A final wrap up gives us this:
Democrats didn’t just lose badly.
- They lost to a convicted felon they ridiculed as a racist, misogynistic fascist — and an existential threat to democracy.
- And they didn’t just lose to President-elect Trump. They lost the Senate … likely the House … many Hispanic men … all three Blue Wall states … both Southern swing states … even substantial support in the bluest of states and cities.
Why it matters: Top Democrats, including Harris advisers, tell us they feel like a lost party. Come January, they’ll have scant power in the federal government, and shriveling clout in the courts and states.
- The traditional media structure sympathetic to their views, and hostile to Trump’s, was shattered.
The big picture: In our volatile, 50-50 America, where voters seem to swing fast and hard against the ruling party, resurrection and resurgence are often an off-year election away.
- But the road to the Democrats’ Damascus requires deep, honest self-reflection — and, many party insiders tell us, entirely new leadership.
- White House officials were dismissive of reporting about screwups. When journalists held up a mirror, they often looked away.
President Biden, 81, has faded even before his job is done. Harris’ team didn’t even want him to campaign. Impossible to imagine Democrats turning to him for sage advice on what’s next.
- Harris just lost what Democrats considered an eminently winnable race, despite relatively light scrutiny and more money than any candidate in U.S. history. Hard to see her guiding Democrats out of the wilderness.
- The party’s two most popular figures — Barack Obama and Michelle Obama — are happy to help in the waning moments of elections but aren’t going to lead a revival.
Look to the states, Democrats will say: Josh Shapiro in Pennsylvania … Gretchen Whitmer in Michigan … Andy Beshear in Kentucky … newly elected Josh Stein in North Carolina.
- Other Democratic future faces: Senator-elect Elissa Slotkin in Michigan, and Ruben Gallego, who leads in the race for U.S. senator in Arizona.
- All are from states Trump just won. They’re certainly politically smarter than the Washington crew. The evidence: They didn’t lose.
Democrats will now start the predictable cycle of blame-casting and bellyaching. Every losing party does it. Then, they’ll turn to a more serious autopsy: why they’re bleeding support virtually everywhere.
Delusions of Adequacy 