Few things are good or bad in absolute terms—it depends on what you’re comparing them to.

Some people object to criticism of the Democrats because they have an unrealistically optimistic view of them, and reject any criticism out of hand. Others object because they think the critics have an unrealistically negative view and that their criticisms are therefore insincere. And others object when they think criticism from one context is being applied in others where a different standard of comparison should hold.

(For my part, I struggle to see the current Democratic party as a single cohesive institution for which such comparisons are even meaningful.)