For too many years now Democrats have focused on winning elections by appealing to what they have termed their “base” (young voters, Black, Latino, and Asian voters, and educated women). At the same time, they have largely abandoned white working class voters to Republicans—one reason why Democrats have lost too many recent federal and local elections across the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic states.

A few months after the Democrats’ bitter defeat in the 2024 elections, the party convened an Executive Committee meeting. Instead of taking a long hard look at the reasons for their poor performance, the meeting devolved into an orgy of self-congratulations.