Democrats’ Spectacular Circular Firing Squad

AMAC Exclusive – By Louis J. Senn

Whether it’s Congressional Democrats squabbling amongst themselves, Kamala Harris and her team warring with Joe Biden and his team, or state and local Democrats desperately trying to distance themselves from D.C. Democrats, it seems that all the major players and factions within the Democratic Party just can’t stand each other. Everyone hates everyone. Usually, the kind of finger-pointing and lashing out we are witnessing normally takes place after a massive election loss. However, it seems as if Democrats everywhere have already resigned themselves to a disastrous election season this November and gotten a jump start on the circular firing squad.

Kamala Harris vs. Everyone

Perhaps the most notable animosity within the Democratic Party is within the Biden administration itself between President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. Even before November of 2020, the normally friendly mainstream media recognized there could be trouble after Biden selected Harris to be his VP. And sure enough, within the first year of Biden’s presidency, there were reports surfacing that Harris feels “isolated” and “sidelined” by the Biden team.

But it’s not just Biden and his team that don’t like Kamala. Even First Lady Jill Biden has a not-so-secret feud with the VP, and Harris’s own staff have taken turns blasting the VP as a “bully” who regularly delivers “soul-destroying criticism.” Other voices on the left have piled on as well, criticizing her inability to deliver on any policy objectives, to speak competently, or even to behave normally. Perhaps Harris has not gotten the memo that, as someone who hopes to replace the aging Biden, it’s going to be hard to do so when no one likes her, even on her own side.

The White House vs. the DNC

Jaime Harrison was elected to be the Chair of the Democratic National Committee in January of 2021. However, as the President’s poll numbers began to fall and it became clear that Harrison had no plan other than being “anti-Trump,” the administration became desperate for a scapegoat, which is found in Harrison. He has been the subject of repeated leaks complaining that he does not travel the country fundraising, that he mismanages the building, and that he is rarely seen as a surrogate defending the President.

These tensions have led to rumors that Harrison is considering leaving his position early amid “simmering frustrations” with the White House, a move that could be crippling for the party should it occur before November’s midterm elections.

Progressives vs. Manchin

The White House was so arrogantly or naively confident that Build Back Better would pass that it apparently never considered ensuring it had the support of all Democrats in a 50-50 Senate.

When politicos started to muse that there might be an issue in getting some of Build Back Better’s outlandish requests through both chambers due to concerns from Senator Manchin, the White House thought the next appropriate course of action would be to ridicule and lambast Manchin in statements. Shortly after that, other Democrats began to pile on Manchin and attempt to shame him into voting for the bill.

Manchin didn’t pull any punches when he called out the White House, stating: “I just got to the wit’s end. And they know the real reason for what happened. They won’t tell you, and I’m not going to tell you… it’s the staff.” Is the White House staff really so incompetent that they failed to realize how critical Manchin’s vote is? Are they so ideologically driven that they thought it was better for Biden to take the embarrassing loss than to accept whatever concessions were requested by Manchin?

The Squad vs. Endangered Incumbents

The conflict between Manchin on the one hand and the White House and Congressional Progressives on the other is emblematic of a wider gulf emerging within the Democratic Party. The few moderate Democrats left in Congress – as well as the larger group of radicals who desperately need to come across as moderates in order to win re-election – face danger not just from their Republican challengers but from the increasingly powerful “Squad” (plus Senate radicals like Bernie Sanders) who have in recent years thrust the party further and further left. The Squad’s refusal to abandon policies like “Defund the Police,” the Green New Deal, and open borders has sullied the image of the Democratic Party as a whole.

This dynamic was made clear as early as the days following the 2020 House elections, which saw Democrats’ majority nearly erased. But even then, progressives refused to back down, apparently unconcerned with the electoral fate of their more moderate colleagues.

Most Democrats now see that the Squad is out of step with the American people on every single issue and will sink the entire party if they continue to dominate media coverage – and get their way when it comes to most legislation. Even Nancy Pelosi, herself no moderate, has previously rebuked members of the Squad, leading to more internal riffs within the Democratic House Caucus. But none of these members has thus far managed to break the hold progressive ideology has on the Democratic Party’s agenda, and the split within the party has only served to add to the perception of a party that is at war with itself even as it pumps out one extreme policy after another.

D.C. Democrats vs. State and Local Democrats

As D.C. Democrats descend into chaos; Democrats at the state and local levels are trying as hard as possible to distance themselves from the mess. Former U.S. House member and failed Senate and presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke, now running for Governor of Texas, summed up the general attitude nicely by declaring, “I don’t want Joe Biden or anyone else from outside of Texas coming into this state to campaign for me or anyone else.” Democrat Terry McAuliffe, who lost to Glenn Youngkin in the contest for Virginia Governor last year, openly admitted that Biden was a “vulnerability” for him. Even the Washington Post concedes that “many Democrats are trying to inoculate themselves by forging their own brands and even criticizing some of Biden’s actions.” Clearly, there’s no love lost between national Democrats, who have earned the public’s anger over failed policies, and state and local Democrats desperately hoping to survive a potential red wave year.

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As DCCC Chair Sean Patrick Maloney (who has himself been the subject of bitter complaints and leaks) has rightly noted: “The problem is not the voters; the problem is the [Democrats].” Even without polls, it doesn’t take a political scientist to realize that this level of infighting is unusual this far out from the election. But if Democrats can’t even get along personally, how can they work together to rebuild their image or revive their stalled agenda?

Louis J. Senn is a lawyer in Louisville, Kentucky, who previously worked for the Trump Administration.