One of my “go to” sources for political news and thoughtful analysis is Talking Points Memo. I nearly always find myself in agreement with its editor, Josh Marshall–and especially in his “cut to the chase” commentaries on our current political situation.
Recently, Marshall considered the navel-gazing of the “usual subjects.” He began by citing two recent Bulwark essays. One, by Matt Yglesias, engaged in the sort of “analysis” that drives me up the wall–Yglesias criticised the Democratic Party for clinging to positions that he believed imposed “a decisive disadvantage when it comes to winning the Senate in 2026 and in a challenging position when it comes to the Electoral College.” He argued for a “major repositioning on issues like guns and fossil fuels (among other issues) to make Democrats more competitive in states like Iowa or Texas.
Jonathan Last made a very different argument–and like Marshall, I found it far more persuasive.
The argument was that Democrats are the opposition and that the role of the opposition, especially in such a binary, Manichean moment, is to systematically disqualify the party in power. Any naval-gazing or attempted rebrands are somewhere between irrelevant and counterproductive.
Amen.
Marshall argues that pundits’ emphasis on policy prescriptions misreads the situation in which we find ourselves–that it is a bias held by people who think and write– and that ignores reality. “Opposition parties win when they manage in whole or in part to discredit the party in power — almost always with a ton of help from the party in power itself.”
I spent 21 years teaching law and public policy. I absolutely believe in the importance of policy prescriptions, in the need to consider what the evidence teaches us about policy decisions and mistakes. But if there is one thing I am absolutely convinced of, it is that elections aren’t won or lost by adjusting the nuances of this or that policy.
As Marshall notes,
Democrats who are currently focused on repositioning the party away from being “woke” sound like they’re in a time warp. People are scared about losing their jobs. They’re upset about authoritarian attacks on the rule of law. There’s deepening pessimism about a looming recession. A big focus on “wokism” seems mostly like someone speaking from the past. It’s just not what people are thinking about right now. They’re worried about Trump and the climate of chaos and uncertainty.
Again: politics is all about salience. That’s why people so frequently get themselves mixed up with polls. Maybe your issue has 80-20 support. But if it’s not what voters are voting on, it’s irrelevant. Americans overwhelmingly oppose Trump White House cuts to medical research. But it’s not getting a lot of traction at the moment. Because most people don’t know about it. It’s not a driving focus of the news. It’s salience is low. So it makes sense for Democrats to do everything they can to focus more attention on it.
There’s a mountain of evidence to the effect that people who are against something are more likely to cast ballots. I am confident that every person who participated in the No Kings Day protests will get to the polls.
As Marshall says, the salient issue right now is Trump and the damage he is doing to America. It isn’t only Democrats who are appalled by the assaults on reason and competence and liberty. As one of my favorite protest signs has it, IKEA has better cabinets, and a majority of Americans recognizes the damage that is being done by these clowns and ideologues–to the economy, to health care, to America’s global role, to constitutional governance.
For that matter, every Republican I worked with “back in the day” when I was a Republican and the GOP was a political party rather than a fascist cult is horrified by Trump and terrified by the direction he is taking the country.
Marshall is absolutely right that Democratic success depends upon opposition to Trump and MAGA, not to the fine-tuning of a positive vision. As he points out, “the positive vision emerges from the outlines of what you oppose. But fundamentally the job of an opposition is to oppose. Don’t overcomplicate it. It’s not simply that you gain more ground from opposing than from grand-strategizing. You learn more from it too.”
America has a lot of long-term systemic flaws, and we need to pay attention to them and fix them. But right now, we need to rid America of today’s Confederates, the MAGA White Nationalists who are trying to remake us into a very different country.
You don’t debate the best way to make the plane safer while it’s going down.
In hockey, the team with the puck can’t pass the puck into the back of the net. They have to SHOOT the puck at the net. Similarly, I think, the Democrats need to do more Chris Murphy and less Chuck Shumer. More AOC and less silence. Shoot the puck. The opposing goalie is old, fat and slow.
When seeing clips from Congressional hearings, it’s laughable to see how stupid the committee chairs are. Comer? Jordan? Please. These ideological knuckleheads couldn’t carry Jasmine Crockett’s briefcase.
