Y’all have lost your minds. Each of the candidates for Governor of New Jersey, Virginia and Mayor of NYC centered their campaigns around the affordability crisis, speaks to the center, and all won by huge majorities. The majorities were so large that most people who would be considered in the center voted for these candidates. Look also at other votes around the country like the Supreme court vote in PA - the Dems won 61% and some of the referendums around the country and local elections, as well. Look , I agree there is too much polarization, but y’all are simply wrong about the Democratic Party or misjudging it. Don’t just fall in line for conventional wisdom, opposition talking points, lack of insightful or shoddy research, easy answers, and conventional wisdom.
Isn't that exactly the point? If/when the Rats return to focusing on the issues of importance to real people, they can win -- as they just did in NJ and Virginia. You and the author agree.
I not sure about the general voter, but this sounds so much better than what we have. I disliked Trump, voted for Harris, and still dislike Trump. However, in many ways I'm glad he won, even though I wish he was gone now. Trump did some good with his anti-DEI initiatives and his foreign policy that Harris never would have, even if I have serious criticisms of some of his Trump's methods.
I'm not sure the Democratic establishment is capable of changing course because it has accepted activist demands as moral requirements. They are largely just being forced to live up to their own views of what is right and wrong, good and evil -- something on which they are incapable of changing course.
Don't be so sure. Mamdani might be a radical but he's not woke. NJ and Virginia were won by people speaking sense. Wokeness is like the emperor's new clothes -- 'everybody' sees them ... until everybody quietly stops seeing them. Woke could collapse overnight.
I wonder. You could be quite right, the roots of wokeness have been growing deep in the soil of Western civ. for many decades. As we see, the Ivies are refusing to part with it. There's a certain class of True Believers who, indeed, can't change, but they're 9% of the population. But nothing can be predicted now.
This explains so well Trump's success -- his ability to moderate his policies, triangulating to the center. From immigration, civil liberties, law enforcement, free trade, oversight and corruption, reproductive rights, gun safety, the civil service and healthcare, Trump and his MAGA followers have always carefully trodden the well worn middle path that Americans always seek.
No doubt the issue in 2024 was that voters carefully read both the Democratic and Republican platforms and decided that although lengthy, the detailed policy proposals of the Republican platform much better represented their policy preferences than did the Democratic one. To paraphrase James Carville, "It's the platform stupid."
this is so totally accurate and spot on it needs no other backup. What's scary is how many people are able to totally deny the obvious and turn a blind eye to the facts. Denial is not just a river in Egypt.
Great piece. And Karl Stark (above) has a point. I find it very tough to talk to most of my fellow liberals about winning anymore. They seem to think of themselves as engaged in a secular moral crusade.
No, the country has been feminized into an assassination culture, and the feminized electorate are pulling the Democrats in that hard left direction and they like it. The Democrats are not going to change. Any Democrat success is the fault of the other side failing to punch the feminized assassins for their malice... over their fear getting turned down for sex.
That will be the potential epitaph of the country. AFLWs win because stupid real men cannot stop thinking about how they can get more sex. This isn't an unusual story. Entire civilizations have self-destructed over the same.
That isn't the right question and you know it. The right question is are there any examples of a matriarchal system for any significant country, society, culture, empire, ???
Nope. You made a claim of "civilizations" and provided one example that's easily challenged. So it's exactly the right question. Your attempt at diversion is revealing.
Great piece. We need more democratic politicians and candidates to see this data. We also need a movement, like the DLC was in the 90s, where I played an active role. How can I get involved in Welcome?
A good solid argument. I just subscribed to Welcome (I think, I got some redirects). I can be easily sold on any effort to broaden the middle class, reduce the the debt, improve Social Security, secure free expression, and a host of other things that make life better for as many Americans as possible. I am frequently disappointed, but always optimistic.
"Our nation is at an inflection point. What kind of America will we be? A land of more freedom, or less freedom? More rights or fewer? An economy rigged for the rich and powerful, or where everyone has a fair shot at getting ahead?"
Is it me, or is the order of these options a bit pretentious? It switches the good option around, and we're supposed to know that it always refers to the Democratic party?
I guess the Democrats are slightly better in the freedom category, but that's far from obvious, and it depends a lot on how you define freedom.
Trying to figure out why I react poorly to the way you describe Democrats.... you do identify weak points in Democratic rhetoric but along the way you seem to miss that people who experience outright oppression - I mean the "you just don't count so shut up" kind of thing - might come out swinging when they get an opening. An example: my wife grew up in a segregated Texas and Arizona in the 40s and 50s - she's Black; I grew up in working-class America at the same time - I'm White. We married in 1964 and so could not move out of South Phoenix until the Fair Housing Act. Such restrictions on my life were new to me so maybe it hit me harder but my wife is still angry about what still happens to her (I saw an example in Amsterdam recently and walked over to the guy and ........ he was an American! At least in Europe she felt "normal" for the first time). When people break out of that strait-jacket they just may come out swinging but true removal of the oppression will mollify that. It hasn't happened yet for us as MAGA makes clear.
Y’all have lost your minds. Each of the candidates for Governor of New Jersey, Virginia and Mayor of NYC centered their campaigns around the affordability crisis, speaks to the center, and all won by huge majorities. The majorities were so large that most people who would be considered in the center voted for these candidates. Look also at other votes around the country like the Supreme court vote in PA - the Dems won 61% and some of the referendums around the country and local elections, as well. Look , I agree there is too much polarization, but y’all are simply wrong about the Democratic Party or misjudging it. Don’t just fall in line for conventional wisdom, opposition talking points, lack of insightful or shoddy research, easy answers, and conventional wisdom.
