At its best, the Democratic party has always been a Big Tent. If you think our current coalition is unwieldly, it’s nothing compared to FDR’s Big Tent, which included Northern liberals, the labor movement, Jewish socialists, and Southern segregationists. Black voters were added to the mix after Hubert Humphrey made such a strong case for Civil Rights at the 1948 convention that Harry Truman had to go along with him. Now, that’s a Big Tent.
Anytime someone argues that we should have a multi-party system, I remind them that the two American governing parties are already coalitions. In multi-party countries such as Germany, it often takes weeks to build a coalition. In our two-party democracy, the coalitions are baked in, so endless Germanic style negotiations aren’t necessary. That’s a strong argument for the Big Tent.
We often hear about disputes between leftists and moderates. There are other divisions, make that differences, that are less commented upon. For example, I’m a secular atheist who is comfortable coexisting with religious black folks: Raphael Warnock is among my favorite current senators. I don’t mock their piety and they tolerate my impiety. Now, that’s a Big Tent.
Some Democrats damn candidates with faint praise such as “I like so and so but they’re wrong on this and that.” You have to buy your candidates off the rack; there is no such thing as a bespoke candidate.
I’ve never voted for a candidate with whom I agreed 100% on everything. I voted for former Gret Stet Governor John Bel Edwards twice. I strongly disagreed with him on abortion rights and agreed with him on pretty much everything else. As grown-ups, we have to draw distinctions and make adult decisions. The pursuit of perfection is a mug’s game.
Repeat after me: There’s no such thing as a bespoke candidate.
In contrast, the GOP has gone from a center-right Big Tent party to a party of one. That was not always so. In 1948, Republican nominee Tom Dewey was to the left of Truman on many issues including Civil Rights. Hence the change in the Democratic party’s platform, which eventually resulted in the solid South becoming solidly Republican. That’s eroding somewhat in 2026 as Democrats are running strong races in Texas, Florida, and North Carolina.
The Mississippi senate race has drawn national attention and money as Lowndes County District Attorney Scott Colom is mounting a strong challenge to incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith. John Stennis, a somewhat repentant Dixiecrat, was the last Democrat to represent the Magnolia State in the senate but that was 37 years ago.
There’s even some chatter that Lindsey Graham’s kid sister is in trouble in South Carolina. There are no such murmurings in Louisiana, alas. I’m voting for Democratic senatorial nominee Jamie Davis but he’s run a lackluster campaign with one of the worst slogans ever: Vote for the farmer. Oy, just oy.
The Louisiana Democratic party is famous for dropping the ball. This would have been a good year for a Democrat of some stature to run, instead we have the farmer. I hope I’m wrong about this but the weak Republican nominee Julia Letlow seems to poised to take Mary Landrieu’s old seat, which she lost to Bill Cassidy a mere 12 years ago.
Enough venting about the sorry state of the Gret Stet Democratic party.
There are a few lessons that Democrats could learn from Republicans:
First, we should be more welcoming to party switchers, two Republican presidents were once Democrats, Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump. In 2026, former Republican Congressman David Jolly is angling to become Florida’s first Democratic governor in the 21st Century. Party switchers should be encouraged, not derided.
Second, we should not roll our eyes over losing candidates running for president again. Nixon, Reagan, and Trump ran winning campaigns after losing in previous election cycles. Kamala Harris is mocked for even considering another race. I’m not sure if I’ll support her for the nomination, but she has the right to run.
One good thing about a possible Harris candidacy is that Gavin Newsom has pledged not to run against her. I’m not a Newsom fan for reasons laid out in this 2025 malaka of the week post. BUT I’ll support him if he secures the 2028 nomination. Now, that’s a Big Tent.
Repeat after me: There’s no such thing as a bespoke candidate.
I’m a firm believer in the Big Tent. Anytime Democrats go into lockdown mode, we lose. Anytime we throw the tent open to new voters, we win. I prefer winning to losing. I don’t even want to kick James Carville’s ass out of the party for this:
🤔 James Carville: “I’d rather Republicans keep the house by 5 than Dems win by 5… Because then they’re hostage to DSA, and Hakeem can’t move.”😬Bill Kristol: “Good point.”So afraid of DSA folks who want M4ALL, etc. they’d rather Republicans hold power. Unreal. True colors.
— The Tennessee Holler (@thetnholler.bsky.social) 2026-10-19T02:24:49.394Z
Carville is a has been who made his bones 34 years ago. He should stop focusing on internal disputes and remember who the real enemy is. He should STFU but remain in the Big Tent. I don’t believe in excommunication for stupidity. Now, that’s a Big Tent.
The featured image is a post card of the Ringling Bros, Barnum & Bailey Big Tent. They called it a Big Top. You can see what’s coming next: You say Big Top; I say Big Tent. Let’s call the whole thing off.
I’ve always loved the circus, which is one reason I’m fond of the Big Tent analogy. Regardless of whether there’s a blue tsunami in 12 days, the fight will continue. Team MAGA will attempt to delegitimize the result. Attempt is the key word: Their past attempts at ratfucking have failed. They will fail again as long as we stand firm against their intimidation tactics. This kind of ratfucking is a sign of weakness, not strength. Most Americans hate a sore loser and Donald Trump is the sorest loser of all. Bullies only understand one thing: pushback.
That concludes this state of the Big Tent post. The democratic circus rolls on. The musical last word goes to Talking Heads:
The countdown last word goes to Harold Lloyd:
