The current Dem leadership is like an icky, sanctimonious teenage/young college student who berates their parents and then asks for the car keys plus money to go out so they can continue to berate their parents and capitalism with friends. In LA, our local wannabe AOC, including the dimples, blamed a car company that allows catalytic converters to be easily stolen. The company is to blame for our suffering. This same logic is why so many items are locked up in stores. The stores made things too easy to steal - it is their fault! Of course, to pay for their sins, the stores have no customers as it all went to Amazon. Somehow, Amazon packages being stolen is not blamed on Amazon. Funny how that works.
I’m no fan of the Republican Party at all but at least they are competent, well-led and know how to play politics. The Democratic Party is like a sinking ship 🚢 that is constantly seeing new holes pop up every five seconds taking on yet more water. This much I can assure you of, if FDR, Harry Truman, Henry Wallace, JFK, RFK, LBJ, Hubert Humphrey, Mike Mansfield, John McCormack, Adlai Stevenson, Estes Kefauver, Ted Kennedy, Jimmy Carter, Bob Graham, and Barbara Jordan were alive today they’d be appalled at what the Democratic Party has become and how it’s elected officials behave. Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries are both dolts who don’t know the first thing about effective political strategy. All the Democrats know how to do is virtue signal, do performative activism and take photo ops, whine and cry like petulant children, and throw a tantrum when President Trump gives a speech to Congress. They are so petty and so childish they wouldn’t even stand to honor a little boy with brain cancer D.J. Daniel, who Trump had made a Secret Service Agent, Laken Riley’s mom, a farmer, a girl injured while competing in a sporting event against a Transgender athlete, and an Afghanistan veteran. The only time they clapped was when Trump brought up sending military aid to Ukraine, one of their pet political projects. That’s how petty and addicted to partisanship they are. They also held these silly little signs that made them look like preschoolers on a day out. They had silly captions like “lie!” or “Musk steals!” AOC didn’t even attend and instead filmed a livestream where she complained like a teenage girl and talked you know what about Trump and the Republicans. You’re right Adam, the Democrat Party is rewarding and encouraging bad behavior thus making things worse and perpetuating it. They enable and celebrate it furthermore. Their seen as doing some sort of brave act of resistance against the President. Rep. Al Green of Texas embarrassed and made a total clown of himself by heckling Trump from the chamber. I remember when the story was being discussed on Facebook the next day I remember seeing people saying stuff like “Good Trouble!” As if Al Green and his fellow Rugrats were somehow equivalent to the brave heroes of the Civil Rights Movement. Give. Me. A. Break! Their more equivalent to the Muppet Babies! Which is frankly an insult to the Muppet Babies. Seriously! They make Charli D’Amilio or Addison Rae look like refined, mature adults by comparison! If the Democratic Party is to become a viable political party again they need to look beyond partisanship and their silly antics, and start working with Trump and the GOP to serve their constituents! Also, it might also help to run on a real policy platform, have a clear and consistent message, stand for something, have competent leadership, move back towards the center, and stop identity politics, political correctness, cancel culture, call out culture, and gender ideology. Oh how Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson are rolling over in their graves at today’s Democratic Party! If only we had Democrats the caliber of George McGovern, Birch Bayh, Frank Church, Edmund Muskie, Sam Rayburn, Walter Mondale, Alben Barkley, Shirley Chisholm, Patsy Mink, Pat Schroeder, and Tom Daschle today! At this point, things are so bad for the party I’m sure the base in pining for Eliot Spitzer, Anthony Weiner and Andrew Cuomo’s return!
> "I’m no fan of the Republican Party at all but at least they are competent, well-led and know how to play politics"
Rather moot on that "competent [and] well-led". Trump is something of a bull in a china shop -- some crockery needed breaking or least repairing or replacing -- but, for example, he is rather clueless, being charitable, about how tariffs work:
If it's unprofitable for Canada to sell steel and aluminium to the US at 25% tariffs, what makes him "think" it will be more profitable at 50% tariffs? Duh ... 🙄
You touched on a matter that has bothered me since 47 came down the golden escalator. That is, the tendency to ridicule and deride the person overwhelmed the Democratic policy arguments (not that they were exceptional and relevant to all citizens in either the 2016, 2020, or 2024 campaigns).
The following quote from your piece captures my thoughts very well,
"A Democratic party that purely wants to be an opposition party stands for nothing and doesn’t lead, instead reacts."
Not every remark, hypothetical, or whim uttered by 47 and his enablers requires a response. When a decision is made to respond, Dems should do so with a well considered alternative approach if the issue is one that can truly be addressed from a Democratic perspective. Explaining without lecturing why that approach is superior in achieving the stated objective and the benefits of the approach accruing to the broad electorate.
