Right Now With Perry Bacon

The Democrats need to become a party centered on fighting government corruption, oligarchy and other issues that don’t cut along traditional ideological lines, says Adam Bonica, a political science professor at Stanford University and author of the “On Data and Democracy” newsletter. In the latest edition of Right Now, Bonica argues that many voters don’t think in the left-right terms that political junkies do. These Americans think basically politicians are corrupt and ineffective, leading them to keep ejecting whichever party briefly has control in Washington. Instead of Democrats mindlessly following polls and trying to demonstrate “moderation,” Bonica says they could appeal to the big bloc of people either not voting and swinging between the parties by taking stands such as limiting how much billionaires and corporations can spend in politics and banning members of Congress from trading stocks.

The Democrats need to become a party centered on fighting government corruption, oligarchy and other issues that don’t cut along traditional ideological lines, says Adam Bonica, a political science professor at Stanford University and author of the “On Data and Democracy” newsletter. In the latest edition of Right Now, Bonica argues that many voters don’t think in the left-right terms that political junkies do. These Americans think basically politicians are corrupt and ineffective, leading them to keep ejecting whichever party briefly has control in Washington. Instead of Democrats mindlessly following polls and trying to demonstrate “moderation,” Bonica says they could appeal to the big bloc of people either not voting and swinging between the parties by taking stands such as limiting how much billionaires and corporations can spend in politics and banning members of Congress from trading stocks.

Voters under age 30, Black voters, and Latinos were much more supportive of President Trump in 2024 than they were of past Republican presidential candidates. But exit polls conducted last week of the races in New Jersey and Virginia show that Republican candidates didn’t match Trump’s performance. The GOP lost overwhelmingly among all three voting blocs. Michael Podhorzer, former political director of the AFL-CIO and now a prominent writer on Substack, argues that the idea that Trump had built some kind of durable multiracial working-class coalition was always overstated. He says both the 2024 and 2025 elections can be attributed to backlash against the incumbent president. Podhorzer and Perry also discuss the election results in New York City, which showed that Zohran Mamdani’s base isn’t really working-class voters but self-identified liberals and those under 30. He won more than 70 percent of those two blocs, while running about evenly with Andrew Cuomo among voters without college degrees and those with less than $50,000 in family income.

Voters under age 30, Black voters, and Latinos were much more supportive of President Trump in 2024 than they were of past Republican presidential candidates. But exit polls conducted last week of the races in New Jersey and Virginia show that Republican candidates didn’t match Trump’s performance. The GOP lost overwhelmingly among all three voting blocs. Michael Podhorzer, former political director of the AFL-CIO and now a prominent writer on Substack, argues that the idea that Trump had built some kind of durable multiracial working-class coalition was always overstated. He says both the 2024 and 2025 elections can be attributed to backlash against the incumbent president. Podhorzer and Perry also discuss the election results in New York City, which showed that Zohran Mamdani’s base isn’t really working-class voters but self-identified liberals and those under 30. He won more than 70 percent of those two blocs, while running about evenly with Andrew Cuomo among voters without college degrees and those with less than $50,000 in family income.

The Democrats’ capitulation in the government shutdown seems to have been motivated by four factors, as TNR’s Monica Potts and Alex Shephard explain in the latest edition of Right Now. They were wary of Republicans changing the filibuster rules to end the shutdown. They didn’t enjoy watching the painful effects of the impasse, from flight cancellations to Americans losing their food stamp benefits. Democrats didn’t have to worry about dampening turnout and enthusiasm within the party base, because the elections in New Jersey, Virginia and around the country had already happened. Perhaps most importantly, there is an ideological divide between the party’s base, which wants a constant fight with President Trump, versus an old guard in the Senate that values comity and norms. This deal will only embolden party activists, who Shephard argues are now essentially a Democratic version of the Tea Party contingent that reshaped GOP politics in the early 2010s.

The Democrats’ capitulation in the government shutdown seems to have been motivated by four factors, as TNR’s Monica Potts and Alex Shephard explain in the latest edition of Right Now. They were wary of Republicans changing the filibuster rules to end the shutdown. They didn’t enjoy watching the painful effects of the impasse, from flight cancellations to Americans losing their food stamp benefits. Democrats didn’t have to worry about dampening turnout and enthusiasm within the party base, because the elections in New Jersey, Virginia and around the country had already happened. Perhaps most importantly, there is an ideological divide between the party’s base, which wants a constant fight with President Trump, versus an old guard in the Senate that values comity and norms. This deal will only embolden party activists, who Shephard argues are now essentially a Democratic version of the Tea Party contingent that reshaped GOP politics in the early 2010s.

Representative Ro Khanna, a prominent progressive and potential 2028 candidate, explicitly called for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to resign in the latest edition of Right Now. Khanna says that Schumer is ultimately responsible for Senate Democrats cutting a deal with Republicans that will likely end without enhanced subsidies for Obamacare being put back in place. He called the agreement a “moral surrender.” If it was never possible for Democrats to win those subsidies, they shouldn’t have been the basis for the shutdown strategy, he argued. The California congressman said it was particularly disheartening to see this deal less than a week after Democrats had resounding wins in elections across the country. He floated Senator Chris Van Hollen as a possible replacement for Schumer.

Representative Ro Khanna, a prominent progressive and potential 2028 candidate, explicitly called for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to resign in the latest edition of Right Now. Khanna says that Schumer is ultimately responsible for Senate Democrats cutting a deal with Republicans that will likely end without enhanced subsidies for Obamacare being put back in place. He called the agreement a “moral surrender.” If it was never possible for Democrats to win those subsidies, they shouldn’t have been the basis for the shutdown strategy, he argued. The California congressman said it was particularly disheartening to see this deal less than a week after Democrats had resounding wins in elections across the country. He floated Senator Chris Van Hollen as a possible replacement for Schumer.

Zohran Mamdani won the mayoral election despite an onslaught of commercials attacking him that were funded by New York’s ultrawealthy, including Democratic-leaning figures such as Michael Bloomberg. He also overcame very negative coverage from The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Post, three of the city’s biggest newspapers. In the latest edition of Right Now, Maurice Mitchell, national director of the Working Families Party, a group that backs progressive candidates across the country, explained how impressive it was for the assemblyman to have defeated the powerful coalition against him. Mitchell says it is particularly notable that Mandami won the majority of Asian, Black, and Latino voters in the election and did well across income levels, according to exit polls, debunking stereotypes that progressive candidates only appeal to upper-income white people.

Zohran Mamdani won the mayoral election despite an onslaught of commercials attacking him that were funded by New York’s ultrawealthy, including Democratic-leaning figures such as Michael Bloomberg. He also overcame very negative coverage from The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Post, three of the city’s biggest newspapers. In the latest edition of Right Now, Maurice Mitchell, national director of the Working Families Party, a group that backs progressive candidates across the country, explained how impressive it was for the assemblyman to have defeated the powerful coalition against him. Mitchell says it is particularly notable that Mandami won the majority of Asian, Black, and Latino voters in the election and did well across income levels, according to exit polls, debunking stereotypes that progressive candidates only appeal to upper-income white people.