Around this time last year, I had breakfast with a donor. They asked if I’d ever go back to the Republican Party. No, I said, it should be burned to the ground and its ashes spread around the nearest landfill. What about the Democrats? For the next two minutes or so I laid out my worries, frustrations, and concerns with my new political allies.
They weren’t impressed. “Your voice held so much bile,” when describing the Democrats.
“You’re supposed to better. I know what to expect from my old party,” I told them. Too often, I continued, Democrats claim the moral high ground but don’t do the actual work of climbing the hill.
Trump’s Trick
If there is one thing, out of the innumerable offenses he’s committed, that Trump accomplished, his convincing that both political parties are corrupt, and neither are looking out of the little guy, was among the most effective; in large part because his opponents kept proving him right.
Before you look for the unsubscribe button, let me explain. This isn’t a ‘both sides’ argument, or an attempt to diminish Donald Trump’s bad acts. We need a stark reminder that he was pushing an open door when he equated both Republicans and Democrats with corruption.
Don’t believe me? Believe the data.
According to a survey released just six weeks ago by Pew, 39% of Americans trust Republicans to govern honestly and ethically. By comparison, 42% believe Democrats will be good actors when in power. Fully one quarter of the country, 26%, believe neither party governs honestly or ethically.
In a bizarre (strange, sick, weird, frustrating) way, Trump got credit from voters for calling out the system as corrupt, even as he, his family, his cronies, and the world’s worst butchers pick Americans’ pockets on the daily.
Pardon Me, Hakeem?
Last week, Trump pardoned Democratic Congressman Henry Cuellar (D-TX) and his wife, Imelda. Both were facing federal corruption charges related to “bribery, money laundering, and foreign influence peddling.” The pair were indicted last year, during the Biden Administration, accused of accepting $600,000 in bribes related to a Mexican bank and an Azerbaijani oil company respectively.
In his pardon statement, Trump claimed on Truth Social he was doing right by Cuellar because “he bravely spoke out against Open Borders.”
Author’s Note: Trump’s praise didn’t last long. When Cuellar filed to run as a Democrat for the 2026 elections, he wrote “No more Mr. Nice Guy!”
On CNN, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jefferies, asked to comment, responded: “I don’t know why the president decided to do this. I think the outcome was exactly the right outcome.”
He went on to say that the indictment was ‘very thin to begin with’ in his view and might eventually be dismissed either at trial or later by the Supreme Court.
Jeffries could have said anything, ANYTHING, other than what he said. Instead, he went out of his way to agree with Trump’s pardon, diminish the charges against a member of his caucus, and claim they wouldn’t be upheld. He tacitly admitted that some corruption is okay, so long as you’re in a tough district.
Why? Why? Why? How about: “I don’t agree with the charges against Rep. Cuellar, but we have the rule of law here in the United States. I feel confident that Henry and Imelda will be aquitted of these accusations, but the system must run its course. I believe President Trump has made a mockery of our courts and our judicial system by handing out nearly 2,000 pardons during his time in office.”
How hard would that have been? Was Jeffries really that afraid Cuellar would switch parties? If so, wouldn’t the pardon have made it that much easier to go after him in a tight contest next year?
Speaking of Pardons…
Before he left office last year, President Joe Biden pardoned his son Hunter, who’d already been convicted on federal tax evasion charges, and was also facing fire arms charges.
During the course of 2024, Biden was asked, many, many times, whether he would pardon his son. Every time, the answer was an emphatic “No.” Then, with Trump reelected, Biden changed his mind, as was his personal right.
Yet again, however, a leader of the Democratic Party, after decrying Trump’s behavior, conducted themselves in similar fashion. “Do as I say, not as I do,” isn’t a good look for those claiming to uphold civic virtue. That Trump acts in felonious fashion daily doesn’t appear to matter in the minds or opinions of Americans.
No Mo Cuomo
Andrew Cuomo was driven from office in the Summer of 2021 after a barrage of sexual harassment accusations. Democrats up and down the line demanded Cuomo resign. Joe Biden weighed in. The Democrat-dominated New York State legislature was preparing articles of impeachment.
Four short years later, Cuomo was running for New York City Mayor. As if he hadn’t been a prime #MeToo candidate, many Establishment Democrats got behind his primary bid. No less than former President Bill Clinton endorsed Cuomo’s bid. As did former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Wall Street billionaires poured millions in Super PACs supporting him.
After losing his party’s primary, Cuomo refused to drop out and instead ran as an independent. During an event on Long Island, Cuomo mused that Donald Trump would be working to help get him elected. “I feel good about that,” Politico reported Cuomo as saying.
Trump would eventually endorse Cuomo for mayor.
Wither Leadership?
Democrats are poised to have a very, very good 2026. However, the party’s leadership must decide who they represent: The entrenched or their voters. When I first started working alongside Democrats I was surprised that they had to recreate their electoral coalition every two years.
Six years into my work and observations, the constant reconstruction projects make more sense. Instead of a consistent, popular message, Democratic leaders, and the mezzanine members of the party: activists, consultants, and donors, find ways to say as little as possible, and believe in less.
We either believe the things we tell voters or we don’t. Despite an elite belief that many voters are ‘low information’ or ‘not paying attention’ that isn’t the case. Voters are cannot get away from politics no matter how hard they try. They’re not uninformed, they’re unimpressed, and rightly so.
This unwillingness to deny your own privilege, and make good on the many, many, many promises you’ve made over the years leaves lifelong voters dispirited, sometime voters disgusted, and independents coming along only because they’re mad at Republicans (read: Trump.)
None of this adds up to a sustainable political or electoral strategy. If 2026 is going to be the blowout it should be, Democratic leaders need to shake their bad habits or end up disappointed yet again.
I certainly want the Dems to take democracy more seriously. Between the Jeffries remark to the Biden’s missteps, the party did not practice what they preached. My question is how the party should rebuild itself. Judging from recent episodes of the Home Front, there seems to be a lean towards a more progressive direction, but I may be wrong. My main concern is blue cities have a poor track record in governance, and progressives have not proven themselves to be pragmatic problem solvers either. Ultimately, I want the Dems to take the authoritarian movement seriously, and give room to progressives and blue dogs alike if their candidacies fit their states and districts. They need a platform that will work for most Americans and never let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
In less than a year, every eligible voter in America will have the chance to vote "yea" or "nay" on what might be the most corrupt, depraved, and incompetent Administration in American history. We already know Democrats want to put “guardrails” around Trump, (btw, what an inspiring bumper sticker: “Vote Democratic, We Install Guardrails”!) We hope the Democratic Party will soon lay out a detailed Democratic “Project 2026” focused on restoring the American dream for all Americans and, for that matter, all citizens throughout the world who cherish democracy and peace. By giving us all, Democrat, Republican, and Independent, something to vote "for", the Democratic Party could produce the biggest voter turnout for a midterm election in American history and new Democratic majorities in the House and the Senate while the Trump/MAGA clown show unravels in its final wasteful and chaotic two years.