Nothing better illustrates the Democratic Party’s inability to adapt to the changing nature of its political coalition than the party’s paralysis in the fierce debate over President Donald Trump’s sweeping new tariffs on imported steel and aluminum.
While the tariffs Trump announced last week have ignited fierce blowback from a wide array of congressional Republicans and business groups usually allied with the party, Democrats have been almost entirely tongue-tied on the issue. …
This silence speaks volumes about the Democrats’ inability, or unwillingness, to recognize the evolving nature of the party’s demographic and geographic base. While many Democrats still think of the party as the home of blue-collar industrial regions hostile to trade, in fact, the party is now centered in the major metropolitan areas that are integrated into global markets and at the forefront of the transition into the information-age, digital economy. CONT.
Ronald Brownstein, CNN