Many Americans Say the Democratic Party Does Not Share Their Priorities

[BubbaOtis]

The "One Big Tent" approach bit the Dems in the ass in the last election. There are too many issues that, rightly or not, are perceived as zero sum games; a loser for every winner. Diversity hires are seen as taking jobs from better qualified candidates. The existence of Diversity $300k positions angers people.

LAFD’s $300K-per-year diversity chief sparks fury for defending DEI by blaming the victim: ‘He got himself in the wrong place’

Deputy Chief Kristine Larson — who heads the Equity and Human Resources Bureau — was addressing accusations that female firefighters aren’t strong enough carry a man out of a burn…

nypost.com

I totally get that how LA spends their money doesn't affect me but the public perception is unpopular.

Labor and immigration create a rub. Cheap immigrant labor depresses wages. Immigrants create a drain on the social welfare system. Progressive social issues don't sit well with some Christians, particularly African Americans. I tried to avoid political ads rolling up to the election, but the " taxpayer paid sex change operations for prisoners" ad and Harris's failure to walk back her comments were a tremendous blow to her chances, imo.

I doubt Dem leadership will change their approach, though.

 

[CFordUNC]

It is very interesting how many former conservatives, me included, are on this board.

I believe it makes a statement about the movement of that party.

Same here. It’s why I always laugh at the posters who whine and cry that board is such a left wing echo chamber and is so hostile to conservatives. No, it’s hostile to MAGA. There’s plenty of us here who are every bit conservative as we’ve always been in many respects. It’s just that the kind of conservatism to which I and many other now-Democratically-aligned posters adhere is completely antithetical to today’s Republican Party. You know, things like preservation of individual freedoms and personal liberties, commitment to free trade and free markets, belief in punishing violent criminals harshly, respect for military service and law-enforcement, defense of the U.S. Constitution, opposition to Russia, China, North Korea, Iran, and all other foreign states who stand diametrically opposed to our democratic ideals, etc.

 

[altmin]

FWIW Ken Martin wins election as the next chair of the Democratic National Committee

Ken Martin, the longtime leader of the state Democratic Party organization in Minnesota, will be the new Democratic National Committee chair after winning Saturday’s election, as his party looks to turn the page and recover from a dismal 2024.

Martin had been the front-runner from the beginning of the race, leveraging his relationships with the more than 400 voting members of the DNC that he forged over more than a decade of work inside the institutional Democratic Party. And those relationships proved essential, as he clinched a majority of the voting members on the first ballot, more than 100 votes above the second place finisher, Wisconsin Democratic Party chair Ben Wikler.


The race hinged more on the candidates’ organizing and fundraising resumes than on their postures regarding the ideological soul of the party, as it did in 2017, after President Donald Trump’s previous election win. Martin was the more experienced hand with deep party relationships, Wikler had been at the center of some of Democrats’ highest-profile races in recent years, and former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley had unique electoral and government experience.

 

[CFordUNC]

I doubt Dem leadership will change their approach, though.

I’m sure they will, as they want to win elections, but I’m not even have to change their approach in any major way. For the next 18 months, they simply need to sit back, sit idle, and let Republicans Republican. They’re well on their way to crashing the American economy

Or instead of endlessly chasing after Republicans, focus on fighting for Democrats. Narratives about focus on social issues work in part because Democrats aren't seen as fighting for anybody. Quit running around with Liz Cheney and pining after Republican votes. Republicans focus on their base. Democrats try to triangulate and as a result their base isn't as convinced they are fighting for them.

Those are all fantastic points, too. I don’t disagree. The Democrats have to stop trying to be all things to all people, and focus almost exclusively on doing things that get their base to actually turn out to vote. When Democrats vote, Republicans lose.

 

[WaynetheDrain]

No, Republicans said Dems “made a bunch ofsocial issues more important,” and that view was amplified by mainstream and right wing media. Go look st the ads Dems were running in the last election. Other than abortion, economic issues and Republican plans for Project 2025 were always at the forefront. Healthcare was one of the issues cited in the article as important to voters. Democrats were all over affordable healthcare for all and Republicans were still harping on “Obamacare.” This poll indicates the media coverage of the election was an amplification of GOP talking points and that’s what people remember.

This is 100% correct.

There is this stupid misconception that Democrats care more for social issues than the common plight of the American worker, yet the two opposing campaigns tell a completely different story during the election. While Harris was campaigning on the bringing down costs on groceries and prescription drugs, healthcare and affordable housing, and protecting unions, Trump's campaign was villainizing immigrants and complaining about trans rights.

Yet, America's low-information, low attention span citizens decided that the Republicans were the ones carrying the message for the common people.

 

[altmin]

This is 100% correct.

There is this stupid misconception that Democrats care more for social issues than the common plight of the American worker, yet the two opposing campaigns tell a completely different story during the election. While Harris was campaigning on the bringing down costs on groceries and prescription drugs, healthcare and affordable housing, and protecting unions, Trump's campaign was villainizing immigrants and complaining about trans rights.

