President Biden’s age — and whether he should stay or go — nearly tore Democrats apart this summer.
In fact, a decision for the president to bow out earlier — and give other candidates, along with Vice President Kamala Harris, the chance to run for the Oval Office — may have salvaged the election for the party.
The divide between old and new and the direction of the party is threatening to drive a wedge through the Democratic coalition. In fact, the race between Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., to serve as the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee represented a microcosm of that skirmish.
The 74-year-old Connolly, recovering from esophageal cancer, bested the 35-year-old Ocasio-Cortez for the high-profile spot in the Democratic Caucus recently. The ranking Democrat on that panel will duel daily with Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky. Connolly is also expected to serve as the party’s lead attack dog for looming tangles with the incoming Trump administration.
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Comer was rooting for Ocasio-Cortez. He knew selecting her would amplify her positions as to the direction of the party.
"I hope they put her on there because she symbolizes what the Democrats stand for. She's a socialist. She's the architect of the Green New Deal in the House," said Comer.
It was a generational choice for Democrats.
Youth versus experience.
But what about the future of the party?
Ocasio-Cortez is an icon of the progressive movement. She’s one of the highest wattage stars in Congress — albeit sometimes a lightning rod.
Does the party want to tout liberal pols like Ocasio-Cortez — which would resonate in the left-leaning, multicultural precincts of Jackson Heights and College Point in New York? Or figure out how to speak to swaths of swing voters and even moderate Democrats in Omaha, Nebraska, parts of Ohio and the Dakotas?
It wasn’t that long ago that Democrats represented many of these places. The entire North and South Dakota delegations — House and Senate — were comprised of Democrats. Former Sens. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., and Bob Kerrey, D-Neb., were political icons in the Cornhusker State. Ohio was a swing state at the presidential level.
Connolly is by no stretch a "conservative" Democrat. He lacks the political allure of Ocasio-Cortez. That is neither a good thing nor a bad thing. Connolly is a workhorse. He’s a serious legislator with a nimble mind and can go toe-to-toe with the best of them verbally on the committee dais or on the House floor.
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The question is: Did House Democrats again stiff the progressives? Did they again shut out youth and vigor?
Unclear.
An Ocasio-Cortez victory would have signaled that Democrats veered left. That was one of the problems for the party in the election. But when it comes to "youth" and "turning the page" in the party, few have more currency on this subject than outgoing Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn. Certain quarters of the Democratic establishment excoriated Phillips when he made a quixotic challenge to President Biden in the party. Now Phillips is retiring from Congress.
"It is time to elevate the best and brightest. We have literally kept them from ascending to leadership positions, which means they go elsewhere," lamented Phillips. "And when we lose that kind of talent of ambitious, competent, patriotic young Americans, we're in trouble."
Democrats are trying to figure out where they will land after a brutal election loss. The path to rebuild a viable coalition is a challenge. Especially after President-elect Trump figured out a way to grow the GOP base and lure disaffected voters in his direction.
"It's quite apparent that the Democratic caucus has long valued people who have been here a long time," said Phillips, criticizing how the party doesn’t recruit "young, talented Americans." He said that Democrats "will continue losing" if they do not "open up" to younger voters.
For his part, Connolly argued the old versus young debate was a "false narrative, frankly, propounded by the media."
But even as Connolly won, the party selected several younger lawmakers (and keep in mind that "younger" is a relative term when it comes to Congress) to serve as the ranking members on several committees.
Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., who is 77, stepped aside as the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee in favor of the practically spright 62-year-old Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md. Raskin just recovered from lymphoma.
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Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., a 78-year-old, was absent for much of the year suffering from cancer. Grijalva has served as the leading Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee. He stepped away from that role, while 60-year-old Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., defeated a newcomer to Congress — 45-year-old Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-N.M., — to serve as ranking member of that panel.
"Only in Congress do I get to be young at 60 years old," quipped Huffman. "So it's like the fountain of youth."
Like Grijalva, 79-year-old Rep. David Scott, D-Ga., was absent for chunks of time over the past year due to health problems. He is the ranking Democrat on the Agriculture Committee. Scott declined to step down. Rep. Jim Costa, D-Calif., who is 72, and 52-year-old Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., challenged Scott, as Democrats clashed over age and experience.
"I don't know that it's a clash," said Costa before the vote. "We’ve got a terrific group of members in our Democratic Caucus. Members that have been elected in recent classes. But certainly we've got on spectrum, tremendous experience and a solid bench."
The younger Craig defeated both Scott and Costa to claim the ranking position on Agriculture.
After prevailing, Craig did not focus on age. She addressed political practicalities instead.
"Democrats overall are not connecting with rural communities. That's something we've been able to do in my district. I represent a D-plus one district and I just won it by about 14 percentage points," said Craig.
In other words, her district in southeastern Minnesota nominally favors Democrats, but the moderate Craig whipped her opponent.
"(When) we show up, we listen to people and they know that we care about them and about their lives," said Craig. "And I think the Democratic Party needs to do more of that. Show up. Listen. And make sure that people know they care about them."
As Democrats sorted out their committee leaders, yours truly spotted 78-year-old Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, near a Capitol stairway.
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Kaptur is an anomaly in Congress, in so many ways.
First elected in 1982, Kaptur is the longest-serving woman in Congressional history. She’s a pro-life Democrat. And despite her seniority — and one might argue gender — Kaptur has never gotten to chair or serve as the top Democrat on any House committee.
Much of that is due to her stance on abortion. But Kaptur’s experience and Ocasio-Cortez’s experience bring this debate full circle. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., advocated for Connolly over the New York Democrat. And for years, Kaptur asserts that the powerful Pelosi blocked her ascension, too.
"In the case of the Appropriations Committee, the people that get elected in my party tend to come from the coasts," observed Kaptur, saying it took her a decade to even get a slot on the Appropriations roster. "I had to defeat Nancy Pelosi to do that on about five ballots. I began to understand the way this organization called ‘Congress’ functions."
Kaptur says that most Democratic ranking members on committees are "all from the coasts. They’re not from our region of America."
Kaptur believes the party must focus on "bread-and-butter issues at home" if they’re going to reclaim the voters who President-elect Trump scored in November.
"The President-elect was correct when he talked about prices when he went to a McDonald’s. That’s where so many of my constituents work and eat," said Kaptur.
She added that Trump’s ride in a garbage truck sealed the deal with working-class Americans.
"He artfully identified with their plight," said Kaptur.
That characterization from Kaptur is the quintessential distillation of the entire presidential race. It explains many of the reasons why Trump won. It underscored how Democrats struggle to speak to "working class" Americans and those who reside in the middle of the country.
The tug-of-war will continue for Democrats as moderates and progressives — plus newcomers and the older guard — scrap over the future of the party.
But it’s hard to argue with Kaptur — both from electoral experience and politics. She won re-election in a state carried by Trump. That’s to say nothing of Sen.-elect Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, winning statewide, as well.
When it comes to choice spots on key committees, Democrats have ignored lawmakers like Kaptur and shut them out. Ocasio-Cortez lost to Connolly. Raskin, Huffman and Craig are now the top Democrats on several committees. It’s a mixture of younger members, but more pragmatism. Does it mean Democrats got the message? Not necessarily.
Check back in six months to see if these maneuvers represent a major course correction.
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