The Democratic Party is in trouble, and they know it. Their approval ratings are cratering, their policies aren’t resonating with voters, and their future in upcoming elections looks bleak. But instead of reassessing their platform or finding a way to connect with everyday Americans, they’re doing what they always do when they’re out of power: scrambling for an issue that might help them claw their way back.
Right now, in Louisiana, that issue is the death penalty—specifically, the state’s decision to resume executions using nitrogen gas. The media has seized on it, with left-leaning outlets like the Baton Rouge Advocate pumping out headlines and coverage designed to spark controversy. Executions, they argue, are a moral crisis, an urgent issue that deserves outrage and resistance.
Are Progressives Being Opportunistic?
Over at The Advocate, in fact, their website seems almost dedicated to questioning the return of the death penalty in the state. Earlier on Monday, they had a host of stories on the subject, all of which seemed much more anti-death penalty than objective reporting.
You get it. Most of their coverage has a particular slant. The Advocate and its various branches in various parts of the state tend to lean to the left, and they have not-so-subtly come out against the death penalty’s return in Louisiana. Over at The Hayride, Scott McKay explains the Democrats’ opposition thusly:
You might not agree with the death penalty, and that’s fine. The fact is, it’s the law of the land. The Louisiana legislature has created it as an option for juries to dispose of the worst murder cases in our state, and those people on death row are there because juries agreed they ought to be there. We ask them to sit in judgment of cases which are so awful that they very often scar the people forced to sit through evidence of the most terrible deeds humans can do, and when they deliberate and bring a guilty verdict with a death sentence in response, we’re going to tell them their efforts are to be disregarded?
Because of ideological fetishes?
For the record, I am against the death penalty. I’m not particularly passionate about the issue, I just don’t believe it’s effective in dissuading crime nor does it truly deliver justice. But this isn’t about my views. This is about what the Democrats—with the help of their friends in the media—are trying to do here.
They want to stoke outrage and are using every activist tool they have to make it happen. But the problem is that they aren’t really convincing anyone outside of their bubble that this is a fight worth having. That outrage they are trying to stir up just isn’t coming.
Still Not Winning Voters Over
Despite their best efforts to make this a defining issue, the response from the public has been mixed at best. That’s because, for most Louisianians, capital punishment isn’t the issue keeping them up at night. Voters are more concerned about crime, inflation, and the day-to-day realities of an economy that isn’t working for them. In the wake of a Biden Era that saw rampant crime and violence, advocating allowing convicted murderers to live seems tone-deaf at best.
While activists and progressive politicians try to rally around this as their next big cause, the truth is that it won’t move the needle. And while many of them probably object to me making this about political outcomes, they should absolutely care about those outcomes because they need better ones.
The problem for Louisiana Democrats isn’t just that they’re losing elections—it’s that they don’t know how to win them anymore. The party has steadily lost influence at the state level, unable to make inroads with voters who have rejected their policies on crime, immigration, and the economy. Rather than offering a compelling vision for the future, they latch onto whatever social issue they think will spark outrage and mobilize support.
The Democrats’ National Failure
This is part of a larger trend happening across the country. Nationally, the Democratic Party is facing an identity crisis. Polling shows their favorability at its lowest level in decades, with voters increasingly dissatisfied with their leadership. The numbers don’t lie—people are tuning them out. And yet, instead of changing course, they double down on the same strategies that have cost them elections.
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That desperation is on full display in Louisiana. They know they can’t win legislative fights, so they turn to media campaigns, hoping to sway public opinion through pressure and outrage. But the problem isn’t that people aren’t paying attention—the problem is that they are, and they don’t like what they see. The progressive wing of the party has pushed them so far left that they’re now out of step with mainstream voters.
They can write as many headlines as they want, but at the end of the day, voters will make their choices based on what actually affects their lives. And right now, Louisiana Democrats are failing to offer anything that speaks to that reality. They’re shouting into the void, hoping someone will care enough to listen. But the voters have already moved on.
And you know what? It’s happening nationwide.
