In the Senate, they could force filibusters on everything, and impose maximal procedural roadblocks on everything. They did this successfully for a Duckworth-sponsored anti-trans bill, which could not muster 60 votes to break the filibuster.
In the House, or rather out of the house, they could get their media circus in 10,000% better shape than it is in right now, and consistently deliver a powerful, viral, troll-y, and savvy message about Trump, 8 times a day, across many different media environments.
This has veered fully into politics, but... In addition to that bare minimum obstruction they should be doing but aren't, they could also be working on the policy and people that they see winning in 2028. Where is the Democrat's own "Project 2029" document? The Heritage Foundation has been publishing their detailed, written plans since at least Reagan. Where is the Democrat's version of Trump that can win back rural populists? Why isn't he on TV every day hyping up their base like Trump hypes up his base?
I do agree that that is the biggest issue in both DNC and RNC though. There's been a clear divide between what DNC wants to run and what the actual democrats want out of the party. Polls suggest from the latter that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) is one of the biggest role models of a proper opponent in 2028, but it's been clear the DNC has been fighting against that for almost a decade now, for a variety of reasons.
RNC has a similar issue, once Trump is gone. There's already cracks forming in various different interests of republicans, but they all loosely rally around Trump. If/when Trump kicks the bucket, I don't see who can hold that cult of personality. Vance has very low charisma, and Mike Johnson seems too establishment (for voters that very much voted against establishment). I don't really see a protégé that is carrying whatever that MAGA mindset people want out of the movement.
> There's been a clear divide between what DNC wants to run and what the actual democrats want out of the party
There's a pretty easy way to reconcile this - run a fair primary election. Rigging it against Sanders in 2016, and not running one at all in 2024, both expectedly led to disaster. You're never gonna win if you don't even have the full support of your own party.
I feel like this is a correction made if not in bad faith then to muddy the waters. Some states held primary elections, others canceled them, and the incumbent didn't participate in any meaningful way. So yes, many states held 2024 dem primary elections, but not all the states, and the party did not treat it as a legitimate primary.
I tend to believe that the MAGA movement will stop and end when Trump is out of power. I think people will return to being okay with boring politics and not attention grabbing personalities once he exits the picture. On both sides. That's also why I don't think AOC has a chance, she will have trouble appealing to moderates and conservatives.
No, this isn't politics. It's basic patriotism. I share or have shared a good portion of the criticisms that Trump is using to rile people up. Just because he is talking about these issues does not mean that he is doing anything meaningful about them. It's the same old pattern of politicians pretending to care about people's concerns, to just steal, loot, and enable more corporate control for sponsors. The differences with Trump are his degree of shamelessness and that his sponsors seem much less aligned with overall American interests.
My understanding, from some interviews earlier that I can't point at right now, was that the plan is: 1. Stay quiet for a while to avoid being the boy who cried wolf. Let Trump's actions speak for themselves. 2. Prepare behind the scenes. 3. Start campaigning closer to next election.
No clue who they'll run with. Americans have been pretty clear that women are still second-class citizens and should not attempt to reach too high, but hopefully it'll at least be someone a few decades younger.
Notice that Trump explicitly ran on disclaiming Project 2025, even though once elected Project 2025 has been a solid 50% or more of the organizing principles for his administration. So it's a bit misleading to suggest that some Democratic equivalent ("Project 2029", say) would necessarily be part of the electoral platform and outreach. Of course, it would be nice if it was.
In the House, or rather out of the house, they could get their media circus in 10,000% better shape than it is in right now, and consistently deliver a powerful, viral, troll-y, and savvy message about Trump, 8 times a day, across many different media environments.