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https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2025/03/18/trump- democrats-approval-rating-schumer-aoc/82488001007/

Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman recently observed the following about the state of his Democratic Party: “A sad cavalcade of self owns and unhinged petulance. It only makes Trump look more presidential and restrained.
We’re becoming the metaphorical car alarms that nobody pays attention to -
and it may not be the winning message.”

Ouch.

Fetterman posted that message on social media after Democrats’
embarrassing show of “resistance” during President Donald Trump’s joint
address to Congress this month.

It’s a stinging rebuke to make about one’s own party, but Fetterman is absolutely right. Democrats have struggled to move forward as a unified
party with a unified vision ever since Trump’s win in November.

Americans have noticed Democrats' lack of unity and a coherent party
platform. Two polls released over the weekend carry a major warning for Democrats – if they choose to listen.

Democratic Party scores record lows for favorability
A poll from NBC News found that only 27% of registered voters view the Democratic Party favorably, which is the lowest rating for Democrats in
the history of NBC polling (going back to 1990). Among self-identified Democrats, only 59% view the party positively.

Of note is the drastic split between the 7% of all voters who have a “very positive” view of the party and the 38% who have a “very negative” view.

Opinion: Torching Teslas? Climate-loving liberals driven crazy by Trump
harm their cause.
In contrast, Republicans’ “very positive” rating of 21% is the highest
it’s been in at least 15 years.

And Trump hit a new record with favorability, with 36% seeing him in a
“very positive” light. (It’s true that 45% have a “very negative” view of Trump, but it’s been worse.)

A CNN poll offered similar bad news to Democrats, with only 29% of U.S.
adults viewing them in a positive light – the lowest figure since 1992.
It’s also a 20-point drop since 2021.

Will Democrats move toward the middle? Progressives are fighting it.
Much of the Democratic infighting centers on differences in how the party should respond to Trump and Republicans' slim control in Congress.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer garnered the anger of many
Democrats when he opted, somewhat reluctantly, to vote last week with Republicans to allow a bill to avert a government shutdown to proceed to a vote.

New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is one of the Democrats who have
openly bashed Schumer, also of New York, for his choice. The progressive champion and a rising leader for the far left called it a “tremendous
mistake” and a “huge slap in the face.”

But Schumer didn’t want Democrats to own a shutdown if they prevented the
bill from getting to Trump.

Now, the backlash is such that Schumer has had to postpone a book tour. Democratic activists have been staging protests outside his home, and reportedly had organized similar protests at scheduled book tour
locations.

That doesn’t bode well for party unity.

While Democrats like AOC aren’t likely to back down on anything, other
party members like Fetterman realize that Democrats have real soul-
searching to do ahead of next year’s midterm elections.

That seems to be what California Gov. Gavin Newsom is doing. As the
progressive governor of the country’s most progressive state, he's looking
to moderate on the cultural issues that have caused Democrats to flounder.
In a recent interview with a conservative activist, Newsom admitted that
"men in female sports" is “deeply unfair.”

Now, I don’t believe that Newsom has actually changed his views, but it’s
still encouraging to see a politician moderate his public stance on
something.

In the meantime, given their record-low approval ratings, Democrats need
to first figure out how to get along among themselves.

Ingrid Jacques is a columnist at USA TODAY. Contact her at ijacques@usatoday.com or on X, formerly Twitter: @Ingrid_Jacques


--
November 5, 2024 - Congratulations President Donald Trump. We look
forward to America being great again.

The disease known as Kamala Harris has been effectively treated and
eradicated.

We live in a time where intelligent people are being silenced so that
stupid people won't be offended.

Durham Report: The FBI has an integrity problem. It has none.

Thank you for cleaning up the disaster of the 2008-2017 Obama / Biden
fiasco, President Trump.

Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the
The World According To Garp. Obama sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood
queer liberal democrat donors.

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