Maybe you can start by getting your fellow PSA crew to stop crapping on Biden. It really doesn’t help when they spent four years damning with faint praise, or outright dissing, everything that the Biden-Harris team did.
Dissing everything? The Pod boys struck me as being pretty positive about Harris's campaign. And as for Biden, I don't think that they criticized enough his initial decision to run for reelection. Their criticisms of his messaging and Israel policies struck me as prescient.
It's disheartening to see so many people appear to want propaganda over easy. I'd rather be well informed -- and hear a variety of viewpoints, some of which I may happen to disagree with. I want to be part of a broad pro-democracy coalition, not a cult under the thrall of dear leader.
It’s a slippery slope argument to say that because it would be nice to see PSA not regularly crap on the administration (Afghanistan, economic policies, Monday Morning quarterbacking of the Harris campaign without really addressing misogyny and racism) that I want propaganda. Nothing was ever good enough - listen to Tommy, listen to Jon F, rarely could they find a positive thing to say about Biden-Harris.
Additionally, they regularly rose to the defense of the legacy media even when it meant throwing their own listeners under the bus - how often did they rally to the side of folks like Haberman, Baker, Tapper?
The Hysteria team is much better at offering critiques without regularly being condescending and dismissive of progress actually made. Dan is the only member of the PSA crew that is balanced in his critique. Dan’s pessimism is different than the ‘disappointment’ offered by the other three.
I don’t want propaganda, neither do I want to hear, on a regular basis, how the administration failed us, especially when they didn’t.
As plouffe said on the money issue, we have to stop following the rules since the other side isn’t when it comes to dark $. We are getting killed because they don’t care about the law
I wonder if you think it’s time for AOC to make a run - of the squad, I think she has the most mainstream appeal, while still being a solid progressive.
I’d like to see Gov. Whitmer run - she has done good work here in Michigan. She appeals to my pragmatism.
I love Bernie but all of us who love him need to realize that he will never (could never) win the midwest. He yells too much and makes people feel like misbehaved children. The blue wall isn't into it and it doesn't work for coalition building and we need a large inclusive purpose driven but uplifting coalition.
We cannot skewer people for each small decision but judge them on the full breadth of their work. Your comment on AOC is a perfect example of this - she is an AMAZING voice for women. I also do not believe she has extensions and even if she did, who cares - how many congressmen have plugs? That just came off as misogynist - not saying you are, but letting you know.
We need to meet in the middle - there is always compromise for the greater good. Sitting out for one issue while our planet burns and (more) people lose rights is never justified imho.
Add to this list the likes of Dan Osborne and some of the youngest members of Congress: Maxwell Frost of Florida, as well as Justin Jones and Justin Pearson of the Tennessee House.
Who is stopping Hakeem from being Hakeem? Seriously? He is closest in Congress to being a federal Democrat who can wield power and he doesn't have a majority to lose. I don't get what's stopping him from showing a spine and being more aggressive at a moment when Democrats are desperate for that.
Yet we will never know if Biden would have actually won if more Dems showed up for him than Harris. Harris didn’t have the turnout and maybe just because she was a woman. Dems now ridiculously picking themselves apart yet missing the actual cause of their loss. I’ve been an Independent all my life. Dems too weak and most Rs now too evil, or Rs also weak under Trump, even while Trump out of office. Just look at how the Dems Senators re-elected Schumer as head of Dem senate. He’s so damn weak, not creative and orates horribly - not a leader at all. Dems need stronger leadership who can construe strong directions to fix our ills.
I agree for different reasons. If Biden had not been given leeway to run again we might not be in this mess today. Done. That is done. He screwed us. And those around him are complicit. History will not be kind to them, especially if our democracy is trashed.
We need to leave Biden and Trump in the dust in terms of actions going forward.
Balderdash. Biden was the most consequential POTUS than any POTUS in the last 40 years, partly to do with his ability to get across-the-aisle cooperation for so much legislation. And he rebuilt our economy after the disastrous Trump term. You just listened to the R’s “Biden is bad” scenario they tried to drum in us all.
Both things can be true. Biden was the best president in my lifetime based on his accomplishments, but he screwed us by not stepping down. Biden and his team knew he couldn't win, and even most Democrats said he was too old (which really means that he came across as too old, age is more than a number).
Agreed on his accomplishments however the right wing media overpowered every positive step. Their nazi like propaganda machine is crushing us. We have to fight on even terms and that means we have to fight w our own propaganda. We should not be tearing dems up but screaming about cheating and gerrymandering etc. we have to crow about all our goods and call out in hearing after hearing and all over the media how hypocritical they are. Go to the bridges we build and stand there w a sign saying your republican representative voted against this and all the jobs associated w it. Do it every day.
Why would that help? Right now is the time to think about what went wrong, and Biden is a large part of that (or, at the very least, it’s completely fair to discuss whether he was a large part of that)
And they most certainly did not diss everything the administration did
No, Biden should NOT take the blame. We will never know if Biden would have brought more Dems out to vote - and that was all that was needed to win. Dems didn’t come out to vote as they needed to - perhaps just bc she was a woman.
In the midst of so much uncertainty in this moment, I feel quite certain that Biden would not have won. His communication skills have diminished and he was never effective at making the case for his administration's accomplishments vis-a-vis disaffected voters. To the extent he ran, it was backward looking and abstract. There is no question in my mind that his age – and agedness, unlike Bernie – closed that door. It was a huge mistake on his part to run and not allow for a meaningful primary where young Democrats could make the case we're all left to debate here.
If you really think Harris lost because she’s a woman, then you have to admit it was Biden’s fault for deciding his VP had to be a woman. Frankly I think Harris suffered somewhat from being viewed as an “affirmative action hire” chosen because of her race and sex, and that was very unfair to her.
The idea that Biden would have inspired more Democrats to come out to vote is almost laughable, except that it’s not funny. The kids who stayed home weren’t going to vote for “genocide Joe.” The overwhelming majority of people polled said over and over they didn’t want Biden, that he was too old. A lot of loyal democrats overlooked Biden’s declining health while less well-informed “regular folks” figured it out, and we ended up looking stupid for defending him.
I agree with a lot of what you said but not this: "If you really think Harris lost because she’s a woman, then you have to admit it was Biden’s fault for deciding his VP had to be a woman." Getting Americans used to female leaders and Black female leaders is important.
Obviously there were a lot of factors that caused the loss of the swing states (let's face it, the rest of us don't matter), Harris being a woman was one of many.
Biden & his team should have stuck with the original idea of being a transitional president, they knew better than anyone that Biden should not run again. In focus groups, people said Harris was illegitimate because she had not won in a primary.
It’s not being a woman, it’s being seen as an “affirmative action/DEI hire” that hurt Harris (and also being Biden’s VP). Agree that having a competitive primary would have been better and provided an opportunity for another candidate, maybe even a female one, to have had a better chance at success. I have no doubt Americans would vote for a woman, but it has to be one who connects with people on a level other than just being a woman. No one thought a black person could win until Obama came along—he was a great candidate who came along in a great year for Democrats. For a woman to win, she has to be great candidate and right for the times.
