Dems In Disarray: Congressional Democrats ‘Ripping Each Other To Shreds’ After Another Election Day Setback

Senate Democrats Underperformed Yet Again, As Rank-And-File Members Attack Dems’ Messaging And Strategy

“Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) defended Democrats falling short of taking back the Senate majority in last week’s election, and declined to say whether the party made any strategic errors.” (“Schumer Defends Not Taking Back The Senate Last Week,” Politico, 11/10/2020)

• “Going into the Nov. 3 election, control of the Senate was widely viewed as a toss-up, and public polling suggested that Democrats had a slight edge over Republicans to win. While Democrats gained a net seat, they lost races in North Carolina, Iowa and Maine, all rated as toss-ups. In addition, Democrats fell short in red states like South Carolina and Montana, despite star recruits and record-breaking fundraising.” (“Schumer Defends Not Taking Back The Senate Last Week,” Politico, 11/10/2020)

“Democratic senators are pushing for significant changes to how the party runs campaigns after its efforts to make major gains in Congress’ upper chamber faltered for the third cycle in a row. ‘We’d be fools not to engage in some amount of self-reflection,’ said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.). The party had hopes of winning a dozen Republican-held seats on Election Day after spending hundreds of millions of dollars of both grassroots and big-donor money to put the GOP on defense. Instead, Republicans have swept most of the competitive races …” (“‘A Loss Is A Loss’: Democratic Senators Frustrated After Party Falls Short,” Huffington Post, 11/11/2020)

• “[S]enators were particularly upset by losses in Iowa and Maine, where candidates they saw as strong contenders ended up losing by significant margins.” (“‘A Loss Is A Loss’: Democratic Senators Frustrated After Party Falls Short,” Huffington Post, 11/11/2020)

Under Fire: ‘The DSCC’s Track Record Of Recruiting Has-Beens And Cookie-Cutter Candidates’

“Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer[‘s] tight control of the DSCC is legendary among operatives …” (“‘A Loss Is A Loss’: Democratic Senators Frustrated After Party Falls Short,” Huffington Post, 11/11/2020)

“Senators interviewed for this story said the party needs to reexamine its message, polling methods and how it spends the tens of millions of dollars it collects from donors every election cycle.” (“‘A Loss Is A Loss’: Democratic Senators Frustrated After Party Falls Short,” Huffington Post, 11/11/2020)

• SEN. DOUG JONES (D-AL): “DSCC and DCCC spend too much time investing in candidates and not the electorate. They don’t invest in House districts, they don’t invest in states.” (“‘We’re Not Some Demonic Cult’: Democrats Fume Over Faulty Messaging,” Politico, 11/10/2020)

FAR-LEFT GROUPS NEW DEAL STRATEGIES, JUSTICE DEMOCRATS, SUNRISE MOVEMENT, AND DATA FOR PROGRESS: “On the Senate side, the DSCC’s track record of recruiting has-beens and cookie-cutter candidates who go on to lose winnable races continued…. In the last six years, winnable races that Senate Democrats lost because of poor DSCC recruiting decisions include those run by: Bruce Braley, Cal Cunningham, Katie McGinty, Deborah Ross, Ted Strickland, Patrick Murphy, and more.” (New Deal Strategies, Justice Democrats, Sunrise Movement, and Data for Progress, “What Went Wrong For Congressional Democrats In 2020, 11/10/2020)

Red State Dem Senators: ‘Whatever Our Message Is, It Hasn’t Worked,’ ‘Democrats Have Not Been Able To Fully Counter The Republican Narrative’

“[S]ome frustration is bubbling up in the Senate as well. Sen. Doug Jones (D-Ala.), who lost by 20 points to Republican Tommy Tuberville last week, blamed getting tied to GOP ‘catch-phrases’ as the reason red- and purple-state Democrats took a beating.” (“‘We’re Not Some Demonic Cult’: Democrats Fume Over Faulty Messaging,” Politico, 11/10/2020)

• SEN. DOUG JONES (D-AL): “We’re not some demonic cult … Democrats have not been able to fully counter the Republican narrative.” (“‘We’re Not Some Demonic Cult’: Democrats Fume Over Faulty Messaging,” Politico, 11/10/2020)

SEN. JOE MANCHIN (D-WV): “Chuck has to understand we need to take a strong look at ourselves. … I’ve watched the last three elections: 2016, ‘18 and ‘20. We truly should have been in the majority and it didn’t happen… Whatever our message is, it hasn’t worked. And I would hope that our leadership from the top to bottom understands that. It has not worked. And if we’re going down that path again, we’re in trouble.” (“‘We’re Not Some Demonic Cult’: Democrats Fume Over Faulty Messaging,” Politico, 11/10/2020)

