Ian Patrick, FISM News
The House Democratic Issues Conference gathered in Philadelphia last week to cement their views on important Congressional efforts. Rather than provide a clear path forward, it ended with a clear division within the political party over the more progressive agendas.
The gathering from Congressional Democrats took place almost a month after a poll from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) found that Republicans held a lead in swing districts, according to a previous report from FISM News. The poll also showed swing-state voters found their party to be too “preachy” and “judgmental.”
With this in mind, Democrats are looking for a strategy to cement key victories in the upcoming November midterm elections.
Progressive House Democrats said the party’s focus should be on passing the Build Back Better legislation so their party would have an accomplishment to flaunt. Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said that focusing on legislative progress would play well with voters and drive them to the polls. She was quoted by Politico as saying: “Give us bigger majorities and see what we can do.”
Representative Raul Ruiz (D-CA), the chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, voiced agreement to this position saying, “There’s a lot of frustration with the inability to get 10 Republican senators to meet us and pass the Dream and Promise Act.”
Representative Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY), the chair of the DCCC, disagreed with this strategy. Instead, Maloney told reporters that the voters will instead be looking at “whether they think we’re preachy or empathetic” or “have the right priorities,” according to reporting by NBC News.
The Hill quoted Maloney further saying that they Democrats “need to talk like real people.”
If you go home for Thanksgiving, and your brothers think you sound like a jerk, what your grade point average was doesn’t matter to them. You have to show up and be a human being in relationship to your voters.
One Progressive Caucus member, Representative Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), intimated some agreement with Maloney saying, “the way we’re framing these issues is worrisome,” adding that Democrats should “trust the American people to be able to receive and engage in and guide us on what needs to be done.”
Bowman, however, maintained that passing hallmark policies was key to keeping the Democratic majority. Referencing voter worry over big Democrat bills like Build Back Better and voting legislation, Bowman said Democrats “need wins in those areas to further secure our pathway to maintaining a majority in the House.”
Despite the infighting, Democrats have been painting the divisions as an opportunity. Maloney said: “If our agenda is incomplete, it doesn’t mean we are broken, it means we have to keep working.”