While mainstream media has focused largely on President Donald J. Trump’s low approval ratings in national polls, the Democratic Party fares much worse, according to an ABC News/Washington Post poll. The national survey showed that a whopping 67% of Americans feel that the Democratic Party is “out of touch." The poll represents an increase of 19% since 2014 in Americans who feel that the minority party has left the building, so to speak.
Party loyalists say Democrats are 'out of touch'
According to ABC, 48% of Americans felt that the Democrats were "out of touch" with most Americans back in March of 2014.
The double digit increase over three years comes as the newly elected Democratic National Committee secretary and former Obama Labor Department secretary Tom Perez tours the country with former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. Perez barely defeated Rep. Keith Ellison -- a Muslim who was endorsed by Sanders for the Secretary of State gig.
The survey found 62% of respondents feel the same way about the Republican Party while 58% view Pres. Trump as out of touch. The Democrats have scrambled to find a viable message for the 2018 elections when far more Democrats will be defending their Senate seats than Republicans. Bernie Sanders, who has expressed some interest in the 2020 presidential election, will be in his late 70s that year.
Perez is largely seen as an Obama holdover representing the status quo in Washington. According to ABC, the most dramatic swing for Democrats occurred within the party’s own typical loyalists, where “out of touch” ratings “soared to 33 points among liberals, 30 points among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents and 26 points among moderates and nonwhites alike.” With its leadership decimated, there is confusion on the ground over just exactly who is leading the party and where it is headed.
After suffering a stunning loss in November, Hillary Clinton has all but disappeared from the political scene save a few public appearances with smallish bands of supporters.
Despite having an approval rating of 42% in the poll, the survey showed 96% of Trump’s supporters feel they made the right decision while a nearly negligible 2% regret voting for Trump.
National polls have consistently shown that mainstream media supports Democrats over Republicans, however, that may not be enough to move the numbers, and a growing perception of bias in the media could favor Trump and the Republicans. In any case, the Democratic Party must find a new message that resonates with Americans in a big way to avoid more losses in 2018.
