The issue on the table: the midterm elections are on the horizon, and President Trump sports a popularity rating that could scientifically be described as embarrassingly low; the Democrats are poised to win big. But the question of how big may depend on the effectiveness of each party to control the lunatic fringe seemingly on the rise within their ranks. Here, we’ll examine what both Republicans and Democrats can say about specific instances that prove this phenomenon very well.
Ricky: This summer, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez dismissed COVID-era extreme positions championed by herself and fellow Democrats by saying “Woke 1.0 was crazy.” Apparently, patrons of a lesbian bar in Greenfield, Massachusetts didn’t get the message. Last month, a story in The Boston Globe went viral for publishing a story about Last Ditch Bar, a lesbian bar that still had a mask mandate in the year of our lord 2026. And not just any mask either; no, this bar required that its patrons wear a K-95 mask “or better.” That was until in August, when, in an effort to boost business, the bar altered their mask policy for one night. They said, “It is with love we inform our immunocompromised disabled divas we will be opening Saturday nights as mask optional.” This prompted many Last Ditch regulars to take to social media with accusations of racism, ableism, and even eugenics, and one “disabled diva” said they hoped the establishment would be firebombed. Perhaps the outrage was best expressed by one patron who wrote, “Just say you’re being complicit in a mass disabling event and get it over with.” This mass hysteria only grew after the bar tried to take back the revocation of the mandate and posted an apology on Instagram without visually descriptive text. Oh, the horror. This prompted further outrage from Last Ditch’s patrons and others, and even a fiery statement from the Western Massachusetts Communist Party. This makes it crystal clear: Woke 1.0 never ended AOC, it is raging brighter and stronger than ever. This is the insanity that makes up the Democratic party base.
Dicky: You say our party contains crazies, what about Bo French? A Republican running for railroad commissioner in Texas, whose real name is Richard but had to go by Bo because Dick would be too on the nose. He recently posted a picture of Southeast Asian students in the stands at a Texas football game this year with the caption: “I heard UT graduation this year looked like this. I didn’t believe it. The problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined.” French’s racism doesn’t stop there. At the Conservative Political Action Conference earlier this year, he called for the deportation of 100 million Americans (including citizens), and last year he published a survey asking whether Jews or Muslims represented a bigger threat to America. Even Republican strategist Karl Rove, not exactly known as a hero of the left or a bastion of reason, denounced French and the recent resurgence of racism within the Grand Old Party. He said, “The GOP has a growing number of Bo Frenches—and not only in Texas. They are ‘just asking questions’ Jew-haters, misogynists who worship hypermasculinity, conspiracy nuts seeking clicks for profit, and religious bigots who won’t differentiate between Muslim terrorists and Muslim American patriots. These people are diminishing the Republican Party, not building it.” If Karl Rove has become the voice of reason within your party, it is a sad day for this country.
Ricky: Major party figures, both in Texas and around the country, have condemned French, saying his rhetoric has no place in our party.
Dicky: It doesn’t seem like condemning French does all that much. After his antisemitic and Islamophobic survey question last year, French was called upon to resign his post as Tarrant County GOP chair by Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick. Since then, French won the Republican primary for railroad commissioner and even earned Patrick’s endorsement. It seems that “sticking it to the libs” has become more important than even condemning outright racism. God forbid the sanctity of the Texas Railroad Commission should be threatened by a Democratic victor. No. Republicans, you can’t control your own crazies either.
Conclusion:
The midterms are always a referendum on the sitting president, and because of Donald Trump’s astoundingly unpopular beginning to his second term, Democrats are going to win big this November. However—in theory and under the Constitution—the 2028 presidential contest won’t feature Donald Trump. Democrats and Republicans will be jockeying to control the White House in a post-Trump era. That election will almost assuredly be decided on policy proposals and stump speeches, but equally as important to the voters will be the candidates’ ability to confront the lunatic fringe within their own party. For Republicans, that means coming down unequivocally against hatred towards Asians, Muslims, Jews, and Latinos, and not kowtowing to the far right element within their party. And for Democrats, that also means combating their newfound antisemitic flank and calling out crazy in the moment, and not in retrospect. To paraphrase noted intellectual scholar George H. Bush: Is our party learning that stupid is stupid, no matter what side it comes from; likewise, the side that more successfully keeps its lunatic fringe in check will win the 2028 presidential election.
