Former US Democratic lawmaker Tim Ryan urged the party to “rebrand” on Saturday, calling the party’s image “toxic” in many areas. Speaking on MSNBC’s “The Weekend,” Ryan argued the party needs a major overhaul after President-elect Donald Trump‘s victory over vice president Kamala Harris.
“You start with a complete reset. We need a rebrand. I think you and I have been talking about this since 2016, like, our brand is toxic in so many places and it is like, you are a Democrat? That’s the stuff we get like in Ohio. So it needs — we need a complete reboot. We need a complete reboot with the DNC. We need a complete rebranding,” Ryan said, as reported by Fox News. He believed the party hadn’t offered enough to voters in the political middle ground who were reluctant to vote for Trump.
Ryan suggested the Democrats should focus on policies that resonate with working-class voters, like reindustrialization and American competitiveness. He questioned the party’s stance against the crypto industry and called for a return to “bread and butter policies.” He contrasted his view with a focus solely on redistribution.
Ryan cited former President Bill Clinton’s campaign as a model for the party moving forward, saying, “The other thing that I think is really big, we can’t be for solely redistribution. It is about getting back to you want — it is the Bill Clinton campaign. It is the modern Democratic campaign. Look at the touchstone. Reinventing government.”
“We are going to tax the bad guys who are rich, which we want people to aspire to make money in America. We will tax them because they’re really bad people and we’re going to give you money. No, it is about growing the pie,” he added.
While Ryan advocated for this change in direction, other prominent Democrats hold differing perspectives. Senator Bernie Sanders believes the party’s losses stem from abandoning the working class. However, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi disagreed with Sanders’ assessment. “With all due respect, and I have a great deal of respect for him [Sanders], for what he stands for, but I don’t respect him saying that the Democratic Party has abandoned the working class families. That’s where we are,” Pelosi said on The New York Times’ “The Interview” podcast.