Democrats are rethinking the “weird” targets they put on Republicans’ backs as they compete to rebrand the Democratic National Committee.
After voters delivered his party stinging losses in the White House, Senate, and the House last week, DNC Chairman Jaime Harrison is not expected to seek a second term to keep his position next year. Other candidates are already scrambling to take his place, as some DNC members call for a centrist chairman who can make the Democratic Party popular again with voters.
Part of their strategy is a rejection of the “weird” allegations Democrats tried to pin on Republicans, and prominently on Vice-President elect J.D. Vance, during the 2024 elections. The message appeared to backfire after the GOP made historic gains on Election Day, eating into historically blue voter blocs with messages about Democratic support for policies such as covering transgender operations for prisoners and endorsing sex changes for children to argue that Trump represented the truly normal party.
“I don’t want to be the freak show party, like they have branded us,” a DNC member from Florida told Politico. “You know, when you’re a mom with three kids, and you live in middle America and you’re just not really into politics, and you see these ads that scare the bejesus out of you, you’re like, ‘I know Trump’s weird or whatever, but I would rather his weirdness that doesn’t affect my kids.’”
Another DNC member from California said: “I do think there’s this whole sentiment that we just went too far out there on identity, and it allowed the Republicans to really attack us at every turn as a result, and that we just essentially did not focus on just the everyday issues of Americans.”
Democrats began the “weird” attacks in July, with many soundbites jabbing Vance for his “childless cat lady” comments he made during a 2021 interview. Harris and her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) joined top Democrats in labeling the Trump-Vance ticket as “weird,” taking the messaging well into the homestretch of the campaign.
But Republicans shot back, often pointing to the Left’s stance on transgender policies to argue that Democrats belonged to the “weird” party.
Read more at Washingtonexaminer.com
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