| Speaker | Time | Text |
|---|---|---|
|
unidentified
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21 years of the C-SPAN Student Cam competition. | |
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| NBC came out with a poll taking a look at a variety of questions, but specifically ones tailored to the Democratic Party. | ||
| This came out yesterday, one of those questions about overall viewers or overall people who participated in the poll. | ||
| This shows that a record low share of how those viewers or voters view the Democratic Party. | ||
| Only when it comes to negative views of the party, as of March of 2025, 55% of those sharing negative views of the party overall. | ||
| When it comes to those positive views, all those people who participated in that poll, only 27% expressed a positive view of the party. | ||
| Another chart from that NBC poll when it comes to Democrats and self-identified Democrats in April of 2017 to compare, it showed that 59% of those people back then of Democrats said that Democratic Party should make compromises with President Trump to gain consensus on legislation. | ||
| 33% at the time of April 2017 said that the Democrats should stick to their positions even if it means not getting things done in Washington. | ||
| That's almost flipped as of March of 2025. | ||
| 32% of Democrats saying that they should make compromises with the president to gain consensus on legislation and 65% of those Democrats saying that they should stick to their positions even if it means not getting things done in Washington, D.C. Again, these are that's the NBC poll. | ||
| It was not too long before that that CNN came out with its own poll taking a look at Democratic views of their own party and found this. | ||
| The first point saying that Democratic aligned adults of those who participate in that poll, 52% to 48% said that the leadership of the Democratic Party is currently taking the party in the wrong direction. | ||
| That's another shift from eight years ago when the views of this metric were largely positive. | ||
| And then, also amongst that poll, among overall the American public, the Democratic Party's favorability rating stands at just 29%, a record low. | ||
| And CNN's polling dating back to 1992, that poll also showing that just 63% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents report a favorable view of their own party, a dip from 72% in January and 81% at the start of President Biden's administration. | ||
| So, those are the polling numbers, taking a look at Democrats and how they view their own party. | ||
| You can give us your own sense, Democrats, of how you view your own party and the direction that your party is currently taking. | ||
| Here's how you can call us and let us know. | ||
| If you are under the age of 30, it's 202-748-8000. | ||
| If you are between the ages of 31 and 60, you can call us at 202-748-8001. | ||
| And if you're over the age of 50, 202-748-8002. | ||
| You can also post on our social media sites as well. | ||
| One of those people commenting on the state of the Democratic Party yesterday was on CNN. | ||
| It's Texas Democrat Jasmine Crockett talking about the Senate Democrats' approach to the short-term funding the CR, so to speak, and also talked about the state of her party. | ||
| Here's some of her comments from yesterday. | ||
| I understand that the American people are frustrated. | ||
| Please believe many of us did not sleep because we were calling and trying to impress upon the senators the importance of pushing back in this moment. | ||
| And as you saw, we had all but one Democrat in the House that voted for this, so that's 212 Democrats in the House. | ||
| And then you had the vast majority of senators vote for it or vote against it as well. | ||
| And so, the idea that Chuck Schumer is the only one that's got a brain in the room and the only one that can think through all of the pros and cons is absolutely ridiculous. | ||
| And, Jake, you and I both know that this administration could care less about whether or not they violate the law. | ||
| We know that we've had to rely heavily upon the courts. | ||
| And I want to say, as you're talking about the polling on my party, I want to say that it is the Democratic attorney generals and some governors that are standing up against this administration and bringing those lawsuits and winning every single time. | ||
| They are losing in court. | ||
| Could we do a better job of making sure that the American people know that we are winning in the courts? | ||
| We probably could. | ||
| But at the end of the day, it's still Democrats that are winning for the American people. | ||
