The Democratic Party’s summer meetings are underway in Minneapolis, and the spectacle has already confirmed what disillusioned Democrats like former strategist Dan Turrentine have been warning for years: the party has no agenda, no cultural connection to ordinary Americans, and no interest in course correction.
Turrentine’s blunt assessment on The Ingraham Angle cut right to the bone. “It’s the definition of insanity,” he said, watching his former party repeat the same losing habits. Voters aren’t leaving Democrats by the millions because they’re too timid in their attacks on Donald Trump. They’re leaving because Democrats are, in Turrentine’s words, “completely culturally disconnected” and obsessed with performative gestures rather than solving problems.
🚨NEW: @danturrentine *UNLOADS* on his party after Day 1 of DNC Summer Meeting🚨
“It’s the definition of insanity: you just keep doing the same thing over and over again. And as a Democrat, it’s maddening that we’re still not serious.”
“We haven’t lost 4.5M voters — nor is… pic.twitter.com/u2F1HdCLdI
— Jason Cohen 🇺🇸 (@JasonJournoDC) August 26, 2025
The proof came almost immediately in the opening session. After the Pledge of Allegiance, Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin ceded the floor for a “land acknowledgment” delivered by Lindy Sowmick of the Saginaw Ojibwe Nation. Not a debate on inflation. Not a presentation on restoring public safety in collapsing cities. A ceremonial declaration that the DNC was meeting on “stolen land.” It was an unmistakable reminder that symbolism, not substance, is the party’s guiding star.
From there, Martin doubled down on the usual script: railing against Donald Trump as an “authoritarian” presiding over a “fascist regime.” The rhetoric was fiery, but familiar—the kind of red meat that excites donors and activist bases while leaving working-class voters wondering what Democrats actually intend to do.
Then came Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who leaned into mockery rather than persuasion. His caricature of Republicans—“What should I wear today? This stupid, frickin’ red hat”—was the sort of smug cultural sneering that may earn laughs in a ballroom of activists but only widens the chasm between Democrats and the voters they’ve hemorrhaged in the heartland. Walz mocked Trump supporters as cruel, dim-witted, and slavishly loyal to “the felon in the White House.” It was the same script Turrentine condemned: personal attacks, process complaints, and reliance on the press.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz: “Think of how easy it would be to be a d*mn Republican. ‘Oh, what should I wear today? This stupid frickin’ red hat. What should I say today? I don’t know, just make sure it’s cruel. Who do we listen to? That guy — oh, the felon in the White House.’ Yeah,… pic.twitter.com/KC4U7p1Ae3
— RedWave Press (@RedWave_Press) August 25, 2025
Meanwhile, President Trump, the supposed “dictator,” has been pressing ahead with tangible policies: deploying federal resources to fight crime in Washington, D.C., hinting at peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, and vowing to tackle trade imbalances with China. One side talks endlessly about norms and symbols; the other moves pieces on the board.
Turrentine’s frustration is easy to understand. Democrats have made themselves fluent in the language of grievance and cultural posturing while losing fluency in the concerns of ordinary Americans: safety, jobs, stability, and fairness. Land acknowledgments and red-hat jokes may play well to an activist class, but to millions of disaffected voters, they are proof that the party is unserious.
