With the democrats we will fall back into liberal wokism again. The clinton/ obama machine will be back in charge, and we will keep giving the farm away. These are socialist nonproductive people that have been government hacks their whole lives and know nothing about being productive except how to suck off the government trough.
The republicans aren't much better, but they are better than the democrats. At least productive people will be allowed to be productive. This we could discuss for hours on how this works.
So, republicans suck, but democrats suck worse.
Democracies die slow suicidal deaths from within. Is this the way we are going now? Looks like it to me.
Nobody knows what "wokism" means. Not you, not me, not Desantis. It is a capitol "B" buzzword. The Democrats will win mainly because of a pissed-off group of Independents. Green energy is the future whether Ricky Redneck likes it or not. I live on the border. We need immigrant labor more than ever.
Talk about condescending. This is how Dems handed a huge segment of the working class to the Republicans.
We need a sensible guest worker program where everybody who crosses the border to work does so legally. Open borders is a huge loser amongst the electorate. Just is having biological boys competing in girls’ sports. (Ever notice that there is almost zero demand that trans biological girls be allowed to compete in boys’ sports?).
Agree Dan. Trump and Co are not against immigrants, illegal ones yes. Immigrants who can come educated, starting businesses or being able to do jobs we are short of, which are many, Trump and Co have no problem with. The democrats blow this out or proportion.
Now, ALL the elites want robots' automation computers to do the work of the future. Where the AI stuff comes in big. Getting rid of cheap labor forces companies to spend capital on robots and automation to do the menial work. Listen to Bessent talk they bring it up when asked. Yes, we want them to spend on robots and automation for the menial jobs. Getting rid of the cheap immigrant labor (and "deplorable" Rickys too) will assist in us doing this. Why will a company spend on robots and automation if I can hire someone for $10 dollars an hour? But no immigrant or cheap labor I HAVE to spend.
Elites favor this why they don't mind nihilism and socialism to a point because this will create less families and people. Depopulation to the elites is great. They been trying this for the last 150 years. Free abortions, sterilization all over the world, planned parenthood from Singer and co. Elites find the masses what did Hillary say? oh yea "deplorables" Peasant's serfs common working people who they think are rude stupid dumb and "Rickys" will let be faded away and gone, robots will do their menial poor low work with no complaints and no riots. AND less people! finally! lol
This wasn't clever when the first liberal trotted it out on Twitter in 2015, and it's only gotten dumber since.
I've noticed the people who can't understand the definition of what woke is are the same people who can't understand the definition of what a woman is. Coincidence? The public thinks not.
If green energy is the future, let it happen organically, not by dictate.I would add, assuming that "green" energy will not have its own negative impact on the climate is short sighted. We already have witnessed some of the damage from solar panels, wind mills, and have not yet addressed the massive amount of toxic waste they will create.
I have a lot of experience with hiring labor of all sorts, and I know that there is absolutely no labor shortage that can't be solved with money. We could have Eskimos flying down to South Texas tomorrow with the offer of enough money. I've certainly seen thousands of South Texans flying up to the arctic when offered enough money. For decades employers who understand the safe way to break the law have enjoyed a competitive advantage so large that honest businesses can't compete. That lawlessness needs to end, and we need to put some employers in jail to make an example, put the fear of god in them.
Norway is the OG nation of Climate Change. They have devoted hundreds of billions of Norwegian dollars and decades to their Green Battery policy. They are hardly Rednecks, but some of the best educated and wealthiest people on the planet.
And they recently abandoned their Green Battery project as unrealistic.
Norwegians also just reminded the EU seeking to limit Arctic drilling, they will drill anywhere in the Norwegian Arctic they desire.
No nation on earth is more devoted to the environmental preservation than Norway. Large chunks of their $2.5 trillion sovereign wealth fund has been invested in Green Energy, but they do not see it as viable, en mass, for a very long time.
In the mean time, their oil and gas is the only thing preventing millions from freezing to death all over Europe. It also allows for food production in Eastern Europe that feeds not just Europeans, but large swaths of Africans that would perish without it.
No problem for me. If Democrats would simply admit they are for open borders, and that they will continue to push DEI policies, along with being comfortable discriminating against white people, we would have a more clear path ahead about who to vote for on Tuesday and in 2028. They would loose most independents, and me. As it is, I’ve already made my judgement about where the Dems are—-arrogant and extreme.
Wokism is more than a buzzword, it represents the difference between guaranteeing individual opportunity, which voters are for, and guaranteeing “equity” by engineering outcomes for approved identity groups, which voters oppose.
Green energy is the future but as one part of an “all of the above” strategy specific to energy, not as a vehicle to broadly restructure society as the Green New Deal seeks to do.
We need immigrant labor, but not open borders. Both parties need to sign on to a policy that allows a sufficient but specific number of immigrants with strict enforcement once that number is reached.
All “centrist” positions that would win if candidates who support them could ever get past a primary.
