( CNN ) -- National Democratic leaders , fresh from a shellacking in congressional districts and statehouses from coast to coast , should wake up to the reality that the party 's path to electoral power runs through the streets , where an energized portion of the party 's base has been marching for many months . On three hot-button issues -- climate change , higher pay for fast-food workers and fairness in the criminal justice system -- left-leaning Americans have mounted sophisticated , passionate campaigns that have sparked and swayed public conversation . The question is whether Democrats , whose electoral losses can be traced back to low voter participation , will follow the lead of activists whose numbers have been swelling throughout 2014 . Right now , things do n't look too hopeful . Instead of drawing on the energy and creativity of the activists , Democratic leaders are engaging in a round of finger-pointing , blaming one another for errors of timing and messaging that contributed to the recent electoral losses . Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York , who as chairman of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee had the task of developing a winning message for the party this year , recently delivered an extraordinary speech chastising his fellow Dems for pursuing President Obama 's signature issue of health care reform . `` Unfortunately , Democrats blew the opportunity the American people gave them . We took their mandate and put all of our focus on the wrong problem â€ ” health care reform , '' Schumer said in a speech at the National Press Club . `` We should have done it . We just should n't have done it first . '' That drew a sharp retort from House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi . `` We come here to do a job , not keep a job , '' she said in a statement to CNN . `` There are more than 14 million reasons why that 's wrong , '' she added -- a pointed reference to the number of Americans now getting health insurance under Obamacare . The feud is music to the ears of Republicans . `` Democrats are trying to figure out what they believe and who they represent '' is how conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer put it . That may be overstating matters -- this is n't the `` civil war '' Krauthammer describes -- but Democrats clearly need to think about how and why they have n't been connecting with voters lately . Schumer and Pelosi are both partly right . There 's no question that the titanic battle to extend health care to the uninsured was always a matter of helping a minority of Americans to finally get benefits that 85 % of us already enjoyed . Most people , anyway you look at it , did not need Obamacare themselves ( although many had children and other relatives who benefited ) . But as Pelosi and others pointedly reminded Schumer , getting health benefits to 14 million people is a titanic achievement that Democrats have been attempting for a generation . And the program helped Democrats make inroads with Latino voters , whose support for Obamacare helped the Democrats carry the White House and hold a Senate majority in 2012 . But the bickering on Capitol Hill misses an important point : The 2014 elections had the lowest turnout since World War II , meaning the issues and candidates that Democrats ( and Republicans ) put forward did n't stir the overwhelming majority of voters . At the same time , activists have enjoyed far greater success shaping issues and putting them on the public agenda : a track record Democrats would do well to learn from . On September 21 , less than 60 days before the anemic-turnout election , more than 300,000 people marched in New York , according to an estimate by the organizers -- and more than 2,600 events were staged in solidarity around the world -- to call attention to the perils of climate change . On December 4 , thousands of fast-food employees walked off the job in 190 cities across 35 states to demand better pay . And we have n't seen the end of nationwide civil rights demonstrations calling attention to controversial cases of police killing unarmed black boys and men . Athletes , politicians , at least one police chief , as well as the president of Harvard and dozens of congressional staff members have all made public displays of solidarity under the banner # BlackLivesMatter . There 's no shortage of movements that have caught fire across the nation . If Democrats want to get beyond this year 's low-turnout losses , they should get serious about understanding why politically active Americans seem to be choosing picket lines over polling sites -- and then tailor a message that can lead to victory in 2016 and beyond .
Errol Louis says people want big party but Democratic leaders are n't listening . He says party suffers from very low turnout , lack of enthusiasm in recent elections . Louis says Democratic leaders should take their cue from him , Ferguson says .