The United States Democratic Party has been at the center of significant cultural advancements over the last twenty years. However, it has also been at the center of several controversies, too. The party has achieved considerable success over the years, but it has also made several mistakes that cannot be ignored.
These Democratic Party mistakes are worth a discussion in our view. After all, how can one grow and learn if one ignores history? We all can be better as humans, and that goes triple for those in Washington, D.C., right now.
Democrats often seem to get the benefit of the doubt in many instances. However, despite being welcoming to many cultures and subgroups, many mistakes can be critical for the party. These mistakes have cost their candidates votes over the years, and that could continue.
Before we begin this list, we wanted to ensure that we are fair and balanced in our assessment of the mistakes parties have made. Therefore, we also wrote a companion piece about the mistakes Republicans have made over the last twenty years that you can check out by clicking on our profile above. Whenever you finish this article, be sure to read that article too!
With that said, let’s get started.
10. Terrible Middle Eastern Withdraw
While the Trump Administration was partly responsible for this, we must blame the Biden Administration and the Democrats for the terrible withdrawal from the Middle East in 2021. All of this began with the Doha Agreement, signed in February 2020. The United States agreed to reduce its forces in the area to 8,600 within approximately 135 days. From there, the U.S. would withdraw ALL troops within 14 months, by around May 2021.
However, this all hinged on the Taliban meeting counter-terrorism commitments and beginning intra-Afghan talks. The U.S. also pledged to close five bases and support prisoner releases (roughly 5,000 Taliban for 1,000 Afghan government prisoners). The Trump Administration worked all of this out. The problem? After the deal, the Taliban attacked Afghan forces considerably, but would often spare or not attack U.S. troops per the agreement.
The Trump Administration never actually worked out a plan to withdraw, which led to a bungling of moves that ultimately caused several issues. From leaving weapons and vehicles behind to the death of at least 13 American service members. Many military analysts believe the rapid pullout of troops went badly because they attempted to withdraw a large number of soldiers simultaneously. They had one airport and were over-optimistic about the move, all as places were falling.
9. Crime & Policing Rhetoric
While many Democrats are right not to accept police brutality and/or corruption, there has been a significant issue. Many tend to rely on the social media uproar, focusing heavily on people like George Floyd, whose life was ended by a police officer. After his passing, riots broke out as the officer who ended his life was essentially going to get away with it, despite people capturing the brutality on camera from multiple angles. While the officer was eventually arrested himself, a lot of damage had been done.
Black Lives Matter (BLM) emerged and lacked a central leadership. Therefore, people who claimed to lead BLM in one area were against violence and riots in one place, but for it in another. Democrats supported BLM, which was a problem that hurt the party among white voters who even agreed that police brutality was wrong. The Democratic Party also agreed with the “Defund the Police” movement.
While this was never intended to deprive the local police of all their funding, the terminology was complicated to sell from the outset. Most Democrats supported reforms rather than abolition, but the slogan was easily toxic. Therefore, Republicans had no problem painting the party as “anti-law enforcement.” In fact, many feel that supporting this movement cost Democrats major seats.
8. Mishandling Of Sexual Misconduct Cases
The Republican Party has been heavily connected to sexual misconduct or abuse cases among politicians over the years. President Donald Trump has lost one court case and has been accused of several offenses relating to sexual abuse or assault. Therefore, the Democratic Party should be above that if they are going to make light of the Republicans involved in this, right?
However, Anthony Weiner was notably someone who clearly needed to resign. However, former Senator Al Franken resigned despite his accusations ultimately being found to be largely unfounded. Many believe Democrats acted too hastily in forcing his resignation, while others think they did not go far enough.
The prevailing ideology of the time was that Franken needed to resign to send a message that Democrats do not tolerate this behavior. Especially with this happening in Donald Trump’s first term, the need to separate Democrats morally from the Republicans was important. Today, however, it’s uncertain they would act in the same way.
7. Ignoring Rural & Small Town America
Democrats have made an enormous mistake over the years of ignoring the rural or small-town American, and it has cost them. In the 2016 U.S. Election, Hilary Clinton barely campaigned in the Midwest, assuming it was already a Democratic stronghold. However, some ended up flipped in favor of her opponent, Donald Trump.
Joe Biden learned from this and spent more time in the region, locking them up again. Kamala Harris then would lose them for the same reason as Clinton. They also did not tailor policies to address rural challenges or conduct sufficient outreach in the areas as needed. Harris also focused more heavily on social media campaigns.
Some say they do not vote for Democrats in these types of areas because they try to make them look or come off as stupid. This may not have been the original intention of the Democratic Party, but they have not done much to repair their image. American political consultant James Carville often criticizes Democrats for ignoring rural voters entirely. He’s right to do so, as this is a sector that can actually swing some states.
6. Lack Of Defense Of Norms Under Pressure
The Democratic Party has often been accused of being reactive rather than proactive when it comes to defending voting rights, institutional norms, and calling out anti-democratic threats. They usually can see something coming or know full well it is possible, yet they do not plan to avoid it.
