The Democrats have been doing their best to blow their advantage in this election. They could have aligned themselves with public outrage at Trump’s lawless, violent, irrational administration. They could have said that restoring a government that respects its Constitution and laws comes first, and other disagreements can be put off. They could have pointed at Republicans’ refusal to oppose Trump’s worst actions. I mean really showing the indignation which they should; listing “make ICE more responsible” or “I’m against the war” doesn’t count for much. But if they did that, they wouldn’t be Democrats. Instead, they’re following their standard party playbook, which consists mostly of promising people each other’s money.

Nonetheless, we have to hold our noses and vote for Democratic candidates, at least at the Federal level. The country is safest when the same party doesn’t control the White House and both houses of Congress. As long as Trump is president, the Democrats won’t be able to implement the worst of their schemes, and if they have majorities in Congress, they’ll probably vote against the worst of Trump’s. At least they won’t vote for his “dividend” program of giving us over a trillion dollars of each other’s money.

I’m talking about so-called “moderate” Democrats. DSA Democrats are actually worse than Trump. He wants to ignore the Supreme Court when it doesn’t suit him; the DSA platform calls for doing away with it altogether. If your choice is between a MAGA Republican and a DSA Democrat, the best advice I can offer is to stick your head under a blanket and scream.

For all the glowing predictions, things look uncertain in my area. John Sununu, who accepted Trump’s endorsement, has been leading in the Senate race. (Update: Recent polls show Pappas ahead.) DiLorenzo, who’s fanatical in his loyalty to Trump, is only a little behind Shaheen. In recent elections, Republicans have outperformed what the polls have predicted, so don’t be too confident.

It’s not much of a consolation, but the next two years will be less bad if Congress pushes back against secret police, illegal wars, and taxes by decree. What comes after that doesn’t offer much hope, but a Republican loss this year will buy us time.