Nostalgia is a horrible motivator, when it comes to political decisions (like who to vote for).

Democrats have been nostalgic for the late 1960’s for decades. Woodstock, the civil rights movement, anti-war protests, etc., were the formative experience for the generation of Democrat politicians that led the party 1980 – 2010.

Many Trump voters re-elected him in 2024, at least in part, because they were nostalgic for his first administration. “Take us back to the world and economy of 2019!” But Trump’s cabinet and staff are completely different in the second administration, and the circumstances he faces are likewise completely different. And so are the results, so far. (Or did the price of eggs go down while I wasn’t watching?)

And at least part of the momentum behind Zohran Mamdani seems to me to be nostalgia among the progressives for Obama.

The good old days can’t be brought back. Voting for nostalgia never works out the way we hope it will.