What is equally tiresome is reading this same comment from you so often. Are you suggesting that we take Biden’s perfect performance as a new baseline for the Dem party? To my mind, that part of Joe who seemingly lost the ability to see and talk about things through the eyes of Scranton Joe is a part of what we need to fix.
Biden was in many ways an admirable president, but he refused to acknowledge that most voters judged he was too old to run in 2024, he waved away high price concerns by referring to eleven-teen Nobel economists who liked his Bidenomics, and tried to hoodwink us over the border by blaming it on Trump’s interference as though we would forget three years of inaction.
In other words, regardless of the folksy manner, he quit listening and quit talking effectively.
I see you listened and came to believe the garbage the Rs repeated and repeated hoping everyone (especially Dems) would think Joe was incompetent. Yet Joe passed very helpful legislation that truly helped the middle class -and did pass some with the help of republicans. They did the same with Hillary and you likely ate that up also. I remember saying too often in 2016 how I’d vote for Hillary just bc Trump was so bad bc of his lack of character. But I took a second look in the years following that election and found Hillary a very intelligent with good policies she intended to execute. She even tried to tell coal miners their industry was dying and she would help find other worthy jobs for them while Trump promised them he’d save their industry. In the same light, Harris was the smart candidate to pick who has so many skills developed over her lifetime. And yet I believe her lack of turnout was bc she was a woman - just why Hillary lost.
Not to beat a dead horse, but did you see the debate? My wife and I have been Biden admirers since the 80s, we marveled at his legislative accomplishments with the thinnest of margins, yet we turned to each other after two minutes of that disaster with an “Oh, shit”. He was dazed, confused, and rhetorically defenseless.
For months, polls said 70% of Dems did not want him to run. He ignored them.
Given the polls, I think Biden would have provided Trump with a landslide.
My deepest apologies for wearying you with my critique. I guess criticism of Biden is ok, but criticism of the PSA crew is not - I’m guessing because they agree with your belief that Biden was a deeply flawed and old (but I repeat myself) President.
I don’t agree, and thus I share my opinion, perhaps with the foolish notion that maybe the archons of PSA will deign to listen to the hoi polloi who don’t agree with their every utterance.
I just don’t get that you seem to think that the Dems lost the race because of racism, misogyny, and insufficient exuberance from PSA.
We lost, imho, because Biden became incapable of selling the benefits of his accomplishments to people (something that was a younger Biden’s strength). And we lost because Biden ignored other big concerns of those same people.
I agree with most of what you say. I have attended several posts election meetings of activists and we are angry and raring to go. Many, including me, are frustrated with our elderly and passive leaders who lack communication skills and see us only as donors not partners. They have been silent. Or they go on cable tv and bleat platitudes but seem completely cowed by the Trumpists and they don’t want to anger their corporate and rich donors. This was a close election. Get up off the floor and stand for something. Explain the con that is at the heart of it all. Trump hates the little guy and wants to hand the uber rich the keys to the kingdom. How hard is that? Say it over and over. That is why the uber rich funded him. I don’t hear it from our so-called leaders. They let the Republicans who gave zero votes to Biden’s economic plans take credit. Nary a peep. Every ribbon cutting ceremony should have had a Dem standing next to the local guy taking credit. The lack of messaging except to ask for money is astounding. Republicans stand for only the rich. Bumper sticker.
In anger I replied just that to another ask for money from the DCCC. I want to hear about how we change to win, not just to be guilted for more money that "could" help blah blah blah. The communications are terrible. Biden was terrible at it. Few tried to fill the gap. And now Senate Dems call Kash Patel "extreme" instead of saying clearly that "Kash Patel promised in detail to go after political opponents using legal prosecution. Here's where he said it ..."
Yes I’ve replied stop to every text and am turning off auto contributions until I see and hear something worth supporting. We need new marketing and comms
Yes, Dems fail to understand they need to repeat and repeat over and over again what the Rs are intending and how hateful (with examples that are newly committed) they are repeated and repeated. That’s how Rs get Ds and Ind’s to turn on D candidates - they repeatedly drum it in, whether it’s Biden is old or Biden is incompetent or the Dems are evil over and over again. Dems need more of the same.
I don’t get what you saying. My folks aren’t radicals or into identity politics. They give money and canvass etc. They are foot soldiers that do the hard work and are frustrated that our leaders can’t articulate a simple message.
I was referring to single-issue stuff. The best current example I can think of is the Gaza campus protests which were, to put it mildly, counterproductive.
WRONG! They’re the ones trying to protect the middle class. That you can’t see that is really sad. Just look at what Biden has done for this in his term and the same for Obama and Bill Clinton. I don’t think you paid attention.
Voices on the left are telling Dems what they need to do but it's as if establishment Dems don't want to hear it. The only Dems who were successful in this last go-round were those whose message was grounded in kitchen-table economics, who refused to play games with language, identity politics, and political abstractions (read: "Democracy"). Even Rahm Emanual gets that, observing, "We use language to feel good about ourselves, not to communicate. We all think we’re applying to be adjunct professors at a small liberal arts college."
That said, we must start paying attention to the voices we've shushed, claiming they would spook centrist Dems and cause us to lose. Well, the stark reality of our actual loss reveals we shot ourselves in both feet with a weapon we've had set on "automatic" for years.
Back to ground level, stop speaking to voters like a scolding elite lecturing a bunch of sophomores, go on every Rogan-like show out there, and use Bernie-esque people (like Hasan Piker & Cameron Kasky) to articulate a vision of a workingman's party in terms the voters who rejected us will understand. Dithering in the halls of academia, MSNBC, and between the columns of WAPO and the NYT will ensure we continue to lose.
I mean Kamala Harris would have won if the people who voted for Josh Stein, Ruben Gallego, Jacky Rosen, Elissa Slotkin, and Tammy Baldwin hadn't spilt their tickets. If anything that and the fact they lost net two seats in the House is a seriously ominous warning sign for the GOP that *their* brand is weak relative to Trump's. There's this trope I've heard here and there about how voters think the GOP is racist but Trump isn't, the GOP is anti-abortion but Trump isn't, and so on. Dumb as it is, the results where Trump outperformed the downballot kind of bear it out.
That doesn't mean there isn't a lot of room for improvement, of course Dems have to unfuck themselves and more importantly the information environment. But the hole they're in is far shallower than it appears.
The fact that Harris lost and didn't win by a landslide demonstrates the shitshow that is the Democratic party right now. We hemorrhaged voters that should have been a lock. There is no consolation in close victories or losses here, in my view. That this wasn't a freakin' landslide for Harris, nitpicking campaign strategy aside, is all we need to know.
I feel you and upvoted accordingly. My post was the bright side, the very real weaknesses of the opposition. Dems need to figure out why Harris got 6 or 7 million fewer votes than Biden did in 2020 and address that.
