Many Democrats think Republicans are dumb bigots (and they often are) but Republicans keep harping on immigration, crime, some LGBT issues etc. since their positions are more trusted by the electorate than Democrats’ are, which is why they’re trying to increase their salience. Imo, the best response to these attacks for Democrats is to just not engage and change the topic as soon as humanly possible. The worst response is to yell “Republicans are dumb bigots” since the electorate agrees with them on these issues more than it agrees with Democrats, and nobody likes to be called a dumb bigot! Even if Democrats are winning the battle of ideas (aka the popular vote) and have the moral high ground (or whatever), that means absolutely nothing if Republicans win a federal trifecta come 2025, and they very well might given the electoral college and the Senate class that’s without even a single insurrection.
It's truly impressive how Democratic voters are constantly frothing at the mouth to blame Joe Biden and Democratic leadership for things that aren't their fault like it's no wonder Republicans are better at winning close elections, we have no party loyalty while they have it in spades. Case in point, the replies and quote tweets to this tweet are completely braindead. It's not Joe Biden and elected Democrats' fault that the Hyde Amendment exists and can't be repealed! It’s not Joe Biden’s fault that the FDA doesn’t approve of handing out abortion pills like they’re Skittles, and I for one totally understand why they don’t!
Even if Republicans gain both chambers of Congress, it’s not the end! President Biden has a veto pen, and the GOP will undeniably overreach if they take both or even one house of Congress, so we’ll be in a better place for 2024 with swing voters who hate ~extremism, and can take back the House and mitigate too much loss in the Senate despite the class that’s up for re-election.
Bill Clinton accurately pointing out that Martha’s Vineyard is the first place that Black professionals were allowed to vacation on the Eastern seaboard while calling out Ron DeSantis’ insane human trafficking antics is proof that actually Democrats ARE smarter and more profound than Republicans.
“The Democrats’ Last Stand in Wisconsin”: Maybe this isn't the point of this piece but it makes me genuinely emotional that in the wake of illiberalism and stalwart pushes against democracy in large swathes of the country, so many good people are fighting and will go down with the ship of the republic as we know it. I think Tony Evers is the only incumbent Democratic governor to lose next Tuesday, and he was the only bulwark against the Republican Wisconsin legislature *spins wheel* disbanding Milwaukee Public Schools and a billion other horrible things but I guess people get what they vote for.
“The mystery of the missing anti-MAGA majority”: This piece can basically be summarized as “voters who decide federal majorities think that both parties are extreme and since Democrats are in power right now, they want to hand power over back to Republicans.”
“The Problem With Herschel Walker and His Republican Enablers Is Not Their Hypocrisy”:
People who don’t believe in government are stacking that government with politicians, who at best, boast about not even having the slightest clue about the basics of their job or public policy, and who, at worst, think of public service as the most effective tool for grifting and trolling. Furthermore, this phenomenon has arrived at a moment in which the ability of the political press to provide a check on this slide into illiberalism has atrophied. For too many reporters clustered inside the Beltway, the emergence of comically unqualified candidates—or outright QAnon-pilled seditionists—is just one more interesting moment in American politics; the fuel for bemusement, rather than a clanging alarm.
Lastly, she’s right!
"but I guess people get what they vote for ..."
To some extent, sure. But imagine an Obama-Trump-Biden swing voter (an important group in Wisconsin!) - does this voter realize he's voting for permanent Republican control of the state? The median seat in that crazily gerrymandered legislature is ~R+20 - and with an R governor and a pro-ISL decision from SCOTUS this term, I think people will be surprised at the hard-right governance next year. This is true both on substantive policy (sweeping abortion bans, maybe school prayer or anti-LGBTQ laws, etc.) and on small-d democracy. I mean, what is stopping that legislature from just permanently entrenching the GOP (e.g. by proclaiming that all statewide races will now be decided by winning a plurality of legislative districts), or just unilaterally setting aside future results they don't like on an ad hoc basis?