The Coming Struggle for the Soul of the Democratic Party

Within both parties, a new ambition — to make America normal again — is emerging.

AP/J. Scott Applewhite, pool
Senator Manchin at the Capitol on March 1, 2022. AP/J. Scott Applewhite, pool

Beneath the folds of each of our two political parties, a hidden party struggles to emerge. It’s not the woke Democratic Party of open borders and Saint Jussie Smollett, and it’s not the Make America Great Again GOP of the January 6 rioters and Matt Gaetz. It’s the Make America Normal Again party. MANA.

The MANA GOP is the party of Governor Youngkin and the traditional Republican voter. The experts told him that inflation is over, but it didn’t look that way at the checkout counter. They told him that crime rates are down, but then he read about unreported crimes on his Nextdoor app. He listened to everything the Democrats said about Trump, and replied that they were worse still.

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