We have to get to the point where "base" does not mean "people who hate the Democratic Party and spend all day complaining about it online and won't vote if some esoteric condition is not met."

if you live around conservatives, a common bumper sticker reads “liberalism is a mental disorder.” you’ll see effigies of dem politicians, unhinged screeds about satan-worshipping dems written on lawn signs. this stuff gets ignored while any hint of condescension from liberals is treated as endemic

you'll notice 'your body my choice' was not immediately pinned on gop leadership by the Very Smart Number Pundits

This echo chamber nonsense is predicated on the notion that bigotry is a valid perspective. It isn’t. Grow up! Think better!

This is why scholars of authoritarianism & illiberalism have been urging folks not to give into defeatism. The guardrails of America's democracy & its rule of law are weaker than they were in 2016 - but that is precisely why it is so critical for civil society not to concede the field preemptively.