A Bleak Landscape

[Zam-Zam]

That is what Ezra Klein is forecasting:

I know many Democrats believe this is a byproduct of Trump’s years of playing a businessman on TV. That may be part of it. But Democrats allowed an affordability crisis to metastasize on their watch in ways they cannot blame perception or messaging for. If they are going to marginalize MAGA, they need more than a resistance; they need new answers that admit past failures.

Look at the places Democrats govern — liberal strongholds like New York, Illinois and California. In 2023, California saw a net loss of 268,000 residents; in Illinois, the net loss was 93,000; in New York, 179,000. Why are they leaving? In surveys, the dominant reason is simply this: The cost of living is too high. It’s too expensive to buy a house. It’s too expensive to get child care. You have to live too far from where you work. And so they’re going to places where all of that is cheaper — Texas, Florida, Arizona.

For Democrats, this is a political crisis. In the American system, to lose people is to lose power. If these trends hold, the 2030 census will shift the Electoral College sharply to the right. The states that Kamala Harris won in 2024 will lose perhaps as many as a dozen House seats and Electoral College votes. The states that Trump won would gain them. In that Electoral College, a Democrat could win every state Harris won in 2024 plus Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin and still lose.

But it is also a spiritual crisis: You cannot be the party of working families when the places you govern are places working families cannot afford to live. You are not the party of working families when the places you govern are places working families can no longer afford to live.

This is the policy failure haunting blue states. It has become too hard to build and too expensive to live in the places where Democrats govern. It is too hard to build homes. It is too hard to build clean energy. It is too hard to build mass transit. The problem isn’t technical: We know how to build apartment complexes and solar panel arrays and train lines. The problem is the rules and the laws and political cultures that govern construction in many blue states.


Opinion | There Is a Liberal Answer to Elon Musk - The New York Times


Seems pretty accurate, no?

 

[TBLee]

That is what Ezra Klein is forecasting:

I know many Democrats believe this is a byproduct of Trump’s years of playing a businessman on TV. That may be part of it. But Democrats allowed an affordability crisis to metastasize on their watch in ways they cannot blame perception or messaging for. If they are going to marginalize MAGA, they need more than a resistance; they need new answers that admit past failures.

Look at the places Democrats govern — liberal strongholds like New York, Illinois and California. In 2023, California saw a net loss of 268,000 residents; in Illinois, the net loss was 93,000; in New York, 179,000. Why are they leaving? In surveys, the dominant reason is simply this: The cost of living is too high. It’s too expensive to buy a house. It’s too expensive to get child care. You have to live too far from where you work. And so they’re going to places where all of that is cheaper — Texas, Florida, Arizona.

For Democrats, this is a political crisis. In the American system, to lose people is to lose power. If these trends hold, the 2030 census will shift the Electoral College sharply to the right. The states that Kamala Harris won in 2024 will lose perhaps as many as a dozen House seats and Electoral College votes. The states that Trump won would gain them. In that Electoral College, a Democrat could win every state Harris won in 2024 plus Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin and still lose.

But it is also a spiritual crisis: You cannot be the party of working families when the places you govern are places working families cannot afford to live. You are not the party of working families when the places you govern are places working families can no longer afford to live.

This is the policy failure haunting blue states. It has become too hard to build and too expensive to live in the places where Democrats govern. It is too hard to build homes. It is too hard to build clean energy. It is too hard to build mass transit. The problem isn’t technical: We know how to build apartment complexes and solar panel arrays and train lines. The problem is the rules and the laws and political cultures that govern construction in many blue states.


Opinion | There Is a Liberal Answer to Elon Musk - The New York Times


Seems pretty accurate, no?

Sounds about right! The Dems are hemorrhaging.

 

[PNWest]

What the democrats need to do is start focusing on the MAJORITY and not the various fringe minority groups. All the Democrats want from white middle class hetero people these days is our tax dollars. Why should they expect their votes when they do nothing for them?

 

[BlueNY22]

What the democrats need to do is start focusing on the MAJORITY and not the various fringe minority groups. All the Democrats want from white middle class hetero people these days is our tax dollars. Why should they expect their votes when they do nothing for them?

That is the democrats problem.

Call it sexist, BUT the little groups being catered to - are the pets of white, suburbanite, leftist women. They trotted out Walz as a 'real man' - and it was almost SNL worthy comedy. All fake.

Democrats have to cater to normal people. You aren't going to win catering to the loudest .5% , 1% weirdos.

Now that boomers are dying off that group will shrink by the day. They must shore up the normal 9-5 workers.

