Correcting Course

 One of the consistent critics of the current Democratic Party has been Jon Chait, and while it's tough to take strong medicine after a complete shitshow like yesterday, I think he bears listening to. 

There's a whiff of Murc's Law in his piece, because I do think that Democrats were hampered by post-Covid macroeconomic conditions. There's not a ton they could have done differently. Also, I think the substance-free coverage of the race really hurt her, as she was unable to really plant the seeds of why Trump's economic plan could be disastrous. 

Where I think he's right is the descent of the Democratic Party into a bit of an echo chamber. I am incredibly guilty of this as well - though in different ways than Chait describes. I really thought that Trump would be unable to expand beyond his 2020 numbers because of January 6th and Dobbs and people apparently just did not give enough of a fuck about that.

Where I think he's right is that a successful party seizes the center. He rightly admits that Harris did all she could to do that. Campaigning with Republicans was - I thought - a powerful symbol of that movement. She was hammered, though, by a few offhand remarks during the 2020 primary - especially about trans rights for prisoners. Now, trans rights for prisoners is simply not a legitimate reason for vote for fascism and oligarchy. However, Democrats will need to re-position themselves on some of these cultural issues.

I saw a tweet last night that said something about how "I am really afraid of what the Democratic Party will become in the wake of this election." I get it. If I'm advising Josh Shapiro or Jon Ossoff or any other contender for 2028, I'm telling them to avoid ANY statements that smack of "faculty lounge politics." Stop saying "Latinx". Stop listing your pronouns. Is that ugly? Yeah, some of it will be. Barack Obama ran as a social moderate - Biden actually publicly supported same sex marriage before him. Lots of people do mistrust Democrats on some hot button social issues. 

What's more, Joe Biden becomes a really complicated figure both within the Democratic Party and history. There were a lot of "Best President of My Lifetime" takes that seemed so overblown. He's been a very good president, but Obama exists. Hell, Bill Clinton exists. The idea that he was the "Best President of My Lifetime" comes from his embrace of some fairly doctrinaire left wing positions. 

It's also worth remembering that the country remains very, very closely divided. As it turns out, the polls were spot on about that. I thought they were broken and they aren't. I remain in forlorn hope that Democrats eke out control of the House, simply to stop the worst aspects of Trump's agenda (ACA repeal, rolling back Dog knows how many regulations, gutting Social Security). If we cling to a Democratic House, then there is a small chance of checking some of the worst abuses that Trump and the GOP will foist upon us. 

Eight years ago, I wondered what Trump could do that couldn't be undone. We have lived through dark and benighted times in this country. We might very well be headed there again. Obviously, the prospect of elections slipping into autocratic territory is the greatest fear. Again, Trump can't run again, but Vance and the Project 2025 people will be running the show before too long. 

If we have elections that truly matter, we will crawl back once more. The fact that that is an open question scares the shit out of me. Rushing to the left won't make that easier. If - as I expect - Trump unleashes Netanyahu on Palestinians, Democrats can't start wearing keffiyehs and putting watermelons in their bios. 

This is about saving democratic governance in America. This is about triage. 

ADDED: mistermix has a nice summary.

ADDED: This is good from Ed Burmila:

It will be very easy with time and hindsight to criticize choices the Biden-then-Harris campaigns made but the Trump campaign was so ludicrously bad and ridiculous that you have to wonder if doing anything differently would really have mattered.