There aren’t many of them. If Democratic moderate elected lawmakers held a convention, it would probably be in Dayton at the Howard Johnson Motor Lodge.
A similar gathering of moderate Republicans would also be sparsely attended. Unlike the Republicans, however, the Democrats are out of power.
The Democratic moderates who gathered in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday believe they hold the key to restoring the Democratic Party to its former glory and leading it back to power. The moderates believe it can be done if they “seize control of the party’s messaging, stiff-arm liberal interest groups and experience the spoils of real-life victory, all while ignoring angry online activists,” according to The New York Times.
Who are “moderates” and what do they believe? Sort-of moderate Hamilton Nolan asks, “How do you get people to support a philosophy that doesn’t inherently stand for anything?”
The answer is a variation of “a pox on both your houses,” which not only leads to incoherence but leaves voters empty. Democratic moderates yell at their own radicals in order to gain traction with those on the fringes of activism.
A tall order, that. Republican moderates are in a much different position. Not only do they enjoy the perks of being in the majority, but their handful of votes are critical in a House of Representatives so closely divided. Speaker Mike Johnson must deal with them to get major legislation passed.
The meeting was not for meat-eating activists. It was as wonky a gathering as can be imagined (“a platter of chopped peppers, carrots, and cauliflower was served in the back,” the Times informs us.)
“This room may be full of nerds,” said Andrew Mamo, a Democratic strategist who attended the conference. “But the focus is how to not look like losers — and how to not be losers.”
This is the current state of the Democratic Party. That this meeting of relatively powerless Democrats thinks that the optics of losing have to be addressed before anything else is significant.
There was a lot of grumbling about online crazies who call the moderates “fascists.”
“Being yelled at on Bluesky is good,” said Lakshya Jain, a data-crunching analyst. Jain co-founded an election analytics firm, Split Ticket.
“You’re not fighting fascism, you’re posting on your phone. If you want to fight fascism, go and win elections,” he added.
The conference took place at the Hamilton Hotel in Washington as allies of the Blue Dog Coalition, the most moderate faction among House Democrats, are forming a new super PAC and an allied nonprofit group ahead of the 2026 midterms. The Blue Dogs have long had their own PAC but never independent entities that can take unlimited donations.
The new nonprofit, which has not been previously reported, will be called the Blue Dog Action Fund, with Aisha Woodward, a former chief of staff to Mr. Golden, serving as executive director and overseeing a staff of five.
“We’re willing to get involved in primaries, but our goal is to win the House majority,” said Phil Gardner, who will be a senior adviser to the groups and is a former campaign manager for Representative Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington State, a Blue Dog leader. “Which is going to require winning in seats that Trump won.”
“The backlash that happens online is actually the sign that you’re doing something right,” said Adam Jentleson, a former chief of staff to Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania. That was a recurring theme throughout the conference. The centrist’s feelings are bruised very easily, and getting called names by mindless left-wing radicals galls them.
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No Democratic meeting would be complete without an appearance by “Free Palestine” radicals. The Moderatefest was no exception. As security escorted the handful of terrorist-supporting protesters off the stage, the loudspeaker blared Carly Simon’s classic, “You’re So Vain.”
Radical bashing doesn’t do much good. The activists driving the agenda of the Democratic Party are immune to such criticism. They are imbued with the light of belief in their cause and see any opposition as evil.
Regaining control of their party to bring it closer to the actual mainstream is an evolutionary, not revolutionary, process. The sad truth for the non-radical Democrats is that evolution will only happen after their party is beaten into the ground for several elections, forcing the radicals to the sidelines.
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