Democrats are gearing up for a Center for American Progress conference in May, which the party hopes will help streamline all the progressive forces opposing President Donald Trump and present new ideas of how to appeal to the electorate, Politico reported Wednesday.
Billed as a version of CPAC, the American Conservative Union's annual gathering that has become a major stop for Republican leaders, Democrats hope their conference will become a way for the energized opposition to Trump to articulate proposals for a different vision of how to tackle the nation's challenges.
CAP President Neera Tanden told The Orlando Sentinel "so far the Trump administration has put forth a lot of policies that are not just disconcerting on policy grounds, but I think a lot of progressives see [them] as an affront to core values . . . and on those issues, I think it's important for progressives to stand by their values."
As new groups spring up to oppose the new Republican administration, there is a debate among Democrats about the best way to move forward.
Tanden told Politico the trial and error involved with the unprecedented level of energy of so many new groups is a positive development, and a natural process will occur in which stronger organizations will prevail and others will consolidate or fold.
However, others argue this free-for-all can lead to confusion, doubling of efforts and fatigue when there needs to already be a unified message being formed in preparation for the midterm elections.
Media strategist David Eichenbaum said the party should "play a role in bringing such groups together to help develop a strategy and a message moving forward that is smart and inclusive."
New Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez stressed to Politico he wants to "make sure the DNC is the focal point in bringing progressives together and translating this momentum into a movement, and earning votes for Democrats up and down the ballot."
Party leaders, however, are trying to remind themselves to be wary of the lesson learned during the last failed campaign, which is not to be so sure the electorate hates Trump the Democrats gloss over the issues that earned him the support of many voters.
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