As Trump was steaming to victory the first time around and shortly thereafter, I began to wonder why local Democrats had not embraced the activist movement which had exploded across the country. I came to learn that there were two reasons. (1) Establishment Democrats saw themselves as belonging to the same club as their Republican counterparts, those who run Bucks County and its municipalities. They did not want to jeopardize their seats in those back rooms by antagonizing the opposition. (2) Embracing outsider activism is a perfectly terrible campaign strategy. The campaign loses all control over its messaging.

In Bucks County, we are seeing the second dynamic play out. For the first time, municipal organizations have leaned into protests run by activists such as Indivisible. Not even Indivisible can control the fallout.

Bucks County Sheriff Fred Harran, who in this election year has begun pulling every available lever to boost his public profile, announced a partnership between his office and ICE under the 287 (g) task force model. Reaction among pro-immigrant groups has been swift, with one protest slated for Doylestown. A flyer advertising this protest linked the immigration issue to support for Palestinians, in blunt terms: "Fire Fred Harran, Free Palestine." Both Indivisible and local Democrats have condemned the Free Palestine movement. Meantime, Fred Harran is hyping his Jewish heritage in an interview with the Jewish Exponent linked on the Bucks County Sheriff's Office Facebook account.

None of this is good for Democratic candidates. Not the muddled messaging, which has already been used in 2024 to paint Democrats as out-of-touch radicals. And certainly not the hours spent protesting rather than raising awareness for Democratic candidates in ways that align with their positions on issues.

Activist organizations exist to advocate for disadvantaged groups. They see partnership with Democrats as a means to move the Democratic party platform in their direction, regardless of whether doing so helps Democratic candidates. On the other hand, the goal of county and municipal Democratic organizations is to get Democrats elected, full stop. I fear these two goals have less in common than most left-leaning people in Bucks County realize.

At the national level, Jon Stewart has neatly summed up the problem for Democrats: Not only are they are talking about fighting without actually fighting, they are terrible at talking about fighting.

Democrats have earned their low polling numbers with vague claims that they will fight back, and relentless requests for donations unaccompanied by a single policy idea to address the things which caused Trump 2.0 in the first place.

This year's election is important. Judges, school directors, and municipal leaders are on the ballot. Bucks County has seen the importance of voting Democrat in local elections, to uphold personal liberties and ensure competent governance. It's a mystery to me why local Democrats are more interested in holding signs than working directly on their candidates' campaigns.

Could Trump mess things up so badly that Democrats win in November? Absolutely. The US economy has yet to feel the full force of Trump's disastrous policies. And the world appears poised to fall further into war, with the potential for blowback the average American will feel. But absent a change in Democrats' approach, their victory would be about Trump losing popularity more than Democrats gaining it.