Reject Hopeium, Embrace Reality
Trump’s continued existence, the insurrection, and the demise of Roe v. Wade are not magically saving Democrats
In the endless void of writer’s block, I have been scrolling through Twitter, Reddit, and TikTok. It isn’t the only thing that I have done for the past month — Saint Vincent Beer is currently a Featured Article Candidate, meat needs to be grilled, and the lawn won’t mow itself once a week — but it has chewed up a bunch of my time as I try to formulate words that sound good to me. I have been seeing an endless stream of political hobbyists high on their own supply of hopeium.
Hopeium or Hopium is the reliance on hope in the face of mounting evidence to the contrary past the point of delusion. The term originated in a 2010 ZeroHedge post but gained popularity during the 2020 presidential election. It warps your ability to perceive what is going on by substituting reality for what someone wants to see.
Left on left criticism isn’t sinking Democrats: reality is
The Neoliberal Project posted a relatively benign tweet criticizing the While House’s messaging around the deficit on Sunday. It would have passed without notice if Jeff Bezos did not quote tweet it adding on his thoughts about inflation. Suddenly all hell broke loose. The overly on Twitter amateur commentariat found issue with the project publically criticizing the administration. Apparently, all left-of-center groups need to be rubber stamp bodies for the party or risk upsetting the apple cart during the midterms.
The problem is that this is completely asinine. No amount of intra-left criticism is what is sinking Democrats; all indicators suggest that a Red Wave is coming. The President’s political party tends to not do well in the midterms. The United States has been experiencing the highest year-over-year increase in the Consumer Price Index since the 1890s. Real wages are shrinking. Gas prices sit at about $4.60 per gallon. Joe Biden’s approval rating sits around where Trump’s was four years ago. Republicans are ahead by 2.5 points on a generic ballot.
Big tent or social change
Another way that hopium rears its head is through the use of the “but January 6th”, “but Trump,” or “but theocracy” fallacy. These attempt to position the GOP as the party of anti-democratic theocrats and the democrats as the only thing holding them back. There is an element of truth to this, but it doesn’t matter.
Democrats had a choice on 9 November 2016, 7 January 2021, and 4 May 2022 to become a big tent coalition in opposition to the GOP. This party would span from Bernie to Romney, rebuilding the Roosevelt coalition of the 1930s. Instead, Democrats choose to continue to go to the left of the median American on social issues. Liz Cheney, Lisa Murkowski, and Susan Collins still have Rs next to their names. Democrats continue with their plan to try to force Manchin and Sinema to vote for a progressive wishlist instead of building a bill that they will vote for. Democrats need to live with that choice.
Reject Hopeium, Embrace Reality
Trump’s continued existence, the insurrection, and the demise of Roe v. Wade will not be deus ex machina events that will save the party from a reversion to the mean or the economic fundamentals. To deny that things look dire for Democrats is malpractice. Wanting your “side” to win does not will it into existence. Democratic political hobbyists refusing to see this are more delusional today than they were in 2016 when they thought HRC would waltz past Trump. Reject Hopeium, Embrace Reality.