Wokism is like porn algo you know it when you see it and feel it. It is calling people racist, sexist, and whatever phobic at the drop of the hat when they want to say something.
I agree, green energy will save us in the future we will be forced to go there which is how we do things anyway - nuclear energy - free, clean carbon free and we don't have to go kill anyone for it. Everyone can have it if they want to build it.
Be careful with the Ricky stuff Algo. I've been on the borders of Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, and lived for years on the San Ysidro San Diego CA border for years. There are a lot of Rickys along there. Might want to change that tune a little, it will in the long run get you nowhere.
"Green energy is the future whether Ricky Redneck likes it or not."
It's part of the future, but certainlay not the panacea for our energy needs. For those who proposed the "Green New Deal" all those years ago, I don't recall any of them following up with what a "green" energy grid would look like for Washington, D.C., or even a small city like Manahttan, Kansas.
Although I loathe Trump and never have voted for him, this once loyal Democrat will never again vote for them until they address the list of my several grievances with them. These include the trans insanity and especially the surgical mutilation of confused children. Their acceptance of open borders and its impact on working peoples wages and housing costs and their acceptance of the destruction of our cities by crime and homelessness. Finally they are perfectly willing to discriminate against whites and men because of past discrimination against blacks and women. They don’t even see these problems as problems.
Dave, I share some of your anger but I think you are overstating the problem in two ways. First, like Mr. Teixeira (sometimes), you treat Democrats as a single bloc that supports these radical policies. The Party behaves more like a diverse group that is scared to upset its largest (but still minority) wing.
Second, you portray extreme positions that are not accurate portraits. For example, surgical gender "therapy" on minors is nowhere permitted in the US. The issue when it comes to minors concerns drug "therapies." Another issue concerns crime: Crime rates have dropped dramatically from a peak in 1991-1992 to the present -- we are now down to 1967 rates. The spike in 2020-2021 may have been boosted in part by the Floyd demonstrations/riots, but in other cases the declines in rates seems to have been independent of party control. (Naturally, rates are higher in densely populated cities, most of which are under Democratic control, but density seems to be the underlying issue, since there are cities under Republican governments and rates seem independent of party control.)
I agree that the Party has failed to find a reasonable position that respects the rights of people who are trans without pretending that there is no distinction between a trans person's sexual identity and that of a non-trans person. I also agree that the Party needs to reject positions that are truly open borders or police defunding. I think very few Democrats actually believe in those positions, but the Party allows the caricature to persist unrefuted for fear of alienating the DSA-style wing.
You're wrong about "gender surgeries" on minors, Bob. They remain legal in nearly half the states, unfortunately, and medical tourism across state lines for such procedures by confused parents is a thing.
You surely know the answers to all these questions.
The Democrats are going hard left, and with extreme prejudice.
Any serious political observer of US politics would know that this imminent Democratic "tsunamI" on November 3rd is not a endorsement of any Democratic "policy" , let alone democratic socialism. It is entirely based on the revulsion to Trump, and his culpabililty for an inflation that did not need to have occurred - from tariffs to Iran. Add on to that his boundless venallity ,cruelty and lack of any connection to Western values - see his boundless affinity for Putin.
But what will follow even over the next 24 months will be horrific.
It is sickening that men like Talarico and El-Sayed will be in the US Senate for six years.
But that is what Trump as caused.
And Republicans have themselves to blame for not revolting against Trump when he first started his tariff madness.
Great questions, regrettably we all know the answers. There is no hope for moderate democrats. The party will misinterpret this election, just like they misinterpreted the 2024 loss, and prove to the country what woke ideologues they are. 2028, the election that truly matters, will be another Democratic disaster.
The Democrats might take the House but not the Senate. So we are talking meaningless performative BS like impeaching Trump once a month and harassing Musk in House hearings.
Well, controlling the House gives the Dems control of Ways & Means and Appropriations. It can essentially paralyze Trump in Congress (not that he cares about the law or Constitution).
Trump has the power of the veto, which would (under normal circumstances) force the Dems to "play nice" if they ever want to get any legislation passed.
Not meaningless, even if it doesn’t lead to prosecutions by the politicized Trump DOJ.
Hearings are likely to expose a level of executive branch corruption that the American people won’t tolerate, and that may lead to broad support for meaningful reforms.
Yes. I just hope they don’t fall into the “let’s get Trump!” trap. Just ignore him like Freddy Krueger and he’ll be out of our political lives in no time.
We will know immediately if this batch of Dems are different because if they set out to do another performative, meaningless impeachment, the party is cooked. I’m cautiously optimistic that they have learned their lesson and will just let Trump rot for two more years while he continues to play interior decorator in chief. Now, investigating the likes of Hegseth. I’m all for that.