In case anybody missed it, we are now in a down-and-dirty bar fight for our very democracy and the Constitution. Most of the prominent people in politics took an oath, at one time or another, to defend the Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic. Clearly, today’s majority is a domestic enemy. Take Stephen Miller … please.
And just recently the egregious Mike Lee shamed the Senate for his utterly tasteless and moronic comments after a Minnesota legislator was murdered by a deranged religious nut case who had access to guns. No more Mr. Nice Guy in the Senate either. What passes for Republicans there have disgraced themselves, the Senate and the nation – in that order. Shoot the puck, Democrats.
The worst part of all is the thousand page “bill” that screws the majority of Americans out of much-needed support so they can be productive and pay taxes. The whining Republicans always wail about welfare moms and such. Turns out that the majority of people on welfare programs only take those help benefits for 6 months or less before they are once again employed. Ever hear a Democrat or Republican mention that data?
MAGA white nationalists are fundamentally stupid and ignorant. But they’ve been with us forever … in some form. I mentioned Sinclair Lewis’ book, “It Can’t Happen Here” yesterday. You’ll find MAGA white nationalists in the first 100 pages. They’re not going away. BUT, they can be pushed back against the stag line wall at the dance.
Shoot the puck, Democrats.
Well, assuming Trump intentionally brought down the plane when it was flying perfectly before, then your script would be fitting. “Vote for me, I’m not MAGA!”
If we get to vote in 2026, I don’t think that is getting people to the polls. For one, I think young people have told the Democrats that they oppose genocide and the proxy war in Ukraine. Now, we have a third front in Iran, and I would imagine a fourth front against China. Am I missing one?
Don’t forget, we have a uniparty in Washington, and it’s mostly been aligned with each other for decades, as both parties are sycophants to their donors. David Hogg, the Vice Chair, just proved that the DNC is all about pleasing their donors, so he eventually resigned and moved on. Without looking, I bet most people on this blog can’t even name the Chairman of the DNC because the guy is irrelevant.
The Democrats lost the vote of the working class years ago, and getting them back will take more than “vote for me, I’m not MAGA.” If they go with that strategy, which appeals to the donors, it will fail again. And, maybe that’s the oligarchy’s plan.
Bernie and AOC showed the way with their anti-oligarchy road show, because the genuine opposition isn’t against the Republican Party, it is against the oligarchy! The people have figured that out. If the DNC refuses to disengage from the clutches of their donors (the oligarchy), they will lose in 2026 if we get to vote.
But, if you’re part of the oligarchy, do you care if the Democrats lose? You’re only concern is that the money spigot keeps flowing in their direction.
I’m sorry, Todd, but most people have not figured it out. Most people are struggling with their own lives just holding onto what they have to find the time to do more than catch a short glimpse of the news on their smartphones much less make sense of it. The world we have made here is now too fast paced, too overburdened with information, and too driven by greed to find a path toward peace and contentment. We all said was wanted “more”. Well, here it is!
Amen to this: “America has a lot of long-term systemic flaws, and we need to pay attention to them and fix them. But right now, we need to rid America of today’s Confederates, the MAGA White Nationalists who are trying to remake us into a very different country.”
Democrats need a leader, a dynamic, charismatic leader, to step up and blast this message loud and clear. According to recent polling, Democrats have the lowest poll ratings since the 1990s. The GOP is more favorable. Considering the reality of the times, how can that possibly be?
Dems should be set for a massive Midterm victory, BUT not if they keep their ridiculous, divisive bickering.
PROGRESSIVES + CENTRISTS = WINNERS: Democrats must learn the lesson of separating critical issues from others. Democracy, the rule of law, less money in politics, separation of powers, & equal rights. We need to FOCUS ON CRITICAL ISSUES, WIN ELECTIONS, & save the many other worthy issues for later.
People “are upset about authoritarian attacks on the rule of law and are scared about losing their jobs. There’s deepening pessimism about a looming recession.” That sums it up, Josh Marshall.
In 2024, we were the safest, most comfortable humans who have ever lived. For some, enough is never enough, and they watched “The Apprentice” on TV, celebrating the entertainer who played the big boss.
