Welcome to our community

Be apart of something great, join today!

Register Log in

Many Americans Say the Democratic Party Does Not Share Their Priorities

  • Thread starter Thread starter altmin
  • Start date Start date
  • Replies: 594
  • Views: 19K
  • Politics 
BubbaOtis said:
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.
Click to expand...
At least you used the word "perceived".

It would be nice if people went beyond their perception to actually understand that it isn't a zero sum game.

But, I believe many don't want that because it would conflict with their racist/misogynist positions.
 
CFordUNC said:
Agree with all of this. To add to it, I also think that people tend to want to parse election results with far too much nuanced analysis. For the most part, American electoral results are easy to explain regardless of which party wins. The American electorate tends to dislike the incumbent party, tends to be generally low-information, and votes predominately based on economic “vibes.” In my voting lifetime alone, the Democrats won in 2008 as a sweeping repudiation of the 8-year run of the GOP getting us involved in two wars while exploding the national debt. In 2010 the Republicans won as a sweeping repudiation of the incumbent Democratic administration. Same with 2016. And then 2020, the opposite way. And then 2022. And then 2024.

Sort of like how we like to say “if you don’t like the weather in North Carolina, wait 10 minutes” I think it’s generally true that if you don’t like the current political party in power, wait 10 minutes.
Click to expand...
There was a global anti-incumbent vibe in 2024. Harris and Walz began the campaign with a populist message. Biden and Harris campaign manager Jen O'Malley squashed the positive messaging and reduced the separation between Biden and Harris. A huge mistake.

Also, a lot of young voters and far leftists stayed home over Palestine. Good job.

Dems need to go on the attack NOW over tariffs, placing American lives in danger (FBI, FAA, NSC firings), insanely horrible cabinet appointees.
 
Paine said:
What I would just add is that the Democratic Party needs some kind of principle to moor it. It feels rudderless because of a lack of leadership, I think. They need to pick a lane, even if it’s one I don’t like, I’d prefer if they pick a theme and stick with it.
Click to expand...
So, which direction does this take them:

www.nbcnews.com

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

The DNC’s chair election marks a first step for a party looking to fill a void of leadership after the 2024 election.
www.nbcnews.com www.nbcnews.com
 
CFordUNC said:
Agree with all of this. To add to it, I also think that people tend to want to parse election results with far too much nuanced analysis. For the most part, American electoral results are easy to explain regardless of which party wins. The American electorate tends to dislike the incumbent party, tends to be generally low-information, and votes predominately based on economic “vibes.” In my voting lifetime alone, the Democrats won in 2008 as a sweeping repudiation of the 8-year run of the GOP getting us involved in two wars while exploding the national debt. In 2010 the Republicans won as a sweeping repudiation of the incumbent Democratic administration. Same with 2016. And then 2020, the opposite way. And then 2022. And then 2024.

Sort of like how we like to say “if you don’t like the weather in North Carolina, wait 10 minutes” I think it’s generally true that if you don’t like the current political party in power, wait 10 minutes.
Click to expand...
Except the weather in North Carolina rarely changes with much speed or frequency.
 
finesse said:
Most principals have legs. That's how they generally get in the front door of the school. Principles, otoh, seldom have much to do with elections. As we saw with this one, hot many people have them.

Your logic here is sound as as not blaming the voters for the outcome of an election.
Click to expand...
Damn lost vowels. :cool:
 
BlueSmoke said:
Democrats have an extreme marketing problem. Polling shows it.
Click to expand...
Agreed, but I believe their marketing problem is less about the content of their messaging and far more about the lack of platforms willing to amplify the Democratic/liberal message. Republicans have spent over 30 years establishing and expanding a propagandized media infrastructure to amplify and never question their message. The media executives are significant insiders in Republican politics, helping create the narrative and providing welcoming platforms for the GOP to spread their “message” while demonizing their opposition.

The “messaging” is irrelevant without a platform to reinforce it. When we talk about how the perceived Democratic message in the last election (social justice warriors) isn’t accurate and the reality is Democrats did promote an economic/healthcare message, what we miss is that Democrats were defined by the Republican media machine. This was possible because they controlled a powerful media platform that simply does not exist on the Democratic side.

The mainstream media is busy trying to be fair while those watching right wing media are being told the MSM are nothing more than liberal shills. There is no Democratic answer for Fox News, OANN, Newsmax, WorldNetDaily, Breitbart, and on and on. More emphasis needs to be spent on how the message is distributed instead what the message should be. Until the media imbalance is addressed, all the hand-wringing about the content of that message is just more Democratic navel-gazing.
 
CFordUNC said:
Definitely remains to be seen but I am at least encouraged by the fact that he is from Minnesota and Minnesota is probably the best example of really effective Democratic governance as exists anywhere in the country
Click to expand...
True. I think he’s probably a competent, technocratic leader. If we had a wider party vision, I would feel comfortable with Martin at the helm. Right now though, I feel like the DNC chair needs to take a more leading role determining a party vision. Jeffries and Schumer aren’t cutting it.
 
