Democrats desperately need to have a grown-up in the room, especially if they are hoping for a reversal of fortunes in 2028.

One way to do that would be to sidle away from being the Party of No to the Party of Reasoned Opposition. It’s a huge ask, as the temptation to score with progressive resisters grows stronger by the day. Preaching to the crowd is an easy win, but it’s not what the country needs now.

For example, tomorrow is slated as Tesla Takedown Day, a protest effort planned across the U.S., the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the Netherlands and other countries, according to reports. The Tesla Takedown movement wants protesters to sell their Tesla vehicles, dump their stock and join picket lines.

It’s a synchronized swipe against Elon Musk and his actions heading the Department of Government Efficiency.

Boycotts and peaceful protests are part of American history, and disgruntled Tesla owners are well within their rights to sell the cars they once coveted for their cutting-edge, cool factor. The electric vehicles were virtue signals on wheels. U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez even bought one.

Now, celebrity owners such as Sheryl Crow and Jason Bateman are tossing their Tesla keys with public statements against Musk and the administration at large. Bateman said driving a Tesla was like “driving around with a Trump sticker.”

Heaven forbid.

But that’s not enough for some anti-Musketeers, who have taken to vandalizing Teslas, setting them on fire and wreaking havoc on dealerships. The FBI has launched a task force to crack down on Tesla crime, the Justice Department announced charges against arson suspects, and Attorney General Pam Bondi labeled the attacks “domestic terrorism,” according to Fox News.

This is a golden opportunity for high-profile Democrats to speak up against the violence and affirm the boundary between protests and crime.

The silence is deafening.

House Democratic leaders Hakeem Jeffries and Nancy Pelosi gave Fox News Digital the cold shoulder when asked to respond to the string of violent attacks against Tesla. Jeffries refused to acknowledge the question when asked to denounce the violence as his staff ushered him inside the Capitol. Pelosi brushed off a question about her take on the situation with a polite wave, telling Fox News Digital she was running late.

Pelosi applauded her Democratic colleagues in 2018 for “refusing to accept the House GOP’s continued failure to investigate domestic terrorism.” Yet she has yet to slam her colleagues in the house for failing to condemn the violent acts against Tesla.

Fox News Digital asked 13 Democrats who sponsored legislation to combat domestic terrorism if they agreed the attacks are “domestic terrorism” and if the government should target the people vandalizing Tesla. None of the lawmakers responded.

I condemn domestic terrorism no matter who engages in it. This country respects peaceful protests and demonstrations. Violence is not free speech. 

That’s all it would have taken to swim against the tide of looking the other way. Condemning domestic terrorism is not an endorsement of Elon Musk or his DOGE cuts, and Democrats need to impress this on their constituents, and potential voters.

But first they need to grasp the concept.

Editorial cartoon by Al Goodwyn (Creators Syndicate)