Democratic Party infighting was on full display Tuesday, with President Biden set to deliver a State of the Union address that will be followed by remarks from no less than three members of his own party lined up to offer their own speeches.
The counter-messaging comes from members of both the moderate and progressive wings of the party, as well as a lawmaker representing a core constituency: Black voters.
“Vanity is a powerful force and some folks in our party just can’t turn down an open mic,” said Colin Strother, a Democratic strategist. “They don’t really have any consideration for the greater good of the party.”
Those speaking say their remarks are just an opportunity to lay out a vision for the country as it faces new domestic and foreign policy challenges.
“I’m giving a speech about supporting President Biden and his Build Back Better agenda for the people,” said Rep. Rashida Tlaib, who is delivering the progressive response to Mr. Biden’s address on behalf of the far-left Working Families Party. “Look past the headlines and hear [our] vision for working with the president and Congress to deliver for our residents.”
Political strategists say the competing remarks are likely to dilute the impact of Mr. Biden’s address, which is meant to lay out the White House’s agenda heading into the midterms.
“The reality is that there are a lot of Democrats who are frustrated with this administration, but we ought not to conflate the two things,” said Mr. Strother. “This is supposed to be the president’s night, not the airing of grievances from junior members of his party who have never contributed anything, legislatively speaking.”
Others argue the counter-messages are disrespectful to Mr. Biden’s position as leader of the Democratic Party, especially as the president is besieged by inflation at home and Russian aggression abroad.
“In times of crisis, we should all stand by our president,” said Rep. Filemon Vela of Texas, a former vice-chairman of the Democratic National Committee.
Ms. Tlaib and the other speakers, including Democratic Reps. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey and Colin Allred of Texas, claim they are not looking to inflame intraparty tensions. Rather they hope their remarks will complement Mr. Biden’s address.
“I’m honored to have been asked to give the first-ever response to the State of the Union on behalf of the Congressional Black Caucus and talk about what we have accomplished by working with the president and our shared vision for the American people,” said Mr. Allred.
Mr. Gottheimer’s staff said the congressman is not delivering an official response to Mr. Biden’s address. Instead, they say, Mr. Gottheimer will offer his “perspective” on the potential for bipartisan compromise this year in Congress at an event put on by the centrist group, No Labels.
Mr. Gottheimer will deliver that “perspective” alongside Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, a Pennsylvania Republican, with whom he chairs the Congressional Problem Solvers Caucus. The duo will discuss the “need for unity, especially around core issues like crime, tax cuts, affordability, and turning the page on COVID.”
“Josh is not delivering a response or rebuttal,” said a spokesman for Mr. Gottheimer. “He was invited by a group to speak about where Democrats and Republicans can work together to move the country forward.”
Regardless of the nature of Mr. Gottheimer’s remarks, the attention being paid underscores the position Mr. Biden finds himself in just a year into his presidency.
“Joe Biden promised to unify the country, yet he’s failing to unify his own party,” William O’Grady, the deputy press secretary for the Republican National Committee. “Biden is the most toxic politician in America and tonight, Americans will watch as Democrats scramble to distance themselves from his litany of lies.”
Elected as a master legislator capable of bringing bipartisanship to Washington, Mr. Biden finds himself presiding over a party increasingly at war with itself. Throughout his first year in office, Democrats squabbled over everything from taxes to voting legislation, culminating in the defeat of the White House’s $1.75 trillion social welfare and climate change package.
Since then Democrats have struggled to find unity on abortion and budget issues. The divisions have only worsened as Mr. Biden’s approval rating has fallen amid skyrocketing inflation, the fall of Afghanistan and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
That reality has Democrats increasingly worried the political fallout will be so much worse if the party does not present a united front heading into the midterms.
“We would have more success herding angry cats than we will get Democrats to sing from the same hymnal,” said Mr. Strother.
• Haris Alic can be reached at halic@washingtontimes.com.
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