No of course not. Things are what they are.

The Democrats’ long-term planning skills are not in question here, but they must recognize that they cannot enact those long-term plans without access to the levers of power- and that short term concessions must be made to that end.

As for voters: we all wish they thought more and weren’t constantly led around by the nose, but both facts and feelings are part of their individual calculus for support. Obama was carried in on feelings of hope which vibed with the zeitgeist. Trump came in on a presentation of a strong figure (that we know to be false) that complements the uncertainty about the future that Obama left behind when hope kinda petered out over his term.

The feelings in this case are critical because we know politicos cannot possibly keep all their (sometimes contradictory) campaign promises and they cannot voice their position on every issue. So it falls to the voters to suss out what priorities and allegiances the politician has and how they will respond to any given event.

Two patents exist for quarter-shooting pistols designed for shooting coins at toll booth baskets from 1965 and 1988. Source: wikipedia.

This is the world AnCap libertarians want.

Inflation has largely been controlled during that period, but real wages have stagnated since at least the housing crisis of '08. It doesn’t make a lick of difference how well inflation is managed to the poors when buying power is lost.

Pandemic (and even prior) economic malaise is not the fault nor legacy of the Democrats necessarily, but political cynicism bites both ways, and is a lot harder to overcome when the party tells you economic factors are looking up and asks you to wait it out for an uncertain boom in the future.

Yes, Republican (esp. MAGA) policies and mentalities make that promised economic future dicier, but they deliver a feeling of doing something.

For realz, I’m not a Democrat! I just vote for them in primaries and general elections and defend them when those mean ol’ leftists come around.

The Democratic party may be a big tent party with values of varying progressive pedigree, but the adage of lying with dogs and getting fleas applies.