Is the Democratic Party actually broken? | The Tylt

Here's the original tweet from Jon Favreau that was met with so much ire.

Though a minor firestorm erupted on Twitter after Favreau posted his question to listeners, he defended the query as well as the special series on the future of the Democratic Party he has planned, and warned against liberal complacency. 

Maybe you’re buoyed by the surge in grassroots activism and first-time candidates, and believe the energy we’ve seen from the Women’s March to the March for Our lives will translate into the votes we need to take back Congress, and ultimately the White House. Are you sure?

I was sure once, right before Democrats lost history’s most winnable election to history’s most unpopular candidate. One poll found that two-thirds of Americans believe Democrats are out of touch—including nearly half of Democrats themselves. Not great!

But many Democrats disagree with Favreau's general premise. The party is actually winning previously unthinkable races for Democrats (Doug Jones anyone?) and has huge momentum.

Some people didn't like it when Bernie called the Democratic Party a failure, but others say the truth hurts.

But plenty of Democrats say Bernie needs to have a seat. He's not a Democrat. Why doesn't his revolution form a flaw-free Independent movement instead of always complaining that the Democrats are failures? Let's hear constructive criticism from people who are actually willing to join the party.

Mark Waldman points out that no matter what the Democrats do, it will never be enough for the Sanders wing. Hating on the Democrats and decrying their "brokenness" is the progressive left's brand. They're not here to fix anything: they're here to tear the party down. Democrats can and should work to be better, but pleasing Bernie Sanders shouldn't be on their to-do list, ever.

Sanders’ conviction [is] that the party is irredeemably corrupt and a collection of neoliberal corporate sellouts. This is the essence of the Sanders brand; it always has been and always will be. No matter how much the party moves to the left — and it has moved a great deal in the last few years — there will never be a point where Sanders says, “I’m really pleased with where the Democratic Party is right now.” Because once he said that, there would cease to be any need for Bernie Sanders to exist.

Plenty of voters on the right and the left say the "Dems in disarray" theme is no myth. 

Many Democrats say the party cannot simply run on anti-Trump fervor. They need to be for something, not just against the current president. The Hillary/Bernie factions are still brawling all over Twitter. The party is indeed in disarray and needs to unite—unless they want to make Trump a two-term president.

Others argue bashing the Democratic Party will get you clicks from the right and the far left. It may be politically expedient to say the Dems are a disaster, but it's not true.