Dem
47
GOP
53
Progressives are pushing Democrats to move further to the left and confront Donald Trump much more aggressively. They cite the enormous rallies Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) have been holding as evidence that people want to stand up to Trump and the oligarchs. This way of thinking suggests Democrats need to move to the left.
On the other hand, Congressional Democrats look at the problem more tactically. They know to flip the House they need to win districts currently represented by Republicans. These are R+1, R+2, maybe up to R+5 districts. That's how the incumbent won in the first place. To win these moderate Republican voters, cloning AOC is probably not the right approach. This way of thinking suggests that Democrats should move to the right. But if they move to the left and right at the same time, they will get dizzy.
Put another way, moving left will energize blue-state voters but may not flip swing seats. Moving right may demoralize progressives and hurt in D+1 or D+2 districts. This can be summed up as a "Goldilocks" problem. There is no easy way out of this.
Related to this problem is which issue to prioritize. Many progressives want to prioritize immigration and getting Kilmar Abrego Garcia home. Moderates think that voters view this as a "process" issue and see it as defending a criminal who entered the country illegally. They think it is a loser. They want to focus on Trump's broken promise to lower prices on Day 1.
Some progressives want to take the fight to Trump. Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-MI) has filed seven articles of impeachment. The Democratic leadership in the House thinks this is totally pointless and counterproductive since the votes aren't there even for a floor fight. Of course, if the Democrats take the House in 2026, the impeachment resolutions will come fast and furious.
The only plausible strategy for the Democrats is to fight each House battle differently, depending on the district. In affluent suburban districts, the Democrats can talk about the rule of law, saving the planet, environmental justice, and all that cool stuff. In working-class districts, the pitch could be "Trump lied to you when he said he would make eggs cheaper." In other words, strictly about kitchen table issues and inflation. It might be the only way out. You can't serve voters porridge that's too liberal or too conservative for them; it has to be just right (or just left, or just center, as the case may be). (V)