Even James Carville is giving up on Democrats: ‘Beat a Republican, and then I will have respect for you’

Former senior Bill Clinton adviser James Carville appeared on NewsNation on Monday night, seemingly giving up on the current iteration of the Democratic Party after some senators buckled and voted with Republicans to avoid a government shutdown.

Carville said political parties “exist for one reason, and that is to win elections.”

“When they lose elections, people lose faith in them,” said the strategist.

“The Democratic Party should be about … We’re the party for the people that are trying to make it, and (they’re) the party for the people that have it made,” he added. “When you have that dichotomy, everything flows from that.”

The strategist slammed the “identity left” wing party, arguing that their way of doing things has led to Democratic losses, and he challenged his progressive critics to prove that they can win elections before arguing that they’re the future of the party.

“I would give anything if one of these people ever beat a Republican,” said Carville, 80. “When anybody on the identity left, or anybody that’s coming in with all of these grand [ideas] — do me a favor — beat a Republican, and then I will have respect for you.”

He went on to argue that the image of the Democratic Party would get better following some election wins, such as in Wisconsin and Virginia, before arguing that the party has to turn into “an effective and smart opposition party, not a bunch of hoo-ha screaming and yelling.”

Carville’s comments come as Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has faced calls to step down after he voted to support a Republican spending bill that cut back on a number of non-defense programs.

But Schumer has remained defiant in the face of an avalanche of criticism for advancing the bill drafted by the House Republicans. Several senators have complained that while Schumer isn’t going anywhere, there hasn’t been a clear direction for the party.

Schumer, meanwhile, told The New York Times that the party has “a real direction now.”

“I don’t think we have an authenticity problem,” the Senate Democratic leader told the paper amid polling suggesting most Americans have an unfavorable view of the party.

“We have a real direction now. I feel good about it,” he added.

“First, you gotta look at who the Democratic Party is and who the Republican Party is,” said the 74-year-old. “We are the party of working people. We feel that very, very strongly. That’s who we have always been.”

Connecticut Democratic Senator Chris Murphy appeared on Meet the Press on NBC on Sunday, saying that Schumer “can lead the caucus” but that “we need to have a conversation inside the caucus about whether we are willing to stand up to Republicans.”

Democrats face the risk of becoming “irrelevant if we don’t use our power on cloture to demand that we have a seat at the table,” he told The Hill.

“We obviously have to make sure that we aren’t cut out of negotiations in the future,” he added.

As the Senate Democrats continue to soul-search, the chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Rep. Suzan DelBene of Washington state, argued on MSNBC on Sunday that the House Democrats will win back the majority in the 2026 midterms.

“We have 13 Democrats who won in districts that President Trump also won in,” said DelBene regarding the election in November. “So, we were strong; we will continue to be strong. Another big reason why we’ll take back the majority in 2026.”

Three Republicans clinched seats also won by Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris.

A recent NBC News poll found that only 27 percent of voters say they have a favorable opinion of the Democratic Party — the lowest rating since the start of NBC polling in 1990.