Democrats Warned: Ditch the Gimmicks and Get Real, Says Columnist

The Democratic Party is getting some tough love from columnist Matt K. Lewis, who says it’s time to ditch the desperate attempts at being cool and rediscover some good old-fashioned authenticity.

Writing in the Los Angeles Times, Lewis delivered a reality check for Democrats still licking their wounds after losing to Donald Trump. His message? Manufactured cool is cringe, and no amount of gimmick rebranding will save a party that’s lost touch with being real.

Lewis spotlighted the tug-of-war between party elders like James Carville, who suggests letting Trump self-destruct, and rising voices like David Hogg, who’s itching to clear out the party’s old guard. Hogg’s plan to spend millions purging incumbent geriatrics sounds bold, but Lewis warns it could backfire spectacularly when voters head to the polls.

The columnist didn’t hold back on the so-called "dark woke" branding either, calling it just another attempt to slap a trendy label on progressive politics. As Lewis put it, the Democratic brand isn’t just cooked—it's become, well, kind of lame. Ouch.

There was a time, Lewis recalls, when the Democrats were the life of the party: think Barack Obama, George Clooney, and a cultural monopoly that made them the cool kids in the cafeteria. Now? They're the hall monitors, while the GOP has somehow grabbed the punk-rock, chaos-agent vibe. It’s a wild reversal—and honestly, if you told me five years ago that Republicans would be the ones flipping the bird, I’d have asked if you’d been drinking the campaign punch.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. Lewis points to folks like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who manage to stay relevant by simply showing up, speaking their minds, and not faking it. Senator Chris Van Hollen even jetted to El Salvador to stand up for someone wrongfully deported—not for a photo op, but because it mattered. Now that’s the kind of cool that doesn’t need a TikTok filter.

In the end, Lewis says authenticity, passion, and substance are what will make Democrats cool again. Because nothing says "out of touch" quite like rapping about climate change while democracy burns in the background. Let’s hope someone’s listening.