Democrats Still Have No Idea What Went Wrong

"On a recent panel of progressive activists analyzing what went wrong in the 2024 election, the author, activist, and failed political candidate Qasim Rashid spoke with confidence about the way forward for the Democratic Party. The problem, he insisted, was not that Democrats had strayed too far from public opinion but that the party had grown too solicitous of it. "Saying the right thing timidly," he proclaimed, "is less effective than saying the wrong thing loudly.""

"Rashid's argument was anything but timid, and it certainly played well in the Washington, D.C., room where the progressive donor network Way to Win was holding a confab called Persuasion 2025. Yet Rashid meant for this event to be more than just a pep talk among allies. His call for a confident, undiluted progressive platform is "how you see people flip red seats to blue," he said."

Progressive activists at a Way to Win confab argued that Democratic losses stemmed from excessive solicitousness toward public opinion and timid messaging. Qasim Rashid urged a confident, undiluted progressive platform and claimed bold, loud positions flip red seats to blue. Rashid has run unsuccessfully for office three times and founded a relational messaging firm called Just Win. The progressive movement faces defensiveness after nearly a decade of dominance as its hold on the party becomes uncertain. Earlier optimism about liberalism's inevitable ascent led many Democrats to embrace policies ahead of public opinion, a strategy now under reevaluation.

Read at The Atlantic