I think your point on the filibuster is correct and I wish that they had pushed them to blow it up so we could move on from it.
But this to me feels like the best case scenario for the Democrats. This shutdown wasn't actually about healthcare and they, under no circumstances, should have won on healthcare. It would have been a bad outcome for Democrats to win real concessions on healthcare; to nail the midterms this year, they need the premiums to spike. Federal workers being out of jobs, airport delays, etc: those are annoying to people but weren't really gonna move the negotiations forward. Now you get to say things like "look, they weren't paying SNAP benefits and people were going to go hungry" which is consistent with shutting down the government over healthcare.
Now they have a promised vote in December (that they will absolutely lose) and if they pass it, it'll go back down to the House where it'll lose. This feels like a best case scenario really given that they were gonna get nothing.
Re: Matt's #7, I think it is a moral victory nonetheless. If you believe in democracy, you should want everyone to vote and for their prefences to be filtered through into government policy. If the Democrats insist on pushing for policies the American people don't want, they should lose. The solution isn't to find vote supression tactics that will facilitate those changes anyway, but to shift to policies voters want.
I think my big takeaway from this election is that Ezra Klein was 100% right about the Democrats needing to widen the tent. The country is incredibly diverse, and our local politics in each state should honor and reflect that. Politics and candidates have become so nationalized that Zohran winning seems to be striking fear in the hearts of Tennesseans (that's not a joke, I have family members in Nashville who are hearing that discourse day in and day out). But the truth is, Abigail Spanberger and Zohran Mamdani are not the same person nor do they practice the exact same "strain" of left-wing ideology. What I do love about them is that they both represent what their specific constituents wanted to see. Overall, I've learned that we need to practice a kind of politics that is comfortable with disagreement and willing to work with relevant stakeholders on the issues we care about—even if we go back to fighting again once the next issue comes around. I am tired of being a party of losing and exclusivity. Yesterday proved that if we diversify and honor the genuine differences we have with Americans locally and nationally, we will be winners.
With Mamdani's win, let's not forget that his main opponent was the former governor who resigned in disgrace. It's still an impressive win, but he did have a relatively easy opponent.
This election sent a message to Trump and Republicans. I have voted for a Democrat since George McGovern in 1972. I want MAGA to lose, to lose bigly. I voted for Sherrill not for any other reason than to send a message. Mr President, your policies suck.
It's good to know that Trump's approval rating is declining little by little, but the littleness remains disgusting. I read that he's "underwater" a bit more than before and then find that he still has roughly four out of ten Americans behind him. Apparently, people who have been saying they're not sure are peeling away to the negative side while Trump cultists continue to believe that anything he does is OK.
Well, we've been reading for years that many Americans' world knowledge -- of everything from elementary geography to the principles enshrined in the US Constitution -- is abysmal. How are Trump's 40% to know that he's doing wrong before they start to feel personally pinched (and then only after a period of accepting it as the pain that must be endured on the way to MAGA heaven)?
So after all the harm Donald's rolling tantrum has done in just ten months, even to people who voted for him, his approval rating is just marginally worse.
I wrote postcrds for the judges and canvassed for Spanberger and Elizabeth Guzman in. :) When you are disenfanchised as DC rescents are, you do what you can. :(
Spanberger outperformed Harris by two points more than Sherill. That's not nothing, but I would absolutely not characterize that as "much better" like Matt does. That could be down to better campaigning. It could be down to the DOGE effect pissing off federal workers.
That's not to throw shade on Spanberger. She ran an excellent campaign that appealed to most Virginians. I was enthusiastic about voting for her, but instead of drawing contrasts with the three big ticket races, I think we should focus on their commonalities. Spanberger, Sherill, and Mamdani all stuck to cost of living. That was smart and helped them rode an anti-Trump wave.
I think it is not coincidental that cost of living as an issue that is agnostic to where you fall on the center-left to farther-left continuum. Centering the party around it naturally creates tent expanding opportunities.
Bring on the socialism or was she lying? We shall find out.
And if freezing utility costs until you bring additional energy supply online is not socialism, then why tie up your knickers into knots about rent freezes until new housing supply is also brought to market?
Honestly, this makes me think less of him and think he was just kind of just a gadfly not that actually interested in the actual work of politics and is running off like a baby the moment its getting slightly tough and this is even though I'm a leftie, I though the primary challenge was dumb (though part of being a representative is keeping your base happy because they still give you a majority of your votes).
At least a moderate like Jim Oberstar or Ciro Rodrigeuz voted for the ACA then lost their election went out on their shield getting something done.
He whined about the Democrats and while the extra seat was nice, that's about all he was - an extra seat.
This is my thing with the frontline members. How much of their bitching about the party establishment is kayfabe? Like if the leftists on Blue sky embraced Golden and went, "Wow, Jared. We have disagreements with you, but your WAR is so impressive, that we have to get in line," would that help him at all with the Trump voters that he's trying to win over?
