We hear two familiar forms of Monday-morning quarterbacking when Democrats lose.
One says Democrats must move left to reclaim voters they’ve abandoned.
The other says Democrats must move to the center because they’re too radical.
The second argument is the favorite of Republicans who subtly blame Democrats for Trump—as if anyone made them vote for him.
I have some sympathy for the first critique. Democrats often offer voters a narrow menu. Yes, they resist regressive taxation, defend labor more than Republicans, and are broadly inclusive—but that agenda would barely register as left-of-center in much of Western Europe. A more ambitious economic vision would excite many voters. Bernie Sanders would get my vote. Still, in a two-party system, campaigns often run just left of the Republican nominee and govern as progressively as possible once elected. That’s political reality.
The second argument—that Democrats must become more “moderate”—is far harder to defend.
In the age of Trump, most Democrats would settle for Mitt Romney or John McCain. Dignity. No policy by tweet. No governing by insult. No masked agents in city streets. No foreign interventions without explanation. No withdrawal from international institutions. No tariff tantrums.
When the goal is simply to return to normalcy—to governing like a civilized country—it becomes difficult to “pitch” an agenda beyond that.
Culture-war obsessions only deepen the absurdity. I’ve attended thousands of youth sporting events as a player, coach, official, fan, and reporter. I have never once seen a trans athlete issue arise organically. Never. The amount of time we’ve spent on bathrooms and edge cases is grotesque. Abortion, meanwhile, remains broadly supported by the public and a history of being protected constitutionally. And “woke”? There is nothing more sensitive—or more punitive—than an administration attacking media, comedians, and dissent itself.
Strategic debates are fair. Necessary, even. But they should be grounded in realism, not hindsight blame. Positioning a party in a two-party system is difficult. Let’s argue about it honestly—without pretending the past was obvious or that responsibility lies everywhere except with those who actually chose power.