From the esteemed Radley Balko:

And h/t to alpha:

Not SCOTUS reform. Not getting rid of corruption. Not holding “elite” lawbreakers accountable. Not reducing existential social inequality. Not making corporations and the wealthy pay their fair share. Not healthcare. Not getting rid of the filibuster. Not reigning in ICE and the President’s illegal and personal militia. Not moving to more affordable clean, renewable energy. Not reducing the power of a unitary executive. Not reducing the deficit. Not getting rid of transferring taxpayer dollars in education from public schools to private/religous schools via vouchers.

None of the above.

Their lead is getting kids off of social media. Ok. I’ll admit it - I’m for this. It’s an admirable goal.

But you ’be got to be f*^king kidding me!

I have an idea. let’s scrap “Project 2029” before it even gets going. First of all, it sounds like a rehash of Project 2025. Poor branding. Second, if this is what they lead with, it sends a message to voters that Dems are still out of touch with people’s main concerns and the existential angst that has gripped the majority of Americans who are struggling to keep their heads above water in their daily lives. Third, wolver the consultants are behind this “launch” should be identified and figuratively flayed in the figurative town square.

Running in rural Texas is different from running in urban Michigan. Having out of touch national Dems anchoring down candidates in these disparate districts with some namby pamby about social media makes no sense.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

This isn’t rocket science people.

Tie Trump’s corruption and the complicity of every single Republican to whatever issues are most prominent in a specific district.

Ossoff’s take is different from Mamdani’s take is different from El-Sayed’s take. But their common focus is on delivering real results for real people while using corruption as the foil.

I’ll let pollster G. Eliot Morris have a word:

Individual Dem candidates need to outrun the brand. Showing independent thought, highlighting opponents’ rampant corruption and focusing on the real needs/concerns of district voters should outweigh some soft-peddle advocated by national consultants. Don’t diss other Dems - just run one’s own race.

It’s the corruption, stupid. Connected to recognition that most people are desperate for leaders to make their lives less of a struggle.

Simple example: Trump - and my opponent - are spending over $1 billion dollars on glorifying himself in Washington DC while you can’t afford healthcare (or gas or food or housing).

I’ll let Oliver Willis have the semi-last word:

Time to throw Project 2029 in the “bad ideas” garbage bin…