The South Side of Chicago is a war zone. In 2023, the city recorded 617 homicides and more than 2,000 shootings, with neighborhoods like Englewood and Woodlawn hit the hardest. Just a few weeks ago, I stood over the body of a man who had been shot dead. Hundreds of young souls will be killed by year's end. So I was not surprised when President Donald Trump said, "Chicago's a mess. You have an incompetent mayor, grossly incompetent. And we'll straighten that one out probably next." After all, the government's first responsibility is to protect its citizens. When endless violence continues to plague the lives of people around me, action is needed.
In every one of the 30 states that track party registration, Democrats have lost ground to Republicans " roughly 4.5 million voters net between 2020 and 2024. You can blame maps, turnout or disinformation " but you also have to look inward. Here's the hard truth: our candidates are often good. Our brand is not. Protest has turned into a kind of performance art. The louder we got, the fewer people felt welcome. Men found podcasts that told them they still had value. Disaffected young people found movements that offered them belonging without requiring a language test. Meanwhile, we just kept offering more outrage " mainly at each other.
But it's just as likely that primary voters(Progressives) want a more fiery and progressive standard-bearer.
And if they do that, they will lose. They still haven't learned.