The current budget fight comes at a moment when the Democrats remain unpopular with their voters and stuck in an identity crisis. A few recent pieces from The New Yorker consider these questions and offer clues as to what the Democratic Party of the future might look like. The Democrats still need a cohesive message. The Party has failed to find both a singular message and messenger, Jon Allsop argues in his latest column. Voters may need to feel that the candidates actually like them.