• MANCHIN: “[W]hen they talk about basically Medicare for All, we can’t even pay for Medicare for some. It doesn’t make any sense at all.” (Fox News’ “Special Report w/ Bret Baier,” 11/09/2020)

• MANCHIN: “And when you’re talking about, basically, Green New Deal and all this socialism … we have been tagged…. If you have a D by your name, you must be for all the crazy stuff …” (Fox News’ “Special Report w/ Bret Baier,” 11/09/2020)

“Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow, a member of Schumer’s leadership team, said she thought Republicans were able to effectively label lesser-known first-time candidates as more leftist …” (“‘A Loss Is A Loss’: Democratic Senators Frustrated After Party Falls Short,” Huffington Post, 11/11/2020)

But Far-Left Senators Defended Their Radical Ideas, Attacking Others As ‘Corporate Democrats’ And Doubling Down On Policies That Would ‘Dramatically Alter The Nature Of Our Economy’

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): “Now, with the blame game erupting, corporate Democrats are attacking so-called far-left policies like Medicare for All and the Green New Deal for election defeats in the House and the Senate.… The lesson is not to abandon popular policies like Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, living wage jobs, criminal justice reform and universal child care …” (Sen. Sanders, Op-Ed, “Corporate Democrats Are Attacking So-Called Far-Left Policies,” USA Today, 11/11/2020)

CNN’s JAKE TAPPER: “[Y]our party picked up one seat in the Senate. You lost the race in Maine. You lost the race in Iowa. You lost the race in Montana. I could go on and on. You lost the race in North Carolina. I mean, Schumer thought he was going to be the majority leader. And he’s not. I mean, obviously, something went wrong.”
SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D-CT): “… But let me humor you for a second, because I don’t think you’re wrong. I mean, we should do an assessment…. And I think we have to be much more vocal in those policies that are going to dramatically alter the nature of our economy …” (CNN, 11/10/2020)

Meanwhile, House Democrats Are In The Midst Of A Nasty Civil War Between More Establishment Democrats And Ascendant Far-Left Radicals

“Democrats are poised to hold the smallest majority in 18 years, undercutting the leverage of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).” (“Centrist House Democrats Lash Out At Liberal Colleagues, Blame Far-Left Views For Costing The Party Seats,” The Washington Post, 11/05/2020)

“House Democrats have turned on each other in a resumption of the ideological war gripping the party. The sniping has grown pointed and personal, with centrists and liberals blasting each other by name both privately and in the press. Both sides have been privately discussing how they will exert their will even further in the upcoming Congress.” (Politico, 11/11/2020)

• “Much of the Democratic caucus remains shellshocked — if not outright furious — at the election results in the House. Moderate Democrats, many of whom barely survived their own reelection battles and watched more than a half-dozen colleagues fall, are livid at their leadership for failing to see the blow coming.” (Politico, 11/11/2020)

“An angry dispute erupted among House Democrats on Thursday, with centrist members blasting their liberal colleagues during a private conference call for pushing far-left views that cost the party seats in Tuesday’s election that they had worked hard to win two years ago. The bitter exchange, which lasted more than three hours as members sniped back and forth over tactics and ideology, reflected the extent to which the 2020 campaign exposed simmering tensions in the party …” (“Centrist House Democrats Lash Out At Liberal Colleagues, Blame Far-Left Views For Costing The Party Seats,” The Washington Post, 11/05/2020)

‘The Party In Recent Years Has Moved Further Left’ And Even Some House Dem Leaders Say If ‘We Are Going To Run On Medicare For All, Defund The Police, Socialized Medicine, We’re Not Going To Win,’ ‘Do We Want To Win, Do We Want To Govern, Or Do We Want To Be Internet Celebrities?’