 

[Zam-Zam]

What the democrats need to do is start focusing on the MAJORITY and not the various fringe minority groups. All the Democrats want from white middle class hetero people these days is our tax dollars. Why should they expect their votes when they do nothing for them?

I don't pretend to have all the answers, but I do believe the failure to address the southern border rubbed a lot of voters the wrong way. It's likely not the only issue, but I do believe it is a big one.

 

[write on]

That is what Ezra Klein is forecasting:

I know many Democrats believe this is a byproduct of Trump’s years of playing a businessman on TV. That may be part of it. But Democrats allowed an affordability crisis to metastasize on their watch in ways they cannot blame perception or messaging for. If they are going to marginalize MAGA, they need more than a resistance; they need new answers that admit past failures.

Look at the places Democrats govern — liberal strongholds like New York, Illinois and California. In 2023, California saw a net loss of 268,000 residents; in Illinois, the net loss was 93,000; in New York, 179,000. Why are they leaving? In surveys, the dominant reason is simply this: The cost of living is too high. It’s too expensive to buy a house. It’s too expensive to get child care. You have to live too far from where you work. And so they’re going to places where all of that is cheaper — Texas, Florida, Arizona.

For Democrats, this is a political crisis. In the American system, to lose people is to lose power. If these trends hold, the 2030 census will shift the Electoral College sharply to the right. The states that Kamala Harris won in 2024 will lose perhaps as many as a dozen House seats and Electoral College votes. The states that Trump won would gain them. In that Electoral College, a Democrat could win every state Harris won in 2024 plus Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin and still lose.

But it is also a spiritual crisis: You cannot be the party of working families when the places you govern are places working families cannot afford to live. You are not the party of working families when the places you govern are places working families can no longer afford to live.

This is the policy failure haunting blue states. It has become too hard to build and too expensive to live in the places where Democrats govern. It is too hard to build homes. It is too hard to build clean energy. It is too hard to build mass transit. The problem isn’t technical: We know how to build apartment complexes and solar panel arrays and train lines. The problem is the rules and the laws and political cultures that govern construction in many blue states.


Opinion | There Is a Liberal Answer to Elon Musk - The New York Times


Seems pretty accurate, no?

Given your previous posts, you look proud.

Klein's opinion is what I've posted here for years about how weak the Democratic party have become.

This isn't 1950's America anymore.

 

[PNWest]

I don't pretend to have all the answers, but I do believe the failure to address the southern border rubbed a lot of voters the wrong way. It's likely not the only issue, but I do believe it is a big one.

Maybe you are right. Personally I don't want to see Islamic immigration into the country. Too much support for terrorism, too anti-woman, etc. What kind of religion teaches that you can and should kill someone for drawing a cartoon of their God?

I lived in Houston for nearly 30 years. I dealt with a lot of undocumented Hispanic people and had nothing but good experiences with them. Yeah I know that my experience is just one person but the people I met and dealt with exhibited far more of the "American Dream" attitude than native born Americans. Far more giving too.

I vividly when Hurricane Ike devastated the area. It took down one of our trees that landed crossing the street and blocking it. The next morning I got out there with a hand saw (all I had) and started cutting the tree to make the street passable.

We had a conservative neighbor. His front yard had less damage. He came out with a chainsaw and sawed off the few broken limbs from his damaged tree in about 5 minutes. Turned around and went right back in his house. Didn't offer to help clear the street that HE also lived on. Didn't offer to lend me the chainsaw. Just did his thing and went back inside. I kept sawing and a little while later our lawn guy drove up. We hadn't called him - hell the phones were all down but he was just driving by his customers helping. He also had a chainsaw and made quick work of the tree, clearing the street in less than 10 minutes. He wouldn't take anything for his help, said that's just the way it should be. Here's to you Mr. A!

The people crossing the southern border aren't taking our jobs. They're doing the work that almost all Americans don't want to do. If you want to stop foreigners from taking American jobs then stop the f*cking H1B visa program that allows billionaires like Musk and Bezos to bring in well educated but poorly paid foreigners to work in high tech. These people fire older American workers and replace them with H1-B recipients. Those people are the ones taking decent paying jobs.

 

[write on]

Maybe you are right. Personally I don't want to see Islamic immigration into the country. Too much support for terrorism, too anti-woman, etc. What kind of religion teaches that you can and should kill someone for drawing a cartoon of their God?

I lived in Houston for nearly 30 years. I dealt with a lot of undocumented Hispanic people and had nothing but good experiences with them. Yeah I know that my experience is just one person but the people I met and dealt with exhibited far more of the "American Dream" attitude than native born Americans. Far more giving too.

I vividly when Hurricane Ike devastated the area. It took down one of our trees that landed crossing the street and blocking it. The next morning I got out there with a hand saw (all I had) and started cutting the tree to make the street passable.