Good work. I'm enjoying reading your opinions on matters affecting our political reality in 2025.
I swing between being glad to be watching Trump remake the republican party and do a complete overhaul of our bureaucracy, and the worry while watching the self-destruction of the democratic party with nothing to counterbalance the other side.
> "America deserves two competent parties fighting for their vote."
Indeed. Looks like Amurica has only have half or three quarters of one.
"The Democrats need to grow up for the sake of our nation."
Amen to that. Apropos of all of the above, I saw recently that the Democrats recently filibustered a Republican law effort to keep transwomen out of women's sports:
One would think that considering the recent drubbing they got under Harris, in large part because of their rather demented insistence that "trans women are women!!11!! 🙄", they might be able to read the writing on the walls and vote in favour of that prospective policy.
You'd think so wouldn't you. To paraphrase an old guy I once worked with: Dems have "a ten pound bag of stupid they ain't even touched yet."
Then again, maybe I'm wrong. Dems keep crying from the political wilderness that they, in fact, are the smart party. That's why they've been elected to lead the coun....wait a minute...America chose "the Stoopid Party" to lead???"
Somewhat more recently, "[Democrat?] Julián Castro ... [wants to] guarantee abortion rights for trans women—the prize is yours if you figure that one out ...":
THANK YOU!! (Sorry about the all caps, but I was literally shouting "YES!!!" when I read the Twain clip. BTW, when I yelled I woke my wife. I of course blamed you. Hey, I'm here and you're there. When in need of a scapegoat, always blame the guy who's not present!)
👍🙂 Blame or shoot the messenger -- lot of that goin' round these days. Though maybe your wife needed waking or appreciated being woken up? 😉🙂
But that habit or tendency to blame others, or even inanimate objects, has some amusing historical antecedents:
"A deodand is a thing forfeited or given to God, specifically, in law, an object or instrument that becomes forfeited because it has caused a person's death."
The current Dem leadership is like an icky, sanctimonious teenage/young college student who berates their parents and then asks for the car keys plus money to go out so they can continue to berate their parents and capitalism with friends. In LA, our local wannabe AOC, including the dimples, blamed a car company that allows catalytic converters to be easily stolen. The company is to blame for our suffering. This same logic is why so many items are locked up in stores. The stores made things too easy to steal - it is their fault! Of course, to pay for their sins, the stores have no customers as it all went to Amazon. Somehow, Amazon packages being stolen is not blamed on Amazon. Funny how that works.
You're exactly right. Completely flawed logic.
Indeed. Though maybe less a question of logic and more one of untenable premises and articles of faith.
I’m no fan of the Republican Party at all but at least they are competent, well-led and know how to play politics. The Democratic Party is like a sinking ship 🚢 that is constantly seeing new holes pop up every five seconds taking on yet more water. This much I can assure you of, if FDR, Harry Truman, Henry Wallace, JFK, RFK, LBJ, Hubert Humphrey, Mike Mansfield, John McCormack, Adlai Stevenson, Estes Kefauver, Ted Kennedy, Jimmy Carter, Bob Graham, and Barbara Jordan were alive today they’d be appalled at what the Democratic Party has become and how it’s elected officials behave. Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries are both dolts who don’t know the first thing about effective political strategy. All the Democrats know how to do is virtue signal, do performative activism and take photo ops, whine and cry like petulant children, and throw a tantrum when President Trump gives a speech to Congress. They are so petty and so childish they wouldn’t even stand to honor a little boy with brain cancer D.J. Daniel, who Trump had made a Secret Service Agent, Laken Riley’s mom, a farmer, a girl injured while competing in a sporting event against a Transgender athlete, and an Afghanistan veteran. The only time they clapped was when Trump brought up sending military aid to Ukraine, one of their pet political projects. That’s how petty and addicted to partisanship they are. They also held these silly little signs that made them look like preschoolers on a day out. They had silly captions like “lie!” or “Musk steals!” AOC didn’t even attend and instead filmed a livestream where she complained like a teenage girl and talked you know what about Trump and the Republicans. You’re right Adam, the Democrat Party is rewarding and encouraging bad behavior thus making things worse and perpetuating it. They enable and celebrate it furthermore. Their seen as doing some sort of brave act of resistance against the President. Rep. Al Green of Texas embarrassed and made a total clown of himself by heckling Trump from the chamber. I remember when the story was being discussed on Facebook the next day I remember seeing people saying stuff like “Good Trouble!” As if Al Green and his fellow Rugrats were somehow equivalent to the brave heroes of the Civil Rights Movement. Give. Me. A. Break! Their more equivalent to the Muppet Babies! Which is frankly an insult to the Muppet Babies. Seriously! They make Charli D’Amilio or Addison Rae look like refined, mature adults by comparison! If the Democratic Party is to become a viable political party again they need to look beyond partisanship and their silly antics, and start working with Trump and the GOP to serve their constituents! Also, it might also help to run on a real policy platform, have a clear and consistent message, stand for something, have competent leadership, move back towards the center, and stop identity politics, political correctness, cancel culture, call out culture, and gender ideology. Oh how Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson are rolling over in their graves at today’s Democratic Party! If only we had Democrats the caliber of George McGovern, Birch Bayh, Frank Church, Edmund Muskie, Sam Rayburn, Walter Mondale, Alben Barkley, Shirley Chisholm, Patsy Mink, Pat Schroeder, and Tom Daschle today! At this point, things are so bad for the party I’m sure the base in pining for Eliot Spitzer, Anthony Weiner and Andrew Cuomo’s return!