“In the aftermath of their unexpected losses, Democrats argued that the party needs to come to terms with a bigger problem: Republicans have successfully cast the most vulnerable Democrats as ‘socialists’ and tied them to liberal ideas, including Medicare-for-all, the Green New Deal and cutting police budgets…. The attacks, moderates warned, have proved salient and powerful — and Democrats need to figure out a way to address them now.” (“Centrist House Democrats Lash Out At Liberal Colleagues, Blame Far-Left Views For Costing The Party Seats,” The Washington Post, 11/05/2020)

• “The explanation laid out by centrists, according to multiple people who were on the call and spoke on the condition of anonymity, is that Republicans were easily able to paint them all as socialists and radical leftists who endorse far-left positions such as defunding the police.” (“Centrist House Democrats Lash Out At Liberal Colleagues, Blame Far-Left Views For Costing The Party Seats,” The Washington Post, 11/05/2020)

• “Privately, Democrats in interviews over the past two days have said the answer is obvious. The party in recent years has moved further left, with some members embracing such liberal ideas as free college, the Green New Deal, eliminating the Senate filibuster and adding justices to the Supreme Court. Many of the House’s rank and file support those policies …” (“Centrist House Democrats Lash Out At Liberal Colleagues, Blame Far-Left Views For Costing The Party Seats,” The Washington Post, 11/05/2020)

“Even some liberals agreed with their moderate colleagues that the language being embraced by the far left needs to change. Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), a member of the Progressive Caucus who supports universal health care, said the party needs to stop using the word ‘socialist’ altogether.” (“Centrist House Democrats Lash Out At Liberal Colleagues, Blame Far-Left Views For Costing The Party Seats,” The Washington Post, 11/05/2020)

HOUSE MAJORITY WHIP JIM CLYBURN (D-SC): “Well, it happened simply because we were not able to discipline ourselves… We keep making that mistake. This foolishness about, ‘You got to be this progressive or that progressive’… That phrase — ‘defund the police’ — cost [Democrat South Carolina Senate candidate] Jaime Harrison tremendously… Stop sloganeering… Sloganeering kills people. Sloganeering destroys movements. Stop sloganeering. And let’s go about the business of representing people and building hopes and aspirations for people.” (“Top House Democrat Says "Defund Police," Other "Sloganeering" Cost Seats,” Axios, 11/09/2020)

• “If ‘we are going to run on Medicare for All, defund the police, socialized medicine, we’re not going to win,’ House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) warned on the caucus call, according to three people listening.” (“Dem Leaders Warn Liberal Rhetoric Could Blow Georgia Races,” Politico, 11/05/2020)

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY), House Democratic Caucus Chair: “Do we want to win, do we want to govern, or do we want to be internet celebrities? … I think it’s a useful conversation for us to have because the socialism message wasn’t helpful.” (Politico, 11/11/2020)

House Dems: ‘There Has To Be A Reckoning Within Our Ranks,’ ‘Democrats’ Messaging Is Terrible … When [Voters] See The Far Left That Gets All The News Media Attention, They Get Scared,’ ‘We Need To Not Ever Use The Word “Socialist” Or “Socialism” Ever Again,’ ‘Those Things Aren’t Just Unpopular, They’re Completely Unrealistic,’ ‘We Pay The Price For These Unprofessional And Unrealistic Comments’

“The frustration was evident during the Thursday call, when moderates who won in Trump districts vented about how the use of some language on the left — such as the word ‘socialism’ — is causing problems with those in middle America.” (“Centrist House Democrats Lash Out At Liberal Colleagues, Blame Far-Left Views For Costing The Party Seats,” The Washington Post, 11/05/2020)

• “Moderates … say they are done playing nice after feeling like they tiptoed around the liberals in the caucus this Congress, only to see many of their members get wiped out after being tagged by the GOP with the rallying cries of the far left.” (Politico, 11/11/2020)

REP. ABIGAIL SPANBERGER (D-VA): “We need to not ever use the word ‘socialist’ or ‘socialism’ ever again. . . . We lost good members because of that…. If we are classifying [Election Day] as a success . . . we will get f---ing torn apart in 2022.” (“Centrist House Democrats Lash Out At Liberal Colleagues, Blame Far-Left Views For Costing The Party Seats,” The Washington Post, 11/05/2020)

• SPANBERGER: “The number one concern in things that people brought to me in my [district] that I barely re-won, was defunding the police. And I’ve heard from colleagues who have said ‘Oh, it’s the language of the streets. We should respect that.’ We’re in Congress. We are professionals. We are supposed to talk about things in the way where we mean what we’re talking about. If we don’t mean we should defund the police, we shouldn’t say that.” (“This Democratic Congresswoman Just Spoke Some Hard Truth To Her Party,” CNN, 11/06/2020)

