Democrats’ radicalism is their biggest problem

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The Democratic Party’s long-delayed post-election review of its 2024 loss has drawn justified criticism for being tardy, shallow, and unfocused. So weak was the report that party chair Ken Martin attempted to downplay it, claiming it was merely a draft composed by a part-time volunteer—an effort at damage control that failed, though his hesitation is understandable given the document’s flimsy analysis.

Still, despite its many flaws, the report does offer one valuable takeaway worth noting.

That insight centers on the effectiveness of Donald Trump’s television and digital ad campaign, particularly one highlighting Kamala Harris’s support for taxpayer-funded gender-affirming surgeries for transgender inmates, including undocumented immigrants.

In the ad, a narrator echoes Harris’s statement before delivering the punchline: “Kamala is for they/them.

President Trump is for you.” This message, repeated across multiple ads in key swing states, resonated strongly with voters, according to polling data, largely because it used Harris’s own words to underscore a broader perception: that Democrats are overly consumed by progressive cultural issues while neglecting economic concerns important to working- and middle-class Americans.

The report reveals that the Harris campaign dismissed advice from Bill Clinton to respond directly to the ads.

Advisers reportedly felt cornered—since Harris refused to alter her stance, no effective rebuttal was possible. Instead, the campaign doubled down on attacking Trump, operating under the assumption that his unpopularity alone would secure victory.

This mindset reflects both strategic blindness and a persistent echo chamber within the party, one that underestimated how effectively Trump used cultural issues to portray Harris as disconnected from mainstream values.

Even more troubling, two years after the election, the Democratic Party shows little sign of course correction. Many leaders continue to believe that public disdain for Trump mirrors their own, failing to acknowledge the reasons behind his electoral success.

Despite his current dip in approval due to economic fallout from the Iran conflict, Democrats remain entrenched in far-left positions.

They continue defending open-border policies, oppose deporting criminal undocumented immigrants, and equate immigration enforcement with fascism.

They reflexively label Trump as Hitler while resisting common-sense voter ID laws and staunchly defending transgender inclusion in women’s sports and facilities.

The party has also alienated itself from pro-Israel voters, inadvertently fueling antisemitic sentiments on campuses and in cities. Across the country, once-moderate politicians are bending to progressive demands, surrendering the political center.

This failure to appeal to mainstream voters underscores how little Democrats have learned from Harris’s defeat.

Rahm Emanuel, former congressman, Chicago mayor, and U.S. ambassador to Japan, recently offered a pointed critique that hints at presidential ambitions for 2028.

He remarked that Democrats have become fixated on niche cultural battles, saying, “The only room we were comfortable in was the bathroom,” referring to the transgender debate.

To lead effectively, he argued, one must be at ease in the family room, classroom, boardroom, break room, and Situation Room—not just symbolic spaces.

He stressed that the party isolated itself by prioritizing issues important to activists but secondary to most voters, bringing divisive identity politics into schools and losing public support as a result.

This fixation also shaped Harris’s vice-presidential pick. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, an underwhelming choice, admitted he was selected because he could “code talk” to white, working-class men—serving as a “permission structure” for them to back Democrats.

Despite inconsistencies in his record and frequent gaffes—which he dismissed by calling himself a “knucklehead”—Walz fit the diversity, equity, and inclusion criteria that mattered most to Harris’s team.

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Original Article: https://nypost.com/2026/05/23/opinion/the-concept-of-transgenderism-has-created-disarray-in-the-democratic-party/