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No doubt, Republicans have had a rough two months with the Trump administration, losing court cases regarding immigration. Also, some snafus regarding Cabinet members such as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, and tariff policy. But Democrats have difficulties of their own, mostly those lingering from 2024.
Former President Joe Biden's decline continues to plague the party. As CNN's Jake Tapper has chronicled, White House staffers and some party officials covered up Biden's decline and continued to push his re-election until July 2024. Moreover, the Democratic National Committee stacked the primary calendar in Biden's favor by making South Carolina the first contest, replacing the Iowa Caucuses and the New Hampshire primary.
As in 2016, when the DNC zealously opposed Bernie Sanders' candidacy against Hillary Clinton, the party's bureaucracy harassed RFK Jr's attempt to run as a Democrat. Between Jamie Harrison and Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, it is hard to gauge which one was more helpful to the White House. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Joe Biden, and Kamala Harris were the favorites of Democratic donors and insiders. The cards were stacked neatly in favor of the party hacks, who no doubt believed that only the established order could triumph. They proved wrong.
Biden proved a problem mainly because he was never tested. In 2020, Sanders whipped him solidly in Iowa and New Hampshire, and Biden seemed poised for an early exit until the media gushed when he won South Carolina. Meanwhile, COVID froze the election, and the country was treated to the largest high school student body Presidential race in history. There was no campaign; Biden went to small events, and the problems engendered by COVID did the rest.
Despite Biden's lackluster public presence, the assumption was that he could win. This was due to unexpected Democratic success in the 2022 midterm election. However, it is clear that they never trusted Biden to win without a little help from his friends. Technically, he won the nomination, but his nearly comatose performance in the June 27, 2024, debate gave away that he was not prepared for a real campaign. Weeks later, they dumped the President for Vice President Harris.
But the White House continued pulling the strings. Disregarding concerns, they refused to have an open convention. Instead, they had a gigantic pep rally which blithely ignored voters' concerns over inflation and the economy. For the third election cycle, the party bosses did not want the rank and file to have any real input. The party was out of touch and threw away a chance at victory.
If Democrats are to regain power, they need to radically change party rules. The super delegates answer mostly to donors. No longer should there be a repeat of West Virginia 2016, when Sanders won 66% of the vote but only one more delegate than Clinton. No wonder enthusiasm levels in the Democratic party are at an all-time low.