I have a question about what is currently happening behind the scenes. Do Dem political types wait to see the outcome of the election before starting to plan the next move or are there people who, right now, are figuring out what’s next in either a win or a loss scenario? I just feel like the GOP is always thinking 5 steps ahead and I need some reassurance that Dems are too. At a more macro level, do Dems have a well-articulated, well-defined, laser focused 20 year plan like the one that is coming to fruition now in the judiciary and state/local government for the GOP/Federalist Society? Or are we more the party that is constantly playing defense? Because I have to say, feeling like we’re always on our back foot is pretty exhausting.
I’m not sure I agree. I think they’ve done a lot this year and I marvel at all the things they have to pay attention to. It’s like watching a plate spinner who keeps having to make sure all the plates keep spinning. But while Biden is on the front lines making policy and fighting the good fight, who is the person who is looking at the big picture and determining long term strategy based on the vision Dems have for this country in 5, 10, 20 years?
No mention of Congressional Democrats’ not getting anything done. Why? Don’t you think legislative wins would increase Democratic Party enthusiasm? Biden taking action on student debt? Whatever happened to adding Puerto Rico and DC as states?
Nothing is getting done to get people enthusiastic about anything. On top of that …
We were told the exit from Afghanistan would not look like the one from Vietnam …
Inflation was supposed to be short term …
Jobs are going unfilled …
The supply chain is a disaster …
No family leave … no free community college … and maybe no bills …
Voting rights …
And in case you don’t know how politics works, why doesn’t matter. The buck stops where it always stops.
And you don’t see any of this explaining the enthusiasm gap?
Can we factor in refusal to allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices??? Bernie (Twitter) on a real crusade about this! I wish to God that Joe Biden would say the unthinkable: to the electorate, " give me REAL democrats who want to work for the people...NOT for the donor lobbyist class". Months ago, Ezra Klein wrote a piece in the NYT which headline said: "Here's how to lose...and deserve it". Jan 21 of this year. And it's exactly where we are going. I don't even know if D Senate wins in Fl, Oh, Pa (where I live), will change a thing. Back to making calls for my municipal elections here in PA 06; haven't given up yet but think more and more about my next move: Portugal or Canada.
Yes because we have 50 senate majority really 48 seat and 5 seat majority in the House we are suppose to snap our fingers and get those things done. I’m guessing next your going to expect Biden to turn water into wine.
I expect him not to say the Afghanistan withdrawal will not not be like the one from Vietnam without greater certainty.
I expect his administration not to say the inflation would be short lived without greater certainty.
I would have expected him to tell CDC not to announce it was OK for vaccinated people to ditch masks without greater certainty (especially in light of Israel’s experience).
And I expect kool aid drinking progressives to always shoot messengers bearing bad news.
The majority of independents who vote next November will not care why Democrats did or didn’t deliver. They don’t care about a slim House majority. They don’t care about Manchin or Sinema.
Strategy is what matters, and one dependent on excuses will not succeed.
I would like a 'I'm not gonna lie to you folks' but this is a mess that took a year to create: jobs, supply chain, inflation, pandemic...and we will not be getting out of it overnight. I ask you to stick with me and with what my administration wants to accomplish in 4 years, NOT 1 year. I know it's hard right now, but we will get thru this, in time.
It would also help to say. “Look, I’ve made some mistakes. You and I all know that. But I own up to them and work my tail off to fix them.
I will never tell you “Only I can fix it.” I’m a constitutionalist president, not an authoritarian wannabe dictator. And do any of you think I would have kept from you the seriousness of COVID? None of my predecessors would have either, except for one who didn’t believe you could handle the truth. Who believed only he could fix it. Who didn’t believe we could fix it together.
He never admits a mistake, even ones like he did during the first months of the pandemic.
I’ve told you I’ve made mistakes. We will all make mistakes. We all do. But together we can overcome them and move forward.
I’ve said from Day One that I have faith that we can do anything we choose to. I will never lose that faith in We, the People.”
How Sinema slipped through a vetting process is something Dems need to face. Her history is not one of reliability.
Dems have to figure out how to get to at least 53 or 54 Senators (Collins was vulnerable, but Gideon was not a compelling alternative) And they need to make compelling arguments to attract independent voters. Whether we like it or not, there are more independents than Rs or Ds.
Manchin is a pain, but no Democrat will run to his left and win in WV. Not now, anyway. And he does offer Dems the a ability to say they take a conservative voice into account.
Hopefully the bills pass and are signed this week. What then is the strategy? One suggestion I saw was to create bills that force Rs to vote against family leave, community college, voting rights, etc. That gives D candidates the ability to say “Look what we got without them, and look at what we couldn’t get because of them.” Put them on the defensive.
Personally I’d like see Dems drop the gloves and say they’re not battling the loyal conservative opposition but authoritarian nationalists instead. And use rhetoric to make visible what that means.
A good way to start is to stop talking about Trumpism and start talking about American authoritarian nationalism. Those words already have meaning. Trumpism insists it’s all about Trump. And maybe it is in the short term, but Republicans and their puppet masters have been playing a long game for a long time.
That swing in “education” voters is disconcerting. It makes deeply concerned about the ignorance and/or lack of critical thinking/judgement of the populace. If it plays out I fear even more for the country and our democracy.
Inflation + Covid + Retread Candidate = Trouble. In the minds of many voters, who's to blame for the first two means nothing. McCaullife is lackluster at best. Also, I wonder if all the mail-in ballots, typically favoring Democrats, will arrive on time with you-know-who still in charge of the postal service.