In response to point 10: I would love for a democrat to just come out and say, “I don’t think trans girls should participate in girls sports; many states have settled this issue anyway, so let’s move on.” On the other side of the argument, I would love it if a 2028 hopeful would also be able to couple that clear, decisive statement with the fact that there are like 0.002% of trans athletes participating at the college level and 0.001% at the Olympic. So can we all stop with this bullshit topic and move on to something that actually matters.
Some are coming out and saying something to that effect but just enough to get elected and then it will be a Dem mandate all over again if they win.
It's not bullshit and the argument that there aren't many of them isn't a good one.
Gender self-ID is a problem for women and girls, period. The issue of women incarcerated with males who claim to be women rarely gets brought up, though arguably that is more serious than the sports issue.
A single male can wreak a lot of havoc on a lot of women and girls.
I should clarify, I don’t think the issue is bullshit, I think the framing is. Sports aren’t being overrun by trans athletes. It’s just not true. I hate moral panic stuff that the right does just as much as I hate things like democracy and climate doomerism that the left does. Parents and schools and leagues should be allowed to handle this issue locally, not the federal government.
Dems let R’s do all the framing for this issue because they’re feckless about the issue. But it’s not like R’s really care it about it either. There’s no moderate voice out there that is earnest about the issue. The most notable and famous politicians on both sides of the aisle are just empty vessels that allow their respective groups to bully them.
I’m a firm believer that the person who emerges form the pack in 2028 is going to be someone who says “trans girls don’t belong in girls sports and the states have settled this so let’s move on” (along with a whole host of other normal stances) because they (gasp) actually believe it and aren’t just saying it because it’s a politically advantageous statement that tests well with us normies.
Given that basically the answer to all these questions is "No Dem leader currently alive will make the right decision here," that leaves us with the only relevant followup question: Which finishes off the Democratic Party faster, winning a meaningless midterm and sending a clown car of crazies to Washington, or losing what should be a serious of layup elections after telling their followers that the country has turned on Trump and that the Republican Party is doomed?
On Issue 2: I can report from the “commie corridor” of Brooklyn that Democrats here have zero incentive to push back or distance themselves from a DSA takeover. My comrade neighbors love DSA and they despise moderate Democrats. Dems will say, “Look! It’s a winning strategy here. It can work elsewhere.” And they may be right. NYC is about to send fresh DSA blood to D.C. and they will do everything in their power to bring back the worst of identity-grievance-fueled “Woke 1.” One of them, Brad Lander, is so committed that he got himself photographed being arrested outside an NYC immigration court. What will he and his comrades do in D.C.? We will all find out.
Using Brooklyn is like using social media as an example of how the electorate will look in the future; it’s incredibly skewed. I’m optimistic that ‘28 will begin a new era of more centrist/moderate politics. I really do think the people who have overblown the influence of the wackos at the DSA are just too plugged in and terminally online. I just don’t see these people out in the wild even in my small little capital city of Salem, OR. They are few and far between and often get laughed out of the room.
I know you are the Tribune of the working class but the problem affects the middle class as well. I am solidly middle class . Other than my age, I am a caricature of the sort Ruy worries about. Government retiree, graduate degree, whole life in white collar occupations, one-time member of The Groups and not religious. Yet, I am horrified and frightened by what the Democrats have become. It will take 20 years of sanity to get me back.
I'd say that for now it's pretty much impossible. On most every issue Democratic orthodoxy of today is contrary to where the working class is.
Also I'd caution that any hope of rising GDP would filter on down to the working class has been proven not to be the case for 40 years now. Growth has been decoupled from wages and goes directly into profits, and therefore my quarterly dividends.
I should also be honest about my own motivations. The Anthropic IPO and the tech sector, is a much more significant factor in my income than the hard labor I still sometimes do. Significant probably by a factor of a thousand or more.
An interesting article I read by Alicia Nieves in the Unheard is Why It's So Hard to Fight Mass Migration. https://unherd.com/2026/10/why-its-so-hard-to-fight-mass-migration/?edition=us Regular routes around the paywall work. Ms Nieves provides well researched reasons why large segments of our society benefit so much from low cost low skilled migration that is detrimental to the working class.
As always an article by Ruy is one of the few enjoyable reads I'm always happy to support.
I don't recall the Dems or their media sycophants telling voters how they are better than Republicans or what policies they wish to pursue should they regain power (except for "Medicare for All"). The one indisputable fact is that, barring some random act of God, Trump is still going to be President for the next two years and can veto any bill the Dems pass. So the Dems can waster their time trying to impeach him or members of his Cabinet, but there will no convictions in the Senate.
Worst case, Dems double down on all of their policiy initiatives in Congress, getting their own members on record ahead of the 2028 election. We'll see how much influence DSA-aligned members have.
Spot on, as always. The ultimate irony might be, Dems take the House and Senate, as Iran and Ukraine resolve themselves, and oil and inflation drop like a rock, just in time for Dems to claim credit.
Even if bathed in that good fortune, ultimately Dems will have to decide if they are the party of Clinton circa 1996, or AOC and Abdul 2026.