REP. CONOR LAMB (D-PA): “I’m giving you an honest account of what I’m hearing from my own constituents, which is that they are extremely frustrated by the message of defunding the police and banning fracking. And I, as a Democrat, am just as frustrated. Because those things aren’t just unpopular, they’re completely unrealistic, and they aren’t going to happen. And they amount to false promises by the people that call for them. … That’s what we’re trying to say: that the rhetoric and the policies and all that stuff — it has gone way too far. It needs to be dialed back. It needs to be rooted in common sense, in reality, and yes, politics. Because we need districts like mine to stay in the majority and get something done for the people that we care about the most.” (“Conor Lamb, House Moderate, On Biden’s Win, ‘The Squad’ And The Future Of The Democratic Party,” The New York Times, 11/08/2020)

• LAMB: “Spanberger was talking about something many of us are feeling today: We pay the price for these unprofessional and unrealistic comments about a number of issues, whether it is about the police or shale gas…. These issues are too serious for the people we represent to tolerate them being talked about so casually.” (“Centrist House Democrats Lash Out At Liberal Colleagues, Blame Far-Left Views For Costing The Party Seats,” The Washington Post, 11/05/2020)

LAMB: “And I want to be really clear on that, because I respect every one of those members and how hard they worked to get elected and how hard they have worked to stay elected and represent their constituencies. But the fact is that they and others are advocating policies that are unworkable and extremely unpopular. So I would just say that our view is more that we want to have a clearer, sharper, more unified message on policy itself, regardless of who gets the credit or who is in the limelight for that.” (“Conor Lamb, House Moderate, On Biden’s Win, ‘The Squad’ And The Future Of The Democratic Party,” The New York Times, 11/08/2020)

• LAMB: “I just don’t think it was a day for people to be sniping at other members, especially in districts that are so different from their own. I respect [Rep. Ocasio-Cortez] and how hard she works. And what she did in an extremely low-turnout Democratic primary.” (“Conor Lamb, House Moderate, On Biden’s Win, ‘The Squad’ And The Future Of The Democratic Party,” The New York Times, 11/08/2020)

“Like many fellow moderate Democrats, [Rep. Harley] Rouda [D-CA] expressed frustrations that Democrats did not do a better job combating the socialism and anti-police attacks that were the bread and butter of GOP swing-district advertising.” (“‘We’re The Ones Who Won’: McCarthy Guarantees 2022 House Majority After GOP Stymies Democrats In Suburbs,” The Washington Post, 11/12/2020)

• REP. HARLEY ROUDA (D-CA): “Many [voters], I believe, bought into the message that Democrats are marching in that direction [of socialism] … We did not combat that message as effectively as we should have.” (“‘We’re The Ones Who Won’: McCarthy Guarantees 2022 House Majority After GOP Stymies Democrats In Suburbs,” The Washington Post, 11/12/2020)

• ROUDA: “[B]road brushes were painted that all Democrats were socialist.” (“‘We’re The Ones Who Won’: McCarthy Guarantees 2022 House Majority After GOP Stymies Democrats In Suburbs,” The Washington Post, 11/12/2020)

REP. KURT SCHRADER (D-OR): “Democrats’ messaging is terrible; it doesn’t resonate…. When [voters] see the far left that gets all the news media attention, they get scared. They’re very afraid that this will become a supernanny state, and their ability to do things on their own is going to be taken away.” (“Centrist House Democrats Lash Out At Liberal Colleagues, Blame Far-Left Views For Costing The Party Seats,” The Washington Post, 11/05/2020)

ANONYMOUS HOUSE DEMOCRAT: “There has to be a reckoning within our ranks about this because a lot of Justice Democrats don’t give a damn about the Democratic Party. . . . They’re all about purity and orthodoxy, and it is damaging our opportunities.” (“Centrist House Democrats Lash Out At Liberal Colleagues, Blame Far-Left Views For Costing The Party Seats,” The Washington Post, 11/05/2020)

“Other centrists, including Rep. Marc Veasey of Texas, made similar points. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, a Florida Democrat who suffered an unexpected loss to a Republican challenger, argued through tears that the party’s infighting on Twitter needs to stop.” (“Centrist House Democrats Lash Out At Liberal Colleagues, Blame Far-Left Views For Costing The Party Seats,” The Washington Post, 11/05/2020)

But ‘House Progressives Don’t Want To Hear It,’ Firing Back At Other Democrats, Declaring, ‘They’re Just Setting Up Their Own Obsolescence’

“House Democrats lost seats instead of expanding their majority, underperforming expectations across the board. And moderates have pounced on liberals like Tlaib, the Michigan congresswoman, accusing them of handing conservatives a set of slogans and policies to scare voters. But Tlaib and other House progressives don’t want to hear it.” (“Tlaib Lashes Out At Centrist Dems Over Election Debacle: ‘I Can’t Be Silent,’” Politico, 11/10/2020)

