Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) argued the Democratic Party must ditch its “weak and woke” image if it wants to reclaim political power.
Slotkin revealed that on Thursday, she’s testing out a “war plan” to combat President Donald Trump’s “threat to our democracy,” which includes a series of speeches across the country. She also called for Democrats to adopt a “shadow cabinet” comprised of ranking members on congressional committees, according to her interview with Politico.
But atop the freshman senator’s agenda is a call to throw out Democratic language and communication styles that she worries have failed to resonate with the average voter.
Away with words like “oligarchy,” she said, referencing a term Democrats have frequently thrown at Trump and his de facto head of the Department of Government Efficiency, Elon Musk. Slotkin’s comments appeared to be indirectly critical of an anti-Trump nationwide “Fighting Oligarchy” tour led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).
The Democratic Party must shed its “weak and woke” reputation and “f*****g retake the flag,” Slotkin continued, as she urged her party to project a patriotic and strong alternative to Trump.
Democrats have grappled with how to rebound from bruising electoral defeats last fall in races for the White House and both chambers of Congress.
The party has split on the ideal approach moving forward. Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez favor a progressive rebrand of the party, taking a populist, worker-centered approach to expanding political power. Other leaders, such as Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), have suggested the country may not be ready for a progressive remold. Like Slotkin, Newsom has expressed support for taking a more moderate approach to culture war issues in recent days, urging Democrats to offer commonsense alternatives to voters rather than “a bunch of dangling verbs and policy statements.”
Splits also appear to be happening within the Democratic National Committee, as DNC Vice Chair David Hogg backs the Sanders-Ocasio-Cortez approach, despite blowback from his colleagues.
Slotkin, who gave the high-profile Democratic response to Trump’s first joint address to Congress during his second term, and has been described by party leaders as a “rising star,” has slammed progressives’ approach, suggesting they won’t win elections in mainstream America.
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“We live in a purple state, and I’m a pragmatist,” she said during a town hall with constituents last month.
Slotkin’s more moderate approach comes after she narrowly won her 2024 Senate election against Republican Mike Rogers. The Michigan lawmaker frequently made overtures to GOP voters as she fought to win the race, saying during her only debate with Rogers that “for the Republicans who feel like their party has left them over the last few years, you will always have an open door in my office.”