The State of the Democratic Party Post-2016

[Napkiraly]

Is that a joke?

Read it in context. It doesn't refer to ideology.

Yes, reread it. My bad.

[Corrian]

The base isn't large enough in many districts.

Yeah which is why districts like GA-6 are a total waste to go after. I'm not saying Ossoff should have run as a leftist. He could have made improvements, but he put on a good show, for that district. But that's not the type of district the Dems should be targeting. Win back lost seats in upstate NY, Ohio, the Midwest, etc. Not the Sunbelt.

I remember when you were making fun of the Democrats for "Half assing the 50 state strategy" plan, now you're saying they shouldn't have even bothered running here.

[Uiiop]

Yeah which is why districts like GA-6 are a total waste to go after. I'm not saying Ossoff should have run as a leftist. He could have made improvements, but he put on a good show, for that district. But that's not the type of district the Dems should be targeting. Win back lost seats in upstate NY, Ohio, the Midwest, etc. Not the Sunbelt.

I remember when you were making fun of the Democrats for "Half assing the 50 state strategy" plan, now you're saying they shouldn't have even bothered running here.

Districts aren't the whole state tbf....

[Olerand]

So yet another Democratic loss in an over-hyped contest. Can't wait for the hype for the 2018 midterms to crash on the harsh rocks of reality.

[Astrolinium]

So yet another Democratic loss in an over-hyped contest. Can't wait for the hype for the 2018 midterms to crash on the harsh rocks of reality.

Look, given that you aren't an American, I don't necessarily expect you to understand how our midterm elections tend to go, but, like, I think you're wildly overconfident here.

[Olerand]

So yet another Democratic loss in an over-hyped contest. Can't wait for the hype for the 2018 midterms to crash on the harsh rocks of reality.

Look, given that you aren't an American, I don't necessarily expect you to understand how our midterm elections tend to go, but, like, I think you're wildly overconfident here.

I will say the same thing I said in the other thread: I haven't seen a Democrat fail to disappoint. I would love to be wrong, but I have a very powerful hunch.

[Astrolinium]

Look, given that you aren't an American, I don't necessarily expect you to understand how our midterm elections tend to go, but, like, I think you're wildly overconfident here.

I will say the same thing I said in the other thread: I haven't seen a Democrat fail to disappoint. I would love to be wrong, but I have a very powerful hunch.

As I said in the other thread, are you aware of the years 2006 and 2008? And, hell, we picked up seats in 2012, even if we didn't take it all back.

[Eol Sha]

I will say the same thing I said in the other thread: I haven't seen a Democrat fail to disappoint. I would love to be wrong, but I have a very powerful hunch.

As I said in the other thread, are you aware of the years 2006 and 2008? And, hell, we picked up seats in 2012, even if we didn't take it all back.

The Dems picked up seats in 2016 in both the House and the Senate, as well. Two seats in the Senate and, I think, six or so seats in the House.

[Bakery Hill]

I will say the same thing I said in the other thread: I haven't seen a Democrat fail to disappoint. I would love to be wrong, but I have a very powerful hunch.

As I said in the other thread, are you aware of the years 2006 and 2008? And, hell, we picked up seats in 2012, even if we didn't take it all back.

The Obama effect is gone. All that hope turned out to be worthless, and now it's given away to the darker side of your nation's psyche. It's quite sad really.

[Astrolinium]

As I said in the other thread, are you aware of the years 2006 and 2008? And, hell, we picked up seats in 2012, even if we didn't take it all back.

The Obama effect is gone. All that hope turned out to be worthless, and now it's given away to the darker side of your nation's psyche. It's quite sad really.

Obama was just a Senator in 2006.

[Bakery Hill]

The Obama effect is gone. All that hope turned out to be worthless, and now it's given away to the darker side of your nation's psyche. It's quite sad really.

Obama was just a Senator in 2006.

That's nice.

[Astrolinium]

Obama was just a Senator in 2006.

That's nice.

You responded to my post saying we made huge gains in a midterm year and in an election following it during which we won the White House by responding that Obama was gone. I don't think it's unreasonable to counter with the fact that Obama was, nationally, a non-factor in 2006 and we still managed to make massive gains.

[Hittanryan]

Look, given that you aren't an American, I don't necessarily expect you to understand how our midterm elections tend to go, but, like, I think you're wildly overconfident here.

I will say the same thing I said in the other thread: I haven't seen a Democrat fail to disappoint. I would love to be wrong, but I have a very powerful hunch.

I can't help but wonder if the Democrats want to lose the way they keep talking about repeating mistakes. The way they cling to divisive, vote-losing identity politics, the way they refuse to commit to campaign finance reform and universal healthcare, it is incredibly demoralizing to watch.

[Astrolinium]

I will say the same thing I said in the other thread: I haven't seen a Democrat fail to disappoint. I would love to be wrong, but I have a very powerful hunch.

