OPINION:
President Trump has started his second term without any of the resistance or mayhem that characterized the first few months of his first term.
Some of that is because, unlike 2016 and 2017, the element of surprise is not there. Some of it is because Team Trump is better prepared and ready to go right out of the gate. Some of it is because Mr. Trump had a pretty emphatic electoral victory.
There can also be no doubt that one of the reasons resistance to Team Trump’s march through Washington has been largely unopposed to date is that the opposition party is lost at sea. Right now, the Democrats, in deep denial over what happened in November, are in the midst of a campaign to select a new party chairman. It is not going well.
Usually, when a national party loses a national election (especially to someone they view as the leader of circus clowns), they have a moment of introspection examining whether the problem was the messenger, the messages or the delivery of the messages. As you might imagine, those who conclude that the problem is technical — that the party is not delivering its messages well enough or often enough — are usually doomed to additional failures.
Yet, that is exactly what the Democrats are likely to conclude.
The reality is, as usual, more difficult to face: Democrats failed in November and are not able to provide resistance now because they are on the wrong side of pretty much all the relevant issues.
A few days ago, The New York Times released a batch of polling that showed the party is out of step with Americans, even those who identify as Democrats. About 9 in 10 (88% in total, 83% of self-identified Democrats) agree that immigrants who are here illegally and have criminal records should be deported. How about transgender issues? About 8 in 10 (79% in total, 67% of Democrats) agreed that athletes who were born male but identify as female should not be allowed to compete in women’s sports.
The story is the same whether we discuss defunding the police, building the border wall, electric vehicle mandates or whatever. The main problem for the Democrats is not the messages or delivery systems. It is that their positions on a bunch of issues are unpopular.
That problem is amplified by the senescence of their leadership. The Democrats are jammed with folks who have ossified in office and who are disconnected from the voters.
Think about Sen. Patty Murray of Washington state. She’s 74 years old, was initially elected in 1992 and has been in office most of her adult life. Yet, she has accomplished very close to nothing during her time in Congress. Or, if you prefer, think about Maryland Rep. Steny Hoyer, first elected in 1980; New Jersey Rep. Frank Pallone, elected in 1988; or Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, first elected to federal office in 1980. The list is pretty close to endless.
These are the people who, in a slightly more rational world, would be the party’s leaders. In the world we know, however, these senior Democrats are deadwood.
It is not just that they are old and sclerotic (most of them are both). It is that they are time-servers — they have been in office almost their entire adult lives and accomplished very close to nothing. They will not suddenly be able to lead the chosen people out of the desert.
It is a bad cocktail for the minority party. They need to figure out why they lost and what they are going to do about it, or the Republicans are going to take their lunch money even in the off-year elections in 2026.
The answers will not be found by relying on the people who drove them into the ditch.
• Michael McKenna is a contributing editor to The Washington Times.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.