Let's face it, Dem voters didn't show up.

[Sympthsical]

27. It's like people are managing democracy a la carte

As you noted, single issues can get a lot of support, but it seems like voters have signaled they'll vote for certain issues without purchasing the entire political meal.

And it might actually not bode well for us if voters realize they can do this. "How bad can Republicans be if I can just fix the parts of their social agenda I don't like while still keeping the populism?"

That's something we're going to have to give some thought about, because it's definitely interesting behavior in the current environment. We have become, to a not insignificant degree, a party preoccupied with social and cultural issues. If voters think they don't need us any longer to manage what they want in those areas, we might find ourselves in some trouble moving forward.