She’s a woman and D women more prone to what their husbands think. Dems in general are weak and fight weakly. Example: Just recently, Dem Senate re-elected Schumer as the head of D Senate! He cant be any weaker as a leader with how he has proven to be devoid of fresh ideas, a terrible orator to the country almost whispering/reading his thoughts. Nice man, but Dems need stronger, younger and inspiring leadership.
And look at the head of DNC - Jaime Harrison is so weak and seems unable to lead democrats in so many states to even get Dem candidates to run against Rs. My ballot (Ohio) was half-filled with no Dems running against Rs. Jaime couldn’t either fire our Dem state election leader or instruct them how to do their task?
Just addressing your last question- no, the chair of the DNC can’t fire a state chair. They’re elected by each state party. If you aren’t happy with yours, maybe contact your county Democratic committee and see how you might get involved.
I agree with your points but “we need to rebuild the Democratic brand” is a pretty big task and what has everyone anxious is not seeing a path forward yet. Who will be the new voices? How do we get democrats to align behind a message? And will we have the discipline to stay on message when they trot Trump out to say something crazy as a distraction? Pete Buttigieg, during the campaign, would always say the reason they are talking about “this” is to distract you from xyz so when Trump says Canada should be the 51st state, I hope the Dems have the discipline to brush it off and talk about real issues.
The forward path is collecting all the receipts for all the shit Trump promised on the campaign trail and presenting them at any and every opportunity.
Electricity bills cut in half, $1.87 a gallon gas, credit card interest rates capped at 10 percent, $10,000 per child tax credit for home schooling, and so on and so forth.
Hammer him on his failure to cash the checks his fat ass wrote.
Wholeheartedly agree but it needs to be a coordinated, aggressive message across all mediums. Like a weekly “the bastards lied to you again” segment. We need to whip up anger among his voters and direct it at all Republicans. But it needs to be under the umbrella of a revitalized Democratic brand that fights for the little guy.
Over and over again on the very same topics, just different examples. That’s how Rs feed too many people’s subconscious - repeatedly and repeatedly saying things like Joe is incompetent or Joe and family are crooks or the Dems are evil, etc. They say those things repeatedly to drum it into the sub consciences of many voters.
You're exactly right. But, I don't think anybody in the Dem establishment can crack this thing open. I think it takes somebody new, somebody outside the machinery, and someone who has access to social media who speaks that language. It's misguided to look to a politician to do this; we need to be open to voices outside the party looking social media spaces that can garner large audiences and make the case for Dems that they, in turn, endorse.
This would all be easier if we elected a real (european style) leader of the opposition who could go do that segment on all available media and lead us in the fight for regular folks.
The Dem brand has changed to one desperately trying to help the middle class - just what Biden did in his term and Pelosi did in all her terms as House leader. What’s wrong is Dems continue to lack the ability to pound in voters how bad the policies (with examples) and how hateful (with examples) and lies (with examples) repeatedly repeatedly and repeatedly and repeatedly just like the Rs do to infiltrate our subconscious. And it too often works on Ind’s and some Ds. We need to give it back!
Dan, I am unclear as to why you say, "Tens of thousands of people won’t flock to airports at a moment’s notice to protest a Trump executive order." No one planned to do that ahead of time, and my seat-of-the-pants sense is that there's enough anxiety, resentment, fear, and anger over the election among Democrats that there *will* be folks out en masse if Trump pull similar sh•t again. Of course I could be wrong, it's true that it's not as if a pre-inauguration march is planned. But I think you're missing something if you don't see the possibility for mass resistance (there, I said it) demonstrations to happen in response to some outrageous Trump policy announcement.
That said, while I understand the use of the word "brand" it's a way of thinking that rankles. If we really want to get voters to sign on to the ideals of even a fractured Democratic Party we need to *be* something different, not just change our marketing. President Biden's insistence on bi-partisanship was one reason why he was able to accomplish so much in his first years, but it was also part of the party's undoing, as neither he nor most other Democratic politicians were willing to call out the GOP crazies, and especially their enabling, less radical but fellow elected politicians, for being the anti-American voices that they are. The next Democrat who begins a counterpoint with, "My esteemed colleague from across the aisle," should be publicly shamed.
Do you follow the work of Indivisible? (indivisible.org) I am a leader of the Twin Cities chapter and we have not seen so much engagement in years. Whether we call it the "Resistance" or something else, from my experience it is alive and well and people are ready to fight back against Trump and his angry band of horribles.
Agree. Joined in Brooklyn recently and I am heartened by the enthusiasm and strategic vision. I'll happily trade visibility (fueled by MSM and social media obsessions) for efficacy pushing meaningful advocacy.
That is a great advice for party strategists and pundits, but what about us volunteer foot soldiers? Are we to just focus on our brand while the administration wrecks our country? I would think we need to get out there and fight! This is not focusing on Trump. If we fight their actions loudly, voters will notice, and when bad things happen they will remember who had their interests at heart.
Acknowledging that the Dem establishment has lost its way is the first step. Leave the social issues aside for the moment because those issues will continue to alienate voters and we'll never win again. Republicans control the narrative because we refuse to get down in the mud and fight fire with fire. Volunteer Dem foot soldiers talking to Trump voters must admit the party's failure. It's the only way to establish credibility and crack open an opportunity to lure them back.
Calling him a lame duck shows you're still not getting this. SCOTUS has been sidling toward the idea that some constitutional amendments require congressional executing statutes. The 22nd Amendment won't stop him from staying in office as long as wants. OK. Now I'll read the rest of your article.
Now is the time for a bipartisan coalition in Congress to pass legislation to hamstring trump and his crony nominees like patel. The crew he is assembling looks like a bunch of batman villains who escaped an asylum.
There have to be a few decent Republicans who want to save our nation from ruin. It is time for those sworn to protect and defend our nation, to step up and do so.
Resistance takes too much damn energy I do not have. It works when your tank is full…not when it is empty. 9 years of outrage have emptied my tanks.
The Democratic Party is a thin veneer. As far as I can tell the most solid part is in the consultant class who win whether Democrats do or not — making beaucoup bucks.
Having most recently canvassed across several battleground states and districts, I faced solid indifference and more and mounting hostility than I have in the previous 4 years of doing this work combined.
The field offices had few volunteers unless filled with “staff” who were young men and women, always on their laptops, no time to talk, and few if any volunteers..zero energy. Lots of signs.
A striking contrast to Obama HQ in SF that was filled to the brim with volunteers and excitement . Then it was a community phone-bank, not door to door, but the excitement and energy was palpable and exhilarating.
No such energy this year. Ker- thud.
Clinton phonebanks were more like this year’s doorknocking. Clinton calls were shocking — people were cussing me out and hanging up in the most vulgar and vile ways.
They were more hostile than this year’s voters at the door, but similar degree of hostility.
I bought the line that we had the ground game and would make the difference. I ante’d up, one more time…went for broke to save our nation for myself, my kids, for communities of people who trump would harm, for all of us and all we hold dear.
I caught the political bug and went all in. But I was a lone wolf and had no desire to ask anyone I loved or cared about to join because the work was grueling, felt risky and was very expensive. I had burned out anyone who cared in previous campaigns.
