You're starting from the assumption that Democrats = DSA and working from there. That tired trope didn't work in 2026. Doubt it works in 2028. How long did Republicans call Obama a communist? How'd that work out?
Nope. The overwhelming majority of the factors I'm considering pre-exist my knowledge of the existence of the DSA, which dates back all the way to sometime late this past summer.
On immigration, they can't bring themselves to change the laws, so when in power they choose to ignore aspects of enforcement. Out of power, they complain if enforcement is increased and about particular ways in which the laws are enforced, but they won't change the laws. I predict they're going to take the passive path again.
On crime, they can't bring themselves to enforce low-level disorder, so they elect DAs who are expected to (and do) choose to simply exercise prosecutorial discretion and ignore enforcement of selected crimes.
On education, their local government party branches have had essential control of what goes on in most big city school districts for decades. Year after year, tens of thousands of young people "graduate" illiterate and innumerate (performing well below grade level) into lives of poverty and crime and generally miserable circumstances. What kind of betrayal of young people is that, I wonder, and where does it rank when people enumerate the crimes of which they think conservatives are guilty? Note that in this case I'm not claiming these things never happen in conservative-controlled jurisdictions, but it happens a lot less and conservatives aren't running around on TV right now claiming they're going to "make things better for Americans". 50 or more years of that shit despite advertising to the contrary is a long time.
On sexuality, they take the bizarre position that biology - the fundamental reason for separating men's/women's and boys/girls sports - doesn't matter. They also try to claim the mantle "reality-based". Not a chance, except to the supremely gullible.
On fiscal policy, they are tax-and-spend. (Republicans are guilty of spend-and-not-tax, but their spending ambitions are a lot lower.)
On economics, they are fundamentally collectivists and technocrats.
On defence policy, they will cut defence spending if they think they can tolerate the political damage and spend they money elsewhere; they won't use the changes to reduce spending.
These positions alone are positions they've held - with the exception of the recent round of gender wars - for many years. The DSA and like-minded progressives offer more of the same things, turned up to 11 and with a yen to fundamentally change the constitution.
On that subject, since about the time of Woodrow Wilson the anchoring vision of American progressivism is for electoral politics to go away and be replaced by administration. Parties and elections are supposed to wither away (except whichever party carries the progressive banner, which will exist de facto if not in name). It necessarily means the elimination of any redundant legislative bodies, of an executive branch, and substantial curtailing of a judicial branch. (What constitutional issues are there to be litigated when the entirety of the remaining government is in full agreement with itself.) That doctrine is over a century old. Short of human intelligence and ambition evolving to approximately the state of cows grazing in pasture, I don't expect that to ever happen.
None of that depends on accusations that they are devotees of implementing Russian/Cuban/Chinese/Nicaraguan/Cambodian/etc-style communism. The progressive project in America is hostile in essential ways to the constitution, whereas the conservative project is, despite failures of process, essentially loyal.
I'm not going to predict what happens next. 2 years is a lifetime in politics. And who knows what happens. But I'm not sure why you think 2026 is 2008 and not like the 2006 midterm.
I don't. The 2026 midterm is similar in magnitude to the 2010 midterm.
They just want cheaper gas and cheaper healthcare and cheaper food (which doesn't give them explosive diarrhea).
Progressives want more expensive fuels to promote environmental ("green") policies.
The ACA has made health care in America more expensive.
Fortunately food is so easily and cheaply produced that neither party can make much of a difference. America's overwhelming problem is the quality of foods that are cheap, abundant, and easy to prepare.
I have pity for all the people who decided to rage quit conservative governance, but progressives will not solve their grievances so long as progressive doctrines are on the "20" side of what the "80" want.
