The Democratic Party is on the verge of extinction. The race between Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Tim Ryan for House minority leader was a proxy war for the future of the party. Democrats in Congress had a choice between a woman in her 70s from San Francisco and a man in his 40s from the industrial Midwest. Would they choose someone who has a known yet poor track record of experience or take a risk on someone new with no guarantee of a different outcome? More broadly, would members choose a leader who represents the so-called costal elites or the fly-over states?
Full disclosure: Ryan is my congressman, and I serve in the same state Senate seat he once occupied. We both represent an area that has been reliably blue for decades, fueled by the engine of working class union households. Now Ryan’s home county, and mine, has become ground zero for the disaffected Democrat. Trumbull County, Ohio, voted for a Republican president for the first time since Herbert Hoover. I can’t tell you how many times a constituent would say they felt Hillary Clinton “talked down” to them or Pelosi was out of touch. The same people who have voted for me and Congressman Ryan for more than a decade cast their vote for Donald Trump in 2016 because they felt abandoned and frankly insulted by the tone of national Democrats.
Who better to bring these voters back into the fold than someone who represents them? That is why Ryan was the right pick at the right time. House Democrats had a chance to cast a vote for Ryan and start the process of rebuilding.Instead, they chose to re-elect a leader who embodies the failures of our past.
As a party, we would be blind to ignore that we have a major problem connecting with wide swaths of the American electorate. The perception that Democrats have lost touch with the working man and woman has resulted in an exodus by many who might otherwise have been categorized as “traditional” Democrats. House Democrats have lost almost 70 seats on Nancy Pelosi’s watch over the last four cycles. But the party’s lack of success sadly extends way beyond the Beltway.
Democrats control only 14 state Senate and 16 state house chambers in the whole country. That’s roughly just 30 percent of state legislative chambers. Ryan was right when he said on “Meet The Press” that the Democrats have become a party of the East and West Coasts. Acknowledging the problem is the first step towards fixing it. Ryan represents the voice of the Rust Belt in Washington. He understands the value placed on job creation, job loss and trade. He knows to discuss these kitchen table issues by talking to voters, not at them. Ryan understands that innovation and education are part of the prosperity puzzle. He also shares the progressive values that are so often associated with the Democratic platform: reproductive freedom, marriage equality and diversity.
It is this blend of pragmatism and passion that Democrats so desperately need to start to correct course and regain the ground we have lost at every level of government.
I have always respected Pelosi for her long career in public service. As an Italian American woman and an elected Democrat, her tenure as the first female speaker of the House was personally inspiring. But, it is time for our party to go in a new direction. I hope Leader Pelosi engages rather than punishes the dissenting voices in her Conference. Politics is about more than just power, and government is bigger than just one person. We need all voices at the table. We must adapt to survive. And we can change our strategy without abandoning our core principles.
Tim Ryan may have lost in the race for speaker, but if changes are not made, it’s the House Democrats who will be the real losers.
Capri S. Cafaro is a Democratic state senator from Ohio and former Ohio Senate minority leader. Thinking of submitting an op-ed to the Washington Examiner? Be sure to read our guidelines on submissions.
