President Biden’s age, and whether he should stay or go, nearly tore Democrats apart this summer.
In fact, the president’s decision to retire early (and give other candidates, along with Vice President Kamala Harris, the chance to run for the Oval Office) may have saved the election for the party.
The divide between old and new and the party’s leadership threatens to drive a wedge in the Democratic coalition. In fact, the race between Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., for the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee represented a microcosm of that skirmish.
Connolly, 74, who is recovering from esophageal cancer, recently edged out Ocasio-Cortez, 35, for the high-profile Democratic Caucus seat. The ranking Democrat on that panel will face off daily with Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky. Connolly is also expected to serve as the party’s top attack dog in case of imminent entanglements with the incoming Trump administration.
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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, fell short in her bid to become her party’s leader on the House Oversight Committee. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Comer supported Ocasio-Cortez. He knew that selecting her would amplify his positions regarding the leadership of the party.
“I hope they put her in there because she symbolizes what Democrats stand for. She’s a socialist. She’s the architect of the Green New Deal in the House,” Comer said.
It was a generational election for Democrats.
Youth versus experience.
But what about the future of the party?
Ocasio-Cortez is an icon of the progressive movement. He is one of the most powerful stars in Congress, although he is sometimes a lightning rod.
Does the party want to promote liberal politicians like Ocasio-Cortez, who would resonate in the multicultural, left-leaning districts of Jackson Heights and College Point in New York? Or figure out how to talk to pockets of undecided voters and even moderate Democrats in Omaha, Nebraska, parts of Ohio and the Dakotas?
It wasn’t long ago that Democrats represented many of these places. All North and South Dakota delegations (House and Senate) were composed of Democrats. Former Sens. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., and Bob Kerrey, D-Neb., were political icons in the Cornhusker State. Ohio was a presidential swing state.
Connolly is by no means a “conservative” Democrat. He lacks the political appeal of Ocasio-Cortez. That is neither good nor bad. Connolly is a workhorse. He is a no-nonsense legislator with a quick mind and can verbally take on the best on the committee bench or on the House floor.
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The question is: Did House Democrats toughen up progressives again? Did they exclude youth and vigor again?
Unclear.
An Ocasio-Cortez victory would have indicated that Democrats have shifted to the left. That was one of the party’s problems in the elections. But when it comes to “youth” and “turning the page” in the party, few are more relevant on this issue than outgoing Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn. Certain sectors of the Democratic establishment criticized Phillips when he quixotically challenged President Biden in the party. Now Phillips is retiring from Congress.
“It’s time to elevate the best and the brightest. We have literally prevented them from moving up to leadership positions, which means they are going elsewhere,” Phillips lamented. “And when we lose that kind of talent from ambitious, competent, patriotic young Americans, we’re in trouble.”
Democrats are trying to determine where they will land after a brutal election loss. The path to rebuilding a viable coalition is challenging. Especially after President-elect Trump figured out a way to grow the Republican base and draw disaffected voters in his direction.
“It’s pretty evident that the Democratic caucus has long valued people who have been here for a long time,” Phillips said, criticizing how the party fails to recruit “young, talented Americans.” He said Democrats “will continue to lose” if they don’t “open up” to younger voters.
For his part, Connolly argued that the debate between old and young was a “false narrative, frankly, put forth by the media.”
But even when Connolly won, the party selected several younger lawmakers (and keep in mind that “younger” is a relative term when it comes to Congress) to serve as ranking members on various committees.
Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., 77, stepped aside as the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee in favor of the virtually vivacious 62-year-old Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md. Raskin just recovered from lymphoma.
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Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz., 78, was absent much of the year due to cancer. Grijalva has been the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee. He stepped away from that role, while Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., 60, defeated a congressional newcomer, Rep. Melanie Stansbury, 45, D-N.M., to serve as ranking member . of that panel.
“Only in Congress do I get to be young at 60,” Huffman joked. “So it’s like the fountain of youth.”
Like Grijalva, Rep. David Scott, D-Ga., 79, has been absent for periods of time over the past year due to health issues. He is the ranking Democrat on the Agriculture Committee. Scott refused to resign. Rep. Jim Costa, D-Calif., 72, and Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., 52, challenged Scott, as Democrats clashed over age and experience.
“I don’t know if it’s a clash,” Costa said before the vote. “We have a fantastic group of members in our Democratic Caucus. Members who have been elected in recent classes. But we certainly have a broad spectrum, tremendous experience and a strong bench.”
Young Craig defeated Scott and Costa to claim the position in the Agriculture rankings.
After prevailing, Craig didn’t focus on age. Instead, he addressed political practicalities.
“Democrats in general are not connecting with rural communities. That’s something we’ve been able to do in my district. I represent a D+1 district and I just won it by about 14 percentage points,” Craig said.
In other words, his district in southeastern Minnesota nominally favors Democrats, but the moderate Craig whipped his opponent.
“(When) we show up, we listen to people and they know we care about them and their lives,” Craig said. “And I think the Democratic Party needs to do more of that. Show up. Listen. And make sure people know they care.”
As Democrats separated their committee leaders, a server spotted Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, 78, near a Capitol stairwell.
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Kaptur is an anomaly in Congress, in many ways.
Kaptur, first elected in 1982, is the longest-serving woman in Congress history. She is a pro-life Democrat. And despite her seniority (and one could argue her gender), Kaptur has never chaired or served as the top Democrat on any House committee.
Much of that is due to his stance on abortion. But Kaptur’s experience and Ocasio-Cortez’s experience bring this debate full circle. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., argued for Connolly over the New York Democrat. And for years, Kaptur claims the powerful Pelosi also blocked his rise.
“In the case of the Appropriations Committee, the people who get elected in my party tend to come from the coasts,” Kaptur observed, saying it took him a decade to even get a spot on the Appropriations list. “I had to defeat Nancy Pelosi to do it in about five votes. I began to understand what this organization called the functions of ‘Congress.'”
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is among the Democratic old guard who supported Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., to be the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee over Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. . (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Kaptur says most of the ranking Democratic members on the committees are “all from the coasts. They’re not from our region of the United States.”
Kaptur believes the party must focus on “everyday issues at home” if it wants to win back the voters President-elect Trump gained in November.
“The president-elect was right when he talked about prices when he went to McDonald’s. That’s where many of my constituents work and eat,” Kaptur said.
He added that Trump’s ride in a garbage truck sealed the deal with working-class Americans.
“He wittily identified with their plight,” Kaptur said.
That characterization of Kaptur is the quintessential distillation of the entire presidential race. It explains many of the reasons Trump won. He highlighted how Democrats struggle to speak to “working class” Americans and those who reside in the middle of the country.
The back-and-forth will continue for Democrats as moderates and progressives (plus newcomers and the old guard) argue over the future of the party.
But it is difficult to argue with Kaptur, both from electoral experience and from politics. He won re-election in a state dominated by Trump. Not to mention that Sen.-elect Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, will also win statewide.
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When it comes to elected positions on key committees, Democrats have ignored lawmakers like Kaptur and excluded them. Ocasio-Cortez lost to Connolly. Raskin, Huffman and Craig are now top Democrats on several committees. It’s a mix of younger members, but more pragmatism. Does this mean Democrats got the message? Not necessarily.
Check back in six months to see if these maneuvers represent a major course correction.
