A lot of the frustration here about Democrats is fair—especially the push to stop the spread of socialism and the DSA, which is a real and growing threat. But if the goal is actually winning bigger and locking in 2028 so that threat can keep getting beaten back, the easiest expansion path is sitting right in front of the party and doesn’t require rewriting the agenda.
The groups that already shifted hardest toward Trump in 2024—and that respond to the current message on jobs, borders, crime, and anti-woke reality—were working-class Hispanic men, younger black men, and young men in general. Those voters didn’t need a softer social platform or bigger government. They needed someone who talked straight about costs, safety, and opportunity.
One practical option worth considering: a 2028 nominee who can speak directly to the Hispanic piece of that coalition without changing a single major policy. Someone like Rubio brings the language, the immigrant-family story, and the Florida track record that makes the existing message land harder with exactly the voters who are already moving. It doesn’t water anything down. It just makes the same product easier to sell to people who are open to it.
That kind of choice also gives the party a clean chance to drop the “Party of White Men” image that still sticks in a lot of people’s heads. I’m an NPA voter in Florida and one of those people: I’ll vote for any Democrat over Vance this time…so to speak. The perception is real, and a nominee who visibly broadens the face of the ticket helps kill it without apologizing for the agenda. (The fact that someone here already said an NPA has “no skin in the game” only proves how restrictive the brand can feel to people who are otherwise open to the message.)
Same expansion also reduces the risk of fragmentation. If parts of the base start peeling off toward independent voices (Tucker Carlson?) or protest options, adding working-class Hispanic and young male voters gives the party more total numbers and less dependence on any single media lane. Keep the agenda tight, target the groups that already like it, pick a messenger who can reach the ones still on the fence, and use the opportunity to update the brand. That’s the lowest-effort way to grow instead of just holding what is already there—and the strongest way to keep socialism and the DSA from gaining more ground.
Sebastian Haffner, who came of age in Germany between the wars, wrote an outstanding memoir in which he addressed the question: How does an advanced and civilized nation turn into “a pack of hunting hounds directed against humans?”
This week seemed like a good time to update and re-post my review:
Apple got an estimated $2.2 billion tariff refund last quarter. Amazon got $600 million. Nike got $300 million. But American consumers who paid higher prices as President Donald Trump’s tariffs filtered through the economy are getting almost nothing back.
Internal squabbles erupted in the Senate Republican Conference on Wednesday as GOP senators battled each other and the White House over a variety of issues, prompting Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) to warn that his colleagues face a potential legislative “train wreck.”
I had fresh cashews in Brazil. Not the nut, but the fruit. It was very delicious, but the fruit is fragile and hard to store and ship, so you won’t find it in the produce section at your local store. Too bad, it was really tasty.
For BenDavid,
I still don’t need smelling salts vis Iran. And yes, I still think Trump is being played. He seemed to understand that a little more than a week ago, but has now reverted to form. A couple of people seen to agree:
Fascinating cashew story. It’s my favorite nut too.
In graduate school we took a course on Agriculture in the Ancient Near East. It was an experimental course that had some funding from a government grant.
A point that came up repeatedly was “how on earth did they figure that out?” Some agricultural product that is harmful and poisonous, but if they use some complicated process, then it becomes edible (or potable) and even delicious.
How many people became sick or died before ancient civilizations figured out these steps? And why did they keep trying again before they got it right?
So many good things in today’s WSJ I couldn’t get through them all on the train this morning.
First, we need to celebrate our few successes, and the Success Academy is one. They are opening a 2,400 student K-12 school in the Bronx.
It’s a culture of expectations. “Our middle-schoolers take four years of biology, chemistry and physics,” Ms. Moskowitz says. “When they get to high school, they take AP Calc, AP Bio, AP Chem and AP Physics. All of them, 100% of them.” Not everybody aces every Advanced Placement exam, though overwhelmingly they pass the state’s standardized tests, and according to Success Academy every graduate in recent years has been accepted to a four-year college.
Worth reading the whole thing. Some telling admissions from democrats on the crap that passes for public education in the cities, not that they’ll ever do anything about it.
The science minded here, of which there are many, probably took note of headlines recently announcing from on high that climate change has now been linked to specific extreme weather events. Like me you probably shook your head despondently and wondered, “Why now? Where did this come from?” Well, here you go.
Essentially a handful of people wrote it, nearly none with any real credentials – only one of whom is a member of the National Academy, yes, you read that right – figured out how to game the system to get the National Academy of Science stamp of approval on it, it never went out broadly before release, and yet “journalists” ran with, quotes like, “represents the position of the National Academies.” What’s that quip about a lie traveling half way around the world?
The fall of Constantinople in 1453 seems to come up here a lot. You might be interested in a new book out simply called 1453 by Anthony Kaldellis. Here’s a review:
And for the baseball minded – yes, the WSJ does have an eclectic sports section. Most here are old enough to still care about batting average. Luis Arraez may well win his fourth batting title this year which would put him in very elite company. So why is he with his fifth team in five years? And why did the Phillies, who just acquired him, bat him in the cleanup spot? Baseball has changed a lot since I was a kid.