We learned life is not what’s shown on TV. Now we are failing as a nation and tilting the entire world into an unstable position that cannot hold, will not hold.
Fire the King is what our patriot founders believed again and again, our history showed. Now’s our time. We have to return to the rule of laws passed by Congress. No kings. We must accept our responsibility and hold those in government accountable.
No blame. Take back our future. Say no to wealthy celebrities. Say yes to life and no to the rich. Earth is ours to keep, ours to work, ours to heal.
I dare say that at least one third of the good people of America have no clue that there are attacks on the rule of law in this country. Add to that the true MAGATS, who know that the rule of law is being pummeled, but they’re okay with that, because their side is doing it. They love the thought that they “own the libs!”
The dems have to break through to that first group. We won’t get them with ponderous policy papers. If the DNC were doing its job, they would have already done the analysis to know who they are. Next focus on why they don’t vote and what would convince them to change. Then pay someone with the skills you need to get the message out. Somebody who can reach people, not Chuck Schumer or Hakeem Jeffries.
One reason Dems are having a hard time these days is that too many Americans think we’re a bunch of intellectual elitists who look down on them. Sometimes we are!
Yglesias and “…major repositioning on issues like guns and fossil fuels (among other issues) to make Democrats more competitive in states like Iowa or Texas,” is like
“Oh, maybe they’ll like me better if I put more make-up on this side of my face.”
Marshall nails it. Campaign on the attack on the constitution and the “bread and butter” issues, health, and insane lying, perhaps. Maybe on the “Oath under God”
lie, also. Perhaps that could have some gravity with the common folk.
I lost all (limited already) respect for The Bulwark when I saw a conversation between their publisher (Sarah) and a contributor/writer (JVL). JVL opined that, given the current world of Nazis taking over, it looks like they owed an apology to the people using pronouns. Having to put a pronoun in your bio isn’t as bad as Nazis.
Sarah strongly disagrees. She thinks pronouns are much worse than the current situation. JVL immediately pivoted to agreeing with her, insisting that he was “just kidding” about pronouns not being too bad.
P.S.: In HCR’s post, today, she quotes Marshall on Trump’s use of uncertainty about Iran, and I see that as only a ploy to keep the focus on himself. What other president has gone around wondering outlaid, “Well, maybe we’ll bomb someone, or maybe not.
One thing you can’t do, you can’t shame the shameless! The shameless don’t care about the optics. They care about their alternate realities and self-perceived vendettas.
Continuously saturate social media and commercial sources, pointing out the failures. The abuse of the veterans, slashing the veterans administration. The Doge myth, cutting jobs, disrupting lives, without saving any real money.
Stopping the Ukraine conflict in a week, and it’s only gotten worse today. Wars are popping up all over the place, conflict is increasing. Trump discontinued or withdrew from the nuclear agreement with Iran, now he wants a nuclear agreement with Iran! Talk about stupidity. The tariff nonsense which has accomplished nothing, except raise prices! 😞
Alienating the largest or second largest economy, China, with bluster and tariffs, without attempting to come to some sort of agreement of cooperation. The cost of automobiles has shot through the roof. You’ve got Musk continuously detonating starships before or after launch. Someone that is blowing through cash All the while living at the public trough. Talk about the hypocrisy of Doge! The mistreatment of the immigrant community, separating children from their families. And let’s not forget, during the first term of this administration, kids were taken away, and they never did find their way back to their families. Immigrant Holding centers and camps in the United States, and overseas, Very Nazi-esque.
The illegality of accepting a 400 million dollar luxury airliner is so brazen It seems like fiction. Like rubbing your nose in his Nazism.
This stuff should be blasted everyday on every media platform available.
MAGA: Morons Are Governing America
” I am confident that every person who participated in the No Kings Day protests will get to the polls.’ Yup…and they likely would have anyway…any data to support the opposite?
Check the widely published maps of movements from Blue to Red across the US in 2024.
DEMS need new leaders, new messaging, not a facelift.