Joe Manchin famously shot the Cap-and-trade bill. He needed something to shoot! What does the party "making room" for these candidates look like? Not criticizing them, letting them take the lead on messaging, or something else. If frontline members want to stand out. They should try standing out!
Why? Does he think he will no longer get past the primary electorate in his own district and feels he is too ideologically trapped to calibrate between the primary and general?
I feel like some national observers on the progressive side of the spectrum underrate how red Golden's district is because it's in Maine. If the district were slightly bluer but in Iowa, they'd be less inclined to see a more conservative Democratic rep. as expendable.
If his district is so red, then why is he resigning? Can't he put together a cohort of centrists and independents to save him in his own primary? He is after all the sitting incumbent, not some unknown name-id rando.
Unless he declares tomorrow that he is running for Senate (or has some serious family issue) it would be a lazy act at a minimum to resign his post. Let's wait and see.
Maine is small enough that an incumbent should be able to even win a write in campaign like Murkowski in Alaska.
Neither party should "internalize the turnout flip". It could disappear when Trump exits the public stage. It is better to have a strong strategy and adapt as needed, instead of trying to manipulate the rules or field of play, because when circumstances change it is harder, and takes longer, to change the rules than it does to try a new strategy.
There is no short cut to completely rebuilding the party in rural America. Once Trump leaves the white collar cohort of voters may exit the party and Dems will be in much worse shape than now. There is no conceivable mechanism right now that would bring rural blue collar voters back to Dems under Schumer's Zombie theory of politics.
I think your point on the filibuster is correct and I wish that they had pushed them to blow it up so we could move on from it.
But this to me feels like the best case scenario for the Democrats. This shutdown wasn't actually about healthcare and they, under no circumstances, should have won on healthcare. It would have been a bad outcome for Democrats to win real concessions on healthcare; to nail the midterms this year, they need the premiums to spike. Federal workers being out of jobs, airport delays, etc: those are annoying to people but weren't really gonna move the negotiations forward. Now you get to say things like "look, they weren't paying SNAP benefits and people were going to go hungry" which is consistent with shutting down the government over healthcare.
Now they have a promised vote in December (that they will absolutely lose) and if they pass it, it'll go back down to the House where it'll lose. This feels like a best case scenario really given that they were gonna get nothing.
Re: Matt's #7, I think it is a moral victory nonetheless. If you believe in democracy, you should want everyone to vote and for their prefences to be filtered through into government policy. If the Democrats insist on pushing for policies the American people don't want, they should lose. The solution isn't to find vote supression tactics that will facilitate those changes anyway, but to shift to policies voters want.
I think my big takeaway from this election is that Ezra Klein was 100% right about the Democrats needing to widen the tent. The country is incredibly diverse, and our local politics in each state should honor and reflect that. Politics and candidates have become so nationalized that Zohran winning seems to be striking fear in the hearts of Tennesseans (that's not a joke, I have family members in Nashville who are hearing that discourse day in and day out). But the truth is, Abigail Spanberger and Zohran Mamdani are not the same person nor do they practice the exact same "strain" of left-wing ideology. What I do love about them is that they both represent what their specific constituents wanted to see. Overall, I've learned that we need to practice a kind of politics that is comfortable with disagreement and willing to work with relevant stakeholders on the issues we care about—even if we go back to fighting again once the next issue comes around. I am tired of being a party of losing and exclusivity. Yesterday proved that if we diversify and honor the genuine differences we have with Americans locally and nationally, we will be winners.
With Mamdani's win, let's not forget that his main opponent was the former governor who resigned in disgrace. It's still an impressive win, but he did have a relatively easy opponent.
This election sent a message to Trump and Republicans. I have voted for a Democrat since George McGovern in 1972. I want MAGA to lose, to lose bigly. I voted for Sherrill not for any other reason than to send a message. Mr President, your policies suck.
Are we sure voter ID helps Democrats and hurts Republicans? I'm not convinced it has any electoral impact at all
"the Democratic nominees for two statewide seats on a Georgia utility regulation board absolutely crushed their margins in a redder state."
Congrats Hank Green https://youtu.be/UgvE_gPi7Kc?si=SH5NhtxE0a0mXkSc
It's good to know that Trump's approval rating is declining little by little, but the littleness remains disgusting. I read that he's "underwater" a bit more than before and then find that he still has roughly four out of ten Americans behind him. Apparently, people who have been saying they're not sure are peeling away to the negative side while Trump cultists continue to believe that anything he does is OK.
Well, we've been reading for years that many Americans' world knowledge -- of everything from elementary geography to the principles enshrined in the US Constitution -- is abysmal. How are Trump's 40% to know that he's doing wrong before they start to feel personally pinched (and then only after a period of accepting it as the pain that must be endured on the way to MAGA heaven)?
