CNN political analyst argues Dems in weakest position since Reagan era

CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein said Monday that the Democratic Party was in its weakest position since the 1980s, the Reagan-Bush era, as the party continues to determine its best way forward.

“If you talk to Democrats, you know, they recognize they are in a hole. I mean, the image of the party is probably in a weaker position than at any point since I think the 1980s, the Reagan and George H.W. Bush era,” Brownstein told CNN’s Audie Cornish.

Cornish and Brownstein discussed the Friday federal government funding deadline, as Cornish said GOP lawmakers were hoping to offset tax cuts in the federal budget and that the “likely target could be Medicaid.” Democratic lawmakers have maintained that the GOP proposed bill included cuts to Medicare and Medicaid.

“But if you ask Democrats how they think they are going to come back, there is a debate about, you know, within the party, do you fight on every front or do you focus on the economic issues? And I think most Democrats believe their best chance of kind of getting a second look from the public in 2025 is this debate over the budget,” Brownstein continued.

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“You know, this is the first time since that 1995-96 budget when Republicans are explicitly putting two things together in the same budget plans, tax cuts that are aimed primarily at the rich, and cuts in programs and health care programs, particularly Medicaid, that benefit the middle and working class. I mean, if you look at their tax cuts since then, they‘ve been sugar only. They‘ve kept the spinach far away from it,” the political analyst said.

Brownstein argued that the Democratic Party could link the argument that the GOP will be cutting Medicaid to fund tax cuts for the wealthy to the budget, and that it might be their best strategy in 2025.

“And I think if you ask them, as I said, how they think they‘re going to come back, they are probably putting more chips on that number than anything else,” he added.

Brownstein argued earlier in the conversation that any cuts to Medicare or Medicaid would be unpopular with some key Republican voters. 

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Democratic lawmakers came under fire following their many attempts to disrupt and protest during President Donald Trump’s address to Congress. 

Congressional lawmakers held up signs, wrote live reactions on white boards, and Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, stood up and shouted about cuts to Medicaid at the president before he was eventually removed from the chamber. 

The protests were jeered by members of their own party, including Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who said the lack of a coordinated response was a “mistake.”