Yet, America's low-information, low attention span citizens decided that the Republicans were the ones carrying the message for the common people.

Same myth that Republicans are more fiscally responsible, more business friendly etc...

In the post-truth world, it is very easy to feel like nothing matters.

 

[CFordUNC]

It’s going to get real difficult for a lot of folks to act like they are so inconvenienced by the mere existence of transgender people when they have to work an extra 10 years because their party decimated the economy and laughed in their faces about it.

 

[BlueSmoke]

Do Democrats have a leaky tire or a full fledged blowout with respect to what voters think of them? Recent polling by Quinnipiac confirms the latter.

I remember talking to people I know before the election, who in normal times would go no where near Trump, and the answer I always got as to why they were going to hold their nose and vote for him was because they saw the Democrats as so much worse.

The warning I have, is that its tempting for Democrats to believe the next election will be about how bad Trump and MAGA world is (as proved by performance) and simply coast into a win. Which has been the strategy for the last 12 years.

if that happens to lead to a win, then what good does that do over the long run? Not much. Might be a good idea to get on with the business of changing the tire. Or the Party makeover in the minds of voters.

 

[farce©]

Do Democrats have a leaky tire or a full fledged blowout with respect to what voters think of them? Recent polling by Quinnipiac confirms the latter.

I remember talking to people I know before the election, who in normal times would go no where near Trump, and the answer I always got as to why they were going to hold their nose and vote for him was because they saw the Democrats as so much worse.

The warning I have, is that its tempting for Democrats to believe the next election will be about how bad Trump and MAGA world is (as proved by performance) and simply coast into a win. Which has been the strategy for the last 12 years.

if that happens to lead to a win, then what good does that do over the long run? Not much. Might be a good idea to get on with the business of changing the tire. Or the Party makeover in the minds of voters.

How do you suggest Dems do that?

 

[CFordUNC]

Do Democrats have a leaky tire or a full fledged blowout with respect to what voters think of them? Recent polling by Quinnipiac confirms the latter.

I remember talking to people I know before the election, who in normal times would go no where near Trump, and the answer I always got as to why they were going to hold their nose and vote for him was because they saw the Democrats as so much worse.

The warning I have, is that its tempting for Democrats to believe the next election will be about how bad Trump and MAGA world is (as proved by performance) and simply coast into a win. Which has been the strategy for the last 12 years.

if that happens to lead to a win, then what good does that do over the long run? Not much. Might be a good idea to get on with the business of changing the tire. Or the Party makeover in the minds of voters.

Definitely think all of what you say above has a lot of merit, and I definitely believe that the Democratic Party needs a sweeping change in leadership and strategy. But my belief that 2026 will go well for Democrats has almost zero to do with anything that the Democratic Party may or may not do, and everything to do with the fact that the American electorate generally hates the incumbent above all else. When you add in the fact that we are quite likely going to experience major economic recession in the next 18 months, and given the historic propensity for the in-power party to get waxed in the midterms, it’s not far fetched at all to think that the Democrats can and should have very good midterm results.

 

[wmheel1287]

Respectfully, I think you’re off base on what you know about me and how I approach politics.

I can only judge what I've seen here as we all do with posters.

 

[Yosef]

Another poster on here a few responses back was correct. Cultural issues can win elections. Republicans picked up on some of these issues and ran with them marketing them to their base and it worked. Democrats also used Hollywood as their "supporters" and while this isn't a bad idea many Americans can't identify with those elites in LA. They also used J6 constantly as their " got ya" moment and as bad as it was it got old to the working class people.
The mistake was allowing Biden to run for a second term when the American people knew he was senile and the Dem's still told us he was running circles around others in closed meetings. The American people are not that stupid. Kamala was a horrible candidate but it was pretty much their only choice at the time.

 

[BlueSmoke]

How do you suggest Dems do that?

Fair question, but before going there on this Board there would need to be some agreement that the tire needs changing. Don't see that in comments since the election. For instance, If I had a dollar for every time someone on here blamed the election results on the voters..........i'd have a nice little nest egg. Blaming the voters, I completely reject as unproductive. Whether low informed or adversely influenced by media its just part of the landscape that has to be navigated.

I also reject this notion that the Democratic party is full of talent. Yep, establishment talent. Yep elite upbringing. A look at the folks who are likely to run in four years shows elite college backgrounds, lawyers, political science majors, and a communication major or two. Nothing that screams down to earth American. Just try passing that by the electorate again.\

I said all that the lay the context to answer your question. Best thing to do is what Reagan did. He pushed supply side economics and rebranded his Party in the minds of the voters and kept the attention off his more conservative extremes. Best thing for Democrats to do is something like that and rebrand their economic ideas into a new name with all the focus on economics and thus avoid the attention on woke or cultural.

Now, its going to take a new Party leader to emerge in four years to be point on that. But we can be talking about forming a new plan NOW to set the stage for that and to change the conversation and our poll numbers which will help resist Trump in the short term.