So after all the harm Donald's rolling tantrum has done in just ten months, even to people who voted for him, his approval rating is just marginally worse.
A lot of people were thrown off food stamps on Nov 1. I wonder how that reflects in approval rates.
I wrote postcrds for the judges and canvassed for Spanberger and Elizabeth Guzman in. :) When you are disenfanchised as DC rescents are, you do what you can. :(
Spanberger outperformed Harris by two points more than Sherill. That's not nothing, but I would absolutely not characterize that as "much better" like Matt does. That could be down to better campaigning. It could be down to the DOGE effect pissing off federal workers.
That's not to throw shade on Spanberger. She ran an excellent campaign that appealed to most Virginians. I was enthusiastic about voting for her, but instead of drawing contrasts with the three big ticket races, I think we should focus on their commonalities. Spanberger, Sherill, and Mamdani all stuck to cost of living. That was smart and helped them rode an anti-Trump wave.
I think it is not coincidental that cost of living as an issue that is agnostic to where you fall on the center-left to farther-left continuum. Centering the party around it naturally creates tent expanding opportunities.
Apparently Mikie Sherill ran on freezing utility rate hikes in NJ by declaring a day 1 emergency.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNCKtf5rBLY
Bring on the socialism or was she lying? We shall find out.
And if freezing utility costs until you bring additional energy supply online is not socialism, then why tie up your knickers into knots about rent freezes until new housing supply is also brought to market?
In other news, Matt's favorite moderate Dem is retiring rather abruptly: https://www.politico.com/news/2025/11/05/jared-golden-retire-2026-election-00638182
Honestly, this makes me think less of him and think he was just kind of just a gadfly not that actually interested in the actual work of politics and is running off like a baby the moment its getting slightly tough and this is even though I'm a leftie, I though the primary challenge was dumb (though part of being a representative is keeping your base happy because they still give you a majority of your votes).
At least a moderate like Jim Oberstar or Ciro Rodrigeuz voted for the ACA then lost their election went out on their shield getting something done.
He whined about the Democrats and while the extra seat was nice, that's about all he was - an extra seat.
This is my thing with the frontline members. How much of their bitching about the party establishment is kayfabe? Like if the leftists on Blue sky embraced Golden and went, "Wow, Jared. We have disagreements with you, but your WAR is so impressive, that we have to get in line," would that help him at all with the Trump voters that he's trying to win over?
Joe Manchin famously shot the Cap-and-trade bill. He needed something to shoot! What does the party "making room" for these candidates look like? Not criticizing them, letting them take the lead on messaging, or something else. If frontline members want to stand out. They should try standing out!
"its getting slightly tough"
It's been more than slightly tough for him since he first ran in 2018.
Compare that to the likes of AOC and Bernie who haven't had to do real political or campaign work since first getting elected.
https://x.com/CharlesFLehman/status/1986170151855628729
Well, shit. 😡
I live in Maine. We're pretty stunned.
Why? Does he think he will no longer get past the primary electorate in his own district and feels he is too ideologically trapped to calibrate between the primary and general?
I feel like some national observers on the progressive side of the spectrum underrate how red Golden's district is because it's in Maine. If the district were slightly bluer but in Iowa, they'd be less inclined to see a more conservative Democratic rep. as expendable.
If his district is so red, then why is he resigning? Can't he put together a cohort of centrists and independents to save him in his own primary? He is after all the sitting incumbent, not some unknown name-id rando.
You'd have to ask him. My comment isn't about his decision per se, but about how more progressive Dems view him.
Unless he declares tomorrow that he is running for Senate (or has some serious family issue) it would be a lazy act at a minimum to resign his post. Let's wait and see.
Maine is small enough that an incumbent should be able to even win a write in campaign like Murkowski in Alaska.
Someone knows how last night is going to play out going forward. Slow Boring favorite Jared Golden just dropped out of his 2026 Congressional race.
He should challenge Planter and Mills for the Senate rather than retiring to join a hedge fund or something.
Take on Schumer and the left, be a hero, don't wimp out.
TIL that Abigail Spanberger is originally from New Jersey and Mikie Sherrill is originally from Virginia.
Also, Lincoln's assassin ran from a theater to a warehouse and Kennedy's assassin ran from a warehouse to a theater.
And Robert F Lincoln, Jr, is actually the guy who invented vaccines!
Neither party should "internalize the turnout flip". It could disappear when Trump exits the public stage. It is better to have a strong strategy and adapt as needed, instead of trying to manipulate the rules or field of play, because when circumstances change it is harder, and takes longer, to change the rules than it does to try a new strategy.
There is no short cut to completely rebuilding the party in rural America. Once Trump leaves the white collar cohort of voters may exit the party and Dems will be in much worse shape than now. There is no conceivable mechanism right now that would bring rural blue collar voters back to Dems under Schumer's Zombie theory of politics.