Democrats failing on culture and class, risk alienating country by serving elite donors, new book warns

A new book sounds the alarm on the Democratic Party's failure when it comes to culture and class, and argues that the party has pursued the economic interest of donors and elites.

New York Times columnist Pamela Paul wrote on Thursday that the Democratic Party seemed "disconnected from the priorities, needs and values of many Americans." 

She wrote that John B. Judis and Ruy Teixeira's new book, "Where Have All The Democrats Gone?," should serve as a warning to the Democratic Party. Judis is a journalist and Teixeira is a liberal political scientist.

"Not only is the Democratic Party increasingly failing on matters of culture (despite its strength on abortion rights), it’s also seen as failing in matters of class. In a country that has become more overtly populist in its values and needs, Democrats are the ones who look like the party of out-of-touch elitists," she wrote, explaining Judis and Teixeira's book. 

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"We’ve had this peculiar situation where the reigning power in the Democratic Party has been between progressive social organizations and the neoliberal business elite," Judis told Paul.

The authors argue that Democrats have "too often pursued" the interest of party donors and elites, according to Paul. 

Judis and Teixeira write that the Democratic Party agenda has been set by the "shadow party," which is, "a mix of donors from Wall Street, Hollywood and Silicon Valley, wealthy foundations, activist groups, the media, lobbyists and scholars."

"The Democratic Party has had its greatest success when it sought to represent the common man and woman against the rich and powerful, the people against the elite, and the plebians against the patricians," they write.

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The authors argue, according to Paul's analysis, that the Democratic Party is set on "imposing a narrow progressive stance" on issues such as immigration, race, climate and "sexual creationism."

"Even though Democrats themselves are adopting ‘a pretty aggressive way to change the culture,’ Teixeira told me, the Democratic Party acts as if anyone who reacts against the assumptions of its progressive wing is completely off base," Paul wrote. 

"There’s a certain amount of chutzpah among Democrats to assume that it’s only the other side pursuing a culture war," Teixeria said.

The authors argue that Democrats "need to look in the mirror and examine the extent to which their own failures contributed to the rise of the most toxic tendencies on the political right."

The two previously wrote "The Emerging Democratic Majority" in 2002. 

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