In his newsletter Off Message, Brian Beutler argues that Democrats would be making a mistake by conceding the premise that conditions are bad under Biden, rather than bragging about low unemployment and falling crime while promising to help those still left behind. “Maybe turning ‘meet voters where they are’ into an iron rule of politics is a recipe for behaving sheepishly in all circumstances, and carrying the stink of a loser everywhere,” he writes.

Fascists are a silly bunch. You don’t look strong by ignoring reality, you look stupid and incompetent. Pretending to be strong didn’t help Hitler when the Russians were knocking at his door. It’s a shame we don’t have the Soviets to save us anymore.

One reason younger Americans’ pessimism matters, Vox’s Eric Levitz writes: There’s some evidence Trump tends to do better with voters who have low trust in institutions. That alone could help explain some of his recent gains with young and nonwhite voters, Levitz argues.

It’s not pessimisim, you clueless boob, it’s because everything keeps getting worse regardless of who is voted for. Because no political party is doing anything material to combat the challenges we face as a species. We are going through economic and ecological collapse, there is no hope for the future if this continues. Young people are reacting rationally to irrational circumstances.

Donald Trump has been working to get young voters by focusing on messaging about things like the economy — and by recruiting rappers and going to various sporting events, Semafor reported last year.

I… rappers? Is this a joke? Holy shit this is the most out of touch thing I’ve read. If these are our professionals, we are doomed. You want a reason for the pessimisim? Looking the mirror, Semafor.