A RICKETY ‘RESISTANCE’
The Democratic Party is still flailing against the dominant political force in America, which is President Trump, his administration and the millions of voters who stood up to be counted in 2016. It’s normal for the losing party to have an identity crisis, and the protocols are always the same: The suffering party conducts an internal “autopsy,” issues mea culpas, vows to find practical answers, trots out a few new slogans, then schedules a retreat to the mountains or seaside, ostensibly for soulsearching. And maybe cocktails.
The Democrats have not reached this stage yet, however. They continue to call for “resistance” from loyal members, even as some of them question whether the old guard leadership is up to the task after some hairraising defeats and substantial losses of campaign funds.
“I think the first step to getting to a winning strategy is a change in leadership,” a candid Rep. Kathleen M. Rice, New York Democrat, told CNN, later adding, “I just don’t think that the leadership we have right now can take us where this party needs to go.”
Ironically, there is plenty of resistance in the Democratic Party — but it’s “to new leaders,” points out Michael Ahrens, rapid response director for the Republican Party.
“For a party that constantly makes sanctimonious charges against Republicans for being stuck in the past, it sure doesn’t sound like the Democrats’ current leadership is open to change — or input from anyone who hasn’t been in power for decades,” observes Mr. Ahrens.
“Trump resistance will never be a tea party for Democrats,” says Taylor Budowich, executive director of the Tea Party Express, a political action committee founded in 2009 when the historic grass-roots movement grabbed surprise victories in the 2010 midterm elections.
“The difference between the two movements is simple: the tea party’s message captured voters the Republican Party failed to reach. The resistance merely re-organized those Clinton voters who have yet to accept Trump’s victory. That’s not the formula for a political revolution, it’s just sour grapes,” Mr. Budowich writes in a USA Today op-ed. Rakel Cohen, co-owner of the hotel itself. Linens, in-room amenities and closet items will be tweaked to “showcase the property’s significant history and underscore the guest room’s allure to so many global travelers,” management said.
The hotel already embraces its past; room keys include the phrase “No Need to Break-In,” President Nixon’s political speeches are incorporated as “hold music” in the phone system, and complimentary pencils in guest rooms are engraved with “I Stole This from The Watergate Hotel.”
“Trump resistance will never be a tea party for Democrats,” said a Tea Party Express director, decrying the left’s anger with the president.