Perhaps the most significant recent development is the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Most Democrats thought that, given how long it has been in place, Roe v. Wade would never be overturned. However, with a majority conservative Supreme Court, it was all too easy to accomplish. Abortion is now up to the states, with many having draconian rules in place that make it nearly impossible.
Democrats knew this could have been a possibility and had control of the White House as well as the majority in Congress. Did they ever bother putting legislation in place that would have secured this right for women? No. Now they are reacting to all the issues that have arisen since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Something that could have been avoided.
5. Focusing On Fear Rather Than Hope
The movie Rogue One said it best: “rebellions are built on hope.”
The Democratic Party has never really understood this. The idea in many minds is that promoting a message of hope is not always effective. It actually worked pretty well for Barack Obama, but in the “Trump Years,” the reactionary Democratic Party has tried to lean on the same thing that helped Trump: fear.
Their concept is that they should lean into warnings about disasters such as possible fascism or threats, rather than promoting positive and aspirational visions. Many voters, especially liberals, are tired of fear-messaging from the Republicans. The last thing these voters want is to see the same from the Democrats, who, in their minds, should be better than their counterparts.
Another Star Wars quote works well here, too, when Obi-Wan Kenobi tells Anakin Skywalker: “You were the Chosen One! It was said that you would destroy the Sith, not join them! Bring balance to the Force, not leave it in darkness!”
The last thing liberals want is Republican messaging disguised in Democratic clothing.
4. The Kamala Harris Campaign
This is likely the most significant mistake the Democratic Party has made in recent years. While most people agree that Joe Biden did not need to run for a second term, the decision was made incredibly late into the process. In fact, some people actually went to the polls assuming Joe Biden was still running for office.
There was no primary of any kind, and Democrats chose Vice President Kamala Harris to run against Donald Trump. This was a key mistake for several reasons. Not only would a primary test her and the plans she had come up with against fellow Democrats, but she and other Democrats could also stand out with several huge talking points that would garner press for years leading up to the election.
Voters heavily misunderstood things like tariffs. A primary and several Democrats discussing them in public would have most certainly helped voters learn about key issues like this. Additionally, VP Harris was not the most popular person. A primary would have helped her land well with liberals nationwide, so that by the time she won the primary, people would be more likely to vote for her.
3. Underestimating The Power Of Local & State Politics
Politics are big on the federal level, but they are just as big, if not bigger, at the state and local levels. It is one thing to win the White House. However, if they fail to invest equally in the state legislatures, districts, and regional offices, they can lose long-term influence. Currently, you’re seeing places like Texas implement a redistricting concept that will effectively result in the loss of several Democratic seats in Congress.
California is planning to do the same, but removing many Republicans instead. However, this highlights the importance of the Democratic Party winning specific seats in state government. It is also crucial to understand how local issues can lead to a lack of votes from those who might have voted if not for something that had stopped them.
Stacy Abrams effectively proved to the Democrats that proper organizing and helping people get to the polls, get signed up, and so on, can help flip a red state like Georgia into a blue one. Yet her type of hustle has not been seen elsewhere. In red states, such as Alabama, we rarely see the Democratic Party in the state making a concerted effort to win. Effectively giving up and not trying at all.
2. Immigration Policies
Perhaps the weakest policy position for the Democratic Party is immigration. While former President Barack Obama attempted to pass legislation to save many (doing so with stuff like DACA), he often had to compromise with Republicans to pass anything. One of the main things he usually gave in on was the immigration concepts Republicans had. Forcing him to adopt Republican immigration rules.
Joe Biden was no better, as crossings surged under his administration (along with voluntary deportations). Democrats can easily dislike the Trump Administration’s handling of immigration, as it’s absolutely horrible. However, if they don’t take action, this only leads to a problem that never gets addressed. Voters are often frustrated with Democrats on this, as progressives feel some moves are too harsh, while moderates think they are being too lenient.
Overall, immigration has consistently remained an issue that the Democratic Party struggles with. They must strike a balance of not being horrible like the Trump Administration, while also not being willing to do something to curb the number of undocumented immigrants that enter the country every day, week, and month of a given year.
1. Assumed Elitism and Bad Messaging
One of the key things you hear conservatives say about the Democratic Party or liberals in general is that Democrats see themselves as better than them. While Democrats are not claiming to be “elite,” it is easy to assume that when you break down how liberals respond to conservatives. The Democratic Party places a strong emphasis on urban, suburban, and highly educated constituencies.
Yet they struggle to connect with rural and industrial areas. While they connected to them far better in the 1990s, by the 2000s, this was less common. They’d end up losing a connection to working-class voters, especially midwesterners, which has often been cited as a key demographic they lost that helped Donald Trump land in the White House.
Democrats rarely adapt to changing demographics and cultural shifts as well as they should. There is often a messaging issue where Democrats warn you of what Republicans are planning. However, they focus less on the plans they might have in comparison. This causes a lot of voter fatigue, as voters want to know what you will do for them. If your concept is better, they will likely be able to understand that themselves when comparing your ideas to those of your opponents.