Hearing Republicans say that California is a failed country, Donald Trump won the presidency on the slopes, which made him willing to do the task. It's no surprise there.
But more and more Democrats are responding to the key points of the conversation. Since Kamala Harris lost his election, the Democrats have been on a self-strategy journey nationwide. One by one, its leaders kept looking at their Nevilles, hoping to find out why so many Americans (especially young, black voters and Latinos) shy away from the former vice president.
As seen at the state Democratic convention last weekend, even in California, a reliable blue state, this soul exploration is extreme, including speakers of Harris’ 2024 2024 campaign partner Tim Walz crying and moaning and being the miserable person.
Is it long-term outdated introspection, or just annoying self-pity? Our columnists Anita Chabria and Mark Z. Barabak eliminated it.
chabria: Mark, you attended the conference in Anaheim. idea?
Balabak: First, I want to note that this is the first routine I have participated in (I have been to dozens of routines) rating adult language is “R”. Obviously, Democrats believe that authenticity and passion can be shown to voters to abandon many F-bombs. But this seemed a little stiff, and after a while, it became more and more tired.
I have introduced Nancy Pelosi for more than thirty years and have never heard of curses she has heard in public or private. I don't remember Martin Luther King Jr. saying, “I have one [expletive deleted] Dream. “Both are very effective leaders.
Democrats have a lot of work to do. But cursing the blue's winning streak won't allow them to gain control of the White House or Congress.
chabria: As a man who often curses in a polite society, I am not a person who judges an expert. But this trouble and fussiness raises a bigger point of view: Democrats are eager to prove how serious and passionate they are in their corrections. Gov. Gavin Newsom called the democratic brand “toxic”. “We're in trouble because some of it is our own job,” Walz told his companions.
It seems like one thing Democrats can agree on nationwide is that they are lame. Or at least, they see themselves as lame. I'm not sure if the average person would find democratic ideals like equality or due process, especially when Trump and his Marg Brigade push forward many campaign promises, deportation, rollback of civil rights, stripping the names of civil rights idols from ships, which at least some voters think is more than the substance.
I always tell my kids to be their own heroes and I start thinking Democrats need to hear that. Take yourself. Dust removal. move on. Do you think all this self-blame is useful, Mark? Does Harris' loss really mean the party has lost its value or value?
Balabak: I think self-reflection is good for the party. Democrats in November – taking control of the Republican Party at the presidential level and the Senate – they did so in part because many of their traditional voters stayed at home. I don't know the reason is political malfeasance.
That is, tend to over-tilt and over-interpret the long-term significance of any election.
This is not the end of the Democratic Party. This is not even the first time that two major parties have entered the political wilderness.
Democrats experienced similar soul searches after the presidential loss in 1984 and 1988. In 1991, a book published a book that explains how the Democrats were doomed to lose the White House again and suggests that they would do so in the foreseeable future. In November 1992, Bill Clinton was elected president. Four years later, he was re-elected.
In 2013, Republicans commissioned a political autopsy after two consecutive failed presidential campaigns, which, among other suggestions, urged the party to increase publicity for gay and Latino voters. In 2016, Donald Trump (not a model of complete inclusion) was elected.
By the way, this is how The Times wrote: “A smug, unconscious, ideologically rigid country Republican is closing down most American voters, while old policies have changed little in 30 years and are an internal GOP study that has changed little in 30 years, an image that has alienated minorities from young people.”
Sounds familiar?
So, of course, look inward. But avoid the existence of the geek that survives.
chabria: I also want to argue that this moment is greater than the next election. I do think there is a question whether democracy will be extended for so long, and if so, will the next round of polls be free and fair.
I know everything's price continues to rise, and the traditional view is that it's all about the economy. But Democrats seem to be trapped in electoral politics as usual. But these are unusual times and require more. There are many people who don’t like to see their neighbors, family members or friends rounded up by masked immigrants and customs law enforcement officers. Many people who don’t want to see Medicaid’s millions of Medicaid may next take Medicaid insurance on the chopper block. Many people who are afraid of our courts will have to wait until the midterm.
They want to know that Democrats are working to protect these things, rather than fighting each other. I agree with you that any loss should be followed by introspection. And, under the leadership of opposing this administration, people yearn for an opportunity to become a government, while Democrats lose an opportunity to lead by endless self-immunization.
Is Harris really that bad to lose? Has Trump really received what we know about ending the United States?
Balabak: No, no.
I mean, loss is loss. Trump swept all seven battlefield countries, and the election results were different from those in 2000.
But Trump's profit against Harris in the popular vote was only 1.5% – far from landslide territory – and he didn't even win most of the support, while the difference fell to 50%.
As for the so-called authorization, the most refined and talented post-election analysis I read comes from Yuval Levin of the American Corporate Academy, who noted that Trump's victory marked the third consecutive presidential election of the current party, in which the current party lost that, which has not been seen since the 19th century.
“Win the election because their opponents are unpopular, and then – imagine the public recognizing the agenda of their partisan activists – they use the power of the office to make themselves unpopular.”
This is a long way to go by 2026, and it is a longer way to go by 2028.
But Levin certainly looks smart.
chabria: I know Kamara Slam is popular now, but I don't think Harris is certainly unpopular – just unpopular.
Harris has a 107-day campaign. Many candidates spend years running for the White House, and if you count the “maybe” period, it's longer. She didn't know about most Americans, faced double discrimination with race and gender, and was never considered charismatic. So it is worth noting that almost all luggage can be voted separately.
But maybe Elon Musk said it best. As part of his chaos with Trump, the billionaire tweeted: “With me, Trump will lose elections, Dems will control the House, and Republicans will take 51-49 in the Senate.”
Sometimes there is truth in anger. Musk's money has affected the election and may be poured into Trump in at least one battlefield state. Any autopsy requires not only the information but also the medium. Is it what the Democrats say has no resonance, or is the right-wing oligarch leading the communication?
Balabak:
chabria: Tag?
Balabak: sorry.
I'm plagued by the wonders of the richest people in the world Neener-Neener With the most powerful person in the world, I lost where we are.
With all the due respect for Marshall McLuhan, I think Democrats need to figure out a message first to get them through mid-2026. If you want, they have made quite a successful effort in 2018 to remove the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare. If Republicans get the meat shaft to health insurance and millions of Americans lose it, it’s not difficult to see them resurrecting the script.
Then, by 2028, they will choose a presidential candidate and have their messenger, and then they can focus on the media – TV, radio, podcast, Tiktok, Bluesky, Bluesky or any other way in a political way.
Now, forgive me when I set my eyes on the sandbox.
