HuffPo's Sam Stein is getting some grief today for saying that President Obama “destroyed” the Democratic Party during his eight years in office.
Come on. Get real. That's what people said about the GOP after Goldwater. The Dem Party has not been "destroyed." https://t.co/jMJu2E7m2o
— Stuart Rothenberg (@StuPolitics) December 29, 2016
That word aside, however, Stein's sentiment about the state of the Democratic Party as Obama prepares to exit the White House is 100 percent accurate. Barack Obama has been exceptionally good for the brand of “Barack Obama” but far less good for the broader Democratic Party. His appeal was never transferable to down-ballot races, while some of his major accomplishments — especially the Affordable Care Act — turned out to be major negatives for the party's candidates for House and Senate.
This chart, created by Philip Bump, details just how much Democrats have lost in the eight years of the Obama White House.
Stunning.
There's no conclusion to draw from that chart except that, from top to bottom, the Democratic Party is less healthy today than it was when Obama won the White House eight years ago. Or, to put it simpler: not destroyed but badly diminished.