"Democrats’ aging leadership is 'living in the past, it’s a new generation,' as Joan Jett sang 45 years ago.
They haven’t kept up and they 'ain’t gonna change.' Their risk-aversion
not only makes their efforts feel inauthentic, but they come off as
trend-followers not trend-setters. And it does not smell like leadership
to voters, especially younger ones now registering as independents in
droves.
"Democrats’ attempts to adapt to the new media environment and to master the attention economy fail miserably, in part, because the leadership’s politics dates from the age of 5-1/4″ floppy disks. Caucus leaders like Jeffries mistakenly resent younger caucus members like AOC and Max Frost to whom social media engagement comes naturally. And 'potty mouth' Jasmine Crockett of Texas who don’t give a damn ’bout her reputation. She brings it, the newsies report it, and social media spreads it.
"This party is not going to recover lost ground until it
retires officials who are past their best-by dates. That’s not about age
but about skill sets." -- Tom Sullivan, at Hullabaloo. to Democrats "You’re Living In The Past, It’s A New Generation." Look, we're not into circular firing squads when the only thing standing between us and a total fascist state is the Democratic Party. But we want that party and its ideals to survive and overcome the fascism of the Republican/MAGA party/ cult, and to do so we need leadership that meets the moment - that's 2025, not 2005. As "gentlemen of a certain age" we, too, assert this is "not about age but about skill sets," as Sullivan rightly notes. From our own generation, we pass on the maxim, "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem." Schumer? Jeffries?
The reason we're in our current mess is the timidity of Democrat leaders at all levels of the government. By failing to go for the kill and complete their victories, they've time after time allowed a battered GOP to bounce back from what should have been a devastating defeat rather than wandering aimlessly in the wilderness. The right-wing is not fighting by the Marquess of Queensbury Rules but the Dems seem to expect them to, if not today, then certainly tomorrow. There may come a time where "reaching across the aisle" is a sensible tactic, but doing so now leaves the practitioner crying out "it's only a flesh wound" like something out of Monty Python.
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