The 2016 election was a devastating one for Democrats, resulting in the GOP winning the presidency and both houses of Congress. The Democratic Party has done a lot of soul-searching in deciding on the best path forward, but Philip Elliott claims in TIME that the party is as divided as ever.

On the surface, the Democratic Party has been united and energized by its shared disgust for Trump. But dig an inch deeper and it's clear that the party is divided, split on issues including free trade, health care, foreign affairs and Wall Street. They even disagree over the political wisdom of doing deals with Trump.

While Democrats claim to have learned from the last election, Elliot argues there is "still no sign" they will recover.

Meanwhile, there's still no sign the Democrats have learned the lessons of the last [election]... these days the party seems to prize ideological purity over Clintonian pragmatism. "There is no confusion about what we Democrats are against. The only disagreement," says strategist Neil Sroka, "is what we're for."

Even former Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders has said "the current model and the current strategy of the Democratic Party is an absolute failure," which is in part why he continues to identify as an Independent.