Democrats and Republicans don’t just disagree about policy; they disagree about what kind of political system we have

But we’re seeing the consequences of this every day right now. Republicans are governing in a way generally considered highly politically dangerous; the Trump administration is damaging the functioning of many government services people rely on (like Social Security!) and raising tariffs and laying off enough federal employees to trigger or worsen a recession. People notice stuff like that. Republicans are doing it anyway, under the belief that worrying about electability is a sucker’s game.

Meanwhile, Democrats’ responses to this have been all over the place. Some (particularly those in safe districts) are trying to raise the alarm about what the White House is doing. Others are mostly keeping quiet, or just focusing on a few minor issues, so they don’t look too extreme in next year’s midterm elections. Democrats are convinced of the importance of electability.

I would argue that these two perspectives are toxic in combination. You can have two parties worried about electability and the democratic system can still operate. You can have two intransigent parties and the democratic system can still operate, more or less. But one intransigent party and one party focused on electability means the country will continue to drift in one direction, away from public opinion, away from representative democracy.