And as many doors as I have knocked and money I have spent traveling etc, nobody asked me what I was seeing, what I thought, hell, when I wanted to share feedback or ideas, I was met by a bureaucratic response — we do not have any power or any way to communicate with the campaign…front line staff had little to zero interest in my input, from the ground, and no way to effectively communicate ideas and information up the chain.
And voters, by the end, they felt completely harassed…one woman was in tears, she would not vote, her husband had just died, she was absolutely distraught. This emphasis on “touches” by multiple campaigns and pacs had voters all touched out!!!
And don’t get me started on the dispersal of energy, volunteers and money by this system that segregates pacs from campaigns and floods the zone with Dark Money…and then there is the social media giants outsized influence etc.
BS’ing voters and volunteers works for Republicans but not for Democrats. It turns Dems off. The Atlantic writer who said Dems lied about immigration, Biden’s health and the economy had it right. A whiff of insincerity dooms Dems. I guess our members are by and large true believers, in principles such as honesty, integrity etc???
Americans as a whole would rather affirmatively vote for a shameless crook who doesn’t try to hide it and allow his shameless cronies and capitulators to win than select an relatively honest broker who shaves the truth and appears to be dancing around reality and complexity like a hot potato.
Dems need to find a way to be fierce, brave, strong, courageous and feed some unpleasant truths to the American people with courage, clarity and no nonsense confidence.
No um’ing or aw’ing.
We need to be bold and straight forward. Stop BS’ing. We need to seek common ground and build coalitions around issues. We need to de- emphasize party. I personally am sick of Dems. They offer little or nothing but a closed, byzantine system that amounts to window dressing. It is a high wire with no net that some really effective leaders walk on to get things done on a wing and a prayer.
Dems need to proclaim —
We know this, we don’t know that. This is what we can do, this is what we can’t do. We are banishing the consultant class. We are operating on a shoe string. We are bringing actual
people together. We are listening to PEOPLE, the Demos. We are not wasting volunteers and voters time, energy or money.
How about Dems come up with a reality based, people based, principle based agenda and call voters together in a reality based agenda not a failed popularity contest?
Leaders are not Santa Claus. The government is not Christmas. We elect leaders not to entertain and amuse and placate us, they are grinding out the systems that keep us safe, fed and thriving. Nuts and bolts. Stop selling campaigns and candidates like commodities, candy, toys at Christmas. Start telling the truth, this work is dull, tedious and time consuming and I am going to grind it out so you don’t have to. How about that for a platform? And how about Fems actually map something out now, , not next year and let us know what they are going to do to protect and defend us NOW with the realities we face and speak with one clear voice so folks can fully comprehend what the platform is?
And how about they listen to us old ladies who are the backbone of their volunteer base and see what we think and stop treating us like a tree falling in the woods?
I am out for now. I have no room for BS and Bull- f’ery in my sensory system. It is elected leaders’ job to find answers. I am tired of imagining what should be done and investing everything I have into action to support Dems and being isolated and ignored. This is madness.
I found the same while canvassing. So indifferent that they didn’t even know their neighbor two doors down was running for city council. Something had to change.
Yes, we have a huge, complicated, and existential problem on our hands. I thoroughly understand there are no simple answer, but a few things would go a long way:
-Dem leadership that can articulate core values and who will actually fight for them.
-Dem leadership that stops apologizing for our values, stops using Republican talking points and language, and stops pretending that decorum means butt-kissing Republicans.
-Dem leadership that stops fighting the last battle and elevates successful young Dems who can modernize, innovate, and blaze our path rather than always chasing whatever tactics the Republicans just used that - once again - left our leadership flat-footed.
-Dem leadership that empowers the grass roots, respects local knowledge (specifically talking to you DCCC), and fights year-round.
- 4 years constant FOX campaign for GOP's in all 50 states
From Hopium Chronicles on SubStack.
We need a more robust 24/7/365 pro-democracy media we discussed yesterday, but we also need a more aggressive Democratic Party-led strategy to engage Democratic voters in all 50 states to drive turnout in every election, in every state. The Democratic Party and our Presidential campaigns have to be more than just 7 battleground states.
Him being a lame duck is the only thing holding me together. Over on Blue Sky it’s getting annoying to only hear that the sky is falling. The sky already fell, he got reelected. Let’s be proactive instead of whining about every insane cabinet pick. None of what he’s doing should surprise anyone. We need plans. Including what we will do if he pulls a So Korea on us.
How about focusing on the Republican Party's identity politics? Read Don Moynihan's Substack, Can We Still Govern, 11-10-24: "Part of the appeal of Trump’s identity politics is the promise of control over others. In the aftermath of Trump’s victory, messaging celebrating the expected control over women exploded on social media. In America, identity politics can only be identity politics if it comes from the left, and if it centers on historically marginalized groups. Right wing politics that emphasize male, Christian and white identity is not defined as identity politics. As the perceived natural order of things, it is seen simply as politics." I'd also recommend Aaron Ruper and Anna Gifty, Substack, Public Notice, Trump ran on identity politics and won, 11-4-24. This isn't about "economic anxiety" now, any more than it was about identity politics in 2016. It's about systemic misogyny (which includes anti-abortion, anti-trans, etc.) and racism but no one wants to talk about that. Biden, Harris and the Democratic Party talked about all of their economic policies and legislation until they were blue in the face and, at the end of the day, it didn't matter. What mattered is fear and hatred.
In fact is there is a planned Womens' March on Jan. 18, in DC and nationally. The problem isn't that there won't be "marches" but that the marches need to have an agenda and strategic focus. This was the failure of the first and of the BLM protests too. There was plenty of focus on generating "outside" attention and outrage, but too little on "inside" advocacy at city council, state legislature, school boards, etc. We had instead diffuse messaging asking for unrealistic and unappealing outcomes. Look at the womensmarch.com website and find for me a goal that anyone can say will be achieved. I don't think you'll find it. Spread feminism? End White Supremacy? Reimagine Democracy? Then go to Indivisible.org, which at least aims at getting people to accomplish provably true things that limit Republican harm.
Maybe you can start by getting your fellow PSA crew to stop crapping on Biden. It really doesn’t help when they spent four years damning with faint praise, or outright dissing, everything that the Biden-Harris team did.
Dissing everything? The Pod boys struck me as being pretty positive about Harris's campaign. And as for Biden, I don't think that they criticized enough his initial decision to run for reelection. Their criticisms of his messaging and Israel policies struck me as prescient.
It's disheartening to see so many people appear to want propaganda over easy. I'd rather be well informed -- and hear a variety of viewpoints, some of which I may happen to disagree with. I want to be part of a broad pro-democracy coalition, not a cult under the thrall of dear leader.
It’s a slippery slope argument to say that because it would be nice to see PSA not regularly crap on the administration (Afghanistan, economic policies, Monday Morning quarterbacking of the Harris campaign without really addressing misogyny and racism) that I want propaganda. Nothing was ever good enough - listen to Tommy, listen to Jon F, rarely could they find a positive thing to say about Biden-Harris.
