Let's Go Line-by-Line About How the Dems Are Totally Screwed Right Now

Demography is not destiny—an axiom that fell on deaf ears among the Democrats’ political strategist class. They were still enthralled with the notion of the Obama coalition being a path to a permanent political majority. After 2024, that coalition has been shattered, as young voters are now becoming more conservative and deeply ingrained in the Make America Great Again movement. Axios had a good one yesterday morning, going line-by-line about how screwed the Democrats are heading into the midterms. There’s a lot of bluster and talk, but there is no strategy, leader, message, or unity.

It's an open secret that Democrats want a primary challenge for Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY). Who is the face of this motley crew of political incompetents? Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), the leader of House Democrats, is not it. He’s Temu Obama and can’t spin or argue his way out of a paper bag. The party has doubled down on being on the unpopular end of 80/20 issues, like transgender shenanigans, which the nation has no patience for, and it couldn’t come at a worse time:

The party has its lowest favorability ever.
No popular national leader to help improve it.
Insufficient numbers to stop most legislation in Congress.
A durable minority on the Supreme Court.
Dwindling influence over the media ecosystem, with right-leaning podcasters and social media accounts ascendant.
Young voters are growing dramatically more conservative.
A bad 2026 map for Senate races.
Democratic Senate retirements could make it harder for the party to flip the House, with members tempted by statewide races.
There are only three House Republicans in districts former Vice President Harris won in 2024, a dim sign for a Democratic surge. There were 23 eight years ago in seats Hillary Clinton won.
And, thanks to the number of people fleeing blue states, the math for a Dem to win the presidency will just get harder in 2030.

Schumer wants to make Trump the quickest lame duck in American history. Sir, you don’t have the cards right now. The last charismatic leader Democrats had was Barack Obama—the ‘candidate’ cupboard has been empty since then. It’s something James Carville has been right about regarding the state of his party, though it’s buried under a heap of anti-Trump nonsense. Without a candidate who can win, you’re not going anywhere. That’s a critical issue, but until Democrats stop clawing one another and find a message that everyone doesn’t find unpalatable, they will remain stuck in the muck. It also doesn’t help that the folks vying for the ‘face of the party’ title are writing off their historic unpopularity as being due to voter stupidity or lack of education.