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By Frank BruniTim RyanAnat Shenker-Osorio and Lis Smith
Mr. Bruni is an opinion editor. Mr. Ryan is a former congressman from Ohio. Ms. Shenker-Osorio is the host of the “Words to Win By” podcast. Ms. Smith, senior advisor to Pete Buttigieg’s presidential campaign.
Frank Bruni, a contributing Opinion writer, hosted a written online conversation with Tim Ryan, a former representative from Ohio; Anat Shenker-Osorio, a political researcher, a campaign adviser and the host of the podcast “Words to Win By”; and Lis Smith, a Democratic communications strategist and the author of the memoir “Any Given Tuesday: A Political Love Story.” They discussed the future of the Democratic Party and its leadership.
Frank Bruni: Lis, Tim, Anat, in about a month, Donald Trump will be inaugurated and Republicans will control both chambers of Congress. Happy Holidays! Judged by the sheer volume of words that have been written and spoken since Nov. 5 about their party’s comeuppance, Democrats have gone beyond soul searching to soul spelunking — they’ve descended into whole new subterranean caverns of analysis. But what they’re seeing and saying is all over the place.
In your opinion, what’s the one biggest reason behind — the key factor explaining — what happened to Democrats in 2024, and tell me why it, er, trumps all the others?
Lis Smith: The Democratic logo is in the bathroom. Many of the Democrats who succeeded this cycle (our top-performing candidates in the House elections, for example) are others who opposed the Democratic Party logo. Trump tore down the blue wall in the commercial Midwest, but he also expanded his maximum votes in our bluest urban areas.
Bruni: “The baths”? Oh, Lis, it’s serious. Do you think it’s that bad?
Smith: When the best way to win as a candidate is to run against your own party, it’s that bad. Our candidates down ballot are good. It’s what the “D” next to their name means (the status quo) that people don’t like.
Bruni: Do you also think it’s that serious, Tim and Anat?
Tim Ryan: Democrats have been singled out as the party of the prestige quo on inflation, instability, lack of trust, and the mutual challenges facing other parties in power. Trump was the candidate to replace in a year when 65% of people believed we were on the right path. And they failed to redefine themselves in the cultural challenges that they found themselves on the other side of 60 to 70% of Americans.
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