A lot of the frustration here about Democrats is fair—especially the push to stop the spread of socialism and the DSA, which is a real and growing threat. But if the goal is actually winning bigger and locking in 2028 so that threat can keep getting beaten back, the easiest expansion path is sitting right in front of the party and doesn’t require rewriting the agenda.
The groups that already shifted hardest toward Trump in 2024—and that respond to the current message on jobs, borders, crime, and anti-woke reality—were working-class Hispanic men, younger black men, and young men in general. Those voters didn’t need a softer social platform or bigger government. They needed someone who talked straight about costs, safety, and opportunity.
One practical option worth considering: a 2028 nominee who can speak directly to the Hispanic piece of that coalition without changing a single major policy. Someone like Rubio brings the language, the immigrant-family story, and the Florida track record that makes the existing message land harder with exactly the voters who are already moving. It doesn’t water anything down. It just makes the same product easier to sell to people who are open to it.
That kind of choice also gives the party a clean chance to drop the “Party of White Men” image that still sticks in a lot of people’s heads. I’m an NPA voter in Florida and one of those people: I’ll vote for any Democrat over Vance this time…so to speak. The perception is real, and a nominee who visibly broadens the face of the ticket helps kill it without apologizing for the agenda. (The fact that someone here already said an NPA has “no skin in the game” only proves how restrictive the brand can feel to people who are otherwise open to the message.)
Same expansion also reduces the risk of fragmentation. If parts of the base start peeling off toward independent voices (Tucker Carlson?) or protest options, adding working-class Hispanic and young male voters gives the party more total numbers and less dependence on any single media lane. Keep the agenda tight, target the groups that already like it, pick a messenger who can reach the ones still on the fence, and use the opportunity to update the brand. That’s the lowest-effort way to grow instead of just holding what is already there—and the strongest way to keep socialism and the DSA from gaining more ground.
Sebastian Haffner, who came of age in Germany between the wars, wrote an outstanding memoir in which he addressed the question: How does an advanced and civilized nation turn into “a pack of hunting hounds directed against humans?”
This week seemed like a good time to update and re-post my review:
https://chicagoboyz.net/archives/77428.html
Corporate America got billions of dollars in tariff refunds. Where’s your cut?
GOP infighting erupts as Thune warns of legislative ‘train wreck’
Tucker Carlson unveils 10-point manifesto amid third-party speculation
I had fresh cashews in Brazil. Not the nut, but the fruit. It was very delicious, but the fruit is fragile and hard to store and ship, so you won’t find it in the produce section at your local store. Too bad, it was really tasty.
For BenDavid,
I still don’t need smelling salts vis Iran. And yes, I still think Trump is being played. He seemed to understand that a little more than a week ago, but has now reverted to form. A couple of people seen to agree:
https://townhall.com/columnists/kurtschlichter/2026/08/06/win-the-war-already-n2680691
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2026/08/the-art-of-the-deal-is-doomed-to-fail-in-iran/
Fascinating cashew story. It’s my favorite nut too.
In graduate school we took a course on Agriculture in the Ancient Near East. It was an experimental course that had some funding from a government grant.
A point that came up repeatedly was “how on earth did they figure that out?” Some agricultural product that is harmful and poisonous, but if they use some complicated process, then it becomes edible (or potable) and even delicious.
How many people became sick or died before ancient civilizations figured out these steps? And why did they keep trying again before they got it right?
So many good things in today’s WSJ I couldn’t get through them all on the train this morning.
First, we need to celebrate our few successes, and the Success Academy is one. They are opening a 2,400 student K-12 school in the Bronx.
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/success-builds-in-the-south-bronx-8b971734?st=CMDKuW
Worth reading the whole thing. Some telling admissions from democrats on the crap that passes for public education in the cities, not that they’ll ever do anything about it.
The science minded here, of which there are many, probably took note of headlines recently announcing from on high that climate change has now been linked to specific extreme weather events. Like me you probably shook your head despondently and wondered, “Why now? Where did this come from?” Well, here you go.
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/false-unanimity-at-the-national-academies-8b11e800?st=fGaT52
Essentially a handful of people wrote it, nearly none with any real credentials – only one of whom is a member of the National Academy, yes, you read that right – figured out how to game the system to get the National Academy of Science stamp of approval on it, it never went out broadly before release, and yet “journalists” ran with, quotes like, “represents the position of the National Academies.” What’s that quip about a lie traveling half way around the world?
The fall of Constantinople in 1453 seems to come up here a lot. You might be interested in a new book out simply called 1453 by Anthony Kaldellis. Here’s a review:
https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/books/1453-review-a-siege-reconsidered-21ed9d35?st=Hi3iMA
And for the baseball minded – yes, the WSJ does have an eclectic sports section. Most here are old enough to still care about batting average. Luis Arraez may well win his fourth batting title this year which would put him in very elite company. So why is he with his fifth team in five years? And why did the Phillies, who just acquired him, bat him in the cleanup spot? Baseball has changed a lot since I was a kid.
https://www.wsj.com/sports/baseball/luis-arraez-phillies-trade-deadline-09eaa31f?st=oYuXPW