I can't help but wonder if the Democrats want to lose the way they keep talking about repeating mistakes. The way they cling to divisive, vote-losing identity politics, the way they refuse to commit to campaign finance reform and universal healthcare, it is incredibly demoralizing to watch.

Please shut up about identity politics. It's a buzz word used by people who want us to stop caring about civil rights. A Democratic Party that gives up on civil rights truly would be a Democratic Party that deserves to die. We're going to lose far harder if we cast women, racial minorities, and sexual minorities aside in favor of focusing on white men.

[Hittanryan]

I can't help but wonder if the Democrats want to lose the way they keep talking about repeating mistakes. The way they cling to divisive, vote-losing identity politics, the way they refuse to commit to campaign finance reform and universal healthcare, it is incredibly demoralizing to watch.

Please shut up about identity politics. It's a buzz word used by people who want us to stop caring about civil rights. A Democratic Party that gives up on civil rights truly would be a Democratic Party that deserves to die. We're going to lose far harder if we cast women, racial minorities, and sexual minorities aside in favor of focusing on white men.

Because demonization of white men has worked out so well, right? We only lost the House, Senate, Presidency, Supreme Court, most governorships, and most state governments. Yeah that's a real fucking winning formula obviously. We gotta double down on what has worked so well so far. I'm not shutting up until the party unfucks itself and starts winning elections again. We keep doing what we've been doing and we're going to be stuck with 8 goddamned years of Trump or Pence in the White House and a Congress determined to fist the American public to death through garbage economic and social policy.

I don't want the Democratic Party to stop caring about civil rights. I support gay marriage. I support racial equality. I support gender equality. I oppose discrimination against any American. I oppose unwarranted police brutality against any American. What I want the Democrats to do is to stop catering to divisive, aimless idiots like Black Lives Matter, Tumblrette feminists, and useless social science academics. They are never going to be satisfied. All they do is complain without proposing real solutions, driving away voters.

[Collatis]

I can't help but wonder if the Democrats want to lose the way they keep talking about repeating mistakes. The way they cling to divisive, vote-losing identity politics, the way they refuse to commit to campaign finance reform and universal healthcare, it is incredibly demoralizing to watch.

Please shut up about identity politics. It's a buzz word used by people who want us to stop caring about civil rights. A Democratic Party that gives up on civil rights truly would be a Democratic Party that deserves to die. We're going to lose far harder if we cast women, racial minorities, and sexual minorities aside in favor of focusing on white men.

Maybe, just maybe, the Democrats can support both civil rights and universal healthcare. Appealing to the white working class doesn't have to mean abandoning minorities and racial justice. Economic and racial justice are actually supposed to go together, believe it or not.

[Olerand]

Please shut up about identity politics. It's a buzz word used by people who want us to stop caring about civil rights. A Democratic Party that gives up on civil rights truly would be a Democratic Party that deserves to die. We're going to lose far harder if we cast women, racial minorities, and sexual minorities aside in favor of focusing on white men.

Maybe, just maybe, the Democrats can support both civil rights and universal healthcare. Appealing to the white working class doesn't have to mean abandoning minorities and racial justice. Economic and racial justice are actually supposed to go together, believe it or not.

And they'll keep losing the white vote. Proletarian whites in America have bought into the superstructure (as defined by Marx in the German Ideology) hook, line, and sinker.
Can they do without the white vote? We will see. They haven't so far.

[Eol Sha]

Please shut up about identity politics. It's a buzz word used by people who want us to stop caring about civil rights. A Democratic Party that gives up on civil rights truly would be a Democratic Party that deserves to die. We're going to lose far harder if we cast women, racial minorities, and sexual minorities aside in favor of focusing on white men.

Because demonization of white men has worked out so well, right? We only lost the House, Senate, Presidency, Supreme Court, most governorships, and most state governments. Yeah that's a real fucking winning formula obviously. We gotta double down on what has worked so well so far. I'm not shutting up until the party unfucks itself and starts winning elections again. We keep doing what we've been doing and we're going to be stuck with 8 goddamned years of Trump or Pence in the White House and a Congress determined to fist the American public to death through garbage economic and social policy.

I don't want the Democratic Party to stop caring about civil rights. I support gay marriage. I support racial equality. I support gender equality. I oppose discrimination against any American. I oppose unwarranted police brutality against any American. What I want the Democrats to do is to stop catering to divisive, aimless idiots like Black Lives Matter, Tumblrette feminists, and useless social science academics. They are never going to be satisfied. All they do is complain without proposing real solutions, driving away voters.

Then what do you propose should be done?

[Eol Sha]

Maybe, just maybe, the Democrats can support both civil rights and universal healthcare. Appealing to the white working class doesn't have to mean abandoning minorities and racial justice. Economic and racial justice are actually supposed to go together, believe it or not.

