Jerry Shenk: Psst! … Dems, ever thought about rehab?

Since 2008, Democrats have been tripping on political hallucinogens – Hopium, Changium, Hillarium, Bernium, Bidenium, and, most recently, Kamalium – that have only given them massive MAGA hangovers.

One might reasonably have expected that, by now, their anger and disappointment over the 2024 presidential election would have dissipated, and Democrats would be busy addressing the serious business of reestablishing ties to lost voters, rebuilding their party and laying the groundwork for future elections.

But, no …

Democrats cannot/will not accept responsibility for their poor judgment, lousy policies and comprehensive failures.

Instead, Democrats have doubled down on 1) hating President Donald Trump and 2) the broadly unpopular policies that contributed to their 2024 electoral humiliation: abortion absolutism, open borders, sanctuary cities, crime tolerance, gun control, suppressing free speech, and profligate spending. Those blunders, plus Democrats’ preoccupation with identity politics – notably race, sexual orientation, gender and gender variations – have effectively emasculated their party.

Since 2016, Democrats have lost governorships, state legislatures, the U.S. Congress and, along with the presidency, the Supreme Court and much of the federal court system. Impotent, Democrats have been reduced to No Kings-style middle school drama club theatrics and shopping for Obama/Biden-appointed activist judges to, in most cases, merely delay President Trump’s agenda.

Plus, Democrats are facing revelations that Obama-era justice and intelligence establishment appointees cooperated with Hillary Clinton’s campaign to slander Donald Trump with bogus charges of Russia collusion, then lied to Congress. There have been/will be indictments, so barring plea deals, expect trials, convictions and, if justice is served, incarcerations.

Having learned nothing, Democrats’ cultural and political isolation from most Americans has metastasized.

In a July column, I reported:

“Democrats have lost 16 percent of their registered voters since 2000 – millions of people.

“A recent Quinnipiac poll revealed that American voters’ approval of congressional Democrats has hit an all-time low of 21 percent

“There is emerging sentiment for a third party among disaffected Democrats. Newsweek recently released a story entitled, ‘Almost Half of Democrats Say a Third Party Is Necessary — Poll’

“Newsweek reported, ‘The Democratic Party has struggled with unpopularity and internal dissatisfaction since the sweeping [2024] defeat, facing pronounced ideological and generational divides, compounded by widespread voter frustration with congressional leaders and the party’s overall direction.’

“Furthermore, Politico ran an expose that characterized Democrats’ ‘leadership’ as ‘Weak,’ ‘whiny’ and ‘invisible,’ and a recent academic mental health study revealed that liberal Democrats, generally, admit to being bundles of neuroses.

“One prominent party strategist has said that the Democratic Party is ‘facing a crisis of leadership, message, and direction following significant losses in the 2024 election cycle.’ ‘The party lacks ‘a central figure or unifying vision.’”

In fact, there are no prominent, nationally known, young or even middle-aged moderate Democrats with the spine to challenge their radical militant base.

Their party’s problems are existential. If Democrats ignore economic populism, campaign on identity politics and fail to rebuild cross-racial, cross-class coalitions, they’ll win only in bright-blue strongholds. They’ll lose elsewhere for decades if they prioritize pandering to their radical base over attempting to win back working, non-college-educated voters.

If Democrats genuinely want to learn why they lose elections, they must drop analgesic rationalizations designed to relieve their depression and deny their fecklessness. The party must face and address its internal fault lines, of which antipathy to enforcing immigration law and crime prevention are prime examples.

What “elite” Democrats seem unable to grasp is that their side has spent nearly two decades insulting normal, everyday Americans who hold more traditional views and values, plus they’ve made no effort to persuade even those who might be persuadable.

When the left’s “argument,” translated, is “We’re far more intelligent, tolerant and inclusive than you bigoted, racist, sexist, fascist homophobes, so shut up!” rejecting Democrats is an easy decision for millions of Americans, including minorities, who are none of those things, but who have legitimate concerns about issues that, after four dismal years of Biden/Harris, Democrats can no longer persuasively address – if they ever could.

Democrats have been searching for “penumbras” in the U.S. Constitution for decades; nonetheless, after Donald Trump’s first term as president and less than one year into his second, the document remains the durable law of the land.

Clearly, America has not, nor, under Trump, will it become a monarchy or a fascist state, Democrats’ venom and hysteria notwithstanding.

So, relax …

Contact columnist Jerry Shenk at jshenk2010@gmail.com