| Some progressive groups are calling for new leadership in the Senate for Democrats. | ||
| Even House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, your leader, was asked if he supports Schumer as leader of the Senate, Democrats, and he said, next question. | ||
| Do you think Senate Democrats should replace Chuck Schumer? | ||
| I think Senate Democrats have to sit down and take a look and decide whether or not Chuck Schumer is the one to lead in this moment. | ||
| You're close with Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. | ||
| Some of your fellow House Democrats say, and not just progressives, by the way, we've heard that moderates have said this too, that they're ready to support her to challenge Chuck Schumer in a Democratic primary. | ||
| Would you get behind that? | ||
| That's four years from now. | ||
| If you were asking me, at least in two years, then I would have an absolute answer. | ||
| But I can tell you that there are a lot of people that are watching his leadership in this moment. | ||
| This is the moment. | ||
| We don't even know what elections will look like in four years if we will have elections. | ||
| And so I definitely think that younger, fresher leadership may be something that many of us, not just depending on what part of the spectrum you're on, but many Americans may be looking for, especially in the state of New York. | ||
| So again, that's Texas Democrat Jasmine Crockett giving her perspective on the Democratic Party. | ||
| Democrats only, you can do the same. | ||
| Again, the lines are a little bit different this time. | ||
| They're divided by age. | ||
| If you are under 30, it's 202748-8000. | ||
| If you're between 31 and 60, 202748-8001. | ||
| And if you're over 62, 02-748-80002. | ||
| On our over 60 line, this is Gwen in Detroit. | ||
| Democrats only on the state of your party, the direction of your party. | ||
| Gwen, good morning. | ||
| What do you think? | ||
|
unidentified
|
Hi, good morning, Pedro. | |
| Yeah, I'm over the age 60. | ||
| I'm 74. | ||
| But what the Democrats are doing, I agree with both sides because it's either this way or that way. | ||
| Both ways are terrible. | ||
| But I believe that with the view that Schumer took was to protect the courts. | ||
| And that way, like right now, we're beating Trump in the courts. | ||
| So if we had shut down the government, then it would have been, we would have been totally at loss. | ||
| It would be up to the executive, Trump, to decide what is necessary, what is not. | ||
| And he already thinks a whole lot of things are not necessary. | ||
| But this way, I think the Democrats are in a stronger position. | ||
| And another thing that I wanted to say is the Democrats, I hear a lot about House Democrats getting together, Senate Democrats, they both need to come together when they have to make big decisions like that and discuss it out behind closed doors. | ||
| So I think that the Democrats are doing great with no power. | ||
| They are doing great. | ||
| They are winning in the courts. | ||
| And so this is how we can fight back on Trump. | ||
| Okay. | ||
|
unidentified
|
You know, because he does a lot of things that are illegal, but it just goes to the court process. | |
| Now, when it ends up at the Supreme Court, you know, then that's another story. | ||
| Okay. | ||
| Okay. | ||
| That's Gwen there in Detroit giving her assessment. | ||
| This is John in Pennsylvania on our line for those over 60. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Hello. | |
| Hi, Pedro. | ||
| I just turned 70, and I think the Democrats are doing an excellent job because Chuck Schumer is one of the best House representatives in the Senate, man, for the longest time. | ||
| And remember, Nancy Pelosi, she did things for the American people with the Health Care Act under the Obama administration. | ||
| She was the best. | ||
| And the reason everybody thinks the Democrats are not doing any good is because they're following what the Republicans wrote 250 years ago in the first Continental Congress. | ||
| They said all men are created equal, but they didn't abolish slavery. | ||
| Well, in this case, they're following the efforts to keep the government funded, a Republican-led effort. | ||
| A lot of criticism coming from Democrats about that. | ||
| What do you think of that criticism? | ||
|
unidentified
|
I wanted him, I wanted him to pass the bill and see how disaster it is for the Republicans when things start happening. | |
| What do you mean by that? | ||
|
unidentified
|
A lot of money. | |
| What do you mean by that? | ||
| Can you elaborate on that? | ||
|
unidentified
|
Well, the things they're going to be doing is crazy. | |
