Kamala Harris is still trying to find the guy who did this

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The news, in brief …

• Bolton compares Trump’s DOJ to Stalinist police after classified docs indictment

  The former Trump adviser vowed to "expose Trump's abuse" following his indictment in a classified docs case. Read more.

• “They’ll call you a terrorist and ruin your life”: Dems sound alarm over Trump’s IRS weaponization

  Reports detail the president's plan to turn the agency on left-wing opponents. Read more.

• “I feel bad for her”: Brewers fan fired for threatening to “call ICE” on Dodgers fan during NLCS

  The recipient of the racist taunt said her firing was excessive. Read more.

• Trump swipes anti-terrorism funds from Democratic states

  Democratic-led states accuse the administration of shifting funds to GOP allies to punish its political opponents. Read more.

• Trump’s immigration agents detained over 170 US citizens

  A ProPublica investigation found that federal agents have held scores of U.S. citizens, some for more than 24 hours. Read more.

Make me smarter …

Religious liberty? Trump is obstructing freedom of worship

The president's anti-immigration agenda is driving fear into America’s houses of worship. Read more.

Yeah, that’s one idea …

There’s a way of talking about complex problems in America that has become endemic among Democratic Party politicians.

As day-to-day life in the United States puts up ever-more-unpopular poll numbers, the people most able to take action start to sound like city residents in a disaster movie, watching the glow of a brush fire on the horizon get uncomfortably close. “This can’t keep growing,” they state. “Someone should do something.”

You’ve no doubt seen this frustrating tic from Democrats on the campaign trail and in endless fundraising emails. “The Republicans are coming for abortion access. Donald Trump is a unique threat to democracy. Americans can no longer afford groceries.” But any actual urgency seems to disappear, beyond the initial rush to get the marketing blast out. The solutions from the people who are supposedly best equipped to prevent the worst outcome always fall somewhere between “vote” and “give us money.” Imagine Paul Revere going home to bed after his midnight ride, leaving a QR code for his Venmo behind.

Almost nothing was done to codify abortion protections into law. Even less was done to stop the president who tried to interrupt the peaceful transfer of power via an emboldened mob and an even bolder set of useful legal idiots. Democrats did nothing while in power to bring about the end of an incredibly unpopular, US-backed war in Gaza. The thumping they took on Election Day should have forced some soul-searching, a reckoning with the way their “hey, what ya gonna do?” shrug turned off voters. Former Vice President Kamala Harris’ recent interview with MSNBC makes clear that no such reflection has taken place.

On the campaign trail, Harris refused to distance herself from Biden’s stance on Israel. Asked this week whether Israel’s actions in Gaza have constituted a genocide, Harris punted again, using the familiar generalizations of her party.

“It is a term of law that a court will decide,” she said. “We should all step back and ask this question and be honest about it.”

During a rapidly changing campaign with precious little time to sell herself to the American public, this bobbing and weaving was inadvisable. Now, after Donald Trump has slashed through the Gaza problem that Harris and Joe Biden characterized as a Gordian knot, it’s inexcusable.

Democrats should count themselves lucky that our semi-regular government shutdown only requires them to do nothing, but that won’t last forever. Presidential hopefuls for 2028, which would seem to include Harris, will have to be seen as doing something at some point, if only to give the public something to vote for.

What do you think? Will Democrats figure out a way to sell themselves before the midterms? How about before 2028? Will there even be presidential elections in 2028? Sound off in the comments.

Before you go …

Portland’s protest frogs are dead serious about absurdity

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