Unfortunately, presently either a Trump induced revenge tour, or an impossible quest to morph the US into Scandinavia, seem most likely. Especially since Dems seem to lack any understanding of why it is not that difficult to form a quasi Utopia, with a population of 25 million, mostly homogenous, industrious and wealthy Lutherans.
Senator Slotkin's recent revelation, that she doesn't just desire Trump's head on a pike, but also those of recent Rep grads answering constituent phone calls, Social Security questions and fetching coffee in the WH, Rep and Senate offices, does not bode well for Dems.
Slotkin has long been sold as a Midwest Moderate, from sane wing of the Democratic Party. Now her behavior is far more indicative of a Dem Ogre, chomping at the bit to devour wet behind the ears, new College grads, for the sin of working for Reps, as they seek to add lines to their short resumes.
Should the expected Rep slaughter materialize, Dems will have to inform Americans how they intend to govern, if handed the WH keys in 2028, without the albatross of Trump hanging from their necks. That could terrify voters, if Back to the Future is not the new Dem mantra.
I would say the Dems, especially the DSA Dems would prefer it be turned into France or UK and not a Scandinavian country at all. They do not seem to have learned anything from Trump's last election and instead of focusing on clear communications of policy have stuck with blame Trump, which plays well to the base and keeps them from having to actually have clear messaging.
I really appreciate the list and agree with most of them. The ones that concern me most are 5, 8 and 10. We MUST have a plan to grow the economy and win the future. Trump's strongest issue is the closed border. We must develop a comprehensive immigration approach that does not return to some form of the failed Biden policy. Additionally, I really have not heard any thing coherent or even reasonable on trans issues. It seems like the strategy is "Don't say anything" and somehow they expect the public to interpret their silence as moderation. I am sorry to say that no one is fooled by this trick. We can be all for dignity, rights and support for our trans brothers and sisters, without the ridiculous issues of boys in girls sports and the "gender as a social construct" nonsense.
The ongoing APA accreditation debacle perfectly illustrates why Ruy's warnings are so urgent. For context, a bipartisan federal advisory panel (NACIQI) recently voted 7–4 to recommend a 12-month suspension of the American Psychological Association’s accreditation authority, following intense pushback from civil rights groups and a 10-month House committee investigation. The core of the crisis is that the APA allegedly allowed radical activists to co-opt its institutional mission—minimizing repeated reports of antisemitism, denying recognition of Jewish psychologist groups, and embedding highly polarizing, ideological "decolonial therapy" frameworks into graduate training programs.
This institutional capture directly maps onto three specific questions raised in this article:
• Question 2 (Standing up to the progressive/DSA left): The APA's crisis is a case study in what happens when an institution refuses to stand up to its furthest-left factions. Activists weaponized therapeutic language to create a hostile environment for Jewish members, and leadership capitulated rather than maintaining professional, objective standards. Mainstream Democrats’ absolute silence on this mess shows they are still terrified of alienating the progressive activist base.
• Question 9 (The defense of DEI over merit and safety): The federal panel moved to suspend the APA because the association prioritized radical identity politics and "equity" frameworks over the literal safety and inclusion of Jewish students and professionals. By treating professional governance as an exercise in progressive ideological alignment, the APA compromised its core regulatory duty.
• Question 11 (Embracing cultural positions that resonate with the working class): To ordinary, working-class voters, the idea that the nation's premier psychological association is hyper-focused on "decolonial therapy" while failing to police blatant antisemitism looks like unhinged elite theater. The fact that the pushback is driven entirely by Republicans allows them to cleanly capture the cultural center, while Democrats remain paralyzed, viewing any critique of a progressive institution as an existential threat.
For context on the APA story: The antisemitism the APA has now embedded in its philosophy, guides, and various actions against Jewish members can be traced back to the 2001 Durban conference on racism during which Israel was made a pariah state and the only country named in its final document.
This year was the 25th anniversary of that conference and despite the ongoing protests of many Western countries, the committee voted once again to accept the document as it stands.
The APA sent a delegation to that conference and wrote its own final document with similar treatment of Israel and Zionism.
This is how the Dems are helping institutionalize antisemitism in the US.
I don't think Democrats realize that middle-class and working-class people vote R now not because of the economic situation. People would rather lose a thousand or two thousand a year than to have to deal with Dems cultural stances that we most think are unfair and worry about only a few people. We get accused of voting against our interests, but our interests are cultural first. Don't send your quirky ideas into every state. You and yours can do that. We want to keep our own traditions.
With the democrats we will fall back into liberal wokism again. The clinton/ obama machine will be back in charge, and we will keep giving the farm away. These are socialist nonproductive people that have been government hacks their whole lives and know nothing about being productive except how to suck off the government trough.
The republicans aren't much better, but they are better than the democrats. At least productive people will be allowed to be productive. This we could discuss for hours on how this works.
So, republicans suck, but democrats suck worse.
