I agree with all of this, in that the Dems seem ineffective in actually getting things done. The issue isn't whether the Dems are a good choice though, they're not. The issue is whether they or the Republicans will do more damage over the next term. From that perspective, the Dems seem like the least bad choice. It's a bad place to be, but only concerted effort from a large enough base, over an extended period, is going to change that. As you say, the Federalist Society worked for decades to get here. It's likely to take effort of a similar magnitude to push it back, unless the Dems get in with a large enough majority at each level that the more sane ones can cause some useful change, and that'll only happen if they're pushed by the electorate.