Democratic Party infighting has escalated into public and personal attacks over division on a Republican-crafted government funding bill, occurring just as the Dem’s popularity has plummeted to historic lows.
A new NBC News poll shows just 27% of registered voters have positive views of the Democratic Party—the lowest rating in the poll’s history dating back to 1990.
Meanwhile, tensions between Senate and House Democrats have boiled over into unprecedented public hostility.
“With these numbers, the Democratic Party is not in need of a rebrand. It needs to be rebooted,” said Democratic pollster Jeff Horwitt, who conducted the NBC survey.
The conflict ignited after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and nine other Senate Democrats recently voted to advance a Republican spending bill to avert a government shutdown. House Democrats, who had unanimously opposed the bill, responded with fury.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., expressed a “deep sense of betrayal” over the Senate Democrats’ decision, with some progressives even suggesting she should primary Schumer.
Sen. John Fetterman, D-P.A., one of the Democrats who supported the bill, dismissed her criticism bluntly.
“I hope you can relay how little I care about her views on this,” Fetterman responded, implying that Ocasio-Cortez didn’t have to worry about the consequences of a shutdown because she would still “have her paycheck though.”
The personal attacks escalated Sunday when Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-T.X., fired back at Fetterman on CNN’s “State of the Union” after he criticized House Democrats’ viral “Choose Your Fighter” video.
“He’s not the one to talk about anything,” Crockett retorted. “I mean this is a guy who seemingly doesn’t want to own a suit, doesn’t own a suit. I’m not really sure. But I don’t show up in hoodies when I’m going on the floor.”
Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., joined the attacks on Schumer, calling his decision a “false choice” between a shutdown and accepting the Republican measure. “We must fight back in a better way,” she said, and claimed Democrats should have pushed for a short-term funding extension and new negotiations.
When asked if he still had confidence in Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries tersely replied: “Next question.”
Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia went further, telling reporters he expected “new leadership” in the Senate next year or after the next presidential election.
The NBC poll reveals this discord reflects a significant shift in Democratic voters’ attitudes. In 2017, 59% of Democrats wanted their representatives to compromise with Trump to achieve consensus. Now, 65% want congressional Democrats to stick to their positions even if it means legislative gridlock.
“I’m scared that compromising will lead to the downfall of our democracy, to only be slightly hyperbolic,” said Elizabeth Joyce, a 35-year-old Democrat from Texas who participated in the survey. “It’s really scary seeing the things being done, the things being slashed left and right without any regard for the outcome.”
The intraparty attacks have given Republicans an opening — and they’ve pounced.
President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to praise what he called Schumer’s “good and smart move” to compromise, and promised more Republican legislation on taxes and spending would follow.
Some Democratic strategists fear the division plays directly into Trump’s hands. As one left-leaning commentator noted, “Neither House Democrats nor the people voting ‘no’ in the Senate nor the people getting mad on Twitter have an actual strategy for getting what the base wants.”
With nearly 20% of Democratic voters now having negative views of their own party, the leadership struggles have created a crisis of confidence at a time when the party is trying to establish its role as an effective opposition.
“Elections, as they say, have consequences,” concluded the BBC. “And 2024’s results have left Democrats deep in the wilderness.”