[flamble]

I think I have the same feelings as you about the Democrats' spinelessness, but a disagreement about what a more robust approach entails.

> standing up for decency without needing to pass a law is at least as big a deal as a tan suit.

"Standing up for decency" is completely meaningless. The Republicans do not think in those terms, and neither do their voters. They want their agenda passed and they will use the means at their disposal to achieve that. That is exactly what I want Democrats to do. What I view as "spineless" is the Democrats' insistence on continuing to abide by norms that their opponents have long since abandoned in the hopes of a return to comity. It is not going to happen.

My view is that the only way to defeat the Republicans is to enact left-wing policies that are broadly popular, e.g. stimulus checks, medicare expansion, etc., and thus eat away at the foundation of immiseration, precarity and alienation that is the root cause of rising social tensions.

I don't think that the Democrats are, as a party, capable of doing that (or even desire to), which is why the outlook is so bleak.

[eyelidlessness]

I think we're more on the same page than you think, see my comment about what I think dems should do[1]

[1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26020497