The Democrats have created their own inability to succeed.
All of us face challenges. When so confronted, we tend to look for solutions. Let’s say a person needs a certain sum of money in short order. He might take out a loan or buy some lottery tickets. He could ask a friend for some dough or take another job in order to get the money needed. We’ll assume that he would not consider stealing somebody’s wallet or robbing a bank.
The Democrats, on rare occasions, might actually admit that there are problems with their program. Adam Schiff had his luggage stolen recently from San Francisco’s international airport and warned fellow Democrats of the problem of runaway crime. I still remember just a few years ago when locals of the same city would go to sleep with their car doors and trunks open so that thieves would not break windows when looking for what to steal. In many Democrat-run cities, rampant drugs, crime, homelessness, and fear are features of life. The challenge faced by Democrats, from local mayors up to potential presidential candidates is that the solutions they need go against the very ethos of the party.
If a person is told by his doctor that he has a certain ailment and the only cure for it is a fruit found in Russia, the sick fellow would probably do his all to get that Russian fruit and end his problem. But let’s say that he refuses any food from Russia and thus cannot cure himself: then what? The problems of major cities and blue states can be cured but the cure is in the Republican toolbox. Universities could easily have ejected students who demanded genocide of Jews and Israelis but administrators do not want to kick out radical students who share their thinking. California long ago could have been much more aggressive about shoplifting, but rather chose to create a $950 daily limit of allowable theft. People today complain about toys behind glass at Walmart or meat with metal anti-theft features at Costco. But the alternative is to actually arrest and incarcerate those who steal. The Soros-sponsored DAs are allergic to applying the law to their favored groups and won't jail criminals. In their thinking, it is better to ask some store employee to open the wash detergent case to get some Tide than throw a couple of professional thieves into jail for a couple of years.
And this will be the Achilles heel for the Democrats as they approach 2026 and 2028 elections. Most Americans are in favor of ejecting illegal aliens and certainly support the removal of illegal alien criminals. So what do the Democrats do? They run down to El Salvador to support their “Maryland Man,” who happens to be a gang member, wife beater, and apparently human trafficker. How can the Democrats solve the problem of South American gangs causing havoc in U.S. cities? The Republicans want to throw the trouble-makers out. What can the Democrats do when they refuse to eject illegal aliens on principle? They don’t have a solution and instead distract and obfuscate. Oligarchs run the country! Musk will steal your Social Security! They have no solution for illegal aliens destroying much of America, so they quickly try to change the subject.
And the same is true for nearly every subject. They can scream about the market havoc from Donald Trump’s tariff moves, but do they have an alternative plan that we have missed? How do they plan to balance the budget without DOGE and how do they wish to make the U.S. less of a debtor nation without resetting the conditions of trade? The Democrats love to kibbutz about the Republicans being crazy and Trump being Hitler, but any reasonable solution to a problem faced by America would require action that is against the Democrats’ secular religion. They don’t want to improve education by supporting school choice, as the teachers’ union would never let them. They claim to want Americans to be healthier but scoff at Bobby Kennedy Jr. actually trying to get bad chemicals out of our food. Women want sports to themselves, but ideologically the Democrats have tied themselves to the trans movement. They thus support guys over girls, when classical feminism and every concept of fairness would demand that boys stay in their lane. The obvious solution is beyond the Democrats because they ideologically cannot leave their self-imposed straight jacket with its very limited list of policy solutions. They are rabidly anti-Trump because they are are not positively for anything that Americans want.
And don’t expect individual Democrats to stray too far from the party line. Anyone who suggests limits on abortion, tougher sentencing for crime, firing teachers to improve educational outcomes, etc. will find no more party funding and probably a primary challenger from the DNC. Will Democrats in cities like San Francisco and Portland finally give up on their party and vote for their safety and prosperity? San Francisco may be the only city in the world with a dedicated app showing where human feces are located on its sidewalks. Portland’s downtown is a place best avoided for one’s safety. Never underestimate the ability of people to vote again and again to their own detriment. Remember that California tried to recall Gavin Newsom and failed. The one thing we know is that Democrats will not stray far from the Officially Accepted Positions if they do not want to face the wrath of the growing left-beyond-left wing of the party. How dare you praise Israel! Why shouldn’t we seize all private guns? Open that border to share the wealth! Abortion until birth! The Democrats are polling in the 20’s because they can’t break out of their positions, and Americans have seen that movie and don’t want to see it again.
I read a James Joyce story at Harvard that had quite an impact on my thinking. Essentially, if one can leave himself and try to put himself in someone else’s brain, he can go a long way to understanding other people and their concerns. Such an act can help us understand our children, our friends and neighbors—and also voters. Americans worried about crime want the bad guys locked up and not the good guys cowering. Americans concerned about money want a good job and a solid economy with decently-priced goods. Americans afraid of Chinese domination want to see a solid military that deters potential enemies. If Democrats could think like normal Americans, they would realize what the voters want. But these are ideologues and they will push their green agenda, anti-business regulations and anti-women programs, no matter the cost to others, and ultimately to themselves. They have become the conservatives of yore who enjoyed losing with their principles intact rather than actually winning. As far as I am concerned, let them hold onto their lefty dreams, and let them keep losing.