A Total Collapse of Democratic Morale

Do debates matter? The wisdom handed down to us from America’s political science departments maintains that the answer is not really. All that accumulated wisdom went right out the window in the wake of Tuesday night’s U.S. Senate debate in Pennsylvania. The shock of John Fetterman’s performance seems to have accelerated what was already a building sense of resignation among Democratic political professionals. If morale in the party’s trenches was low before that debate, it has all but collapsed since.

“I know there’s some—I’ll be a little bit graphic here—Democratic bedwetting out there,” said Democratic Pennsylvania Senator and Fetterman surrogate, Bob Casey, in the wake of the debate. That, he said, “is often typical of Democratic commentators and officials.” To borrow the senator’s metaphor, Casey has inadvertently exposed the extent to which he shares his party’s incontinence problem. Trying to buck up his fellow Democrats by disparaging Democratic campaign professionals is indicative of the party’s internal turmoil.