Additionally, they regularly rose to the defense of the legacy media even when it meant throwing their own listeners under the bus - how often did they rally to the side of folks like Haberman, Baker, Tapper?
The Hysteria team is much better at offering critiques without regularly being condescending and dismissive of progress actually made. Dan is the only member of the PSA crew that is balanced in his critique. Dan’s pessimism is different than the ‘disappointment’ offered by the other three.
I don’t want propaganda, neither do I want to hear, on a regular basis, how the administration failed us, especially when they didn’t.
Their latest hot takes on Hunter Biden's pardon are a great example of this.
Phew. I agree!
As plouffe said on the money issue, we have to stop following the rules since the other side isn’t when it comes to dark $. We are getting killed because they don’t care about the law
So, who is your choice to step up and run? If all the Democrats have failed us then who should be doing the governing?
I wonder if you think it’s time for AOC to make a run - of the squad, I think she has the most mainstream appeal, while still being a solid progressive.
I’d like to see Gov. Whitmer run - she has done good work here in Michigan. She appeals to my pragmatism.
And I agree - they need to let Hakeem be Hakeem.
I love Bernie but all of us who love him need to realize that he will never (could never) win the midwest. He yells too much and makes people feel like misbehaved children. The blue wall isn't into it and it doesn't work for coalition building and we need a large inclusive purpose driven but uplifting coalition.
We cannot skewer people for each small decision but judge them on the full breadth of their work. Your comment on AOC is a perfect example of this - she is an AMAZING voice for women. I also do not believe she has extensions and even if she did, who cares - how many congressmen have plugs? That just came off as misogynist - not saying you are, but letting you know.
We need to meet in the middle - there is always compromise for the greater good. Sitting out for one issue while our planet burns and (more) people lose rights is never justified imho.
Add to this list the likes of Dan Osborne and some of the youngest members of Congress: Maxwell Frost of Florida, as well as Justin Jones and Justin Pearson of the Tennessee House.
Who is stopping Hakeem from being Hakeem? Seriously? He is closest in Congress to being a federal Democrat who can wield power and he doesn't have a majority to lose. I don't get what's stopping him from showing a spine and being more aggressive at a moment when Democrats are desperate for that.
Yet we will never know if Biden would have actually won if more Dems showed up for him than Harris. Harris didn’t have the turnout and maybe just because she was a woman. Dems now ridiculously picking themselves apart yet missing the actual cause of their loss. I’ve been an Independent all my life. Dems too weak and most Rs now too evil, or Rs also weak under Trump, even while Trump out of office. Just look at how the Dems Senators re-elected Schumer as head of Dem senate. He’s so damn weak, not creative and orates horribly - not a leader at all. Dems need stronger leadership who can construe strong directions to fix our ills.
I agree for different reasons. If Biden had not been given leeway to run again we might not be in this mess today. Done. That is done. He screwed us. And those around him are complicit. History will not be kind to them, especially if our democracy is trashed.
We need to leave Biden and Trump in the dust in terms of actions going forward.
Balderdash. Biden was the most consequential POTUS than any POTUS in the last 40 years, partly to do with his ability to get across-the-aisle cooperation for so much legislation. And he rebuilt our economy after the disastrous Trump term. You just listened to the R’s “Biden is bad” scenario they tried to drum in us all.
I agree you about with the Biden administration's accomplishments. But his decision to run a second time was Shakespearean in it's folly.
Both things can be true. Biden was the best president in my lifetime based on his accomplishments, but he screwed us by not stepping down. Biden and his team knew he couldn't win, and even most Democrats said he was too old (which really means that he came across as too old, age is more than a number).
Agreed on his accomplishments however the right wing media overpowered every positive step. Their nazi like propaganda machine is crushing us. We have to fight on even terms and that means we have to fight w our own propaganda. We should not be tearing dems up but screaming about cheating and gerrymandering etc. we have to crow about all our goods and call out in hearing after hearing and all over the media how hypocritical they are. Go to the bridges we build and stand there w a sign saying your republican representative voted against this and all the jobs associated w it. Do it every day.
Why would that help? Right now is the time to think about what went wrong, and Biden is a large part of that (or, at the very least, it’s completely fair to discuss whether he was a large part of that)
And they most certainly did not diss everything the administration did
No, Biden should NOT take the blame. We will never know if Biden would have brought more Dems out to vote - and that was all that was needed to win. Dems didn’t come out to vote as they needed to - perhaps just bc she was a woman.
In the midst of so much uncertainty in this moment, I feel quite certain that Biden would not have won. His communication skills have diminished and he was never effective at making the case for his administration's accomplishments vis-a-vis disaffected voters. To the extent he ran, it was backward looking and abstract. There is no question in my mind that his age – and agedness, unlike Bernie – closed that door. It was a huge mistake on his part to run and not allow for a meaningful primary where young Democrats could make the case we're all left to debate here.
💯
If you really think Harris lost because she’s a woman, then you have to admit it was Biden’s fault for deciding his VP had to be a woman. Frankly I think Harris suffered somewhat from being viewed as an “affirmative action hire” chosen because of her race and sex, and that was very unfair to her.
The idea that Biden would have inspired more Democrats to come out to vote is almost laughable, except that it’s not funny. The kids who stayed home weren’t going to vote for “genocide Joe.” The overwhelming majority of people polled said over and over they didn’t want Biden, that he was too old. A lot of loyal democrats overlooked Biden’s declining health while less well-informed “regular folks” figured it out, and we ended up looking stupid for defending him.
I agree with a lot of what you said but not this: "If you really think Harris lost because she’s a woman, then you have to admit it was Biden’s fault for deciding his VP had to be a woman." Getting Americans used to female leaders and Black female leaders is important.
Obviously there were a lot of factors that caused the loss of the swing states (let's face it, the rest of us don't matter), Harris being a woman was one of many.
Biden & his team should have stuck with the original idea of being a transitional president, they knew better than anyone that Biden should not run again. In focus groups, people said Harris was illegitimate because she had not won in a primary.
It’s not being a woman, it’s being seen as an “affirmative action/DEI hire” that hurt Harris (and also being Biden’s VP). Agree that having a competitive primary would have been better and provided an opportunity for another candidate, maybe even a female one, to have had a better chance at success. I have no doubt Americans would vote for a woman, but it has to be one who connects with people on a level other than just being a woman. No one thought a black person could win until Obama came along—he was a great candidate who came along in a great year for Democrats. For a woman to win, she has to be great candidate and right for the times.
What is equally tiresome is reading this same comment from you so often. Are you suggesting that we take Biden’s perfect performance as a new baseline for the Dem party? To my mind, that part of Joe who seemingly lost the ability to see and talk about things through the eyes of Scranton Joe is a part of what we need to fix.
Biden was in many ways an admirable president, but he refused to acknowledge that most voters judged he was too old to run in 2024, he waved away high price concerns by referring to eleven-teen Nobel economists who liked his Bidenomics, and tried to hoodwink us over the border by blaming it on Trump’s interference as though we would forget three years of inaction.
