The Darkness Before Dawn

Trump’s restoration has left the Democratic Party broken and dysfunctional

The pathetic spectacle of a political party in free fall

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It’s something of an American political tradition that the opposition party’s response to a presidential address before Congress is a disaster for the person who delivers it. Just ask Marco Rubio, who was excoriated for sipping from a bottle of water during his response to President Barack Obama’s 2013 State of the Union Address.

The unenviable task of responding to President Donald Trump’s March 4 address to Congress fell to Senator Elissa Slotkin, Democrat of Michigan, and by all accounts she avoided disaster. By and large, Slotkin came off as a representative the Responsible Opposition, not as a hysterical ninny of the Resistance Left. Naturally, she took shots at Trump and the evil genius of the moment, Elon Musk. Naturally she drew attention to rising prices—well, Senator, better late than never! Naturally she babbled of tax cuts for billionaires, paid for by cuts to entitlement programs. Naturally she warned that Trump is “going after your healthcare.”

But also Slotkin sounded themes not much in vogue with the Democratic Party of Obama and Biden: patriotism, American exceptionalism, responsible citizenship, a secure border. Nothing much was said about such touchy subjects as gender ideology, DEI, campus antisemitism. All in all, the Senator’s response to Trump sought to sound reasonable and responsive to the issues that people actually care about.

But whether her party is in the mood to reorient itself along such lines is a doubtful question indeed.

The problem with Senator Slotkin’s response to Trump was that it was totally out of harmony with congressional Democrats, who made themselves look small, sour, and absolutely ridiculous by their behavior during Trump’s bombastic victory lap of a speech. There was Representative Al Green of Texas, yelling like a mental patient, waving his cane. There was Representative Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico, holding a sign proclaiming THIS IS NOT NORMAL behind Trump as he came down the aisle—truly an own goal. On the Democratic side of the chamber there were scowling faces, hands holding up stupid little paddle signs. There was that vile antisemite and Hamas apologist, Representative Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, flashing her whiteboard, pretending to a moral superiority that she will never achieve, not even over Donald Trump.

Without doubt, the low point of the evening was when DJ Daniel, thirteen years old, a brain cancer survivor who dreams of becoming a police officer, was appointed as an honorary Secret Service agent by President Trump. He was presented with his badge and credentials by Secret Service Director Sean Curran. It was a touching moment.

But most of the Democratic members of Congress present neither stood nor applauded. They just sat there, frowning and grimacing. It’s a pleasure to report that Agent Daniel himself later called them out for their bad behavior. Of Representative Green DJ said: “He embarrassed us; he’s from our congressional district. I’d tell him that he was very disgraceful and very disrespectful.”

Next day, the usual media suspects ran cover for the dour Dems, whining that honoring DJ Daniel was nothing but a political stunt. Well, yes, it was a stunt in the tradition of such stunts pulled off by presidents of both parties on similar occasions. But it was also a big moment in the life of a young man who when he was diagnosed with brain cancer at the age of six, was given five or six months to live. But screw that, the Democrats stayed in their seats. And that was not normal.

Though Senator Slotkin gave it her best shot, she obviously was not reflecting the sentiments of her party. The Democrats are leaderless, confused, depressed, angry, in no mood to step back and take a long hard look at their situation. Yes, there’s evidence that some leading Democrats are having second thoughts: Gavin Newsom’s sudden epiphany concerning biological males competing in women’s and girls’ sports is worthy of note. But the party seems disinclined to abandon that and other politically toxic positions on social issues, or to acknowledge that it no longer represents a broad coalition of interests, as it did between the New Deal Era and the Sixties.

Nor does it seem likely that “a new generation of leadership” will solve the problem. The person most often identified with that generational transition is Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a progressive social media diva who’s totally estranged from the American mainstream.

An extended period of darkness before the dawn of its resurrection: That’s what lies in store for the broken, dysfunctional Democratic Party.