Democracies die slow suicidal deaths from within. Is this the way we are going now? Looks like it to me.
Nobody knows what "wokism" means. Not you, not me, not Desantis. It is a capitol "B" buzzword. The Democrats will win mainly because of a pissed-off group of Independents. Green energy is the future whether Ricky Redneck likes it or not. I live on the border. We need immigrant labor more than ever.
“Ricky Redneck”.
Talk about condescending. This is how Dems handed a huge segment of the working class to the Republicans.
We need a sensible guest worker program where everybody who crosses the border to work does so legally. Open borders is a huge loser amongst the electorate. Just is having biological boys competing in girls’ sports. (Ever notice that there is almost zero demand that trans biological girls be allowed to compete in boys’ sports?).
Agree Dan. Trump and Co are not against immigrants, illegal ones yes. Immigrants who can come educated, starting businesses or being able to do jobs we are short of, which are many, Trump and Co have no problem with. The democrats blow this out or proportion.
Now, ALL the elites want robots' automation computers to do the work of the future. Where the AI stuff comes in big. Getting rid of cheap labor forces companies to spend capital on robots and automation to do the menial work. Listen to Bessent talk they bring it up when asked. Yes, we want them to spend on robots and automation for the menial jobs. Getting rid of the cheap immigrant labor (and "deplorable" Rickys too) will assist in us doing this. Why will a company spend on robots and automation if I can hire someone for $10 dollars an hour? But no immigrant or cheap labor I HAVE to spend.
Elites favor this why they don't mind nihilism and socialism to a point because this will create less families and people. Depopulation to the elites is great. They been trying this for the last 150 years. Free abortions, sterilization all over the world, planned parenthood from Singer and co. Elites find the masses what did Hillary say? oh yea "deplorables" Peasant's serfs common working people who they think are rude stupid dumb and "Rickys" will let be faded away and gone, robots will do their menial poor low work with no complaints and no riots. AND less people! finally! lol
Exactly what I was thinking too Dan. Wokism is alive and well still.
This wasn't clever when the first liberal trotted it out on Twitter in 2015, and it's only gotten dumber since.
I've noticed the people who can't understand the definition of what woke is are the same people who can't understand the definition of what a woman is. Coincidence? The public thinks not.
If green energy is the future, let it happen organically, not by dictate.I would add, assuming that "green" energy will not have its own negative impact on the climate is short sighted. We already have witnessed some of the damage from solar panels, wind mills, and have not yet addressed the massive amount of toxic waste they will create.
I have a lot of experience with hiring labor of all sorts, and I know that there is absolutely no labor shortage that can't be solved with money. We could have Eskimos flying down to South Texas tomorrow with the offer of enough money. I've certainly seen thousands of South Texans flying up to the arctic when offered enough money. For decades employers who understand the safe way to break the law have enjoyed a competitive advantage so large that honest businesses can't compete. That lawlessness needs to end, and we need to put some employers in jail to make an example, put the fear of god in them.
We also need to jail state and local officials who enable those employers. There's a criminal statute already on the books.
Norway is the OG nation of Climate Change. They have devoted hundreds of billions of Norwegian dollars and decades to their Green Battery policy. They are hardly Rednecks, but some of the best educated and wealthiest people on the planet.
And they recently abandoned their Green Battery project as unrealistic.
Norwegians also just reminded the EU seeking to limit Arctic drilling, they will drill anywhere in the Norwegian Arctic they desire.
No nation on earth is more devoted to the environmental preservation than Norway. Large chunks of their $2.5 trillion sovereign wealth fund has been invested in Green Energy, but they do not see it as viable, en mass, for a very long time.
In the mean time, their oil and gas is the only thing preventing millions from freezing to death all over Europe. It also allows for food production in Eastern Europe that feeds not just Europeans, but large swaths of Africans that would perish without it.
Response to Dan Nelson:
No problem for me. If Democrats would simply admit they are for open borders, and that they will continue to push DEI policies, along with being comfortable discriminating against white people, we would have a more clear path ahead about who to vote for on Tuesday and in 2028. They would loose most independents, and me. As it is, I’ve already made my judgement about where the Dems are—-arrogant and extreme.
Wokism is more than a buzzword, it represents the difference between guaranteeing individual opportunity, which voters are for, and guaranteeing “equity” by engineering outcomes for approved identity groups, which voters oppose.
Green energy is the future but as one part of an “all of the above” strategy specific to energy, not as a vehicle to broadly restructure society as the Green New Deal seeks to do.
We need immigrant labor, but not open borders. Both parties need to sign on to a policy that allows a sufficient but specific number of immigrants with strict enforcement once that number is reached.
All “centrist” positions that would win if candidates who support them could ever get past a primary.
Wokism is like porn algo you know it when you see it and feel it. It is calling people racist, sexist, and whatever phobic at the drop of the hat when they want to say something.
