Centrist Democratic organization criticizes leftist identity politics and purity tests
Centrist Democrats created a five-page takeaway document during a retreat hosted by Third Way.
TroibNews 
Last month, a group of several dozen Democratic political operatives and elected officials convened at an upscale resort along the Potomac River, where tensions rose regarding the left wing of the party. Concerns were voiced that Democrats had become overly fixated on “ideological purity tests” and should actively push back “against far-left staffers and groups that exert a disproportionate influence on policy and messaging,” as noted in a takeaway document from the meeting, created by the center-left organization Third Way and acquired by PMG.
The retreat, held in Loudoun County, Virginia, brought together moderate Democratic consultants, campaign staffers, elected officials, and party leaders for a day-and-a-half discussion on how to rejuvenate the party following their electoral losses in November. The attendees expressed frustration particularly with identity politics, which they believed contributed to their defeats across various races.
To regain the trust of working-class voters, some participants proposed strategies to “reduce far-left influence and infrastructure” within the party. This meant establishing a more moderate campaign framework and cultivating talent, as well as resisting “far-left candidate questionnaires” and “forums that create ideological purity tests.”
The results of the gathering culminated in a five-page summary, which PMG obtained from a participant.
“In the wake of this election, where it became so evident that the things that the left was doing and saying deeply hurt [Kamala] Harris and down-ballot Democrats, a lot of people are looking to us, not just Third Way, but the moderates in the party, and saying, ‘We got to do it your way, because the other way ain’t working,’” remarked Matt Bennett of Third Way, who was instrumental in organizing the February retreat.
This document serves as one of the most thorough and insightful assessments of the party's challenges and potential remedies following the election.
Conversations at the retreat revolved around the party's disconnect with working-class Americans. Contributing factors included ineffective messaging, a failure to prioritize economic issues, an overreliance on identity politics, allowing the far left to shape party identity, and a reliance on unpopular institutions such as academia, media, and government bureaucracy.
If former President Trump’s first term invigorated the progressives within the party, there are indications that his second term might similarly galvanize Democratic moderates. The party selected moderate Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan to respond to Trump’s congressional address on Tuesday. Slotkin surpassed Harris by over a full percentage point in nearly all of Michigan’s 83 counties, as highlighted by a Detroit News analysis.
During the retreat, attendees proposed 20 strategies for Democrats to rebuild trust with working-class voters and reconnect on a cultural level. Key takeaways included:
- The party should “embrace patriotism, community, and traditional American imagery.”
- Candidates should “get out of elite circles and into real communities.”
- The party must “own the failures of Democratic governance in large cities and commit to improving local government.”
- There was also a consensus that the party needs to “develop a stronger, more relatable Democratic media presence.”
Bennett remarked that, given the timing of the meeting just three months post-election, “we didn't expect to have a lot of answers about exactly what the Democratic offer to the working class on the economy ought to be going forward. We were still kind of picking through the rubble here.”
He further emphasized the discussion around economic issues highlighted a significant “disconnect that we saw between the way that leading Democrats were talking about the economy and the way that people were actually experiencing it.”
Thomas Evans contributed to this report for TROIB News
The retreat, held in Loudoun County, Virginia, brought together moderate Democratic consultants, campaign staffers, elected officials, and party leaders for a day-and-a-half discussion on how to rejuvenate the party following their electoral losses in November. The attendees expressed frustration particularly with identity politics, which they believed contributed to their defeats across various races.
To regain the trust of working-class voters, some participants proposed strategies to “reduce far-left influence and infrastructure” within the party. This meant establishing a more moderate campaign framework and cultivating talent, as well as resisting “far-left candidate questionnaires” and “forums that create ideological purity tests.”
The results of the gathering culminated in a five-page summary, which PMG obtained from a participant.
“In the wake of this election, where it became so evident that the things that the left was doing and saying deeply hurt [Kamala] Harris and down-ballot Democrats, a lot of people are looking to us, not just Third Way, but the moderates in the party, and saying, ‘We got to do it your way, because the other way ain’t working,’” remarked Matt Bennett of Third Way, who was instrumental in organizing the February retreat.
This document serves as one of the most thorough and insightful assessments of the party's challenges and potential remedies following the election.
Conversations at the retreat revolved around the party's disconnect with working-class Americans. Contributing factors included ineffective messaging, a failure to prioritize economic issues, an overreliance on identity politics, allowing the far left to shape party identity, and a reliance on unpopular institutions such as academia, media, and government bureaucracy.
If former President Trump’s first term invigorated the progressives within the party, there are indications that his second term might similarly galvanize Democratic moderates. The party selected moderate Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan to respond to Trump’s congressional address on Tuesday. Slotkin surpassed Harris by over a full percentage point in nearly all of Michigan’s 83 counties, as highlighted by a Detroit News analysis.
During the retreat, attendees proposed 20 strategies for Democrats to rebuild trust with working-class voters and reconnect on a cultural level. Key takeaways included:
- The party should “embrace patriotism, community, and traditional American imagery.”
- Candidates should “get out of elite circles and into real communities.”
- The party must “own the failures of Democratic governance in large cities and commit to improving local government.”
- There was also a consensus that the party needs to “develop a stronger, more relatable Democratic media presence.”
Bennett remarked that, given the timing of the meeting just three months post-election, “we didn't expect to have a lot of answers about exactly what the Democratic offer to the working class on the economy ought to be going forward. We were still kind of picking through the rubble here.”
He further emphasized the discussion around economic issues highlighted a significant “disconnect that we saw between the way that leading Democrats were talking about the economy and the way that people were actually experiencing it.”
Thomas Evans contributed to this report for TROIB News
