I took Tooze's basic point to be that Trumpism is rewriting the American and global order in ways that are profound and likely awful for most of us and that the Democrat machine - stuck in conceptual paradigms and narratives we've taken for granted (and useful) for decades - is failing to grasp the enormity of this, and consequently they are using the old paradigms and narratives to try to put out the fire even while the house is burning down around them.
That is definitely his basic point. He does not, however, support it with any aplomb. It's also - to be frank - a fucking dumb point to make considering 90% of the Harris Campaign's messaging was about Project 2025. The Democrats, in speaking to their base, were hair-on-fire serious about Trump's impact on the "American and global order." Democrats built their platform on "Trump will destroy the country." Republicans built their platform on "Democrats will pay for sex change operations for prisoners." In general, voters made their choice based on "inflation pisses me off." "Inflation pisses me off" is pretty much the go-to "throw the bums out" trigger point and Adam Tooze pretending that a West Wing reunion at the White House is a sign that Democrats aren't listening to voters just illustrates what a dipshit Adam Tooze is.
Yeah, fair enough. I recall infighting among Democrats in the campaign period about whether or not they should be concentrating on Project 2025 or talking about jobs and price hikes. That said, the examples he's citing (the West Wing reunion being just one of them) seems to be more about where they're at now - and more particularly where they are aiming, which is towards a restoration of the previous order - rather than redefining themselves for the new order. Tooze a dipshit? C'mon man. Wages of Destruction was a pretty landmark read.