The Democrats spent two years promising they had changed.
Now they're in New Orleans voting to tear apart the agency protecting your neighborhoods.
And it gets worse – what happened next inside that room is something Ken Martin desperately doesn't want you to see.
Democrats Vote to Dismantle ICE While Party Leaders Beg for Unity
The Democratic National Committee's spring meeting in New Orleans was supposed to be a show of strength heading into the 2026 midterms.
It became a meltdown.
The DNC's Resolutions Committee passed a measure calling for the dismantling of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement – not abolishing it, they carefully noted, just "dismantling" it.
The distinction fooled nobody.
From the floor, Oregon DNC member Nathan Soltz screamed an expletive-laced tirade against ICE to cheers from the room.
Colorado's Stephanie Beal complained the language didn't go far enough.
"I think watering down the word 'abolish' at this point is failing to meet the moment," she said.
The committee also voted to urge Congress to scrap the 287(g) agreements that allow local police to transfer criminal illegal aliens directly to federal agents.
DNC Chair Ken Martin sat at the front of the room trying to hold together a party that has lost its mind.
The Fight That Exposed the Real Enmity Between the People and the Political Establishment
The immigration vote was only half the story.
The DNC's other flashpoint was a resolution targeting AIPAC – the pro-Israel lobbying group – over its spending in Democratic primaries.
AIPAC had poured roughly $22 million into Illinois Democratic races alone this cycle.
Rep. Ro Khanna of California posted on X that anyone who hopes to lead the Democratic Party must condemn AIPAC money and oppose every dollar of military aid to Israel.
The DNC’s Resolutions Committee rejected Khanna’s AIPAC-specific measure.
DNC leadership claimed a broader dark money resolution made it redundant.
Minnerly, who sponsored the AIPAC resolution, called it "An embarrassing display of cowardice."
The committee then deferred two additional Middle East resolutions – one recognizing Palestinian statehood, another conditioning military aid to Israel – to a working group Minnerly said has stalled since August.
"Since that meeting, there has not been consistent progress or even forward motion," she said.
Democrat Party leadership is sitting on a volcano.
This is becoming a majority view in both parties.
A Pew Research survey released the same week found 60% of adults in the US now hold an unfavorable view of Israel, up from 53% last year.
“Today, 57% of Republicans ages 18 to 49 have an unfavorable opinion of Israel, up from 50% last year,” the Pew results found (among older respondents positive views remained a majority).
Carville: A Party Running Toward “Civilized Civil War” Ahead of November
The New Orleans meltdown didn't happen in a vacuum.
James Carville warned earlier this year that the Democrat Party is "steamrolling toward a civilized civil war" – calling it "constipated, leaderless, confused, and divided."
He was right.
What New Orleans exposed was a party where the base wants to abolish ICE and cut off Israel but most of the political class will do anything to keep AIPAC donors happy and the cash rolling in.
The GOP couldn’t be further away on ICE but they’re not all that far away from Democrats on AIPAC.
And as the DNC bigwhigs just showed, the political class in both parties will cross their voters at the drop of a hat for cash.
There’s a reason the late great political humorist P. J. O'Rourke named his 1991 book attempting to explain the entire US government “Parliament of Whores.”
Sources:
- Seth McLaughlin, "DNC debate exposes party rift on Israel, immigration," The Washington Times, April 9, 2026.
- Paul Steinhauser, "Unity tested: Democrats face off over Israel and AIPAC dark money during DNC meeting," Fox News, April 9, 2026.
- Joseph Strauss, "DNC committee rejects resolution condemning pro-Israel lobby AIPAC specifically," Jewish Telegraphic Agency, April 9, 2026.
- Lachlan Markay, "Democratic Party faces its internal demons on Israel policy — again," Semafor, April 6, 2026.
- Matt Margolis, "Here's Why the 2026 Midterms Look Terrible for Democrats," PJ Media, July 23, 2025.