 

[finesse]

Fair question, but before going there on this Board there would need to be some agreement that the tire needs changing. Don't see that in comments since the election. For instance, If I had a dollar for every time someone on here blamed the election results on the voters..........i'd have a nice little nest egg. Blaming the voters, I completely reject as unproductive. Whether low informed or adversely influenced by media its just part of the landscape that has to be navigated.

I also reject this notion that the Democratic party is full of talent. Yep, establishment talent. Yep elite upbringing. A look at the folks who are likely to run in four years shows elite college backgrounds, lawyers, political science majors, and a communication major or two. Nothing that screams down to earth American. Just try passing that by the electorate again.\

I said all that the lay the context to answer your question. Best thing to do is what Reagan did. He pushed supply side economics and rebranded his Party in the minds of the voters and kept the attention off his more conservative extremes. Best thing for Democrats to do is something like that and rebrand their economic ideas into a new name with all the focus on economics and thus avoid the attention on woke or cultural.

Now, its going to take a new Party leader to emerge in four years to be point on that. But we can be talking about forming a new plan NOW to set the stage for that and to change the conversation and our poll numbers which will help resist Trump in the short term.

How can you not blame the voters? They elected these idiots. Bottom line, it's always the voters. That's why we vote. If they are misled or lied to and they just blindly followed, it's still their fault. These things are not hidden and it's your duty to be an informed voter.

I don't think we need to change our focus but redirect everybody's focus on just who stands for what. It's the Republicans who are bad for the economy nd show people that is provably true. Show that St. Reagan is the president that really increas3ed the national debt. Show that they are the party of exclusion, of taxation, of privilege for the rich. That's all true and demonstrable.

 

[ZenMode]

If you lose to Trump twice In three elections, I think it almost has to be viewed as a blowout. Many factors have contributed to those losses, but there's one issue Democrats are going to have to overcome. It's the perception that the far left fringe is representative of the majority of the party.

 

[BlueSmoke]

It's the Republicans who are bad for the economy nd show people that is provably true. Show that St. Reagan is the president that really increas3ed the national debt. Show that they are the party of exclusion, of taxation, of privilege for the rich. That's all true and demonstrable.

So your strategy is the exact same as what we did for the last 12 years. Show how bad the other folks are. Isn't that what the Democrats just did with 1.5 Billion and still lost? Sorry, but I just don't go with a proven losing strategy.

 

[WaynetheDrain]

Fair question, but before going there on this Board there would need to be some agreement that the tire needs changing. Don't see that in comments since the election. For instance, If I had a dollar for every time someone on here blamed the election results on the voters..........i'd have a nice little nest egg. Blaming the voters, I completely reject as unproductive. Whether low informed or adversely influenced by media its just part of the landscape that has to be navigated.

I also reject this notion that the Democratic party is full of talent. Yep, establishment talent. Yep elite upbringing. A look at the folks who are likely to run in four years shows elite college backgrounds, lawyers, political science majors, and a communication major or two. Nothing that screams down to earth American. Just try passing that by the electorate again.\

I said all that the lay the context to answer your question. Best thing to do is what Reagan did. He pushed supply side economics and rebranded his Party in the minds of the voters and kept the attention off his more conservative extremes. Best thing for Democrats to do is something like that and rebrand their economic ideas into a new name with all the focus on economics and thus avoid the attention on woke or cultural.

Now, its going to take a new Party leader to emerge in four years to be point on that. But we can be talking about forming a new plan NOW to set the stage for that and to change the conversation and our poll numbers which will help resist Trump in the short term.

Let's play a game:

Replace "Democratic" or "Democrat" with "Republican" in your above post. Let me know if anything changes in terms of accuracy.

The winning candidate in the last election is a billionaire wannabe oligarch. Explain to me how this screams "down to earth American."

Also, are you actually suggesting that a way to appeal to common folks is to roll out a trickle-down economic package? Seriously?

 

[CFordUNC]

I’m with Finesse. I think we can absolutely blame the voters. We can blame the voters who don’t care enough to be informed. We can blame the voters who are informed but who do not vote. We can blame the voters who are informed and who know that the sources from which they are informed are BS yet still vote accordingly.

As reprehensible as I find the Republican party to generally be these days, and as much as it is easy to find fault with the overall majority of the things that they do and say, one area where I cannot find fault with them is the mechanism by which they reach voters. It is unbelievably effective, and very enviable. The goal of elections is to win them, and the Republican Party does exactly what it needs to in order to do just that.

 

[StrangePackage]

Democrats represent institutions that have been failing the majority of Americans since the 1990s. Republicans have determined to destroy those institutions, and are doing a very good job of it. People aren't going to like it, but if the choice is "something that isn't working" and "something else" then most are going to go with something else.

Democrats who cling to defending a failing system will continue to fail. Put me in the camp of massive overhaul. They need to be offering a better "something else."

 

[BlueSmoke]

Let's play a game:



Also, are you actually suggesting that a way to appeal to common folks is to roll out a trickle-down economic package? Seriously?

Absolutely not. I used that as an example of how to change the tire. May even have even pointed to doing it with OUR economic proposals. What you call it of course would be a long a different line and have different meaning. This is about how to CHANGE THE TIRE.