| They're going to raise the deficit with that bill. | ||
| Okay? | ||
| How? | ||
| You're there. | ||
| You're still on. | ||
| Go ahead. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Yeah, yeah, I know. | |
| How? | ||
| Okay. | ||
| But if that's okay with Democrats allowing that to happen. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Why? | |
| Yeah, John, because the Democrat, because Senator Schumer allowed the bill to happen, you're okay with that approach then? | ||
|
unidentified
|
Are you kidding? | |
| I was okay with it. | ||
| I was happy. | ||
| If you shut down the government, it caused Quatus much to start it up again. | ||
| Okay. | ||
| Jack is between the ages of 31 and 60. | ||
| Jack in Philadelphia. | ||
| Hello there, the state of the Democratic Party. | ||
| What do you think? | ||
|
unidentified
|
Hey, what's going on? | |
| Well, you know, I don't agree with what Schumer did. | ||
| The Republicans had long enough to develop and pass their own budget and then had to drop five and punt and pass the CR for Joe Biden. | ||
| No one else agreed with Schumer. | ||
| I think it's time for, I mean, we have young, smart, aggressive representation in the Democratic Party. | ||
| And I think it's time for them to take over, you know, and lead for these next four years. | ||
| Aside from the actual CR vote itself, why do you think the Democratic Party is in need of a change of leadership? | ||
|
unidentified
|
I don't think the, and I don't want to be ageist, but I think they're not aggressive enough. | |
| I mean, the issues are clear-cut. | ||
| And I think the younger representatives, when I watch C-SPAN, you know, have congressional hearings and everything, they're much more aggressive, much more succinct, and get their point across. | ||
| And they make the Republicans look silly in these hearings and passing bills. | ||
| Like, it's not even close. | ||
| So I just think it's time for the younger generation to take over and represent our points. | ||
| Jack is in Philadelphia. | ||
| That's his thought. | ||
| Again, he's calling me within that bracket of between the age of 31 and 60. | ||
| That's 2027 for 88,000. | ||
| If you fall within that, if you're over that, say over the age of 60, 202, 748, 8002. | ||
| If you're under 30, 202748, 8003. | ||
| Democrats only, again, the direction of your party. | ||
| Where do you think it's going? | ||
| Especially as the call I brought up become the last week's vote on keeping the government funded. | ||
| You can use that as an example. | ||
| You can use that as other examples as well. | ||
| Carl and Houston are a line for those over the age of 60. | ||
| Hello, you're next. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Hey, how are you doing, Pedro? | |
| Listen, I think the Democrats is totally going in the wrong direction. | ||
| And not just because of one vote, but for the last four or five years, people have been telling Democrats, hey, we don't want to go this way. | ||
| Let's try this way. | ||
| They refuse to listen. | ||
| And because of that, look where we're at now. | ||
| We're at a place where, to be quite honest, I don't think the Democrats can get us out of this situation because one, they've been reactive instead of proactive. | ||
| And look, it just caused too much damage. | ||
| I think they need a complete overhaul. | ||
| They need a complete overhaul of their policies and everything else. | ||
| Because to be quite honest, you can't just look at one vote of Chuck Schumer and say, hey, listen, this is the problem, this one vote. | ||
| No, it's the policies that they've been passing for the last couple years. | ||
| Half a trillion dollars here And for illegals, so where do you think what where do you think the Democratic Party should have been more proactive in the way you express that? | ||
| Where do you think that should have taken place? | ||
|
unidentified
|
I think I should have taken place when Democrats started telling them, hey, we're not truly agreeing with some of these policies you come out with. | |
| And I don't know who's passing the, I don't know who's given the orders, the marching orders in the Democratic Party, but whoever's been given those marching orders, they've been told repeatedly by Democrats and the public in general that they're not filling that and that they're not filling these policies. | ||
| And to be truthful, you can't just look at one place. | ||
| You have to, it really needs to be totally revamped. | ||
| But thanks, Pedro, for letting me call and taking this time. | ||
| But really, everything they've done in the last five years has just been, just been terrible. | ||
| Okay. | ||
