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It’s being described by the media as an “autopsy,” an examination by Democrats as to why they lost the last presidential election and a congressional majority. According to The New York Times, the autopsy will not include Joe Biden’s decision to seek a second term, or Kamala Harris’ poor performance in seeking the presidency when Biden dropped out.

Biden and Harris were only the faces of the obstacles Democrats face. Their real problems go much deeper.

Let’s turn t o a definition of autopsy: "a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death.”

By choosing such a word, the media and their fellow Democrats appear to believe the party – at least this party as currently constituted – is dead. Since the secular left doesn’t believe in a resurrection, what are they to do to win sufficient credibility to re-take the presidency and a congressional majority?

To paraphrase an old Elvis Presley song in a different context, Democrats are “Caught in a trap. They can’t walk out.” The party of higher taxes, never-ending entitlements, open borders, misspending, big government, regulations, biological males in women’s sports, transgenderism, gender-affirming surgery, same-sex marriage, abortion, opposing school choice, and a host of other secular-progressive policies will only repeat their recent defeats should they continue running on and defending those policies in coming elections.

Their only hope is to ditch the entire social agenda and get back to where the party used to be on the economy, jobs and a rigorous foreign policy that keeps our enemies under control. See JFK.

That’s unlikely to happen, because the future of the party appears to have been seized by radicals like Zohran Mamdani, New York City’s Democrat candidate for mayor, and Minneapolis Democrat Mayor Jacob Frey who is seeking re-election. A Wall Street Journal editorial describes Frey as “Mamdani II” and reports he was “snubbed at last weekend’s Democratic convention, whose delegates instead endorsed Omar Fateh, a 35-year-old socialist state senator.” That’s just another step in the left direction, something like re-nominating Kamala Harris for president and expecting a different result.

Summarizing Fateh’s platform, the Journal editorial says: “Fateh is proposing rent control and more public housing, including with funding from ‘a dedicated levy’. (code for higher taxes) “He says Minneapolis shouldn’t be a ‘playground for developers.’ His stance on the homeless is to promise ‘a compassionate approach to encampments,’ including saying he’ll work to ‘ensure that residents have access to life-saving infrastructure like hand-washing stations, portable bathrooms, running water, safe needle disposal programs, and storage for personal belongings.’” Oh, and then Fateh is trotting out the tired Democrat line that the wealthy are not paying their “fair share” in taxes. There may not be enough room in Florida for all the people who want to join New Yorkers leaving for climes that practice what used to be called common sense.

It doesn’t appear Democrats have learned anything from voters. The only way they can hope to make a comeback – if they choose not to drop their social agenda – is to try to cover up past and current positions that have turned off red state voters. Given all the video, audio and print that has recorded those positions and radical statements, a stealth approach is unlikely to work.

After an autopsy, the body is usually buried. Some Republicans are pondering whether to create a third party. That won’t be necessary if Democrats continue to promote dead ideas.

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Readers may email Cal Thomas at tcaeditors@tribpub.com. Look for Cal Thomas’ latest book “A Watchman in the Night: What I've Seen Over 50 Years Reporting on America" (HumanixBooks).

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