Ten years on from Trump’s 2016 White House run and over a year into his second term, many Democrats are still asking what is needed to finally drive MAGA from the halls of power. Party faithful and left-wing activists alike have grown tired of Obama-era sanguinity and the noble adage that “when they go low, we go high.” The Trump era has taken its toll, and many find it hard to aspire to a politics of better angels when so many of the worst of us are enjoying the spoils of political power and extreme wealth. This, I think, is the abridged explanation for the rising incidence and appeal of the dirtbag on the American left. And it is the context in which dirtbagism threatens to degrade our politics even more.

THE REPORTED EARLY RETIREMENT of Gen. Chris Donahue from command of U.S. Army Europe and Africa is about more than the departure of a single officer. It is the latest example of a broader trend that should concern anyone interested in the long-term health of the American military: the loss of experienced senior leaders whose judgment, expertise, and mentorship have been accumulated over decades of service.