We had a conservative neighbor. His front yard had less damage. He came out with a chainsaw and sawed off the few broken limbs from his damaged tree in about 5 minutes. Turned around and went right back in his house. Didn't offer to help clear the street that HE also lived on. Didn't offer to lend me the chainsaw. Just did his thing and went back inside. I kept sawing and a little while later our lawn guy drove up. We hadn't called him - hell the phones were all down but he was just driving by his customers helping. He also had a chainsaw and made quick work of the tree, clearing the street in less than 10 minutes. He wouldn't take anything for his help, said that's just the way it should be. Here's to you Mr. A!

The people crossing the southern border aren't taking our jobs. They're doing the work that almost all Americans don't want to do. If you want to stop foreigners from taking American jobs then stop the f*cking H1B visa program that allows billionaires like Musk and Bezos to bring in well educated but poorly paid foreigners to work in high tech. These people fire older American workers and replace them with H1-B recipients. Those people are the ones taking decent paying jobs.

Yeah, and what religion tells you to kill someone because they made a personal decision about their body (abortion)?

The right wing comes off as 'godly' but in reality, all they care about is themselves.

 

[Zam-Zam]

Maybe you are right. Personally I don't want to see Islamic immigration into the country. Too much support for terrorism, too anti-woman, etc. What kind of religion teaches that you can and should kill someone for drawing a cartoon of their God?

I lived in Houston for nearly 30 years. I dealt with a lot of undocumented Hispanic people and had nothing but good experiences with them. Yeah I know that my experience is just one person but the people I met and dealt with exhibited far more of the "American Dream" attitude than native born Americans. Far more giving too.

I vividly when Hurricane Ike devastated the area. It took down one of our trees that landed crossing the street and blocking it. The next morning I got out there with a hand saw (all I had) and started cutting the tree to make the street passable.

We had a conservative neighbor. His front yard had less damage. He came out with a chainsaw and sawed off the few broken limbs from his damaged tree in about 5 minutes. Turned around and went right back in his house. Didn't offer to help clear the street that HE also lived on. Didn't offer to lend me the chainsaw. Just did his thing and went back inside. I kept sawing and a little while later our lawn guy drove up. We hadn't called him - hell the phones were all down but he was just driving by his customers helping. He also had a chainsaw and made quick work of the tree, clearing the street in less than 10 minutes. He wouldn't take anything for his help, said that's just the way it should be. Here's to you Mr. A!

The people crossing the southern border aren't taking our jobs. They're doing the work that almost all Americans don't want to do. If you want to stop foreigners from taking American jobs then stop the f*cking H1B visa program that allows billionaires like Musk and Bezos to bring in well educated but poorly paid foreigners to work in high tech. These people fire older American workers and replace them with H1-B recipients. Those people are the ones taking decent paying jobs.

I'm all for people who immigrate to this country legally. My wife, for example.

Just to let anyone/everyone in, with no vetting process - That's a bad idea.

I think Joe set the Democrats back quite a bit, and it will take a while before they can recover.

 

[PNWest]

Yeah, and what religion tells you to kill someone because they made a personal decision about their body (abortion)?

The right wing comes off as 'godly' but in reality, all they care about is themselves.

Duh.... A bunch of fake Christians that use religion to justify their hate.

 

[write on]

Duh.... A bunch of fake Christians that use religion to justify their hate.

Where have we seen that before? /s

 

[Zam-Zam]

CNN's Harry Enten weighs in on this:

'Horrific numbers': Harry Enten on voters' approval levels of Democrats in Congress

Video: Harry Enten breaks down poll on voters’ views of Democrats in Congress | CNN Politics


There is good news, however:

CNN senior data reporter Harry Enten noted on Tuesday that the percentage of Americans who believe the country is “on the right track” is through the roof despite President Donald Trump’s negative net favorability rating.

On Tuesday, Enten reported that Americans who believe the country is on the right track is surging under Trump. Enten cited polls from Marist and NBC News, which showed that 45% and 44% think the country is on the right track, respectively. The reporter argued that historically speaking, this is a surge.

“It’s actually a very high percentage when you compare it to some historical numbers. What are we talking about? According to Marist, 45% say that we’re on the right track. That’s the second highest that Marist has measured since 2009. How about NBC News? 44%? That’s the highest since 2004,” Enten said.

If Trump were eligible to run for president again, the data reporter added, these numbers would be a positive argument for reelection.

