It is no secret that the two major political parties in America are extraordinarily unpopular. Both Republicans and Democrats are viewed with contempt by large swaths of ordinary Americans. One is evil; the other is stupid, pick which is which.
In fact, it has become almost a parlor game in political circles to figure out, at any particular point in time and strictly in a negative context, which of America’s two floundering parties is less beleaguered, less hated and less distrusted than the other.
Republicans passing tax reform in the House – though of course not yet in the Senate – has for the moment probably rendered the GOP slightly less detestable than the Dems. The flagrant hypocrisy of Al Franken certainly pads the GOP advantage in the parlor game – just days after they had relinquished the lead with the no-win dilemma surrounding Roy Moore.
But perhaps the surest sign of current Democratic futility is their plan, or lack thereof, for recovering from years of constant defeat at the federal, state and local levels, and for regaining the White House.
A Failure to Learn
Democrats writ large have appeared to learn absolutely nothing from their staggering defeat a year ago. They have doubled down on all the things that cost them the presidential election. They come across as strictly obstructionist, with no ideas of their own other than kneecapping the president at every turn, blaming the Trump-Russia axis of evil for all their problems, and constantly spouting the same politically correct, leftist bromides thoroughly rejected in the last election, but which they continue to recycle from days gone by. 
Add to this the Republicans’ ineptitude, and two separate polls reveal congressional approval at nine percent. Nine percent!
But even more pathetic is their plan for retaking 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Looking to capture the presidency from the reviled Donald Trump in 2020, the leading contender for the Democrat nomination appears to be – wait for it – Joe Biden. Yes, seriously. Joe Biden.
Uncle Joe?
Forget even that the famously bumbling former vice president, who once declared that the GOP would put black people “back in chains,” will be 78 years old in 2020. Here is a career politician whose only claim to fame – other than getting every foreign policy issue wrong for decades – was being a mouthpiece for Barack Obama. And a joke. A laugh line. A politician who twice ran for president, bailing out in 1988 after getting nailed for plagiarism, and then barely surpassing one percent of the vote in the few races he entered before quitting the 2008 presidential primary.
And while leftists think of him fondly as “Uncle Joe,” his behavior around women – now a front and center issue – has often made him appear more like the creepy uncle young girls were forced to welcome every Thanksgiving who was just a little too anxious for a hug. Hell, even the establishment Time Magazine called out his creepiness. 
But Biden is apparently not cursed with self-awareness. He recently said in an interview with Oprah (of course), “I regret that I am not president…..honest to God, I thought that I was the best suited for the moment to be President (in 2016).”
It Gets Worse
Perhaps even more appalling for Democrats than the prospect of Biden as the frontrunner is that Hillary Clinton has refused to leave the stage. She has sunk to such depths of public self-pity, delusion, and bitterness that even her secular leftist compatriots must be praying for her to just…go away and not come back. But she refuses to relieve them of the stench of defeat and has not fully and finally ruled out another run of her own. And after another Hillary pity party on an obscure media outlet still willing to let her wail, President Trump seemed to relish the prospect of beating her a second time:
Crooked Hillary Clinton is the worst (and biggest) loser of all time. She just can’t stop, which is so good for the Republican Party. Hillary, get on with your life and give it another try in three years!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 18, 2017
Given that Biden and Hillary are viewed as essentially two sides of the same faded, discredited establishment coin, it is almost impossible to fathom that this national political party could not find someone, anyone, more appealing than Joe Biden.
Barack Obama appears mostly disinterested in leading the fight anymore, and his ship has already sailed. Bernie Sanders could run again, but the aging socialist will be 79 years old in 2020. Elizabeth Warren appears unwilling to step up. So backbenchers are already positioning themselves. Among them is Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), who was grandstanding about sexual misconduct on Friday by saying that President Bill Clinton should have resigned – after the Clintons had heavily supported her bid to succeed Hillary in the Senate. Some gratitude.
Sure, Republicans have troubles of their own, which will only get worse if they fail to close the deal on promised tax reform the way they failed to deliver healthcare reform. They are losing friends with their inability to seize a unique opportunity to effect serious reforms. But with enemies like this hapless Democrat party, they may not need many friends.