I agree, green energy will save us in the future we will be forced to go there which is how we do things anyway - nuclear energy - free, clean carbon free and we don't have to go kill anyone for it. Everyone can have it if they want to build it.
Be careful with the Ricky stuff Algo. I've been on the borders of Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, and lived for years on the San Ysidro San Diego CA border for years. There are a lot of Rickys along there. Might want to change that tune a little, it will in the long run get you nowhere.
"Green energy is the future whether Ricky Redneck likes it or not."
It's part of the future, but certainlay not the panacea for our energy needs. For those who proposed the "Green New Deal" all those years ago, I don't recall any of them following up with what a "green" energy grid would look like for Washington, D.C., or even a small city like Manahttan, Kansas.
Although I loathe Trump and never have voted for him, this once loyal Democrat will never again vote for them until they address the list of my several grievances with them. These include the trans insanity and especially the surgical mutilation of confused children. Their acceptance of open borders and its impact on working peoples wages and housing costs and their acceptance of the destruction of our cities by crime and homelessness. Finally they are perfectly willing to discriminate against whites and men because of past discrimination against blacks and women. They don’t even see these problems as problems.
Dave, I share some of your anger but I think you are overstating the problem in two ways. First, like Mr. Teixeira (sometimes), you treat Democrats as a single bloc that supports these radical policies. The Party behaves more like a diverse group that is scared to upset its largest (but still minority) wing.
Second, you portray extreme positions that are not accurate portraits. For example, surgical gender "therapy" on minors is nowhere permitted in the US. The issue when it comes to minors concerns drug "therapies." Another issue concerns crime: Crime rates have dropped dramatically from a peak in 1991-1992 to the present -- we are now down to 1967 rates. The spike in 2020-2021 may have been boosted in part by the Floyd demonstrations/riots, but in other cases the declines in rates seems to have been independent of party control. (Naturally, rates are higher in densely populated cities, most of which are under Democratic control, but density seems to be the underlying issue, since there are cities under Republican governments and rates seem independent of party control.)
I agree that the Party has failed to find a reasonable position that respects the rights of people who are trans without pretending that there is no distinction between a trans person's sexual identity and that of a non-trans person. I also agree that the Party needs to reject positions that are truly open borders or police defunding. I think very few Democrats actually believe in those positions, but the Party allows the caricature to persist unrefuted for fear of alienating the DSA-style wing.
You're wrong about "gender surgeries" on minors, Bob. They remain legal in nearly half the states, unfortunately, and medical tourism across state lines for such procedures by confused parents is a thing.
“For example, surgical gender "therapy" on minors is nowhere permitted in the US.”
Simply untrue prior to Trump’s second administration.
You surely know the answers to all these questions.
The Democrats are going hard left, and with extreme prejudice.
Any serious political observer of US politics would know that this imminent Democratic "tsunamI" on November 3rd is not a endorsement of any Democratic "policy" , let alone democratic socialism. It is entirely based on the revulsion to Trump, and his culpabililty for an inflation that did not need to have occurred - from tariffs to Iran. Add on to that his boundless venallity ,cruelty and lack of any connection to Western values - see his boundless affinity for Putin.
But what will follow even over the next 24 months will be horrific.
It is sickening that men like Talarico and El-Sayed will be in the US Senate for six years.
But that is what Trump as caused.
And Republicans have themselves to blame for not revolting against Trump when he first started his tariff madness.
Great questions, regrettably we all know the answers. There is no hope for moderate democrats. The party will misinterpret this election, just like they misinterpreted the 2024 loss, and prove to the country what woke ideologues they are. 2028, the election that truly matters, will be another Democratic disaster.
The Democrats might take the House but not the Senate. So we are talking meaningless performative BS like impeaching Trump once a month and harassing Musk in House hearings.
Well, controlling the House gives the Dems control of Ways & Means and Appropriations. It can essentially paralyze Trump in Congress (not that he cares about the law or Constitution).
Trump has the power of the veto, which would (under normal circumstances) force the Dems to "play nice" if they ever want to get any legislation passed.
Not meaningless, even if it doesn’t lead to prosecutions by the politicized Trump DOJ.
Hearings are likely to expose a level of executive branch corruption that the American people won’t tolerate, and that may lead to broad support for meaningful reforms.
Yes. I just hope they don’t fall into the “let’s get Trump!” trap. Just ignore him like Freddy Krueger and he’ll be out of our political lives in no time.
We will know immediately if this batch of Dems are different because if they set out to do another performative, meaningless impeachment, the party is cooked. I’m cautiously optimistic that they have learned their lesson and will just let Trump rot for two more years while he continues to play interior decorator in chief. Now, investigating the likes of Hegseth. I’m all for that.
In response to point 10: I would love for a democrat to just come out and say, “I don’t think trans girls should participate in girls sports; many states have settled this issue anyway, so let’s move on.” On the other side of the argument, I would love it if a 2028 hopeful would also be able to couple that clear, decisive statement with the fact that there are like 0.002% of trans athletes participating at the college level and 0.001% at the Olympic. So can we all stop with this bullshit topic and move on to something that actually matters.