In other words, regardless of the folksy manner, he quit listening and quit talking effectively.
So, worthy of criticism.
I see you listened and came to believe the garbage the Rs repeated and repeated hoping everyone (especially Dems) would think Joe was incompetent. Yet Joe passed very helpful legislation that truly helped the middle class -and did pass some with the help of republicans. They did the same with Hillary and you likely ate that up also. I remember saying too often in 2016 how I’d vote for Hillary just bc Trump was so bad bc of his lack of character. But I took a second look in the years following that election and found Hillary a very intelligent with good policies she intended to execute. She even tried to tell coal miners their industry was dying and she would help find other worthy jobs for them while Trump promised them he’d save their industry. In the same light, Harris was the smart candidate to pick who has so many skills developed over her lifetime. And yet I believe her lack of turnout was bc she was a woman - just why Hillary lost.
Not to beat a dead horse, but did you see the debate? My wife and I have been Biden admirers since the 80s, we marveled at his legislative accomplishments with the thinnest of margins, yet we turned to each other after two minutes of that disaster with an “Oh, shit”. He was dazed, confused, and rhetorically defenseless.
For months, polls said 70% of Dems did not want him to run. He ignored them.
Given the polls, I think Biden would have provided Trump with a landslide.
My deepest apologies for wearying you with my critique. I guess criticism of Biden is ok, but criticism of the PSA crew is not - I’m guessing because they agree with your belief that Biden was a deeply flawed and old (but I repeat myself) President.
I don’t agree, and thus I share my opinion, perhaps with the foolish notion that maybe the archons of PSA will deign to listen to the hoi polloi who don’t agree with their every utterance.
Wow, two Greek references in one paragraph.
I just don’t get that you seem to think that the Dems lost the race because of racism, misogyny, and insufficient exuberance from PSA.
We lost, imho, because Biden became incapable of selling the benefits of his accomplishments to people (something that was a younger Biden’s strength). And we lost because Biden ignored other big concerns of those same people.
You take disagreement very personally, don’t you?
If you must know, I think Bernie is an ineffective blowhard, far too left to win a general election.
I voted for Hillary and Joe. I have voted democratic since my first vote in 1968 for RFK in a state primary.
I doubt any person or group is capable of secretly rigging a primary or general election.
Sincerely sorry you are so, so sensitive.
We lost the election so I think reflection and anger is entirely warranted.
I agree with most of what you say. I have attended several posts election meetings of activists and we are angry and raring to go. Many, including me, are frustrated with our elderly and passive leaders who lack communication skills and see us only as donors not partners. They have been silent. Or they go on cable tv and bleat platitudes but seem completely cowed by the Trumpists and they don’t want to anger their corporate and rich donors. This was a close election. Get up off the floor and stand for something. Explain the con that is at the heart of it all. Trump hates the little guy and wants to hand the uber rich the keys to the kingdom. How hard is that? Say it over and over. That is why the uber rich funded him. I don’t hear it from our so-called leaders. They let the Republicans who gave zero votes to Biden’s economic plans take credit. Nary a peep. Every ribbon cutting ceremony should have had a Dem standing next to the local guy taking credit. The lack of messaging except to ask for money is astounding. Republicans stand for only the rich. Bumper sticker.
In anger I replied just that to another ask for money from the DCCC. I want to hear about how we change to win, not just to be guilted for more money that "could" help blah blah blah. The communications are terrible. Biden was terrible at it. Few tried to fill the gap. And now Senate Dems call Kash Patel "extreme" instead of saying clearly that "Kash Patel promised in detail to go after political opponents using legal prosecution. Here's where he said it ..."
The money grubbing is awful. What makes it worse is that a contribution intensifies it.
Yes I’ve replied stop to every text and am turning off auto contributions until I see and hear something worth supporting. We need new marketing and comms
Yes, Dems fail to understand they need to repeat and repeat over and over again what the Rs are intending and how hateful (with examples that are newly committed) they are repeated and repeated. That’s how Rs get Ds and Ind’s to turn on D candidates - they repeatedly drum it in, whether it’s Biden is old or Biden is incompetent or the Dems are evil over and over again. Dems need more of the same.
It’s hard to imagine a worse look for Democrats than activists v. donors. The face of the party is competing elites.
I don’t get what you saying. My folks aren’t radicals or into identity politics. They give money and canvass etc. They are foot soldiers that do the hard work and are frustrated that our leaders can’t articulate a simple message.
Single issue voters in a winner take all system are nuts. I believe in work not standing around and yelling.
I was referring to single-issue stuff. The best current example I can think of is the Gaza campus protests which were, to put it mildly, counterproductive.
We need more of what your parents are doing.
WRONG! They’re the ones trying to protect the middle class. That you can’t see that is really sad. Just look at what Biden has done for this in his term and the same for Obama and Bill Clinton. I don’t think you paid attention.
They failed to communicate any of that effectively and in simple terms
Susa is correct. Nobody knows anything about the accomplishments
Exactly. Extreme doesn’t sat anything. Enemies list does!
As long as Dems repeat and repeat and repeat that list just as Rs always do.
Amen, sister!
Say anything-fingers too fast!
Voices on the left are telling Dems what they need to do but it's as if establishment Dems don't want to hear it. The only Dems who were successful in this last go-round were those whose message was grounded in kitchen-table economics, who refused to play games with language, identity politics, and political abstractions (read: "Democracy"). Even Rahm Emanual gets that, observing, "We use language to feel good about ourselves, not to communicate. We all think we’re applying to be adjunct professors at a small liberal arts college."
That said, we must start paying attention to the voices we've shushed, claiming they would spook centrist Dems and cause us to lose. Well, the stark reality of our actual loss reveals we shot ourselves in both feet with a weapon we've had set on "automatic" for years.
Back to ground level, stop speaking to voters like a scolding elite lecturing a bunch of sophomores, go on every Rogan-like show out there, and use Bernie-esque people (like Hasan Piker & Cameron Kasky) to articulate a vision of a workingman's party in terms the voters who rejected us will understand. Dithering in the halls of academia, MSNBC, and between the columns of WAPO and the NYT will ensure we continue to lose.
"The Dem Brand Has Degraded." Has it though?
I mean Kamala Harris would have won if the people who voted for Josh Stein, Ruben Gallego, Jacky Rosen, Elissa Slotkin, and Tammy Baldwin hadn't spilt their tickets. If anything that and the fact they lost net two seats in the House is a seriously ominous warning sign for the GOP that *their* brand is weak relative to Trump's. There's this trope I've heard here and there about how voters think the GOP is racist but Trump isn't, the GOP is anti-abortion but Trump isn't, and so on. Dumb as it is, the results where Trump outperformed the downballot kind of bear it out.
That doesn't mean there isn't a lot of room for improvement, of course Dems have to unfuck themselves and more importantly the information environment. But the hole they're in is far shallower than it appears.
