Sir, – Michael McDowell expresses the belief that Democrats could lose the US midterm elections by losing centre-ground voters due to the new “self-indulgent” radicalism within the party (“Trump’s most loyal supporters – white working-class men – are becoming disillusioned”, July 29th).
Indeed he is right that the Democrats have nobody to blame but themselves, as well described in Keith Duggan’s article (“Democrats face reckoning over stance on Israel and Gaza,” July 25th). But I am mystified as to why he would name this new radicalism as “self-indulgent” when surely this applies more to the still dominant gerontocracy of the Democratic Party?
It was inevitable that there would be a radical reaction to the stagnation within the party, particularly as these flaws were starkly revealed during the last phase of president Joe Biden’s term in office in how he dealt with the Gaza crisis.
As the war unfolded, Biden appeared tone deaf and stubborn in the face of the horror among young and progressive voters within his voter base, at how he was militarily supporting an extreme-right Israeli administration hell-bent on revenge on the civilian population of Gaza.
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The impression of tone deafness and a party that had lost its way was reinforced in many ways leading up to the election of 2024. The standout for me, as an example of this, was the misguided electioneering of the Clintons.
Bill Clinton in Michigan lecturing Arab Americans about why they should vote for Biden, who was sending large bombs to be dropped on their fellow Arabs. And Hillary Clinton patronising clever students on American campuses about how they did not know their Middle Eastern history.
Worst of all, now the Democrats seem happy to remain blinkered about why they lost in 2024. In May, the Democratic National Committee, belatedly and under pressure, released their postmortem analysis report on why they lost the election.
They failed to mention the debacle of an aged Biden hanging on as a candidate, and even more inexplicably and more importantly, despite polling showing the negative impact of Biden’s policies on Gaza, the report did not even mention Gaza.
The Democrats need to wake up and get their act in order. They need to listen to the more radical progressives within their ranks to help find a middle path more reflective of grassroots concerns, and one of those concerns still remains Gaza, as polling shows. – Yours etc,
CYNTHIA CARROLL,
Newport,
Co Tipperary.