That would be easier if they hadn't made trans their entire personality for the past decade.
That’s a bit hyperbolic (climate would also be something they focused too much on), but I take your point.
I agree. It has been (and, arguably, still is) their 2+2=5 and their emperor's new clothes.
0.0% in the Olympics.
Some are coming out and saying something to that effect but just enough to get elected and then it will be a Dem mandate all over again if they win.
It's not bullshit and the argument that there aren't many of them isn't a good one.
Gender self-ID is a problem for women and girls, period. The issue of women incarcerated with males who claim to be women rarely gets brought up, though arguably that is more serious than the sports issue.
A single male can wreak a lot of havoc on a lot of women and girls.
I should clarify, I don’t think the issue is bullshit, I think the framing is. Sports aren’t being overrun by trans athletes. It’s just not true. I hate moral panic stuff that the right does just as much as I hate things like democracy and climate doomerism that the left does. Parents and schools and leagues should be allowed to handle this issue locally, not the federal government.
Dems let R’s do all the framing for this issue because they’re feckless about the issue. But it’s not like R’s really care it about it either. There’s no moderate voice out there that is earnest about the issue. The most notable and famous politicians on both sides of the aisle are just empty vessels that allow their respective groups to bully them.
I’m a firm believer that the person who emerges form the pack in 2028 is going to be someone who says “trans girls don’t belong in girls sports and the states have settled this so let’s move on” (along with a whole host of other normal stances) because they (gasp) actually believe it and aren’t just saying it because it’s a politically advantageous statement that tests well with us normies.
Given that basically the answer to all these questions is "No Dem leader currently alive will make the right decision here," that leaves us with the only relevant followup question: Which finishes off the Democratic Party faster, winning a meaningless midterm and sending a clown car of crazies to Washington, or losing what should be a serious of layup elections after telling their followers that the country has turned on Trump and that the Republican Party is doomed?
On Issue 2: I can report from the “commie corridor” of Brooklyn that Democrats here have zero incentive to push back or distance themselves from a DSA takeover. My comrade neighbors love DSA and they despise moderate Democrats. Dems will say, “Look! It’s a winning strategy here. It can work elsewhere.” And they may be right. NYC is about to send fresh DSA blood to D.C. and they will do everything in their power to bring back the worst of identity-grievance-fueled “Woke 1.” One of them, Brad Lander, is so committed that he got himself photographed being arrested outside an NYC immigration court. What will he and his comrades do in D.C.? We will all find out.
Using Brooklyn is like using social media as an example of how the electorate will look in the future; it’s incredibly skewed. I’m optimistic that ‘28 will begin a new era of more centrist/moderate politics. I really do think the people who have overblown the influence of the wackos at the DSA are just too plugged in and terminally online. I just don’t see these people out in the wild even in my small little capital city of Salem, OR. They are few and far between and often get laughed out of the room.
I know you are the Tribune of the working class but the problem affects the middle class as well. I am solidly middle class . Other than my age, I am a caricature of the sort Ruy worries about. Government retiree, graduate degree, whole life in white collar occupations, one-time member of The Groups and not religious. Yet, I am horrified and frightened by what the Democrats have become. It will take 20 years of sanity to get me back.
There is a possibility of putting together bipartisan legislation since Trump is a deal-maker and is inclined in that direction.
That goes out the window if Democrats impeach him a dozen times during the next two years. Which is probably where all of the energy will go.
I'd say that for now it's pretty much impossible. On most every issue Democratic orthodoxy of today is contrary to where the working class is.
Also I'd caution that any hope of rising GDP would filter on down to the working class has been proven not to be the case for 40 years now. Growth has been decoupled from wages and goes directly into profits, and therefore my quarterly dividends.
I should also be honest about my own motivations. The Anthropic IPO and the tech sector, is a much more significant factor in my income than the hard labor I still sometimes do. Significant probably by a factor of a thousand or more.
An interesting article I read by Alicia Nieves in the Unheard is Why It's So Hard to Fight Mass Migration. https://unherd.com/2026/10/why-its-so-hard-to-fight-mass-migration/?edition=us Regular routes around the paywall work. Ms Nieves provides well researched reasons why large segments of our society benefit so much from low cost low skilled migration that is detrimental to the working class.
As always an article by Ruy is one of the few enjoyable reads I'm always happy to support.
I don't recall the Dems or their media sycophants telling voters how they are better than Republicans or what policies they wish to pursue should they regain power (except for "Medicare for All"). The one indisputable fact is that, barring some random act of God, Trump is still going to be President for the next two years and can veto any bill the Dems pass. So the Dems can waster their time trying to impeach him or members of his Cabinet, but there will no convictions in the Senate.