The fact that Harris lost and didn't win by a landslide demonstrates the shitshow that is the Democratic party right now. We hemorrhaged voters that should have been a lock. There is no consolation in close victories or losses here, in my view. That this wasn't a freakin' landslide for Harris, nitpicking campaign strategy aside, is all we need to know.
I feel you and upvoted accordingly. My post was the bright side, the very real weaknesses of the opposition. Dems need to figure out why Harris got 6 or 7 million fewer votes than Biden did in 2020 and address that.
She’s a woman and D women more prone to what their husbands think. Dems in general are weak and fight weakly. Example: Just recently, Dem Senate re-elected Schumer as the head of D Senate! He cant be any weaker as a leader with how he has proven to be devoid of fresh ideas, a terrible orator to the country almost whispering/reading his thoughts. Nice man, but Dems need stronger, younger and inspiring leadership.
And look at the head of DNC - Jaime Harrison is so weak and seems unable to lead democrats in so many states to even get Dem candidates to run against Rs. My ballot (Ohio) was half-filled with no Dems running against Rs. Jaime couldn’t either fire our Dem state election leader or instruct them how to do their task?
Just addressing your last question- no, the chair of the DNC can’t fire a state chair. They’re elected by each state party. If you aren’t happy with yours, maybe contact your county Democratic committee and see how you might get involved.
Problem is, we likely have lost our democracy as a result of this loss
I agree with your points but “we need to rebuild the Democratic brand” is a pretty big task and what has everyone anxious is not seeing a path forward yet. Who will be the new voices? How do we get democrats to align behind a message? And will we have the discipline to stay on message when they trot Trump out to say something crazy as a distraction? Pete Buttigieg, during the campaign, would always say the reason they are talking about “this” is to distract you from xyz so when Trump says Canada should be the 51st state, I hope the Dems have the discipline to brush it off and talk about real issues.
The forward path is collecting all the receipts for all the shit Trump promised on the campaign trail and presenting them at any and every opportunity.
Electricity bills cut in half, $1.87 a gallon gas, credit card interest rates capped at 10 percent, $10,000 per child tax credit for home schooling, and so on and so forth.
Hammer him on his failure to cash the checks his fat ass wrote.
Wholeheartedly agree but it needs to be a coordinated, aggressive message across all mediums. Like a weekly “the bastards lied to you again” segment. We need to whip up anger among his voters and direct it at all Republicans. But it needs to be under the umbrella of a revitalized Democratic brand that fights for the little guy.
Over and over again on the very same topics, just different examples. That’s how Rs feed too many people’s subconscious - repeatedly and repeatedly saying things like Joe is incompetent or Joe and family are crooks or the Dems are evil, etc. They say those things repeatedly to drum it into the sub consciences of many voters.
You're exactly right. But, I don't think anybody in the Dem establishment can crack this thing open. I think it takes somebody new, somebody outside the machinery, and someone who has access to social media who speaks that language. It's misguided to look to a politician to do this; we need to be open to voices outside the party looking social media spaces that can garner large audiences and make the case for Dems that they, in turn, endorse.
This would all be easier if we elected a real (european style) leader of the opposition who could go do that segment on all available media and lead us in the fight for regular folks.
And we don't have time to futz around, especially if '26 is on the table
The Dem brand has changed to one desperately trying to help the middle class - just what Biden did in his term and Pelosi did in all her terms as House leader. What’s wrong is Dems continue to lack the ability to pound in voters how bad the policies (with examples) and how hateful (with examples) and lies (with examples) repeatedly repeatedly and repeatedly and repeatedly just like the Rs do to infiltrate our subconscious. And it too often works on Ind’s and some Ds. We need to give it back!
Dan, I am unclear as to why you say, "Tens of thousands of people won’t flock to airports at a moment’s notice to protest a Trump executive order." No one planned to do that ahead of time, and my seat-of-the-pants sense is that there's enough anxiety, resentment, fear, and anger over the election among Democrats that there *will* be folks out en masse if Trump pull similar sh•t again. Of course I could be wrong, it's true that it's not as if a pre-inauguration march is planned. But I think you're missing something if you don't see the possibility for mass resistance (there, I said it) demonstrations to happen in response to some outrageous Trump policy announcement.
That said, while I understand the use of the word "brand" it's a way of thinking that rankles. If we really want to get voters to sign on to the ideals of even a fractured Democratic Party we need to *be* something different, not just change our marketing. President Biden's insistence on bi-partisanship was one reason why he was able to accomplish so much in his first years, but it was also part of the party's undoing, as neither he nor most other Democratic politicians were willing to call out the GOP crazies, and especially their enabling, less radical but fellow elected politicians, for being the anti-American voices that they are. The next Democrat who begins a counterpoint with, "My esteemed colleague from across the aisle," should be publicly shamed.
Do you follow the work of Indivisible? (indivisible.org) I am a leader of the Twin Cities chapter and we have not seen so much engagement in years. Whether we call it the "Resistance" or something else, from my experience it is alive and well and people are ready to fight back against Trump and his angry band of horribles.
Agree. Joined in Brooklyn recently and I am heartened by the enthusiasm and strategic vision. I'll happily trade visibility (fueled by MSM and social media obsessions) for efficacy pushing meaningful advocacy.
That is a great advice for party strategists and pundits, but what about us volunteer foot soldiers? Are we to just focus on our brand while the administration wrecks our country? I would think we need to get out there and fight! This is not focusing on Trump. If we fight their actions loudly, voters will notice, and when bad things happen they will remember who had their interests at heart.
Acknowledging that the Dem establishment has lost its way is the first step. Leave the social issues aside for the moment because those issues will continue to alienate voters and we'll never win again. Republicans control the narrative because we refuse to get down in the mud and fight fire with fire. Volunteer Dem foot soldiers talking to Trump voters must admit the party's failure. It's the only way to establish credibility and crack open an opportunity to lure them back.
Calling him a lame duck shows you're still not getting this. SCOTUS has been sidling toward the idea that some constitutional amendments require congressional executing statutes. The 22nd Amendment won't stop him from staying in office as long as wants. OK. Now I'll read the rest of your article.
Now is the time for a bipartisan coalition in Congress to pass legislation to hamstring trump and his crony nominees like patel. The crew he is assembling looks like a bunch of batman villains who escaped an asylum.
There have to be a few decent Republicans who want to save our nation from ruin. It is time for those sworn to protect and defend our nation, to step up and do so.
Resistance takes too much damn energy I do not have. It works when your tank is full…not when it is empty. 9 years of outrage have emptied my tanks.
The Democratic Party is a thin veneer. As far as I can tell the most solid part is in the consultant class who win whether Democrats do or not — making beaucoup bucks.
Having most recently canvassed across several battleground states and districts, I faced solid indifference and more and mounting hostility than I have in the previous 4 years of doing this work combined.
The field offices had few volunteers unless filled with “staff” who were young men and women, always on their laptops, no time to talk, and few if any volunteers..zero energy. Lots of signs.
A striking contrast to Obama HQ in SF that was filled to the brim with volunteers and excitement . Then it was a community phone-bank, not door to door, but the excitement and energy was palpable and exhilarating.
