By Jack Bernard, contributing columnist
PEACHTREE CITY, Ga. | Do the Democrats have a chance in 2026 and 2028?
After Democratic victories in the two Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) elections, could put them in a good position for the next election.
Nationally, Democrats are feeling positively about their prospects for 2026 and 2028. Some are even talking about taking back both houses of Congress, lost in the recent MAGA wave.
For over a decade, our local, state and national elections have been all about the public being dissatisfied with traditional politics. President Trump is the epitome of this trend, getting re-elected despite all of his known faults. Democrat elites are now rightfully complaining about Trump attempting to be a dictator, entirely ignoring Congress and legality.
But the Democratic National Committee helped elect him in 2016 by anointing a consummate party elitist (Hillary Clinton) rather than a popular change agent, Senator Bernie Sanders, who might have gotten elected. The same thing happened in 2024, with leadership appointing Kamala Harris as their nominee, without a primary process.
The Democratic Party must motivate its base while getting independent moderates to vote blue. Democratic leadership refuses to acknowledge the obvious problem that clearly exists between the progressive party base and its risk adverse elites who do not want to take stands on things like true health insurance reform. Democrats are major recipients of Big Pharma/Insurance money. Of the top 10 individuals receiving such donations since 1990, only three were Republicans.
Party elites come down hard on anyone mentioning the disconnect underlying this situation, saying that they are disloyal and non-productive. This intransigence may well doom them to lose future elections.
There is voter discontent with the establishment of both parties, which is what led to Donald Trump being elected twice as an “outsider.” The Democratic party’s leaders have been tone-deaf, ignoring the public. How else could candidate Harris have stated that she would not change a thing that Biden did when inflation was out of control and there was unprecedented undocumented immigration into the nation in 2021-2023?
Voters did not know what Harris and the Democrats really stood for in 2024…and still do not today. Democratic candidates must understand the left-wing arm of the party, concentrating on issues motivating them- like healthcare coverage.
Plus, as Bill Clinton once said, “It’s the economy, stupid.” He could have added for 2026 and 2028: “It’s not losing our traditional base while bringing in moderates, stupid.”
The party must not be suckered into ridiculous “woke” political traps like transgendered athletes, turning off independents who want kitchen table issues to be addressed. Further, Democrats have treated blue collar workers as pariahs, the “deplorables” who Hillary Clinton mentioned. This miscalculation will sink Democrats, especially in swing states.
And forget what Michelle Obama said about “When they go low, we go high.” That is how Democrats lost the 2024 election to a convicted felon who tried to overthrow our government on January 6, 2021.
Democrats must come out swinging for the November 2026 elections. Otherwise, the usual Democrat defeatism and wimpy attitude will make them again pull defeat from the jaws of victory. The question remains: Will the Democratic Party’s elite learn from their past mistakes?
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