Worst case, Dems double down on all of their policiy initiatives in Congress, getting their own members on record ahead of the 2028 election. We'll see how much influence DSA-aligned members have.
Spot on, as always. The ultimate irony might be, Dems take the House and Senate, as Iran and Ukraine resolve themselves, and oil and inflation drop like a rock, just in time for Dems to claim credit.
Even if bathed in that good fortune, ultimately Dems will have to decide if they are the party of Clinton circa 1996, or AOC and Abdul 2026.
Unfortunately, presently either a Trump induced revenge tour, or an impossible quest to morph the US into Scandinavia, seem most likely. Especially since Dems seem to lack any understanding of why it is not that difficult to form a quasi Utopia, with a population of 25 million, mostly homogenous, industrious and wealthy Lutherans.
Senator Slotkin's recent revelation, that she doesn't just desire Trump's head on a pike, but also those of recent Rep grads answering constituent phone calls, Social Security questions and fetching coffee in the WH, Rep and Senate offices, does not bode well for Dems.
Slotkin has long been sold as a Midwest Moderate, from sane wing of the Democratic Party. Now her behavior is far more indicative of a Dem Ogre, chomping at the bit to devour wet behind the ears, new College grads, for the sin of working for Reps, as they seek to add lines to their short resumes.
Should the expected Rep slaughter materialize, Dems will have to inform Americans how they intend to govern, if handed the WH keys in 2028, without the albatross of Trump hanging from their necks. That could terrify voters, if Back to the Future is not the new Dem mantra.
I would say the Dems, especially the DSA Dems would prefer it be turned into France or UK and not a Scandinavian country at all. They do not seem to have learned anything from Trump's last election and instead of focusing on clear communications of policy have stuck with blame Trump, which plays well to the base and keeps them from having to actually have clear messaging.
I really appreciate the list and agree with most of them. The ones that concern me most are 5, 8 and 10. We MUST have a plan to grow the economy and win the future. Trump's strongest issue is the closed border. We must develop a comprehensive immigration approach that does not return to some form of the failed Biden policy. Additionally, I really have not heard any thing coherent or even reasonable on trans issues. It seems like the strategy is "Don't say anything" and somehow they expect the public to interpret their silence as moderation. I am sorry to say that no one is fooled by this trick. We can be all for dignity, rights and support for our trans brothers and sisters, without the ridiculous issues of boys in girls sports and the "gender as a social construct" nonsense.
The ongoing APA accreditation debacle perfectly illustrates why Ruy's warnings are so urgent. For context, a bipartisan federal advisory panel (NACIQI) recently voted 7–4 to recommend a 12-month suspension of the American Psychological Association’s accreditation authority, following intense pushback from civil rights groups and a 10-month House committee investigation. The core of the crisis is that the APA allegedly allowed radical activists to co-opt its institutional mission—minimizing repeated reports of antisemitism, denying recognition of Jewish psychologist groups, and embedding highly polarizing, ideological "decolonial therapy" frameworks into graduate training programs.
This institutional capture directly maps onto three specific questions raised in this article:
• Question 2 (Standing up to the progressive/DSA left): The APA's crisis is a case study in what happens when an institution refuses to stand up to its furthest-left factions. Activists weaponized therapeutic language to create a hostile environment for Jewish members, and leadership capitulated rather than maintaining professional, objective standards. Mainstream Democrats’ absolute silence on this mess shows they are still terrified of alienating the progressive activist base.
• Question 9 (The defense of DEI over merit and safety): The federal panel moved to suspend the APA because the association prioritized radical identity politics and "equity" frameworks over the literal safety and inclusion of Jewish students and professionals. By treating professional governance as an exercise in progressive ideological alignment, the APA compromised its core regulatory duty.
• Question 11 (Embracing cultural positions that resonate with the working class): To ordinary, working-class voters, the idea that the nation's premier psychological association is hyper-focused on "decolonial therapy" while failing to police blatant antisemitism looks like unhinged elite theater. The fact that the pushback is driven entirely by Republicans allows them to cleanly capture the cultural center, while Democrats remain paralyzed, viewing any critique of a progressive institution as an existential threat.
For context on the APA story: The antisemitism the APA has now embedded in its philosophy, guides, and various actions against Jewish members can be traced back to the 2001 Durban conference on racism during which Israel was made a pariah state and the only country named in its final document.
This year was the 25th anniversary of that conference and despite the ongoing protests of many Western countries, the committee voted once again to accept the document as it stands.
The APA sent a delegation to that conference and wrote its own final document with similar treatment of Israel and Zionism.
This is how the Dems are helping institutionalize antisemitism in the US.
I don't think Democrats realize that middle-class and working-class people vote R now not because of the economic situation. People would rather lose a thousand or two thousand a year than to have to deal with Dems cultural stances that we most think are unfair and worry about only a few people. We get accused of voting against our interests, but our interests are cultural first. Don't send your quirky ideas into every state. You and yours can do that. We want to keep our own traditions.