| Vicki in Indiana, between the ages of 31 and 60, the direction of the Democratic Party, Democrats only this morning. | ||
| Hello, Vicki. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Good morning. | |
| I would just like to say I'm a registered Democrat. | ||
| I haven't always voted Democrat. | ||
| Sometimes I'll vote for an Independent, but I think the Democrat Party is messing up. | ||
| They should have already had a plan ready. | ||
| They should have already had a Project 2025 quote of our own. | ||
| But I think it's time to rebrand. | ||
| I think they need to change the name of the party, rebrand it. | ||
| They've got to focus on issues that really matter to people. | ||
| They've got to get a hold. | ||
| They've got to sit down with Bernie. | ||
| They need to sit down with Bernie and they need to, I feel like they need to get their well, let me ask you two questions since you brought them up. | ||
| The issues you said they need to focus on, what would be the top issue in your mind for the Democratic Party to focus on? | ||
|
unidentified
|
100% is the tax loopholes. | |
| I look at it this way. | ||
| If you had a candidate that had some kind of coup like Obama, I'm not saying you have to be the world's best speaker, but if you are somebody that wants to get a hold of American people, be the person that says we want money out of politics. | ||
| We want the best education in our country so our people are smart. | ||
| We can never let something like Trump happen again. | ||
| And if you want to win the House, the Senate, and the executive branch, you need to rebrand. | ||
| And you need to rebrand and say, you know, quit doing the same old, same old. | ||
| Don't reach out to the Brown community, but then actually not help them. | ||
| You've got to do, you need to have a candidate that's ready to rock and roll. | ||
| And let me ask you this then. | ||
| Why do you think that the party should turn to, say, Senator Sanders for that kind of guidance? | ||
| What does he bring that other leaders within the party are not bringing? | ||
|
unidentified
|
I'm not saying yet. | |
| A lot of lies, a lot of lies, a lot of flair, a lot of confidence, a lot of appealing to hatred in a passive-aggressive way, sometimes just outright. | ||
| I don't think that's what we need to do. | ||
| I think we need to go back in this and say, hey, we are a compassionate people, but I think we need education. | ||
| There are so many people that do not understand how our government works. | ||
| And a lot of people didn't get that in high school. | ||
| And they didn't pay attention and they weren't taught. | ||
| Well, okay, Vicki Vera in Indiana giving her thoughts. | ||
| Several people bringing up Senator Schumer. | ||
| He did an interview with the New York Times, an audio interview that was released yesterday. | ||
| And in part of the back and forth of questions, this after the vote last week to allow the government to stay open, he was asked about that vote. | ||
| Also asked if he thought that, or the reporter asked if Senator Schumer is the right leader for the Democratic Party in the Senate at this time. | ||
| Here's part of that exchange from yesterday. | ||
|
unidentified
|
But with this vote, it seems you've lost the confidence of many of your players. | |
| I mean, it is from Nancy Pelosi to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez who have expressed genuine fury at this. | ||
| Well, let me just say: look, in my caucus, for instance, I knew there would be divisions. | ||
|
unidentified
|
There are. | |
| But we have respect for one another. | ||
| We each respect that each of us has made the decision because we thought it was right. | ||
| And we are all unified in going after Trump. | ||
| What I mentioned to you in the earlier broadcast, making sure people know. | ||
| But it's how you go after Trump out. | ||
| Go ahead. | ||
| Go ahead. | ||
| The complaints are about precisely your leadership. | ||
| I mean, there has been reporting that you were not in regular touch with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries leading up to your decision, that it took many in your caucus by surprise, that there didn't seem to be a plan. | ||
| That is what, more than anything, seems to be the case that many in your caucus are making against how this was handled. | ||
| Okay, for weeks and months, we had said a shutdown is awful. | ||
| And by the way, every Democrat, no matter how they voted, wanted to make sure there was no shutdown. | ||
| We thought there could be a bipartisan plan. | ||
| And I talked to Hakeem regularly during this period. | ||
| We didn't think that Johnson could get all his votes. | ||
| He did. |