And they'll keep losing the white vote. Proletarian whites in America have bought into the superstructure (as defined by Marx in the German Ideology) hook, line, and sinker.
Can they do without the white vote? We will see. They haven't so far.

Well, they managed it in 2008 and 2012. Ironically enough, part of Hillary Clinton's problem was that a non-insignificant number of minority voters either didn't vote or voted for Trump.

[Collatis]

Maybe, just maybe, the Democrats can support both civil rights and universal healthcare. Appealing to the white working class doesn't have to mean abandoning minorities and racial justice. Economic and racial justice are actually supposed to go together, believe it or not.

And they'll keep losing the white vote. Proletarian whites in America have bought into the superstructure (as defined by Marx in the German Ideology) hook, line, and sinker.
Can they do without the white vote? We will see. They haven't so far.

A Democrat hasn't won the white vote since 1964. They've won their fair share of elections since then.

[Bakery Hill]

That's nice.

You responded to my post saying we made huge gains in a midterm year and in an election following it during which we won the White House by responding that Obama was gone. I don't think it's unreasonable to counter with the fact that Obama was, nationally, a non-factor in 2006 and we still managed to make massive gains.

I'll expand my analysis. In 2006 you had a wounded Bush hemorrhaging support. You also had far less social polarisation and a Democratic Party that seemed far more politically able.

After that you had the Obama factor, and the message of Hope and Change. That was grand and lovely and all, but it didn't last. Many of the same rustbelt towns that went strongly to Obama in both 2008 and 2012 went to Trump this time by roughly the same margins. Those sectors of society who could stomach, ignore or even embrace the dog whistled white nationalism switched to Trump and his vision of chauvinism and revanchism and the Good Old Days. The polar opposite of Obama's progressive and "enlightened" pluralism.

Why did this happen? It happened Because many realised the Democratic Party couldn't deliver them hope. Instead it had a radical and (this is crucial) poorly explained/thought out social agenda tied to the same corrupt political and economic interests that has bled the working class dry for decades. The future is no longer bright, it's frightening, people want the good old days back and Trump's Republican Party are doing the best to pander to these feelings and inflame them, the Democrats haven't seemed to realise this new dynamic and are acting like political idiots. I predict more defeats.

[Olerand]

And they'll keep losing the white vote. Proletarian whites in America have bought into the superstructure (as defined by Marx in the German Ideology) hook, line, and sinker.
Can they do without the white vote? We will see. They haven't so far.

Well, they managed it in 2008 and 2012. Ironically enough, part of Hillary Clinton's problem was that a non-insignificant number of minority voters either didn't vote or voted for Trump.

I'm aware, I was responding to the underlined part of the post.

Please shut up about identity politics. It's a buzz word used by people who want us to stop caring about civil rights. A Democratic Party that gives up on civil rights truly would be a Democratic Party that deserves to die. We're going to lose far harder if we cast women, racial minorities, and sexual minorities aside in favor of focusing on white men.

Maybe, just maybe, the Democrats can support both civil rights and universal healthcare. Appealing to the white working class doesn't have to mean abandoning minorities and racial justice. Economic and racial justice are actually supposed to go together, believe it or not.

And they'll keep losing the white vote. Proletarian whites in America have bought into the superstructure (as defined by Marx in the German Ideology) hook, line, and sinker.
Can they do without the white vote? We will see. They haven't so far.

A Democrat hasn't won the white vote since 1964. They've won their fair share of elections since then.

They sure have. Haven't done much worthwhile since the Great Society though.
In fact, after 1992 and until the Republicans started to go into batshit crazy territory in 2008, I wouldn't make much of a substantive distinction between a Democrat and a Republican anyway.

[Neo Balka]

And they'll keep losing the white vote. Proletarian whites in America have bought into the superstructure (as defined by Marx in the German Ideology) hook, line, and sinker.
Can they do without the white vote? We will see. They haven't so far.

A Democrat hasn't won the white vote since 1964. They've won their fair share of elections since then.

I mean, do you want the GOP to be the only party whites can vote for?

[Corrian]

You know, I complain about identity politics, too, and by no means do I not care about civil rights. So let's not generalize that, either.

[Neo Balka]

I can't help but wonder if the Democrats want to lose the way they keep talking about repeating mistakes. The way they cling to divisive, vote-losing identity politics, the way they refuse to commit to campaign finance reform and universal healthcare, it is incredibly demoralizing to watch.

Please shut up about identity politics. It's a buzz word used by people who want us to stop caring about civil rights. A Democratic Party that gives up on civil rights truly would be a Democratic Party that deserves to die. We're going to lose far harder if we cast women, racial minorities, and sexual minorities aside in favor of focusing on white men.

Oh ho fucking no.

You people have been pushing it so far this fucking decade and just when you face the consequences of it, you want people to stop talking about it?
Man the fuck up and offer some actual solutions to problems facing your fucking party then.