Dem senator laments party’s ‘lack of coordinated response’

Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., lamented the Democratic Party’s lack of a “coordinated response” to President Donald Trump’s during an interview on Sunday with ABC’s Jonathan Karl. 

“I think the lack of a coordinated response in the State of the Union was a mistake, and frankly, it took the focus off of where it should have been, which is on the fact that the president spoke for an hour and 40 minutes and had nothing to say about what he would do to bring down costs for American families that were watching that lengthy address, sitting at the kitchen table hoping he would offer something to help them afford a new home or pay their rent, afford health care, or child care,” Schiff said. 

The lawmaker responded to Sen. John Fetterman’s criticisms of the Democratic response. Fetterman described it as “a sad cavalcade of self owns and unhinged petulance.” 

“They’re destroying the economy, and they’re making it harder and harder for Americans to afford things. That’s where we need to keep the focus, that’s why we lost the last election, because we weren’t laser-focused on the high cost of living and what they’re doing now is just making it so much worse,” Schiff continued. 

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Karl also asked Schiff about how the Democrats should be responding to the president as a party. The ABC News host specifically referred to Democratic strategist James Carville, who has suggested the party “play dead,” and make a strategic political retreat.

Schiff said he disagreed and added that the Democrats needed their “own broad, bold agenda to improve the economic well-being of Americans.”

“We need to be advancing policies and making the arguments about what we have to offer, not simply standing back and letting them collapse under their own corrupt weight. To me, that’s not enough. We need to effectively use litigation as we are. We need to effectively use communication to talk to new people in new ways as we are,” he said. 

Other lawmakers have rejected Carville’s suggestion, including Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-VT., and said, “In fact, the problem is the Democrats have been playing dead for too many years.”

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Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, stood up and shouted during the president’s speech, which eventually led to him being thrown out of the House chamber.

Other Democratic lawmakers held up signs or whiteboards with various phrases on them to protest. 

Liberal media figures, including late-night host Stephen Colbert, mocked the paddles after the speech. 

“He barked out one appalling claim after another, but don’t you worry: Democrats are getting ready to fight back with their little paddles,” Colbert said on “The Late Show” following Trump’s speech.

Colbert held up his own paddle that read, “Try Doing Something.”