The actions of today’s ICE reminds me of the poem “First They Came”. It also reminds me of Occupy Wall Street when the police were blocking exits and arresting protesters and putting them in unmarked black vans going to god knows where. So my question is where are all the good cops watching this go down and what do they think we should do? At this point. I’m afraid of law enforcement. Especially now that they are wanting to build detention camps.
Schumer and Jeffries are somber scolds from New York. Their charisma coefficients have a minus sign. Get them off the stage and keep them off!
Because of the middle east, I am afraid that the Dems need to avoid putting any Jews at the front of the party. They are all stained by the insanity of Netyanahu, which is a damned shame. I am sure that Josh Shapiro is totally loyal to the US Constitution, but is guilty by association. Sometimes the timing is just wrong!
Pete Buttigegg is definitely bright enough to be a good leader, but he is stained by a couple of missteps as the Mayor of South Bend (if you try to clean up the barn, you can’t avoid stepping on a cow-pie or two) and then there is the matter of his orientation which the Country is not yet ready to accept. It is the Country’s loss!!
So, who else does the Democratic Party have to offer?
AOC has toned down some, and D HOGG, is talking softer & more pointed in the right? direction. Don’t trust him yet. OPINION would like to see the extremes go.
And along with them, the go along to get Along’s.
Defiantly think that we should be having a different conversation about the way we deal with guns.
CGH – Andy Bashear – young, one of the most popular governor’s in the US in a heavy Red state – no connections to either coast or DC. What more could we want?
In response to Lester”s most recent sneering dismissal, yes there is substantial research documenting non-voter participation in protests
Latent class analyses have found that many individuals who abstain from elections still engage in non‑electoral forms of participation like protesting, petitioning, or boycotts . For example, a CIRCLE study on youth movements found that protest involvement surged significantly during the Trump era—from ~5 % to over 27 % of young adults—even though not all of them voted.
My dear friend Sheila, so non-voters protest…and then don’t vote. “Where’s the beef?” Or is it just postering?
That is very clearly NOT what the research says. Studies confirm that participation in protests increases the likelihood that a person who did not previously vote will do so–and as an added bonus, that a number of nonvoters who don’t participate, but witness protests, will subsequently cast ballots.
For those who claim that “the DNC needs to abandon the extremes,” what do you see as the problem?
If you still believe in the left-right political spectrum, you’re stuck in the 20th Century. That is the facade the oligarchies want you to believe – they own and control both parties and give you two options: a party representing the left wing and a party representing the right wing. This is not even remotely the split.
Once you see how the oligarchy controls this country, you should immediately dismiss the right-left spectrum for a top-down class-based society. You’re either an oligarch or a worker.
The issue is outreach to gather all people negatively impacted by the oligarchy, the 98.8% of citizens on this planet. These people have controlled this country since before our Declaration of Independence. 😉
This is political war that can end with US Constitution and Bill of Rights and rule of law becoming obsolete for most Americans. The overreach of the salient president is an affront to most Americans. I agree with John Sorg today on how to oppose the incompetence and corruption in government. Bring it to light, keep reporting on their overreach and how it affects everyday Americans. Most Americans know or are related to people that are considered “fringe” and will witness the fallout that happens when/say Granny has to move in with younger family members when her healthcare Medicaid/Medicare and SSI disappear. There will be/ is a negative tsunami ripple effect throughout the US if trump regime gets to that point.
Trump having to always dominate the news is weakness and a pushback cover on all his corruption; his saliency is taking on growing negativity and needs to be spotlighted.
Also, too much deference to Magas and trump is being shown; that’s weakness in itself. The stays the Courts have given trump on illegal tariffs and sending in troops over the objections of the Governor of the State helps to mitigate the unlawfulness of the executive overreach.
Highlight news like Mike Huckabee telling trump (paraphrase) he should be like Truman and use atomic bomb against Iran. That’s a chance to highlight the crazy evangelical thinking of a portion of trump’s constituency.
I’m someone who likes to conserve the good and progress from there; it upsets me to hear that trump is paving over the “Rose Garden” at the White House. That’s hugely symbolic or an epitaph of what he’s doing to US.
LOVE this. So totally agreed on every point. In response to the very last sentence; yep, you take control of the cockpit and save yourself.