To Stand for Something, Not Just be Against

Democrats criticized for being too reactive to President and not focusing enough on the American people

This news story appeared on today’s (July 14) ‘HuffPost’ webpage.

Billionaire investor and “Shark Tank” alum Mark Cuban pulled no punches when talking about what he sees as the Democratic Party’s current failings.

Cuban, a Democrat who stumped for Kamala Harris during her 2024 campaign and has claimed he turned down the chance to be considered as her running mate, criticized the party for focusing too much on President Donald Trump and not enough on the American people.

“It’s just ‘Trump sucks,’” Cuban told “Po Save America” host Daniel Pfeiffer. “That’s the underlying thought of everything the Democrats do. ‘Trump sucks.’ ‘Trump says the sky is blue.’ ‘Trump sucks.’”

“That’s not the way to win,” he argued. “Because it’s not about Trump — it’s about the people of the United States of America and what’s good for them, and how do you get them to a place where they’re in a better position and it’s less stressful for them.”

This brief summary of the interview, written by Lee Moran, was entitled ‘Mark Cuban Reveals A Cold Truth About Why Democrats Are Flailing.’ There was a link to the podcast accompanying the story.

Cuban’s assessment echoes the key points of the recent address given by U.S. Senator Elissa Slotkin at the Center for American Progress (which I discussed in an earlier column although in a different context) where she called for Democrats to be more proactive and purposeful in putting forth a vision for America’s future rather than simply reacting to the Trump Administration’s myriad of proposals and deeds.

Quoting from an ABC News report, “Slotkin pushed her party to focus their priorities on Americans who are suffering the most. A shrinking middle class is the “single greatest security threat to the U.S.,” she said.

“I believe deep in my bones that if we lose our middle class and by association, the American Dream, we will lose our democracy and eventually our country,” Slotkin told her audience.

The Michigan senator described her speech as a “A New Vision for the Democratic Party” and laid out a plan to focus on affordability and ‘pocketbook issues. During her speech, she said the Democrats needed to “get back to the basics” which included creating more and better jobs and building more affordable housing.

Slotkin also advised her colleagues that adequate border security needs to be part of any immigration reform proposal.

Another key component in her speech was an assessment on the party’s current direction, or lack thereof, with her noting that “continued infighting keeps it from adopting a clear, cohesive strategy.”

Slotkin said the party is “like a solar system with no sun,” adding that “We don’t act as a team, and when we don’t’ work as a team, we turn our guns on each other, and it’s so, so, so fruitless.”

Much of what Slotkin said sounds like Cuban’s description of a political party that’s ‘flailing’.

Part of the difficulty for the Democrats at the national level, in this regard, is that they don’t have a titular leader who articulates the party’s agenda and also has the heft to keep differing views from muddying up the message.

I’m not sure if this constitutes a problem or is simply ‘the reality of the situation’ nor whether it should be called ‘a problem’. There are indeed, as Slotkin said, a lot of planets (i.e. Democrats) moving around the American political galaxy—she included—with their ‘particular take on things.’ These are mainly elected officials who have certain essential goals they pursue. Having a diversity of views and approaches may be messy with everyone talking at once, but it’s better than a top-down, intimidating style of leadership.

On the other hand, the argument can be made that the party —as in those elected officials, along with party organizers, sympathetic pundits, policy advocates, social crusaders, and rank-in-file supporters—should have a message that’s proactive, maybe even to put forth ‘that vision thing’, rather than just taking a reactive stance.

Slotkin—using a football analogy—noted that a team needs both an offense and defense to be successful. The Democrats, being out-of-power in Washington, D.C., have been forced to play defense and have done so since the Trump Administration took office, with some of the defenders being quite aggressive at times. That’s understandable, given the high stakes and what’s being proposed and done.
But, as Mark Cuban and Senator Slotkin, are saying, —it’s about the American people and their needs.

But, of course, ‘the American people’ is a singular term for what is a multiplicity of backgrounds, interests, and beliefs. Trying to find a common, overarching approach can be daunting. The divides and disagreements are very much part of the landscape. Still, maybe trying to better understand the challenges and hopes, the worries and aspirations, that people have—conflicting though they may seem or be—might be a good place to start the focus and form some tangible proposals.

A few suggestions come to mind: To listen rather than lecture; To stand for something, not just be against; To seek to bridge the gaps; To embrace our nation’s motto E pluribus unum… Out of Many, One.

I’ll add one more thought, which is the focus, the proactive approach, needs to address current realities and also be forward looking.

And while all of this may be a possible blueprint for the out-of-power, ‘flailing’ Democrats to follow, it seems good advice for any of us to take during these contentious times.

As John F. Kennedy advised, "We are not here to curse the darkness, but to light the candle that can guide us through that darkness to a safe and sane future."

Steve Horton is a mid-Michigan journalist and commentator.