929: A Burst of Activity
Edsall's new NYT piece with a Jon Bon Jovi theme
I am out of office for a bit, and had planned to start a series of recommendations for newsletters … but had to share this Thomas Edsall piece from The New York Times yesterday.
The longform Opinion piece is titled “Are the Democrats Dead or Alive?” (Gift Link) notes three bright spots:
Moderation among 2028 hopefuls: Rising Democratic leaders are distancing themselves from progressive orthodoxy on social issues.
New centrist energy: Edsall touts a “burst of activity” with groups pushing a moderate Democratic agenda and supporting centrist House members, including a shoutout that “there is growing interest in Welcome PAC” (sic).
Voter enthusiasm edge: July CNN poll shows 74% of Democrats are “extremely motivated” to vote in 2026, vs. 54% of Republicans.
But the silver lining section is short. The bulk of the piece digs into contrasting perspectives on just how bad things are.
Academics from Amherst and Columbia view Democrats as still stuck in “woke” politics and identity associations, with a slow recovery ahead - if recovery is possible at all. There is potential for a lasting realignment against Democrats, as the party’s credibility collapse is not easily fixable with centrist messaging alone.
warns against overreacting to current conditions, making a thermostatic bet that voters will again reject Trump. Edsall doesn’t seem to buy this, citing UVA’s Larry Sabato on the necessary steps Democrats must take to get out of the current coalition malaise that is “intolerant of ideological diversity” and too socially liberal.The overall outlook is grim without major changes.
In Edsall fashion, I’ll recommend it with a lengthy quote from the wisdom that my overperforming colleague Adam Frisch:
Well written, in-depth column - and not just because it talks of Welcome ... As to some pushback to Podhorzer and Labor overall in the Dems drifting from Clinton onward, my pushback on that is that if members of Labor (or entire voter base) were economic robots (only focused on economics), we would still have a big advantage ... But while the GOP is even more focused on the Financial Elite, the Dems have a growing monopoly on the Cultural Elite, and that is why the rank and file (Labor/middle class) have fled the Dems. Being known of the 'tisk-tisk' party (do not eat 'that' food, drive 'that' car, work in 'that' industry) makes a long road back to gavels.
within the Ds...we are the fact-based people battling emotional lefties … Our Golden Ticket is breaking Centrism= Mew, Centrism=establishment Centrism=caving on principles.
The piece is worth a read in full, and a sober reminder that we have just 929 days until the next presidential primary.