> "I’m no fan of the Republican Party at all but at least they are competent, well-led and know how to play politics"
Rather moot on that "competent [and] well-led". Trump is something of a bull in a china shop -- some crockery needed breaking or least repairing or replacing -- but, for example, he is rather clueless, being charitable, about how tariffs work:
https://www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/trump-canada-doubles-tariffs-national-emergency-electricity-rcna195810
If it's unprofitable for Canada to sell steel and aluminium to the US at 25% tariffs, what makes him "think" it will be more profitable at 50% tariffs? Duh ... 🙄
You touched on a matter that has bothered me since 47 came down the golden escalator. That is, the tendency to ridicule and deride the person overwhelmed the Democratic policy arguments (not that they were exceptional and relevant to all citizens in either the 2016, 2020, or 2024 campaigns).
The following quote from your piece captures my thoughts very well,
"A Democratic party that purely wants to be an opposition party stands for nothing and doesn’t lead, instead reacts."
Not every remark, hypothetical, or whim uttered by 47 and his enablers requires a response. When a decision is made to respond, Dems should do so with a well considered alternative approach if the issue is one that can truly be addressed from a Democratic perspective. Explaining without lecturing why that approach is superior in achieving the stated objective and the benefits of the approach accruing to the broad electorate.
Good work. I'm enjoying reading your opinions on matters affecting our political reality in 2025.
I swing between being glad to be watching Trump remake the republican party and do a complete overhaul of our bureaucracy, and the worry while watching the self-destruction of the democratic party with nothing to counterbalance the other side.
> "America deserves two competent parties fighting for their vote."
Indeed. Looks like Amurica has only have half or three quarters of one.
"The Democrats need to grow up for the sake of our nation."
Amen to that. Apropos of all of the above, I saw recently that the Democrats recently filibustered a Republican law effort to keep transwomen out of women's sports:
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/senate/3336409/senate-democrats-rekindle-filibuster-support-under-trump/?utm_source=gazette.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=csg_news_feed
One would think that considering the recent drubbing they got under Harris, in large part because of their rather demented insistence that "trans women are women!!11!! 🙄", they might be able to read the writing on the walls and vote in favour of that prospective policy.
You'd think so wouldn't you. To paraphrase an old guy I once worked with: Dems have "a ten pound bag of stupid they ain't even touched yet."
Then again, maybe I'm wrong. Dems keep crying from the political wilderness that they, in fact, are the smart party. That's why they've been elected to lead the coun....wait a minute...America chose "the Stoopid Party" to lead???"
🙂 Kind of the nature of the beast. Apropos of which and ICYMI, a classic from Mark Twain, the closing two paragraphs in particular:
https://paulgraham.com/cornpone.html
Somewhat more recently, "[Democrat?] Julián Castro ... [wants to] guarantee abortion rights for trans women—the prize is yours if you figure that one out ...":
https://www.commentary.org/articles/matthew-continetti/primary-lessons/
THANK YOU!! (Sorry about the all caps, but I was literally shouting "YES!!!" when I read the Twain clip. BTW, when I yelled I woke my wife. I of course blamed you. Hey, I'm here and you're there. When in need of a scapegoat, always blame the guy who's not present!)
👍🙂 Blame or shoot the messenger -- lot of that goin' round these days. Though maybe your wife needed waking or appreciated being woken up? 😉🙂
But that habit or tendency to blame others, or even inanimate objects, has some amusing historical antecedents:
"A deodand is a thing forfeited or given to God, specifically, in law, an object or instrument that becomes forfeited because it has caused a person's death."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deodand
Goes back to the 11th century in fact.
Some discussion on the phenomenon:
https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/104807/word-for-attaching-blame-to-inanimate-objects
It is my opinion that the Democrat party has been infiltrated by the GOP.
https://torrancestephensphd.substack.com/p/has-the-dnc-been-infiltrated-by-the