The media now is shifting to their preferred "only Democrats have agency" mode. Since that is covered, let's talk about some other stuff.
Eugene Volokh is a prime example of a sane-sounding guy who will push come to shove and lean the expected way. He votes Libertarian (the Purity Pony Party is a coalition this election) but "likes" some poorly argued Bret Stephens op-ed (I had a long comment in reply as JoeFromthe Bronx).
He follows up with another reference to the Democrats supposedly acting like French people by loudly saying things only they understand. I again responded since it's crap. Not only do Trump voters repeatedly support Democratic policies but Democrats repeatedly make appeals to all voters.
The truth is shown by what amounts to split-ticket voting. Democrats have won statewide races in North Carolina, Kansas, and the supposed "Blue Wall" states that they could win on the top of the ticket this time.
People in Trump states voted for abortion rights and other liberal policies. Florida voters supported abortion rights (if not quite the supermajority necessary). They supported expanding voting rights a few years ago. Then, the legislature overrode them.
Chris Geidner's piece about trans rights has some good analysis of the election. I would note that it is likely too soon to completely judge what happened.
But, "Democrats are wrong" takes when it is as much about mid-term concerns about Biden, the poisonous appeal of Trump, economic concerns that there were no magic answers for, and so on is bullshit.
We have to accept that a chunk of the population has very problematic views, even if some conservative op-ed columnists don't want to hear it. Trump is a horror show. Democrats can't do Trump-lite without selling their soul. Marginal voters going the other way again after another four years without Trump is quite likely.
There are a lot of people to blame. The media, courts, and Republican Party all in their own fashion helped Trump win. The media soft-soaped him. The comparison after Biden had a bad debate and a slew of bad press kept on coming is quite telling.
Other than a slim (and very appreciated) old-guard Republican dissent (and nearly all were not in power), the Republican Party was again in the pocket of Trump. Since Trump won, this will not be deemed problematic by the media and others. They won so selling your soul is fine. It's not f-ing fine.
I just had a court entry so won't repeat myself but the Supreme Court helped too. I'm sorry. The idea is just to blame Merrick Garland, right?
My argument continues to be even to the degree Garland is part of the problem, he is not some superhero. He had a lot of help. And, he worked in an environment much unlike the Watergate Era.
It was self-perpetuating. People who are mad the Democrats didn't do more have a case. But, it isn't just one person. Blaming one person is part of the problem. President Biden was in "just doing my job like the world wasn't on fire" mode in part because that is what the nation as a whole elected him to do. Chicken/egg. Do you want someone else? The type of "all-in" person who did not win for a reason.
We can assign some blame to the Democrats. Others will do that a lot. Again, so much of it will be badly assigned. Senator Sanders said the Democrats sold out workers. The President who walked on a picket line? The number of union people who endorsed Harris underlines the truth of the matter.
Also, late in the game, people will say Biden should have stepped down early. The counterfactual of doing that -- a rather ahistorical approach -- makes one wonder what magic unicorn could have beat Trump. Not just make the race closer.
Democrats did not just run a left-friendly race. They supported a conservative border bill. Multiple policies, including things like money for home health aides under Medicare, had bipartisan reach.
Clearly, a prime message -- Trump is simply unfit and dangerous -- did not get through.
Trump is constitutionally unfit under the Fourteenth Amendment. His presidency will also inherently obstruct justice by preventing his own trials.
I am so horrified that the voting public doesn't care. It is something of a messaging problem akin to non-racists running in the segregationist South.
But, what was the alternative there? Treat him as not unfit and dangerous? How would that help you win?
People can debate what Democrats have to do. The media thrives on chatting about that. All the bad stuff about Republicans will be ignored since they won.
I am going to stick to my values while you all do it and not ignore that bad things often happen because bad forces unfortunately have more power.
We can apportion blame, and it can help for next time, but that bottom line still can be true. Let's keep our perspective about things while self-flagellating ourselves.
ETA: BTW, WTF with those polls? It was a "toss-up," not one-sided Trump's way.