A version of the below article first appeared in David Corn’s newsletter, Our Land.
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version → appear → newsletter
The newsletter comes out twice a week (most of the time) and provides behind-the-scenes stories and articles about politics, media, and culture.
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newsletter → come → politics
Subscribing costs just $5 a month—but you can sign up for a free 30-day trial.
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you → cost → trial
That’s how one Democrat described her mood to me two days before Election Day.
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Democrat → ’ → Day
That seems to capture the general sentiment of progressives and Dems.
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That → seem → progressives
All indicators—poll numbers, early voting figures, and the like—were generally pointing in the same direction, suggesting a Democratic win in the House and the distinct possibility of a similar triumph in the Senate.
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indicators → point → Senate
But in the final days of the campaign, media outfits conducting surveys took the unusual step of pointing out that while they endeavor to calculate the right sampling for their polls—obviously, a fundamental step for accuracy—there was a chance they could be off the mark.
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they → conduct → mark
So as I write this, hope accompanied by heartburn seems the appropriate stance for Democrats.
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hope → write → Democrats
But if the D’s do prevail in one or both houses of Congress, it will be important for them to keep in mind—once the celebration concludes—that victory is not the end of the battle, but merely the beginning of the next one.
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victory → prevail → one
A success on either side will be a signal that President Donald Trump’s push to impose a corrupt, kleptocratic, authoritarian regime on the United States is being thwarted by the American public.
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push → impose → public
Like the recent elections in Serbia and Hungary, this would show that democratic backsliding can be slowed and perhaps reversed.
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backsliding → show → Serbia
It would remind us that Trump’s politics of fear, bigotry, hatred, deceit, cruelty, division, warmongering, and demagoguery is not always a winning strategy.
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politics → remind → fear
Reality—the brutality of his mass deportation crusade, the economic hardships caused by his erratic tariffs and plutocratic policies, and the dumb war in Iran and high gas prices—gets a vote.
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Reality → cause → vote
Yet, whatever the outcome of these midterm elections, Trump’s assault on America will not cease.
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assault → cease → America
Assuming the Democrats gain control of at least the House, they will have to wage and prepare the American public for the subsequent political war, which will be unlike any seen since the days of Abraham Lincoln.
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which → assume → Lincoln
Trump is not going to fade quietly into lame-duckness.
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Trump → go → duckness
As far as he’s concerned, this will still be his show, and his agenda of autocracy, corruption, and brutality will remain.
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agenda → concern → autocracy
Democrats might be able to pass legislation in the House, but doing so in the Senate, even if they win a majority, will be tough.
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they → pass → majority
And Trump retains veto power.
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Trump → retain → power
Democratic efforts to constrain Trump through the appropriations process will be challenged or ignored by the White House.
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efforts → constrain → House
It’s unlikely the D’s will be able to immediately address (or improve) the basic components of the affordability crisis: higher prices and the costs of education, healthcare, and housing.
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’s → ’ → education
But they will need to convince voters they are trying.
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they → need → voters
And if they’re in charge of either half of the legislative branch, they will be able to launch investigations of the Trump administration and its cronies.
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they → ’re → administration
Trump and his lieutenants will, no doubt, decline to cooperate and perhaps defy congressional subpoenas.
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Trump → decline → subpoenas
Is Trump’s Justice Department going to prosecute Trump officials for contempt of Congress?
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Department → go → Congress
Is Trump not going to pardon—perhaps preemptively—officials and associates investigated or hauled in by congressional committees?
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Trump → go → committees
A string of constitutional crises could ensue if Trump refuses to accept or bend to congressional actions and prerogatives.
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Trump → ensue → actions
Through this chaos, the Democrats will need a story—an overarching narrative that provides compelling context for what will likely be a never-ending stream of conflicts with Trump.
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what → need → Trump
This is precisely what they failed to do at the start of Trump’s second stint as president.
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they → fail → president
Longtime readers of this newsletter might recall that during those days, I frequently chastised Democrats for not clearly informing the public that Trump was mounting a war to destroy government in order to pave the way for a corrupt and authoritarian regime, in which he could rule as a tyrant and grab billions of dollars for himself and his chums.
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he → recall → himself
The Democrats did complain about Trump’s individual assaults on the US Agency for International Development, the civil service, the public health system, environmental and financial safeguards, and so on.
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Democrats → complain → Development
But as Trump presented such steps as part of his grand effort to scale back and remake government so a “golden age” would flourish, the Democrats repeatedly missed the chance to tell the citizenry that Trump, Elon Musk, the DOGE dudes, and their minions were on a mission to weaken the government to clear the path for their own plundering and pillaging.
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Trump → present → plundering
Yet the Democrats—who admittedly lacked a bully pulpit like the one Trump bellowed from—did not convey this.
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Trump → lack → this
They fielded no counternarrative to Trump’s bogus tale and false promises of prosperity.
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They → field → prosperity
This time around, they will need to focus on one of the most essential elements of politics: storytelling.
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they → need → politics
Trump will be shouting that he’s under attack by the nefarious Deep State, the evil media, and trans-loving communists who want to destroy America.
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who → shout → America
The Democrats will have to offer a counterplotline that keeps voters engaged and goes beyond hailing their policies as the best remedies for what ails the economy.
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what → have → economy
I’m sure I and others will have more to say about this, should the Democrats be so fortunate as to clash with Trump from a position of power.
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Democrats → ’m → power
But in a fight over narrative control, it’s never too early to start.
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it → ’ → control
The Trump era has been an exhausting stretch for much of America.
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era → exhaust → America
…and 12 more, not listed.
The Aporia