Paine said:
Same old same old.
Click to expand...
Maybe the problem is that people who have been in politics for 30 years don't want to be lectured by 26 year old Marxists.

You used the word Marxist to describe yourself. Nobody made you do that. You chose to do that. Now you're irrelevant. Those of us who've been around the block understand that embracing "Marxism" or "socialism" or "social democracy" or whatever's in fashion is alienating and counter-productive to the Americans whose support you seek.

That's the subtext of your conversation with wmheel. He has said that he won't vote Dem if Bernie is on the ticket. Could he get behind 80% of Bernie's program? Probably. I'm sure he will weigh in. But he isn't interested in signing up for socialism.

There was a time in 2020 when it looked like Bernie had a lot of momentum for the nomination. Then he started to speak favorably about Castro. The oppo researchers brought up his politics from the 1980s, and instead of disowning that as he should have, Bernie went on about how Castro had done some good things. Sandinistas also. And almost immediately the Dems rallied behind Biden, because they know what would have happened if we had run a guy saying good things about Fidel Castro.
 
Unfortunately, we are still at a point in this country where running a black woman for POTUS opens the whole party up for attacks over placing "social issues" over personal issues.

As has already been pointed out, when the voting public was presented with a list of policy plans that they didn't know which party they belonged to, they overwhelming chose the Dem policies.
 
Going high when they go low doesn’t work with these jackals. I just wish that Dem leadership would have figured that out prior to now. Not to mention, the organization and messaging at the local level is terrible. It’s going to be up to Gen’s X and Z to become politically active and take the country back.
 
superrific said:
Maybe the problem is that people who have been in politics for 30 years don't want to be lectured by 26 year old Marxists.

You used the word Marxist to describe yourself. Nobody made you do that. You chose to do that. Now you're irrelevant. Those of us who've been around the block understand that embracing "Marxism" or "socialism" or "social democracy" or whatever's in fashion is alienating and counter-productive to the Americans whose support you seek.

That's the subtext of your conversation with wmheel. He has said that he won't vote Dem if Bernie is on the ticket. Could he get behind 80% of Bernie's program? Probably. I'm sure he will weigh in. But he isn't interested in signing up for socialism.

There was a time in 2020 when it looked like Bernie had a lot of momentum for the nomination. Then he started to speak favorably about Castro. The oppo researchers brought up his politics from the 1980s, and instead of disowning that as he should have, Bernie went on about how Castro had done some good things. Sandinistas also. And almost immediately the Dems rallied behind Biden, because they know what would have happened if we had run a guy saying good things about Fidel Castro.
Click to expand...
I understand that. I don’t think it’s politically useful for Democrats to associate theirselves with socialism for that reason. Doesn’t mean I’m not going to call myself what I am on this message board. I’d think people are smart enough to divorce my particular political philosophy with the pure politics that I think Democrats need to embrace to win.

To reject what I’m saying out of hand because I identified myself as a Marxist or socialist on a thread discussing socialism and political theory is stupid. I won’t judge voters for this but I will judge educated message board posters.
 
Last edited:
What I most regret is that somewhere back in the spring of 24, Biden should have just loudly and publicly called him a "lying sack of shit" and gone into chapter and verse. We might have still lost but but there would have been a lot less tap dancing.
 
StrangePackage said:
Democrats represent institutions that have been failing the majority of Americans since the 1990s.
Click to expand...
No, no, no. This is untrue. This is what the enemies of liberalism want people to believe -- including progressives. This is the entire meaning of the phrase "neoliberalism." That word exists to pin blame on Dems for the incredibly terrible shit the GOP does.

There is a reason why the GOP doesn't even try to traffic in reality any more. If the economy really was so bad, surely they would have been able to find real examples of it. They wouldn't have to talk about carnage on our streets or Venezuelan gangs taking over towns or kids going to school and coming back with a sex change blah blah blah.

Nothing is perfect, but Dems gave the world Medicare, Social Security and Obamacare. Protect those institutions. Dems built the greatest economy in the modern world, more or less without any help from the Pubs who have repeatedly tried and occasionally succeeded to tear it down.

We have to make sure people remember that the Republicans have NEVER LEFT THE COUNTRY IN GOOD SHAPE when they left office. I mean, in my lifetime, the absolute best shape we were in when the Pub administration left was 92, when we merely had a recession. When Bush left, the economy was in tatters and we were embroiled in two forever wars. We all know what things were like in 20-21.

And occasionally, it seems, Americans need reminding. That's what we need to focus on. Stop bullshitting about how the Dems fail people. WHEN DEMS RUN THINGS, THEY WORK. That's the message for the next few years.
 
superrific said:
No, no, no. This is untrue. This is what the enemies of liberalism want people to believe -- including progressives. This is the entire meaning of the phrase "neoliberalism." That word exists to pin blame on Dems for the incredibly terrible shit the GOP does.

