[Agreed for the most part. (R) are not the good guys in this. We have a shorter list of friends then I expected]
We don’t need friends as such. Parties *always* overreach. A smart politician understands that *all* political victories are coalition victories and they must not alienate critical segments, typically in the middle, who made that victory possible. All the middle-of-the-road never-Trumpers who voted Biden? When their taxes are hiked, they’ll come back to the GOP. When a loved one or an acquaintance is killed or sent to the emergency room thanks to a vicious beating, or they are carjacked and dragged across hundreds of yards of asphalt, they’ll pull the lever for the GOP candidate the next time around. Giuliani did not get to be mayor in an overwhelmingly Democrat city because he was the most photogenic or charismatic candidate around. Sometimes hard lessons have to be learned in the school of hard knocks.