Tinidril

joined 1 year ago
[–] Tinidril@midwest.social 1 points 2 hours ago

It's certainly not obvious to many within the Democratic establishment sphere. historic_flawlessly_run_campaign

Exactly what it should look like next time is hard to say because it will to a large extent depend on the candidate and what issues have the public's attention. There certainly should be a lot more engagement with independent media. Progressives had an early lead in that area, but that was mostly quashed by a coalition of Republicans and Democrats threatening regulation to get social media companies to dis-empower independent news in favor of corporate controlled sources. Republicans then spent a fortune promoting right wing channels while Democrats did nothing. This goes to the root issue that Republicans seek out engagement with their base, while Democrats avoid it as much as possible.

Another thing would be for Democrats to drop messaging with technocratic measures that don't sync up with how voters feel about the economy. While the economy is technically in good shape, a lot of voters in any economy will be suffering. The message received becomes "we don't plan to change our approach regardless of how the economy is working for you." When interest rates skyrocket, the impact doesn't go away once they are back under control. When inflation skyrocketed, Democrats tried to minimize the issue when they should have mirrored the outrage and focused on how Trump policies created it.

In the big picture, Democrats need to get serious about going after wealth inequality. This improved somewhat with Biden, but Biden was incapable of selling it, and Harris barely tried. She let Trump take the lead on working class economics and had to chase the "no tax on tips" and "no tax on Social Security". Playing catch-up just made her look insincere. (Yes, ironic given Trump)

The American middle class has been under siege for decades, and they know it. It's human nature that they need someone to blame. Republicans hand them immigrants, LGBTQ+ and DEI. Democrats step in on the defense, but they offer no competing villain. They could tell the truth and show how corporate money and Billionaires have bought legislation to give themselves an advantage over consumers, but Democrats don't want to do that (for reasons you can speculate on). Democrats won't even go after clear cases of Republican corruption with any level of conviction.

The town hall meeting Bernie did on Fox was a great example of how Democrats can reach a right wing audience with left wing rhetoric. Running to the center never works, but speaking to their struggles and frustration in a real way can.

[–] Tinidril@midwest.social 1 points 4 hours ago (2 children)

It's not like progressives haven't been shouting the answer to this for the past 20 years, but here it is again from an apparently recent convert from within the Democratic establishment camp.

Voters to Elites: Do You See Me Now?

What it doesn't look like is campaigning with Liz Cheney. It doesn't look like sending Bill Clinton to Michigan to lecture Muslims on how important it is to fund Israel's genocide. It doesn't look like Biden's garbage gaff. It sure as hell doesn't look like Harris having no answer to the question of how she would break with the Biden administration. All of these failures might have been irrelevant were it not for 50 years of Democrats looking down their nose at working Americans. A lot of it is policy, but a lot is just a failure of messaging.

[–] Tinidril@midwest.social 0 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

That's good advice no matter what the political situation is. However, it's pretty irrelevant in facing a Trump presidency. It does nothing for economic turmoil, crumbling infrastructure, etc. It's also irrelevant to facing down federal or state force. If the cops want into your house and have legal cover, you aren't going to stop them by force of arms.

[–] Tinidril@midwest.social 3 points 18 hours ago (3 children)

Organize my community to do what? Refocus on what? Revolution?

Until the next election is cancelled, I plan on trying to win it. That means understanding how the Democrats failed.

[–] Tinidril@midwest.social 1 points 21 hours ago (12 children)

And what useful action does this information enable us to take? Next election, should we nominate better voters?

We have the voters we have. We need Democrats that can reach those voters. Blaming them wins us nothing.

[–] Tinidril@midwest.social 2 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

This is awesome. You just absolutely nailed the exact cause. Now all we have to do is what? Eliminate the voters? That sounds like the Republican plan to me.

Or maybe your plan is to convince the voters to do otherwise? Don't you think the politicians have a tiny little bit of responsibility in that area?

Neoliberalism leads to fascism via a well understood pattern that's currently repeating all around the globe. If you want better voters, then you need better Democrats.

You aren't looking for solutions, you're looking for someone to blame. Quit bitching and start working towards something better, or you're as useless as the Democratic establishment.

[–] Tinidril@midwest.social 8 points 1 day ago

Oddly enough, Biden, Harris, and especially Walz are among the least rich politicians in DC. They are still way better off than middle class Americans though.

[–] Tinidril@midwest.social 12 points 2 days ago

OK, let's blame Trump voters. Sounds good. Now what? Replace the voters?

Trump voters are a symptom of a cultural and economic situation created entirely by neoliberals. Blame the voters all you want, but I don't see how that's supposed to get us anywhere.

[–] Tinidril@midwest.social 3 points 2 days ago

So, just curious,what's your plan to replace the voters? Are you just bitching, or does this lead somewhere? It seems to me that even if the voters are the problem, we need candidates capable of inspiring them to act differently.

[–] Tinidril@midwest.social 2 points 3 days ago

Jumping the gun a bit on that post mortum analysis? Put up the data or shut the fuck up you wanker. This is 100% an establishment fuck up, and you are as cognitively twisted as any MAGA freak.

[–] Tinidril@midwest.social 4 points 3 days ago

Yeah. This is the most unsatisfying "I told you so" opportunity of my life - by a long shot.

[–] Tinidril@midwest.social 21 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (3 children)

I really think the Democratic establishment saw it coming and tried to stop it. What I don't think they understand is why they failed. They seem to have a neverending capacity to delude themselves with the idea that they just didn't "centrist" hard enough. It's almost like they're paid to think that.

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