Today’s quote comes to us from Tim Ryan (D-OH), who is currently challenging Nancy Pelosi for the post of House Minority Leader.
Here is Mr. Ryan’s take on where his party is right now:
“[T]he average American, the average working-class American, flipped their middle finger to the establishment, the Democratic establishment, the Republican establishment, Wall Street. They think that everybody’s more concerned with the donor class than they the working class.”
“[W]e can’t keep going down the same road. … I’m pulling the fire alarm right now, is what I’m doing in the Democratic Party. I believe we’re in denial of what’s happened. I’m pulling the fire alarm, because the house is burning down, and we better get our act together or we’re going to cease being a national party. We’re going to be a regional party that fails to get into the majority, and fails to do things on behalf of those working class people that were the backbone of the Democratic Party for so long. we better get our stuff together.”
I award Tim Ryan Quote Of The Day honors, because – other than his comment about the Republican establishment (which is true of the presidential primary race but may not be true of the overall party), he has articulated, just about perfectly, where things are right now.
If Mr. Ryan can unseat Ms. Pelosi, and move the Democrat Party to his philosophy, it stands a chance to make a major comeback in the near future – maybe as soon as 2018 (in the house, that is; flipping the senate in 2018 would be a parting-of-the-red-sea-quality miracle).
If, on the other hand, Ms. Pelosi retains her seat, and the party moves where she, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren would like to take it, the only way Democrats make a comeback is if Donald Trump hands one to them on a silver platter – which, though unlikely, is not out of the question.
It is going to be an interesting couple of years.
