There needs to be a rallying with leadership focused on doing some party maintenance - methodology TBD, not an easy question to answer - or a split in the party that allows a new faction to get the reins with minimal resistance/wrecking along the way. The core ethos must be respected and reasserted.

Corruption spreads. Rot must be cut and burned out. But the Dems are not an organization that can self-regulate efficiently because campaign funds can be decentralized, and capital itself can interject in the bizarre US electoral system under either party with such unregulated campaign finance laws.

Now it seems that, at high ranks, some Dems are leaning into the opportunity to self-deal more - breaking that ethos within the party - while some try to adhere to it, or at least maintain the appearance of adhering to it (equally if not more important than actual adherence in some senses)

The political landscape of America has lost that underlying ethos - the GOP and its governing members do not apply that ethos of serving the people in any way. It is broad, naked self-dealing across the board at high ranks. The Dems often did some self dealing but kept a balance of steady progress

Those principles should include an ethos of governance. Before an ethos of governance should be an ethos“to serve the whole populace as a greater good,” and the parties therein should compete to win the confidence of the people that their ethos of governance is the best one to apply to that end.

For political communication purposes, there will always be an amount of “fundamentalism” inherent to electoral politics. You need to be able to boil your party’s purpose down to an essence that a broad base will be open to adhering themselves with. “Principles,” one might call them.