Enten reported:

The bottom line is the percentage of Americans who say we’re on the right track is through the roof. And if you were to compare it to when presidents have historically been reelected — of course Trump is not constitutionally eligible to run for reelection, but I think it sort of puts it in perspective — 42% of the country says the country is on the right track when the incumbent party is reelected. And also keep in mind, back when [then-Vice President] Kamala Harris lost and the Democrats were turned out of power, only about 27 to 28% of the country said the country was on the right track.

Harry Enten: Voters Who Think US 'on Right Track' Surging

 

[write on]

CNN's Harry Enten weighs in on this:

'Horrific numbers': Harry Enten on voters' approval levels of Democrats in Congress

Video: Harry Enten breaks down poll on voters’ views of Democrats in Congress | CNN Politics


There is good news, however:

CNN senior data reporter Harry Enten noted on Tuesday that the percentage of Americans who believe the country is “on the right track” is through the roof despite President Donald Trump’s negative net favorability rating.

On Tuesday, Enten reported that Americans who believe the country is on the right track is surging under Trump. Enten cited polls from Marist and NBC News, which showed that 45% and 44% think the country is on the right track, respectively. The reporter argued that historically speaking, this is a surge.

“It’s actually a very high percentage when you compare it to some historical numbers. What are we talking about? According to Marist, 45% say that we’re on the right track. That’s the second highest that Marist has measured since 2009. How about NBC News? 44%? That’s the highest since 2004,” Enten said.

If Trump were eligible to run for president again, the data reporter added, these numbers would be a positive argument for reelection.

Enten reported:



Harry Enten: Voters Who Think US 'on Right Track' Surging

Ok, I'll use Godwin's Law.

Where was Hitler in 1933?

 

[Jen]

That is what Ezra Klein is forecasting:

I know many Democrats believe this is a byproduct of Trump’s years of playing a businessman on TV. That may be part of it. But Democrats allowed an affordability crisis to metastasize on their watch in ways they cannot blame perception or messaging for. If they are going to marginalize MAGA, they need more than a resistance; they need new answers that admit past failures.

Look at the places Democrats govern — liberal strongholds like New York, Illinois and California. In 2023, California saw a net loss of 268,000 residents; in Illinois, the net loss was 93,000; in New York, 179,000. Why are they leaving? In surveys, the dominant reason is simply this: The cost of living is too high. It’s too expensive to buy a house. It’s too expensive to get child care. You have to live too far from where you work. And so they’re going to places where all of that is cheaper — Texas, Florida, Arizona.

For Democrats, this is a political crisis. In the American system, to lose people is to lose power. If these trends hold, the 2030 census will shift the Electoral College sharply to the right. The states that Kamala Harris won in 2024 will lose perhaps as many as a dozen House seats and Electoral College votes. The states that Trump won would gain them. In that Electoral College, a Democrat could win every state Harris won in 2024 plus Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin and still lose.

But it is also a spiritual crisis: You cannot be the party of working families when the places you govern are places working families cannot afford to live. You are not the party of working families when the places you govern are places working families can no longer afford to live.

This is the policy failure haunting blue states. It has become too hard to build and too expensive to live in the places where Democrats govern. It is too hard to build homes. It is too hard to build clean energy. It is too hard to build mass transit. The problem isn’t technical: We know how to build apartment complexes and solar panel arrays and train lines. The problem is the rules and the laws and political cultures that govern construction in many blue states.


Opinion | There Is a Liberal Answer to Elon Musk - The New York Times


Seems pretty accurate, no?

The Democrat plan to turn us Socialist then outright Communist has failed.

I am thankful for that.

 

[write on]

The Democrat plan to turn us Socialist then outright Communist has failed.

I am thankful for that.

No one (other than Sanders) wants either. But Fascism sounds good, eh?

 

[Zam-Zam]

Ok, I'll use Godwin's Law.

Where was Hitler in 1933?

Germany, I believe.

The Democrats make you think of Hitler?

You're not the first...

 

[Zam-Zam]

The Democrat plan to turn us Socialist then outright Communist has failed.

I am thankful for that.

For now at least.

May it ever be so.

 

[BackAlive]

I'm all for people who immigrate to this country legally. My wife, for example.

Just to let anyone/everyone in, with no vetting process - That's a bad idea.

I think Joe set the Democrats back quite a bit, and it will take a while before they can recover.

View attachment 81870

MAGA in Landslides in 2026??...Sure

 

[write on]

Germany, I believe.

The Democrats make you think of Hitler?

You're not the first...

Nice dodge.

Where was he politically in that year?

 

[BackAlive]

Nice dodge.

Where was he in that year?

You gotta love all the trash talk.trump won by a Whopping 1.4% of the Vote.Expect cries of Voter fraud in 2026 when the results don't meet their liking