March 4, 2025. What a night.

I was reminded of a line from Rocky III, where one of the ringside announcers asked a rhetorical question after the "Clubber Lang" character pounded Rocky Balboa. He asked, "How can he come back after a beating like that?"

Except the beating the Democrats took that night was self-administered.

In happier days, when one party was in power the other was referred to as the "loyal opposition," the operative word being "loyal."

At this point I think the Left is looking at loyalty in the rearview mirror. But it's helpful to have alternative ways of getting to a desired end-state, assuming that both parties share similar desired end-states.

Now, even that's in doubt. As things stand, nothing the left champions makes America safer, stronger, more prosperous or more united. Can a political party make a 180° turn on their policy positions? Doubtful. But perhaps for their own sake they might consider drawing back from the precipice a little.  

The Democrat party has abandoned rationality. They're against a child battling brain cancer, they're against victims of illegal immigrants and they won't protect female athletes.

So where do they go from here?

I have a few ideas, although I believe they're too far gone to take any suggestions.

Stop the lecturing -- They've become elitists who scold the working class. They're more interested in virtue signaling and miniscule social issues that don't resonate with regular folks who are trying to put food on the table.

Embrace economic reality -- their credibility has been hammered by the high cost of living and stagnant wages. Voters don't want to hear any more excuses. They want clear, pragmatic programs that grant relief to the poor and the middle class, preferably by allowing more economic freedom.

Protect Americans -- Voters want the border secured, the innocent protected and criminals locked up. They're tired of having flash mobs rampage through the stores so that necessary items are locked behind Plexiglass. The border can be secured without succumbing to racism and xenophobia. Law enforcement can be supported and not demonized. Americans want safety and order, not anarchy and endless debates about systemic this-that-and-the-other-thing.

Ditch wokeness -- their fixation on identity politics and left-wing jargon has alienated moderates. The party's been taken over by far-left lunatics and the moderates are jumping ship.  They need to restore their focus on universal values such as equality of opportunity and fairness. Rather than dividing society up into increasingly smaller groups of victims and setting them against one another they might try uniting people under common themes such as liberty, prosperity and security.

Honesty over narratives -- as Dan Bongino (I'm going to miss him) frequently says, "They're telling you a story rather than the story."

Democrats have decimated their reputations through their dishonesty over issues like COVID, border security, Biden's mental state and the weaponization of the bureaucracy.

Americans are a forgiving people, for the most part. Those Democrats who went along with their party just to get along but still retain some semblance of integrity might want to ante up, admit their mistakes and start leveling with people instead of treating them like idiots. They may attract people back to their platform by demonstrating competence and authenticity rather than demanding conformity to some twisted ideology. It'd also be helpful for the voters to see those who've committed crimes being held accountable.

Get back to work -- Americans want to see our representatives solving problems rather than creating them. The Trump administration and DOGE are identifying plenty of things to work on. The Left might restore trust by helping to deliver on bread-and-butter issues instead of doubling down on failed policies. Nothing they’ve been proposing has worked. Anywhere. Ever.

Can they do it? At this point any move the Democrats make towards the center is a move to the right, and their far-left base will not tolerate that. So their challenge is to ignore the extreme wing of their party and appeal to the moderates. I have to believe that most people were revolted by the Democrats' antics the other night. Can the Left and the Right meet somewhere in the middle? Can we have an honest discussion on what our goals are?

When the leaders of a political party can't even muster a little applause for a kid who's fighting cancer or grieving moms because they hate who's standing at the podium, they send the message that politics are more important than basic humanity. Voters notice that. Even the CNN poll showed that 69% of viewers had a positive reaction to the President's address. Their message is coming across as "We're more about resisting Trump than relating to you."

It makes people question whose side they're really on.

Image: Screen shot from Sky News Australia video, via YouTube