“Liberals … fired back. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), co-chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, argued that Democrats shouldn’t single out people and ideas that energize the party base. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), a self-described democratic socialist, grew angry, accusing her colleagues of only being interested in appealing to White people in suburbia.” (“Centrist House Democrats Lash Out At Liberal Colleagues, Blame Far-Left Views For Costing The Party Seats,” The Washington Post, 11/05/2020)

• “Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington, co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, jumped on the call to defend liberal ideas, saying that’s what keeps the Democratic base motivated to turn out and vote. ‘If we don’t keep these folks engaged … we will lose again in 2024, and we may lose again in the next midterm,’ Jayapal told Democrats on the call, according to two people who dialed in.” (“Dem Leaders Warn Liberal Rhetoric Could Blow Georgia Races,” Politico, 11/05/2020)

REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): “There are folks running around on TV blaming progressivism for Dem underperformance. I was curious, so I decided to open the hood on struggling campaigns of candidates who are blaming progressives for their problems. Almost all had awful execution on digital. DURING A PANDEMIC.” (Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, @AOC, Twitter, 11/06/2020)

• OCASIO-CORTEZ: “So the whole ‘progressivism is bad’ argument just doesn’t have any compelling evidence that I’ve seen.” (Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, @AOC, Twitter, 11/06/2020)

OCASIO-CORTEZ: “I’ve already started looking into the actual functioning of these campaigns. And the thing is, I’ve been unseating Democrats for two years. I have been defeating Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee-run campaigns for two years. That’s how I got to Congress. That’s how we elected Ayanna Pressley. That’s how Jamaal Bowman won. That’s how Cori Bush won. And so we know about extreme vulnerabilities in how Democrats run campaigns. Some of this is criminal. It’s malpractice. Conor Lamb spent $2,000 on Facebook the week before the election. I don’t think anybody who is not on the internet in a real way in the Year of our Lord 2020 and loses an election can blame anyone else when you’re not even really on the internet.” (“Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez On Biden’s Win, House Losses, And What’s Next For The Left,” The New York Times, 11/07/2020)

• OCASIO-CORTEZ: “So I need my colleagues to understand that we are not the enemy. And that their base is not the enemy. … [T]hat Medicare for all is not the enemy. This isn’t even just about winning an argument. It’s that if they keep going after the wrong thing, I mean, they’re just setting up their own obsolescence.” (“Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez On Biden’s Win, House Losses, And What’s Next For The Left,” The New York Times, 11/07/2020)

“Alexandra Rojas, executive director of Justice Democrats, blamed the House Democrats for their own failures. ‘They had one job and they blew it.’” (“Centrist House Democrats Lash Out At Liberal Colleagues, Blame Far-Left Views For Costing The Party Seats,” The Washington Post, 11/05/2020)

Far-Left House Dems ‘Are Emboldened’: ‘We Need To Have An Unapologetic Agenda,’ ‘I’m Not Going To Stop Pushing For Medicare For All’

“Progressives are emboldened after adding to their ranks. Justice Democrats, the muscle behind Ocasio-Cortez’s 2018 victory, backed three more successful primary challengers, and several other liberal candidates prevailed in open blue seats.” (Politico, 11/11/2020)

REP. PRAMILA JAYAPAL (D-WA): “I, of course, am a champion for Medicare For All. I’m not going to stop pushing for Medicare For All, but we were able to take significant steps forward in the Biden platform of getting some core pieces of Medicare for all into the Biden platform …” (CNN International, 11/09/2020)

OCASIO-CORTEZ: “We need to have an unapologetic agenda, have an actual alternative and countermessaging that is distinct from the Republican Party instead of trying to play to notions of civility.” (“Tlaib Lashes Out At Centrist Dems Over Election Debacle: ‘I Can’t Be Silent,’” Politico, 11/10/2020)

• “Ocasio-Cortez, like moderates, wasn’t happy with the party’s messaging on climate change, which she said ended on ‘not the “Green New Deal” and “we love fracking.”‘” (“Tlaib Lashes Out At Centrist Dems Over Election Debacle: ‘I Can’t Be Silent,’” Politico, 11/10/2020)

“Rashida Tlaib isn’t apologizing for wanting to yank money away from bad police departments. She has no second thoughts about her embrace of the Black Lives Matter movement, or for wanting to aggressively fight climate change.” (“Tlaib Lashes Out At Centrist Dems Over Election Debacle: ‘I Can’t Be Silent,’” Politico, 11/10/2020)