It’s hilarious enough that the Atlantic magazine has an entire article this week about Democrats adopting “masculinity” as a new political strategy — How do you do, fellow macho men? — but then it had to include a man literally named “Poindexter” to explain the party’s problem with “manly” voters. And get it wrong!

“In Poindexter’s view,” wrote the article’s author, Russell Berman, “Democrats’ struggles with men like him owe less to policy than to culture.” The story then quotes Brian Poindexter, who confidently declares, “It’s all vibes.” He says with certitude, “The Democrats have catered too much to, you know, the softer side … .We should be well-rounded people. We should be tough when we need to be. We should be soft when we need to be.”

Mr. Poindexter, hold my hand when I say this to you: It is, in fact, not “all vibes.” To be an American man is not simply a matter of aesthetics. (See: “Graham Platner.”) To that end, being a proud, masculine man is entirely incompatible with the modern Democrat Party.

Masculinity doesn’t square with supporting men in women’s locker rooms. It doesn’t square with perpetual welfare dependency. It doesn’t square with the #MeToo movement’s opposition to the presumption of innocence. It doesn’t square with the authoritarian censorship tendencies of the left. It doesn’t square with the toxic Black Lives Matter dogma of racial preference above merit. It doesn’t square with crime tolerance.

Those are all matters of policy, not vibes. Driving a truck and wearing a hardhat don’t mean anything if you’re content with foreigners breaking into the country and raping your daughter. Tattoo sleeves and an affinity for soccer don’t compensate for a willingness to let bitter, childless women dictate at what temperature the thermostat in every household should be set.

This is yet another variation of Democrats refusing to admit that their problem isn’t that they’re afraid to go on Joe Rogan’s podcast or that they haven’t been able to “meet people where they are.” Their problem is their positions. Their positions are repulsive and antithetical to masculinity.

It’s 2026, and they’re still talking about vibes. That’s because they don’t understand masculinity isn’t an aesthetic.

Eddie Scarry is the D.C. columnist at The Federalist and author of "Traitors: The Democrat Party’s Collapse into Anti-American Filth."