Good morning. It is Sunday, August the 24th. If Donald Trump's victory last November

was not enough of a wake-up call for the Democratic Party, then the first months of his

second term should be. In fact, while the Democratic Party continues to ruminate a naval gaze about

its future,

Americans across the political spectrum are paying attention and taking action. We've seen

this manifest itself in the large-scale nationwide protests that have spread over the past

several months. Americans are taking to the streets and to town halls, trying to do what they can,

but they're not being led by the Democratic Party. They're

left wanting more. People have been waiting for a party to emerge that can get beyond the

increasingly self-indulgent debates about being more moderate or more progressive and actually

rise to the challenge of standing up to Donald Trump and holding the line against the Republican

Party, actually fighting back, not just debating the merits of what kind of fighting back is best.

Back in March, an NBC news poll found that only 27 percent of registered voters had a positive view of the Democratic Party.

That represents the lowest positive rating for the party since NBC began asking that question in 1990.

The same poll showed that people wanted to see more fight out of Democrats.

65% said they wanted Democrats to stick to their positions, even if it results in gridlock

in Washington, versus just 32% who thought Democrats should make compromises with Trump.

Now, that's not to say that there haven't been and don't continue

to be some remarkably brave and tenacious fighters inside the structure of the Democratic Party.

There are some Democrats or people who caucus with Democrats who hear this call for action and

have been setting an example. Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut understood very early

how big an emergency Donald Trump's election actually was.

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