s and 90’s. I don’t pretend to know how that’s going to turn out.

The activists will attack, ferociously, whatever moderate movement emerges, just like Jesse Jackson called the DLC the ‘Democrats for the leisure class.’ Make a bowl of popcorn and enjoy the show.