In the Democrats looming civil war, one side is already doomed

In the last few days we’ve heard what sound like the opening salvos of a Democratic Party civil war.After losing two of the last three presidential elections to Donald Trump, self-reflection is sorely needed — and some are at least feigning an interest in such an effort.On his new podcast, California Gov.Gavin Newsom is sniping at the progressive shibboleths he once promulgated so proudly.In the Senate, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer rejected calls from his left flank to shut down the federal government rather than let a Republican-backed funding bill pass.And across the country, swing-state lawmakers like Michigan Sen.

Elissa Slotkin are trying to tell constituents that the hysterical far-left approach to fighting Trump just hasn’t worked.“What have they actually done?” Slotkin asked last week after a voter implored her to  “resist” like Vermont Sen.Bernie Sanders and New York Rep.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.Meanwhile, Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez are crisscrossing the country to expound a very different explanation of the Democrats’ woes — and to promote a very different corrective.Sanders had harsh words for the Democrats this month, calling the party “heavily dominated by the billionaire class, run by consultants who are way out of touch with reality.”“The Democratic Party has virtually no grassroots support,” he declared.AOC, too, slammed her party at a Las Vegas rally last week.“We need a Democratic Party that fights harder for us,” she complained.“We as a community must choose and vote for Democrats and elected officials who know how to stand for the working class.”So which is it?Do Democrats need to lurch even further to the left in the name of “fighting Trump” — or is that what’s consigned them to their unenviable position?Available evidence suggests it’s the latter.Polls ahead of November’s presidential election found that 47% of likely voters believed 2024 Democratic nominee Kamala Harris was “too liberal or pr...