Historically, Democrats have played by old media rules: secure endorsements, focus on earned media, and treat attention as something to be cautiously managed rather than aggressively pursued.
An excellent and timely post, and I couldn't agree more. But also, given that the electorate is generally "mad" at Democrats for ignoring disorder in cities and for moving too far Left on social issues, there also needs to be a toughing up on crime/disorder and a recognition that identity politics is a dead end politically. You put forward a Combative Centrism that also enforces laws & humanely "cleans up the streets", and does so loudly and in opposition to the far left, and you'll win elections and stop the Trumpian nightmare, finally.
Sorry but the Democrats didn't lose because of bad messaging. They lost because of bad policy.
They changed border policy which resulted in an immigration crisis. Democrat policy on immigration was wrong on the merits. Then they tried to fix it right before the election but nobody believed them,
And on inflation the last stimulus of $2 trillion that Biden pushed was largely unneeded (as some Democrat economists warned). Then once inflation started, was that policy changed? Did they recall unspent stimulus? Or tighten the budget. Again no.
The Trans isssue almost certainly had an effect as well.
The Democrats were WRONG on policy. Then the lost and we got friggen Trump again.
Now Trump is wrong on policy regarding Tariffs. So the stock market is down, and odds of a recession are increasing. That is what will cost Republicans in 2026.
Being right on policy is like 90% of the issue. That's why an abundance agenda matters, because it's the right policy.
Oh and traditional media all leans very much left. Democrats problem isn't they can't get their message out.
And where does explicitly distancing from the left edge of the party fit in? I don't think Democrats need to say things that are more moderate, I think they need to indicate they can say no to their left wing.
An excellent and timely post, and I couldn't agree more. But also, given that the electorate is generally "mad" at Democrats for ignoring disorder in cities and for moving too far Left on social issues, there also needs to be a toughing up on crime/disorder and a recognition that identity politics is a dead end politically. You put forward a Combative Centrism that also enforces laws & humanely "cleans up the streets", and does so loudly and in opposition to the far left, and you'll win elections and stop the Trumpian nightmare, finally.
Sorry but the Democrats didn't lose because of bad messaging. They lost because of bad policy.
They changed border policy which resulted in an immigration crisis. Democrat policy on immigration was wrong on the merits. Then they tried to fix it right before the election but nobody believed them,
And on inflation the last stimulus of $2 trillion that Biden pushed was largely unneeded (as some Democrat economists warned). Then once inflation started, was that policy changed? Did they recall unspent stimulus? Or tighten the budget. Again no.
The Trans isssue almost certainly had an effect as well.
The Democrats were WRONG on policy. Then the lost and we got friggen Trump again.
Now Trump is wrong on policy regarding Tariffs. So the stock market is down, and odds of a recession are increasing. That is what will cost Republicans in 2026.
Being right on policy is like 90% of the issue. That's why an abundance agenda matters, because it's the right policy.
Oh and traditional media all leans very much left. Democrats problem isn't they can't get their message out.
Do both :) It's what moderating is. The combativeness is the message.
And where does explicitly distancing from the left edge of the party fit in? I don't think Democrats need to say things that are more moderate, I think they need to indicate they can say no to their left wing.
“Combative Centrism” as you described it was a thing with Rahm Emmanuel, Andrew Cuomo, Gavin Newsom, Ed Koch, etc
They are all terrible and left their respective governments competent and capable than ever.
Cuomo was not good at governing to begin with. Governing well is a large part of this.
None of them are governed well, and none of them stand for anything
Even the celebrated Ed Koch ran a very bad administration that couldn’t keep an ice ring open, hence that famous Trump ice skate story
Thats are what people think when you say “Combative Centrism”