The Republican Party has one mission: make rich people richer and make slaves of everyone else. That’s not hyperbole — it’s baked into their DNA, rooted in the former slave-owning states that form the backbone of their power. Today, the chains aren’t iron, they’re economic: wage slavery, crushing debt, gutted unions, and endless culture wars to distract the masses while the wealthy walk off with everything.
It works. It’s ugly, it’s shallow, but it’s effective.
And what do Democrats offer in response? Nothing. No mission. No vision. Just reheated leftovers about protecting Social Security and healthcare — things they aren’t even doing a good job of defending. They have no forward project, no bold plan, just a bowl of cold, soggy noodles where there used to be tasty hot soup. The vague memory is still there in their minds as to what they think they are but their actions tell a different story.
Twenty Wasted Years
Do the math: eight years of Obama, four years of Trump, four years of Biden trapped in Trump’s undertow, and four more years of Trump. That’s 20 lost years.
Obama was a nice guy, but a terrible leader. His presidency hollowed out the Democratic Party at every level: over 1,000 state legislature seats lost, governorships wiped out, no bench, no state infrastructure, no future. People loved him as a person and hated what he did — or failed to do. Under his “leadership,” Democrats bled power everywhere while he focused on giving motivational talks and espousing brilliant ideas like meatless Mondays that for sure were popular with the agricultural community.
And when the party had a chance to rebuild with genuine popular energy — Bernie Sanders in 2016 — they put their thumb on the scale for Hillary Clinton. They chose institutional control over grassroots momentum. They picked “her turn” over a vision that could have united working people. Her famous basket of deplorables energized MAGA.
This all handed us Trump — a grifter who has used the presidency to enrich himself and his friends while leaving the country in chaos.
And Biden? He spent four years trapped in dementia and Trump’s shadow, defined entirely by his predecessor. His presidency was a holding pattern, not a reset. In the end, he pardoned his own son while lecturing the country about restoring integrity. Count it as part of the Trump era — because that’s all it was.
If Obama had done his job leading the party, there would never have been space for Trump’s wreckage. Obama set the table, and Trump feasted on the nation.
No Vision, No Future
At least Republicans have Project 2025. It’s regressive, cruel, and authoritarian — but it’s a plan. Democrats? Nothing. Just stale talking points and endless battles over symbolic issues while the country burns.
There’s no blueprint, no strategy, no reason for people to believe in them. Just drift. Just decline.
What a Real Party Would Fight For
We need “the New Deal part II” and a different perspective on governance. I’ve written about this extensively in my Cranky Old Guy Substack and will continue to but it’s one opinion.
A few examples: How Did We Stop Following the Golden Rule? , A New Deal for the 21st Century , You Have the Numbers But They Make the Game .
Governance by super majority and being more respectful of diversity of viewpoints are two key points.
Here’s how it works: For national policy, you only pass laws that have massive, supermajority support. You don’t use a slim 51% majority to force a policy on the other 49% of the country that hates it. For divisive policy — all the ideas that are popular in some places but unpopular in others — you let them happen at the state or local level. Let California be California, and let Texas be Texas.
This is federalism. It’s an off-ramp from the endless red-state-versus-blue-state civil war. Instead of fighting to the death for total control of the federal government, you de-escalate by returning things to a level in the hierarchy which has a super majority for it.
Nationally, focus only on the handful of truly universal goals that can unite the country. Locally, let state parties experiment with the bold, specific solutions their own populations want. Build a broad, durable national consensus on the few things we can all agree on, while allowing radical diversity of approaches on everything else. That’s how you hold a massive, divided country together. Try to convince people instead of trying to force what you think is right on them.
The most important principle is the golden rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. You can solve almost anything if you really do that.
The Next Time
This version of the Democratic Party is finished. It cannot survive because it stands for nothing. Sooner or later, Americans will demand something new — a party that has a real vision for the future instead of just playing defense.
And that means the old guard needs to step aside. All of them. Obama most certainly. The progressive wing too — even Bernie Sanders had his moment 12 years ago, and his ideas are stale and hackneyed now. The Democrats’ only new visionary idea has been anti-Semitism, blaming everything in the Middle East on the Jews. The next Democratic Party cannot be built by the people who broke this one.
The next time will come. The only question is whether Democrats will be ready to lead it — or will they squander the opportunity by being unprepared and without a fresh new vision.