Decoding the Dems' Defeat

New York congressman slams 'self-anointed socialist saviors' of the Left

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Some political analysts are saying that the 2024 election could prove to be the launching pad of a national political realignment. 

The change in voting patterns – particularly among the working class, minorities, youth, and the highly educated – may suggest that we will see a different electoral paradigm develop, should the 2024 result prove to be something more than a historical anomaly.

Yesterday, the Free Press news site published an op-ed from New York Democratic Congressman Ritchie Torres titled, "The Rising Democratic Coalition Fell. Now What?"

The Representative's piece analyzes why the Democrats lost the 2024 election and how the party can return to its winning ways.

In the op-ed, Rep. Torres highlights how President Trump made inroads in minority communities – particularly those within the Empire State's 15th Congressional District, which he represents. 

Mr. Torres illustrates that his Bronx-anchored district, which is approximately 90% minority (of the combined minority voting-age population, the percentage breakdown is as follows: 51.4% Hispanic; 42.4% Black; 4.3% Asian; 3.2% Other), saw a 22% increase for Donald Trump in 2024 compared to Barack Obama's re-election performance in 2012.  In that year, President Obama received 96% of the vote from the precincts that today comprise the 15th CD, while in this election Kamala Harris dropped to a support figure of 74%.

Representative Torres describes Mr. Trump's performance in his district and others like it as more impressive than his achievements in the Rust Belt, where the President "connected with" working-class whites. Torres adds: 

"His most improbable and formidable feat lies in chipping away at the blue wall in urban America. Few places saw a more impressive swing toward Trump in 2024 than my own deeply Democratic congressional district in the Bronx.

... The original sin of the new left is that it speaks for people of color without actually speaking to them—and listening. For if the new left actually spoke to people of color, it would never embrace movements like #DefundThePolice, it would never use terms like Latinx or Latine, and it would never have kept the Biden administration from acting decisively to secure the border in the face of an overwhelming migrant crisis that, in the end, cost us the election.

Listening to working-class people of color means unshackling ourselves from self-anointed socialist saviors who speak falsely in their name.

There is a difference between the beliefs of communities of color and the beliefs projected onto those communities by elites. The pattern of mistaking the latter for the former is what has made the Democratic Party lose touch with working-class voters of all backgrounds."

It is probable that we will soon see Mr. Torres put his ideas to work in a New York statewide campaign. 

It is no secret that he is testing the political waters for a 2026 Democratic primary challenge against Gov. Kathy Hochul. His article is another signal that Rep. Torres is preparing a gubernatorial run with a strategy of moving closer to the political center – a contrast to Gov. Hochul, who has positioned herself on the party's left flank. 

While Rep. Torres would be an attractive candidate in a New York general election, it will be most interesting to see if he can win a Democratic primary without being the most liberal contender in the race. 

The odds of Torres winning the party nomination may be a bit better than in years past, however. In addition to Gov. Hochul's low job approval rating, Donald Trump's 2024 enhanced performance in the state versus the support numbers he garnered in 2020 suggest the Congressman may see a more hospitable electorate. 

New York could be on the threshold of at least incremental change. Mr. Trump improved his standing in all 51 voting entities when comparing his 2024 performance to that of 2020 – and nowhere was the improvement stronger (a net 11-point increase) than in the state of his birth.

Jim Ellis is a 35-year veteran of politics at the state and national levels. He has served ss executive director for two national political action committees, as well as a consultant to the three national Republican Party organizations in DC, the National Federation of Independent Business, and various national conservative groups.

Born and raised in Sacramento, California, he earned a B. A. in Political Science from the University of California at Davis in 1979. Jim raised his daughter, Jacqueline, alone after his wife died following a tragic car accident. He helped establish the Joan Ellis Victims Assistance Network in Rochester, NH. Jim also is a member of the Northern Virginia Football Officials Association, which officiates high school games throughout the region.

HOW SOULS AND LIBERTY WILL MOVE FORWARD THE NEXT FOUR YEARS

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Donald Trump is president again! His decisions, Cabinet selections, and force of personality are shaping the United States and the world in ways we could only dream of.

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Editor-in-Chief, Souls and Liberty