There is a reason why the GOP doesn't even try to traffic in reality any more. If the economy really was so bad, surely they would have been able to find real examples of it. They wouldn't have to talk about carnage on our streets or Venezuelan gangs taking over towns or kids going to school and coming back with a sex change blah blah blah.

Nothing is perfect, but Dems gave the world Medicare, Social Security and Obamacare. Protect those institutions. Dems built the greatest economy in the modern world, more or less without any help from the Pubs who have repeatedly tried and occasionally succeeded to tear it down.

We have to make sure people remember that the Republicans have NEVER LEFT THE COUNTRY IN GOOD SHAPE when they left office. I mean, in my lifetime, the absolute best shape we were in when the Pub administration left was 92, when we merely had a recession. When Bush left, the economy was in tatters and we were embroiled in two forever wars. We all know what things were like in 20-21.

And occasionally, it seems, Americans need reminding. That's what we need to focus on. Stop bullshitting about how the Dems fail people. WHEN DEMS RUN THINGS, THEY WORK. That's the message for the next few years.
Click to expand...
I agree with pretty much all of this, but I do think Dems have had a hard time handling the tech bro migration to the Pubs because Dems have been so all in on Silicon Valley for so long, even after it became clear unregulated social media and the consolidation of wealth among tech billionaires is extremely damaging to the country. Biden was really the first mainstream Dem to push back hard on those alliances. The tech bros responded by seeing if Trump was an easier mark, and of course he was. And that happened so fast and was so impactful to this last election that Dems are still struggling to figure out how to respond.
 
Here's my idea: lean into superhero messaging and imagery.

1. Early next year, starting in the Super Bowl, we unveil a series of ads depicting ordinary Americans living in a hellscape. There are hordes of MAGA zombies on the streets -- make sure everyone understands these to be the J6 insurrectionists -- and people are scared to leave the house. The mail works only half the time. The fridge is empty. And it's Billy's birthday, but the store is closed and they can't get there anyway because of the zombies.

Then they hear a window open in a back room and they go to check on it. They find a birthday cake, made out to Billy. Barack Obama is in the window, and he winks before Batmanning away. There's a card: "Dems: We Make Things Work," or "We Actually Fight For You." We don't need to choose which, because we'll use them all.

2. Other ads move on the same thing. Bill Clinton will deliver a bag of groceries. Gretchen Whitmer a check for college tuition. Michelle Obama some healthy food. Kamala Harris some insulin. Etc. Get all our stars, past and present, into the narrative. Remind people that Dems are for them and always have been for them, and people got distracted.

We don't need one slogan. We need many. "Dems Make Things Work." "Dems Are Good Guys." "Dems: We Are Not Evil Overlords." etc.

3. Follow it up with a summer blockbuster. Plot needs to be that Trump fussies around doing his trivialities, when the real decisions are being made in an underground lair by a billionaire who just happens to look like a cross between Elon Musk and Voldemort. Name him Velon. People will get it. And Elon will eventually lose, because Dems will organize people to storm the wicked castle.

Now, we need to depict Trump as a naif. There needs to be scenes of him telling Velon, "OK, we've torn down everything like you asked. Now, when do we start making America great again?" Velon will laugh and say, "America IS great, for me." Then he tosses Trump aside like a wet noodle and plans to crown himself emperor. Make sure to splice in plenty of tapes of Trump talking about how America is a Third World country. Don't worry about details about when he said it. Use actual footage of him talking shit about the economy, telling Velon about how things are going.

This is how we will win. All politics in America is now negative partisanship.

4. Trump and the GOP have committed themselves to what will be the most unpopular political program in American history. Getting back into power will be simply be to protect free and fair elections. The GOP is apparently planning on never winning an election again. If the elections are held, we will win. 2026 is possibly shaping up to be the biggest rout in modern American history.

5. What the Dems need to figure out is how to play hardball when governing. MAGA needs to be crushed, period. They jettisoned norms; make them eat it. Make enough new states to put the constitution within our editing power, and fix the problems. It's heavy handed, yes, but it has to be done. It's not as if we would be going against popular will. We'd just be finding a way around the ridiculously high bar for amendments. Get rid of all the stupid bullshit that has impeded us for too long.
 
lawtig02 said:
I agree with pretty much all of this, but I do think Dems have had a hard time handling the tech bro migration to the Pubs because Dems have been so all in on Silicon Valley for so long, even after it became clear unregulated social media and the consolidation of wealth among tech billionaires is extremely damaging to the country. Biden was really the first mainstream Dem to push back hard on those alliances. The tech bros responded by seeing if Trump was an easier mark, and of course he was. And that happened so fast and was so impactful to this last election that Dems are still struggling to figure out how to respond.
Click to expand...
A big problem is bitcoin. Crypto made a lot of stupid people rich, while telling them that they were smart because of their "line goes up" investment strategy.

Make bitcoin illegal and this problem largely goes away.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top