Came across this on social media and it’s very well done. I have no idea who wrote it, unfortunately. And while I might quibble with the characterization of some of the progressive politics, it’s mostly on the money:
I don’t want to hear any more bullshit about “both parties are the same.” No, they absolutely are not.
I’m not here to say Democrats are perfect — far from it — but they are not the same. Last I checked, in my lifetime, no Democratic president has started a large-scale war in the Middle East like George H. W. Bush, George W. Bush, and Donald Trump all have. Sure, Democrats have ordered military strikes and other operations — but nothing on the scale of what Republicans have done when controlling the White House.
Name the last Republican who inherited a sinking economy or a recession from their Democratic predecessor. On the flip side, name the last Democrat who inherited a strong, growing economy from a Republican predecessor.
Clinton inherited a weak economy from George H. W. Bush.
Obama inherited the worst economic crash since the Great Depression from George W. Bush.
Biden inherited a pandemic that had been botched as horribly as a president could botch it from Trump.
Meanwhile, George W. Bush inherited a historically strong economy and a balanced budget from Clinton.
From Obama, Trump inherited a strong economy in the midst of a historic streak of private-sector job growth.
And from Biden, he inherited a growing (though still fragile) economy that, a year later, is worse by nearly every major economic metric than it was when he took office.In my lifetime, not once has a Democrat entered the White House without a massive mess to clean up from the Republican who occupied the office before them.
Was Obamacare perfect? No — and it was never meant to be. It was a stepping stone to be built upon and improved. But guess what, it’s a hell of a lot better than anything Republicans have ever proposed to provide more Americans with better and more affordable health care — because they’ve never introduced anything. Meanwhile, Democrats dating back to the 1990s have been trying to make health care better for all Americans, including conservatives, whether or not MAGA wants to believe that.
I dare any Republican voter to tell me any major policy or platform their party has backed in the past 20–30 years that has made Americans’ lives better. What policy proposals — other than “get a job and stop doing drugs” — have Republicans put forth to help end the homelessness crisis, fight drug addiction, or help the most vulnerable among us live better lives?
True, Biden was bad on the border and border security — but at least Democrats don’t vilify human beings as “animals” and “monsters” like Republicans do. We can have discussions about how best to secure our border and manage immigration without dehumanizing people — most of whom are just poor individuals trying to make a better life for themselves and their families.
On guns: Most Democrats want sensible reforms aimed at reducing gun violence. It’s not an effort to remove someone’s “right to bear arms” — it’s about addressing the epidemic of mass shootings and overall gun violence. Yet, to Republicans, guns have nothing to do with gun violence. Nothing at all. It’s just “mental health,” of which they’ve also done absolutely nothing to combat.
Name a Democrat who came into office and immediately started a crypto business auctioning private dinners with undisclosed guest lists to their largest investors. Well, Trump did that. His family’s net worth has grown by over $2 billion since he came into office. By comparison, if you combined the total net worth of the Obamas and Bidens, it’s about 2–3% of just the net gains Trump has seen since returning to the White House.Even if you want to go to the “extremes” of Bernie Sanders or AOC on the left, what do they really want? Combat climate change because it’s real, whether or not Republicans want to believe it. Tax the richest among us so they pay their fair share, reducing the burden on the poor and middle class — which includes tens of millions of conservative voters. They want universal health care, which every other major nation on Earth already has. That’s largely their platform. Some of their ideas I don’t fully agree with, but the intentions are rooted in real issues we need to solve; it’s just a matter of pragmatic implementation on how to tackle these challenges. On the other hand, Republicans openly deny science, have no health care plan, and keep giving the richest more tax breaks — adding trillions to the national debt that the poor and middle class will ultimately pay.
Even on religious rights: Democrats want everyone in this country to have as much — or as little — religion in their lives as they choose. Want to go to church seven days a week? Go for it. Don’t want to believe in anything? That’s fine too. Republicans, on the other hand, want to shove their religion down everyone’s throat — not just any religion — their religion. They want it in government, in schools, and to allow businesses to discriminate based on religious beliefs — as long as it’s against anyone but Christians. They want laws that force religious views into private businesses. They want to force their religion into everyone’s lives. One party wants people to live as they choose privately. The other wants to force its warped theocratic views on the entire country. That is not the same.
Last I checked, Hillary Clinton conceded the 2016 election, and Kamala Harris admitted she lost her 2024 campaign. Yet in 2026, Trump still refuses to admit he lost the 2020 election. More and more Republicans claim “it was rigged” anytime they lose. One party concedes when they lose — the other doesn’t. Also, name one thing Republicans have pushed for to make voting easier for Americans. They’ve passed strict new voting laws, closed polling locations on Election Day, and shortened early voting windows.
Democrats, meanwhile, want automatic voter registration, longer early voting periods, and better access to polling locations to reduce wait times. One party makes it harder to vote — the other tries to make it easier for all voters — Democrats and Republicans alike. The list goes on and on. I could write a whole book on this.
At the end of the day, the idea that “both parties are the same” is complete bullshit. Democrats aren’t perfect — but Republicans operate on a whole other level of corruption, unethical behavior, anti-science rhetoric, religious fanaticism, and hypocrisy that doesn’t exist among the vast majority of Democrats.
Democrats have never elected a batshit crazy, imbecilic huckster who fomented a coup and treats all racial and ethnic minorities like second class cities and women like prey. That should count for something too.
I agree that the Democrats are intensely frustrating when they miss opportunities to issue the coup the grace when it’s offered and too often fail to understand how to speak to the average citizen in ways they can understand. There’s plenty to criticize. But the idea that they are no better than Republicans is completely absurd. The GOP isn’t even a political party anymore. It is an unreconstructed Christo-fascist cult. There is literally no choice between them if you are even slightly living in reality.
Harry Enten had this yesterday that has the wing nuts all experiencing thrills up the leg.
Ok. Maybe this will turn out to be a banner year for the GOP because Democrats don’t like their own party. At this point nothing would surprise me. But Democrats have been winning everything in the off year and special elections and all the individual candidates are doing better than their GOP rivals in the polls. Independents are breaking heavily for the Democrats across the board.
Democrats are not cultists who love their party no matter what and they’re frustrated that they were unable to hang on to power in 2024. But those same polls show that Democratic voters are highly motivated to vote (much more than Republicans) and are outraged by the GOP and Trump.
Enten needs to be reminded of something called negative partisanship, when partisans are more motivated by their antipathy to the other party than by loyalty to their own. Right now that’s outweighing everything.
And yes, voters do need to be reminded that the Democrats actually aren’t all bad and tend to deliver far more than the Republicans ever could. They will always do a much better job for average people even if they are imperfect and fall short of our expectations.
