A question for my fellow Democrats: Have we lost focus? (unemployment rate, Congress)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I think the left has gone a little too left, personally. I used to raise my eyebrow when conservatives call out their own as RINOs, when I've noticed that behavior more and more among Dems. It gives this impression that a political party is a cult where you're "out" if you don't agree with every single platform. Do I think this will mean a win in 2018? I don't know... but I kind of don't care; I just think it's the right thing to do.
This I wholeheartedly disagree with. The Dems need a robust field of primary candidates in 2020. And they shouldn't even be talking about 2020. Focus should be 2018 midterms at this point.
I agree that we need a robust field of candidates. I disagree completely that it is too soon to be thinking about 2020. We need to focus on the mid-terms, definitely, but we also need to be cultivating up and coming young talent with an eye to the next national election...and beyond. We also need to start paying more attention to state-level elections.
The difference between us and GOP people is that we will admit that we have failings. I see no one in the Democratic party right now who makes me go "WOW ! I would vote for that person."
As much as Hillary was head and shoulders above Trump in every department, she didn't have the charisma of an Obama, and not the powerful messages he gave to the people. I found her to be intelligent and experienced, but she lacked personality and was not inspirational.
Two things will help the Democrats in 2020:
1) We will not sit on our hands the next time. We were complacent and felt there was no way a clown like Trump could ever get enough people conned to win. Won't make that mistake again.
2) Trump himself is our best weapon. He is so utterly terrible that every single day he does something else to turn people against him and the GOP. We should send him a check.
See, this is one of the core problems with the Dems, their only message is "at least we are not the other guy", which is the message Hillary put out.
People who typically vote Dem, like me, do not want to hear this, we want to hear what policies are you putting forth that will improve my life and the lives of others and the US in general. What I do not want to hear is that I should vote for a candidate just because he/she is not Trump or who ever.
One of the reasons Trump won the election is because he was able to so completely dominate the national conversation. I wonder sometimes if we (myself included) are letting the same thing happen again.
I'm not saying he shouldn't be criticized. He deserves it, richly. But we have to have something more to offer than simply being anti-Trump. If we don't start talking more about the things we want to accomplish, like better health care and decent wages, we are going to be just as screwed in 2020 as we were in 2016.
I am interested in hearing people's ideas about how to address this, and particularly interested in hearing from Democrats who jumped ship to support Trump, and what prompted that decision. I don't mean "Reagan Democrats" who have been voting Republican for decades, I mean the recently departed.
I honestly believe that we have a better agenda, or I wouldn't be a Dem. How can we get our message out there more effectively?
So what's the Dem's agenda? Not one poster has answered that.
Let me guess. More rights for gays? Already done.
Open borders? The borders are still leaking like a sieve, so consider that one done as well.
Unite our country? Obama and Trump both failed this one.
More jobs? That's already happening.
A better economy? It's improving everyday.
So far, the Democrat agenda seems to be hatred for President Trump. Good luck with that.
So what's the Dem's agenda? Not one poster has answered that.
Let me guess. More rights for gays? Already done.
Open borders? The borders are still leaking like a sieve, so consider that one done as well.
Unite our country? Obama and Trump both failed this one.
More jobs? That's already happening.
A better economy? It's improving everyday.
So far, the Democrat agenda seems to be hatred for President Trump. Good luck with that.
See, this is one of the core problems with the Dems, their only message is "at least we are not the other guy", which is the message Hillary put out.
People who typically vote Dem, like me, do not want to hear this, we want to hear what policies are you putting forth that will improve my life and the lives of others and the US in general. What I do not want to hear is that I should vote for a candidate just because he/she is not Trump or who ever.
I can't argue with that. Hillary's main theme was "Are you kidding me, Donald Trump ???" In reality, that should have convinced most reasonable people, but this was an unreasonable election. His core WANTED a loud mouth clown who would say stupid things and mock everyone in the establishment. What we saw as a problem , they saw as an asset. His core didn't want to hear "We are the world !" They wanted meat and potatoes of what was going to happen to them.
I hope they learned some valuable lessons this go round and use it to make their party stronger and better.
To preface; no, the reason the Dems lost was because Hillary was the candidate. Hillary is a very unlikable, unmotivating person. Even of those I know who voted for her, it was because they thought Bill would have a great deal of influence, more so than her ability.
The Dems up to that, and a lot now, have gone off the deep end, with Warren now proclaiming the radical left (her words progressive) as the hear of the party, and Dean making it official that if you do not vote Dem in 2018, you are a racist.
This to me shows the Dems as a party have really lost focus and reason, and really no reason to just because Hillary loss. The fact that many Dems cannot accept the loss as anything other than Hillary sucks is something not rational.
If the Dems would dump the identity politics, illegal immigrant loving, and boot the radical left, they would be a great party because they do put forth some ideas and can work together rather well and work for the US well when they need to.
The Focus of the Leftist Democrats seems pretty clear to me.
Impeach the President of the Untied States ...... because he WON.
Double Down on those Deplorable, Irredeemable, UnPatriotic, Bitter Clingers and label them ALL as
Racists, White Supremacists and Nazis.
Sounds like a very good plan to me. The one thing they shouldn't do at this point is give up a winning strategy.
I honestly wouldn't worry about it. If you're pro-authoritarianism, pro big-powerful-government, pro-socially engineered utopia, pro-central planning, pro-post-modernism, pro-surveillance, pro-UBI, and pro-equality of outcome, I think your victory over rationality and individuality is inevitable and just a matter of time. Take heart!
See, this is one of the core problems with the Dems, their only message is "at least we are not the other guy", which is the message Hillary put out.
People who typically vote Dem, like me, do not want to hear this, we want to hear what policies are you putting forth that will improve my life and the lives of others and the US in general. What I do not want to hear is that I should vote for a candidate just because he/she is not Trump or who ever.
This is an honest question .... Do you know anyone at all who actually voted for Donald Trump?
IF you do - do you think of them as Racists & Nazis? IF you do - do you call them that to their face?
I listen to the media - CNN, ABC, NBC, MSNBC, CBS and the pundits and anchors and they actually say these things about Trump voters. I actually have a problem with this sort of nonsense and am positive that I'm not alone. The "Core problem" is not just poor messaging and no plan ... It's the Demonization of US Citizens because they did not vote for Hillary Clinton.
This Demonization is getting set in concrete - and the backlash to it will also be set in concrete.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