I have a question about what is currently happening behind the scenes. Do Dem political types wait to see the outcome of the election before starting to plan the next move or are there people who, right now, are figuring out what’s next in either a win or a loss scenario? I just feel like the GOP is always thinking 5 steps ahead and I need some reassurance that Dems are too. At a more macro level, do Dems have a well-articulated, well-defined, laser focused 20 year plan like the one that is coming to fruition now in the judiciary and state/local government for the GOP/Federalist Society? Or are we more the party that is constantly playing defense? Because I have to say, feeling like we’re always on our back foot is pretty exhausting.
I am thinking constantly on the defense because we have little to show for this year.
I’m not sure I agree. I think they’ve done a lot this year and I marvel at all the things they have to pay attention to. It’s like watching a plate spinner who keeps having to make sure all the plates keep spinning. But while Biden is on the front lines making policy and fighting the good fight, who is the person who is looking at the big picture and determining long term strategy based on the vision Dems have for this country in 5, 10, 20 years?
No mention of Congressional Democrats’ not getting anything done. Why? Don’t you think legislative wins would increase Democratic Party enthusiasm? Biden taking action on student debt? Whatever happened to adding Puerto Rico and DC as states?
Nothing is getting done to get people enthusiastic about anything. On top of that …
We were told the exit from Afghanistan would not look like the one from Vietnam …
Inflation was supposed to be short term …
Jobs are going unfilled …
The supply chain is a disaster …
No family leave … no free community college … and maybe no bills …
Voting rights …
And in case you don’t know how politics works, why doesn’t matter. The buck stops where it always stops.
And you don’t see any of this explaining the enthusiasm gap?
Can we factor in refusal to allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices??? Bernie (Twitter) on a real crusade about this! I wish to God that Joe Biden would say the unthinkable: to the electorate, " give me REAL democrats who want to work for the people...NOT for the donor lobbyist class". Months ago, Ezra Klein wrote a piece in the NYT which headline said: "Here's how to lose...and deserve it". Jan 21 of this year. And it's exactly where we are going. I don't even know if D Senate wins in Fl, Oh, Pa (where I live), will change a thing. Back to making calls for my municipal elections here in PA 06; haven't given up yet but think more and more about my next move: Portugal or Canada.
Yes because we have 50 senate majority really 48 seat and 5 seat majority in the House we are suppose to snap our fingers and get those things done. I’m guessing next your going to expect Biden to turn water into wine.
I expect him not to say the Afghanistan withdrawal will not not be like the one from Vietnam without greater certainty.
I expect his administration not to say the inflation would be short lived without greater certainty.
I would have expected him to tell CDC not to announce it was OK for vaccinated people to ditch masks without greater certainty (especially in light of Israel’s experience).
And I expect kool aid drinking progressives to always shoot messengers bearing bad news.
The majority of independents who vote next November will not care why Democrats did or didn’t deliver. They don’t care about a slim House majority. They don’t care about Manchin or Sinema.
Strategy is what matters, and one dependent on excuses will not succeed.
I would like a 'I'm not gonna lie to you folks' but this is a mess that took a year to create: jobs, supply chain, inflation, pandemic...and we will not be getting out of it overnight. I ask you to stick with me and with what my administration wants to accomplish in 4 years, NOT 1 year. I know it's hard right now, but we will get thru this, in time.
That’s good.
It would also help to say. “Look, I’ve made some mistakes. You and I all know that. But I own up to them and work my tail off to fix them.
I will never tell you “Only I can fix it.” I’m a constitutionalist president, not an authoritarian wannabe dictator. And do any of you think I would have kept from you the seriousness of COVID? None of my predecessors would have either, except for one who didn’t believe you could handle the truth. Who believed only he could fix it. Who didn’t believe we could fix it together.
He never admits a mistake, even ones like he did during the first months of the pandemic.
I’ve told you I’ve made mistakes. We will all make mistakes. We all do. But together we can overcome them and move forward.
I’ve said from Day One that I have faith that we can do anything we choose to. I will never lose that faith in We, the People.”
All true, but I do hope we can usurp the King and Queen of "NO".
How Sinema slipped through a vetting process is something Dems need to face. Her history is not one of reliability.
Dems have to figure out how to get to at least 53 or 54 Senators (Collins was vulnerable, but Gideon was not a compelling alternative) And they need to make compelling arguments to attract independent voters. Whether we like it or not, there are more independents than Rs or Ds.
Manchin is a pain, but no Democrat will run to his left and win in WV. Not now, anyway. And he does offer Dems the a ability to say they take a conservative voice into account.
Hopefully the bills pass and are signed this week. What then is the strategy? One suggestion I saw was to create bills that force Rs to vote against family leave, community college, voting rights, etc. That gives D candidates the ability to say “Look what we got without them, and look at what we couldn’t get because of them.” Put them on the defensive.
Personally I’d like see Dems drop the gloves and say they’re not battling the loyal conservative opposition but authoritarian nationalists instead. And use rhetoric to make visible what that means.
A good way to start is to stop talking about Trumpism and start talking about American authoritarian nationalism. Those words already have meaning. Trumpism insists it’s all about Trump. And maybe it is in the short term, but Republicans and their puppet masters have been playing a long game for a long time.
Agreed, drop the gloves.
Operative words: really 48.
That swing in “education” voters is disconcerting. It makes deeply concerned about the ignorance and/or lack of critical thinking/judgement of the populace. If it plays out I fear even more for the country and our democracy.
Inflation + Covid + Retread Candidate = Trouble. In the minds of many voters, who's to blame for the first two means nothing. McCaullife is lackluster at best. Also, I wonder if all the mail-in ballots, typically favoring Democrats, will arrive on time with you-know-who still in charge of the postal service.