Isn't that exactly the point? If/when the Rats return to focusing on the issues of importance to real people, they can win -- as they just did in NJ and Virginia. You and the author agree.
I not sure about the general voter, but this sounds so much better than what we have. I disliked Trump, voted for Harris, and still dislike Trump. However, in many ways I'm glad he won, even though I wish he was gone now. Trump did some good with his anti-DEI initiatives and his foreign policy that Harris never would have, even if I have serious criticisms of some of his Trump's methods.
You are simply reciting conventional wisdom among a large swath of the punditry and you are wrong.
I'm not sure the Democratic establishment is capable of changing course because it has accepted activist demands as moral requirements. They are largely just being forced to live up to their own views of what is right and wrong, good and evil -- something on which they are incapable of changing course.
https://open.substack.com/pub/karistark/p/how-radicals-usurped-the-establishment?r=1m3zld&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Don't be so sure. Mamdani might be a radical but he's not woke. NJ and Virginia were won by people speaking sense. Wokeness is like the emperor's new clothes -- 'everybody' sees them ... until everybody quietly stops seeing them. Woke could collapse overnight.
They said similar things in the 90s. We may call it something different soon, but the underlying element will remain the same.
I wonder. You could be quite right, the roots of wokeness have been growing deep in the soil of Western civ. for many decades. As we see, the Ivies are refusing to part with it. There's a certain class of True Believers who, indeed, can't change, but they're 9% of the population. But nothing can be predicted now.
This explains so well Trump's success -- his ability to moderate his policies, triangulating to the center. From immigration, civil liberties, law enforcement, free trade, oversight and corruption, reproductive rights, gun safety, the civil service and healthcare, Trump and his MAGA followers have always carefully trodden the well worn middle path that Americans always seek.
No doubt the issue in 2024 was that voters carefully read both the Democratic and Republican platforms and decided that although lengthy, the detailed policy proposals of the Republican platform much better represented their policy preferences than did the Democratic one. To paraphrase James Carville, "It's the platform stupid."
this is so totally accurate and spot on it needs no other backup. What's scary is how many people are able to totally deny the obvious and turn a blind eye to the facts. Denial is not just a river in Egypt.
Great piece. And Karl Stark (above) has a point. I find it very tough to talk to most of my fellow liberals about winning anymore. They seem to think of themselves as engaged in a secular moral crusade.
No, the country has been feminized into an assassination culture, and the feminized electorate are pulling the Democrats in that hard left direction and they like it. The Democrats are not going to change. Any Democrat success is the fault of the other side failing to punch the feminized assassins for their malice... over their fear getting turned down for sex.
That will be the potential epitaph of the country. AFLWs win because stupid real men cannot stop thinking about how they can get more sex. This isn't an unusual story. Entire civilizations have self-destructed over the same.
Any examples of civilizations that actually self-destructed because of that?
Evidence that the Roman Empire self destructed as more women gained power and influence. Ceasar and Cleoptra seemed like the start of the end.
Not sure most historians would agree with that. And you mentioned more than one. Any others?
LOL. Yes, feminized historians. There are plenty of historical theories of rising feminism in Roman society leading to the fall.
That isn't the right question and you know it. The right question is are there any examples of a matriarchal system for any significant country, society, culture, empire, ???
Nope. You made a claim of "civilizations" and provided one example that's easily challenged. So it's exactly the right question. Your attempt at diversion is revealing.
Great piece. We need more democratic politicians and candidates to see this data. We also need a movement, like the DLC was in the 90s, where I played an active role. How can I get involved in Welcome?
Thank you for your note! ❤️ Please check out WelcomeStack.org for updates on joining us for our in-person public gathering WelcomeFest next year!
A good solid argument. I just subscribed to Welcome (I think, I got some redirects). I can be easily sold on any effort to broaden the middle class, reduce the the debt, improve Social Security, secure free expression, and a host of other things that make life better for as many Americans as possible. I am frequently disappointed, but always optimistic.
"Our nation is at an inflection point. What kind of America will we be? A land of more freedom, or less freedom? More rights or fewer? An economy rigged for the rich and powerful, or where everyone has a fair shot at getting ahead?"
Is it me, or is the order of these options a bit pretentious? It switches the good option around, and we're supposed to know that it always refers to the Democratic party?
I guess the Democrats are slightly better in the freedom category, but that's far from obvious, and it depends a lot on how you define freedom.
Trying to figure out why I react poorly to the way you describe Democrats.... you do identify weak points in Democratic rhetoric but along the way you seem to miss that people who experience outright oppression - I mean the "you just don't count so shut up" kind of thing - might come out swinging when they get an opening. An example: my wife grew up in a segregated Texas and Arizona in the 40s and 50s - she's Black; I grew up in working-class America at the same time - I'm White. We married in 1964 and so could not move out of South Phoenix until the Fair Housing Act. Such restrictions on my life were new to me so maybe it hit me harder but my wife is still angry about what still happens to her (I saw an example in Amsterdam recently and walked over to the guy and ........ he was an American! At least in Europe she felt "normal" for the first time). When people break out of that strait-jacket they just may come out swinging but true removal of the oppression will mollify that. It hasn't happened yet for us as MAGA makes clear.
Cool article. Informative. Nothing like reducing political blather to hard numbers on what is being focused on.