(ANTIMEDIA) – As President Trump’s presidency continues to spiral toward failure, mainstream opposition continues to follow the same path. Despite the president’s dismal approval rating, the Democratic Party can’t seem to come up with a meaningful strategy to appeal to millions of Americans who are dissatisfied with the country’s current leadership.
Their predicament was apparent this when the Democratic National Committee sent out a press release scolding Trump for failing to keep his promises on his proposed border wall. According to a screen shot tweeted by Business Insider reporter Allan Smith, the DNC attempted to stir inspiration by asserting that “Trump has failed to deliver on his signature promise to build a border wall and have Mexico pay for it.”
Hmmm. The DNC is going after Trump for his "empty promises on border wall." pic.twitter.com/mWGaiVkEkO
— Allan Smith (@akarl_smith) August 22, 2017
The Hill reported further, noting the DNC response to Trump’s failure to build the wall:
“REALITY: Construction on Trump’s border wall had not begun as of August 2017, and it had not even received funding yet.”
Though the DNC made it clear they do not support the wall plan, but rather, were attempting to highlight Trump’s lies, the attempt was lambasted on social media.
“If your strategy requires you to twist yourself into this big of a pretzel, it might be time for a better strategy,” tweeted Mike Casca, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s communication director.
if your strategy requires you to twist yourself into this big of a pretzel, it might be time for a better strategy. https://t.co/m3iMi5TbfD
— mike casca (@cascamike) August 22, 2017
The DNC also failed on a separate occasion this week — this time with a DNC mailer attempting to collect donations for the party. The shot of the envelope, tweeted by Business Insider reporter Andrew Saturn, displayed “FINAL NOTICE” stamped on the envelope.
.@TheDemocrats proving how disconnected from the working class they truly are: sending out donation pleas that look like collection letters. pic.twitter.com/cx929v9nKl
— Andrew Saturn (@andsat) August 21, 2017
“The Democrats proving how disconnected from the working class they truly are: sending out donation pleas that look like collection letters,” Saturn, a self-described leftist, commented. He then claimed that though he didn’t have the full notice to tweet, it “start[ed] out like a collection letter than [sic] [slid] into generic DNC fundraising form letter.” Though one Twitter user argued it was likely a marketing firm that sent out the notices — and therefore, it wasn’t the DNC’s fault — the DNC’s lack of oversight in such a theoretical incident is just as damning.
Indeed, the DNC’s evidently misguided tactics are not translating into funds. New Republic reported this week that the party is lagging far behind the RNC when it comes to fundraising:
“In July, the DNC raised $3.8 million, lagging far behind its Republican counterpart, which raised $10.2 million in the same month. This is the worst haul for any month since January 2009, when Barack Obama was first inaugurated. Overall, during the first half of 2017, the RNC has pummeled the DNC, raising $75.4 million to the Democrats’ $38.2 million.”
Though the party is attempting to paint itself as the “resistance” to Trump and has earned funds for congressional elections in 2018, they are overall failing to garner significant financial support. Some of this is a result of the perception that they lack substance beyond opposing the president.
But it’s also over the party’s continued push toward the center as it ignores more progressive elements of the left. This is the exact tactic they used during the primary, when grassroots support overwhelmingly went to Bernie Sanders, a candidate the DNC intentionally undermined in favor of Hillary Clinton, one of the most loathed political figures in U.S. history. This caused many Democratic loyalists to leave the party.
For example, the DNC opted to place Tom Perez, an establishment Democrat, in charge of the DNC over Keith Ellison, a Berniecrat with a progressive agenda.
Their pick to make establishment politician Sen. Chuck Schumer the minority leader in Congress further reflects their unwillingness to budge and adapt (ironically, Schumer previously received thousands of dollars in campaign donations from Trump). So does an apparent push in favor of Kamala Harris, who is currently rising in the party. Many progressives skeptical of her ties to Wall Street swiftly rejected her.
As the New Republic wondered this week:
“Are they the party of transparency and small donors? Or will they continue to rely on wealthy individuals and corporations, under the cover of loose campaign finance laws that the party opposes in principle?”
Though the outlet noted it’s ultimately too early to tell just how serious the Democrats’ fundraising problem is, the Democrats’ outreach efforts are clearly falling short in the Trump era when they should have supporters flocking to them.
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