The Democratic Party Is Losing Without Even Trying

The Democratic Party has perfected the art of losing. Not the kind of loss you suffer after a hard-fought contest, when you’ve thrown every punch and still come up short. No — Democrats have mastered the quieter, more corrosive loss that comes from never stepping into the ring at all.

Again and again, in the face of a Republican Party that will say or do anything to seize and hold power, Democrats shrink from the moment. They find nuance where clarity is needed, caution where courage is demanded, and excuses when action must be taken.

In doing so, they squander opportunities that might have changed the course of history.

We saw it in the recent government funding fight: Faced with a Republican threat to shut down the government, Democrats didn’t rally the public, mobilize protests, or frame the confrontation as the moral crisis it was. Instead, they pre-emptively surrendered, accepting the logic that “Trump would do it anyway” — an act of anticipatory obedience so thorough it could be studied in history classes on authoritarianism.

They didn’t lose the fight; they forfeited it.

We also saw it in their failure to endorse Zohran Mamdani, one of the few elected officials willing to speak plainly about the stakes of this moment. While Republicans close ranks behind even their most extreme candidates, Democrats hesitate to back bold voices in their own party, preferring the safety of centrism even as the political ground beneath them crumbles.

This isn’t new: For years, the Democratic leadership has acted as though the normal rules of politics still apply — as though they’re negotiating with a loyal opposition that cares about governing. But the modern Republican Party is not interested in governance. It is interested in domination. It understands that politics is a contest of power, and it plays to win.

When Donald Trump imposes catastrophic tariffs, fires civil servants for doing their jobs, or openly calls himself a dictator, Republicans don’t waver. They don’t issue carefully worded statements and retreat to think tanks. They double down, defend him to the last, and treat every attack on democracy as an opportunity to consolidate more power.

Meanwhile, Democrats respond with “sternly worded letters.”

The result is a political imbalance as dangerous as it is obvious. One party treats every day as a battle for the survival of its movement; the other treats every day as an exercise in not making too much noise. And in that vacuum, authoritarianism flourishes.

The truth is, the Democratic Party has not adjusted to the reality that they are no longer debating policy — they are resisting a fascist movement. This is not about marginal tax rates or transportation bills. It is about whether we will live in a country where power flows from the people or one where power is hoarded by the wealthy, the connected, and the cruel.

The Democrats’ refusal to name this fight for what it is has consequences. It leaves their base demoralized. It cedes the political narrative to the right. And it tells the American people — consciously or not — that perhaps the crisis isn’t as urgent as it feels. That maybe we can afford to wait for the next election.

We can’t.

The stakes are written in the lives of veterans whose benefits are under attack, in the futures of immigrants being deported without due process, in the freedoms stripped from women and marginalized communities, and in the public institutions being hollowed out by billionaires who see democracy as an obstacle to profit. These are not abstractions. They are the front lines of a political war the Republicans are waging — and winning — while Democrats watch from the sidelines.

This is why we built American Opposition: Because waiting for the Democratic Party to rise to the occasion is a losing strategy. Our job is not to beg for action from leaders who have shown they will not act. Our job is to organize, mobilize, and confront authoritarianism directly — in the streets, in the press, and in our hearts.

Democrats love to quote Martin Luther King Jr.’s line that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” But King never said the arc bends on its own. It bends because people bend it — because they apply pressure, take risks, and refuse to accept injustice as the cost of stability.

So here is the choice Democrats face: Continue to approach politics as a polite debate and watch democracy slip away, or start fighting like the future depends on it — because it does.

And here is the choice the rest of us face: Keep waiting for the Democratic Party to save us, or recognize that the work will not be done for us. We are the cavalry. We are the fire alarm. We are the ones who will decide whether this nation remains free.

If Democrats want to join us in that fight, there’s room for them. But with or without them, we are moving forward.

Because losing without trying is no longer an option, and winning without fighting is impossible.