No such energy this year. Ker- thud.
Clinton phonebanks were more like this year’s doorknocking. Clinton calls were shocking — people were cussing me out and hanging up in the most vulgar and vile ways.
They were more hostile than this year’s voters at the door, but similar degree of hostility.
I bought the line that we had the ground game and would make the difference. I ante’d up, one more time…went for broke to save our nation for myself, my kids, for communities of people who trump would harm, for all of us and all we hold dear.
I caught the political bug and went all in. But I was a lone wolf and had no desire to ask anyone I loved or cared about to join because the work was grueling, felt risky and was very expensive. I had burned out anyone who cared in previous campaigns.
And as many doors as I have knocked and money I have spent traveling etc, nobody asked me what I was seeing, what I thought, hell, when I wanted to share feedback or ideas, I was met by a bureaucratic response — we do not have any power or any way to communicate with the campaign…front line staff had little to zero interest in my input, from the ground, and no way to effectively communicate ideas and information up the chain.
And voters, by the end, they felt completely harassed…one woman was in tears, she would not vote, her husband had just died, she was absolutely distraught. This emphasis on “touches” by multiple campaigns and pacs had voters all touched out!!!
And don’t get me started on the dispersal of energy, volunteers and money by this system that segregates pacs from campaigns and floods the zone with Dark Money…and then there is the social media giants outsized influence etc.
BS’ing voters and volunteers works for Republicans but not for Democrats. It turns Dems off. The Atlantic writer who said Dems lied about immigration, Biden’s health and the economy had it right. A whiff of insincerity dooms Dems. I guess our members are by and large true believers, in principles such as honesty, integrity etc???
Americans as a whole would rather affirmatively vote for a shameless crook who doesn’t try to hide it and allow his shameless cronies and capitulators to win than select an relatively honest broker who shaves the truth and appears to be dancing around reality and complexity like a hot potato.
Dems need to find a way to be fierce, brave, strong, courageous and feed some unpleasant truths to the American people with courage, clarity and no nonsense confidence.
No um’ing or aw’ing.
We need to be bold and straight forward. Stop BS’ing. We need to seek common ground and build coalitions around issues. We need to de- emphasize party. I personally am sick of Dems. They offer little or nothing but a closed, byzantine system that amounts to window dressing. It is a high wire with no net that some really effective leaders walk on to get things done on a wing and a prayer.
Dems need to proclaim —
We know this, we don’t know that. This is what we can do, this is what we can’t do. We are banishing the consultant class. We are operating on a shoe string. We are bringing actual
people together. We are listening to PEOPLE, the Demos. We are not wasting volunteers and voters time, energy or money.
How about Dems come up with a reality based, people based, principle based agenda and call voters together in a reality based agenda not a failed popularity contest?
Leaders are not Santa Claus. The government is not Christmas. We elect leaders not to entertain and amuse and placate us, they are grinding out the systems that keep us safe, fed and thriving. Nuts and bolts. Stop selling campaigns and candidates like commodities, candy, toys at Christmas. Start telling the truth, this work is dull, tedious and time consuming and I am going to grind it out so you don’t have to. How about that for a platform? And how about Fems actually map something out now, , not next year and let us know what they are going to do to protect and defend us NOW with the realities we face and speak with one clear voice so folks can fully comprehend what the platform is?
And how about they listen to us old ladies who are the backbone of their volunteer base and see what we think and stop treating us like a tree falling in the woods?
I am out for now. I have no room for BS and Bull- f’ery in my sensory system. It is elected leaders’ job to find answers. I am tired of imagining what should be done and investing everything I have into action to support Dems and being isolated and ignored. This is madness.
I found the same while canvassing. So indifferent that they didn’t even know their neighbor two doors down was running for city council. Something had to change.
Yes, we have a huge, complicated, and existential problem on our hands. I thoroughly understand there are no simple answer, but a few things would go a long way:
-Dem leadership that can articulate core values and who will actually fight for them.
-Dem leadership that stops apologizing for our values, stops using Republican talking points and language, and stops pretending that decorum means butt-kissing Republicans.
-Dem leadership that stops fighting the last battle and elevates successful young Dems who can modernize, innovate, and blaze our path rather than always chasing whatever tactics the Republicans just used that - once again - left our leadership flat-footed.
-Dem leadership that empowers the grass roots, respects local knowledge (specifically talking to you DCCC), and fights year-round.
The 2024 DNC Presidental Campaign
- Silence for 3 years, 7 months
- Campaign 5 months in swing states
The 2024 RNC Presidential Campaign
- 4 years constant FOX campaign for GOP's in all 50 states
From Hopium Chronicles on SubStack.
We need a more robust 24/7/365 pro-democracy media we discussed yesterday, but we also need a more aggressive Democratic Party-led strategy to engage Democratic voters in all 50 states to drive turnout in every election, in every state. The Democratic Party and our Presidential campaigns have to be more than just 7 battleground states.
Him being a lame duck is the only thing holding me together. Over on Blue Sky it’s getting annoying to only hear that the sky is falling. The sky already fell, he got reelected. Let’s be proactive instead of whining about every insane cabinet pick. None of what he’s doing should surprise anyone. We need plans. Including what we will do if he pulls a So Korea on us.
Get rid of Nadler , Schumer et al
Backbench…not get rid of. But definitely Democrats need much more pugnacious leadership…and I’d add Durbin to your list.
Durbin is number 1…
How about focusing on the Republican Party's identity politics? Read Don Moynihan's Substack, Can We Still Govern, 11-10-24: "Part of the appeal of Trump’s identity politics is the promise of control over others. In the aftermath of Trump’s victory, messaging celebrating the expected control over women exploded on social media. In America, identity politics can only be identity politics if it comes from the left, and if it centers on historically marginalized groups. Right wing politics that emphasize male, Christian and white identity is not defined as identity politics. As the perceived natural order of things, it is seen simply as politics." I'd also recommend Aaron Ruper and Anna Gifty, Substack, Public Notice, Trump ran on identity politics and won, 11-4-24. This isn't about "economic anxiety" now, any more than it was about identity politics in 2016. It's about systemic misogyny (which includes anti-abortion, anti-trans, etc.) and racism but no one wants to talk about that. Biden, Harris and the Democratic Party talked about all of their economic policies and legislation until they were blue in the face and, at the end of the day, it didn't matter. What mattered is fear and hatred.
In fact is there is a planned Womens' March on Jan. 18, in DC and nationally. The problem isn't that there won't be "marches" but that the marches need to have an agenda and strategic focus. This was the failure of the first and of the BLM protests too. There was plenty of focus on generating "outside" attention and outrage, but too little on "inside" advocacy at city council, state legislature, school boards, etc. We had instead diffuse messaging asking for unrealistic and unappealing outcomes. Look at the womensmarch.com website and find for me a goal that anyone can say will be achieved. I don't think you'll find it. Spread feminism? End White Supremacy? Reimagine Democracy? Then go to Indivisible.org, which at least aims at getting people to accomplish provably true things that limit Republican harm.