Today I begin a series that may be difficult for some readers, because it’s going to contain bad news from knowledgeable sources, and analysis from me that will be holding us (including me) up to a mirror we may not like looking into.
“We swung the pendulum too far to the left,” Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., told Semafor. “We are increasingly becoming the party of the college educated rather than the working class. And as a result, we are paying an electoral price for it. I hope we have a serious reckoning with the results of the election.””
This is utter garbage. Voters love progressive policies, they just don’t trust CORPORATE Democrats to deliver when they make populist promises. They’ve never given the Biden admin a whisker of gratitude for all the things they did for the working class, for unions, etc. The Democrats didn’t get voters out. The GOP had every preacher in the country telling their flocks Donald would save them from the tyranny of the woke left and they turned out IN DROVES. We, however, did not. If we had gotten the same number of people to turn out as 2020, we would have won. We did not.
What we need to understand going forward is if we are ever going to be able to be a unified nation again, how do we reach people for whom our policies are better but who view us as baby eating demons?
Please explain WHY that 3 percent that didn't vote for Kamala across the board - places she won, places she lost, who voted for Biden in 2020, didn't want to vote for her. That is The Question.
Easy TC. Misogyny and racism. They were not going to vote for a Black woman. If Biden was five years younger and stayed in the race, they would have voted for him.
Not necessarily because of race. Because so-clled "normal folks" look at Biden and say "he's like me." Biden never forgot where he came from. And 16% of the black men who voted for Trump in 2024 voted for Biden/Harris in 2020. Ditto Latinos. The thing we keep forgetting (but those of us who weren't originally from the middle class don't forget) is that Social Class Matters.
16%, TC, not 84%. Big difference. Black men and women voted overwhelming for Kamala. The people who put Trump over this election were white people - men and women. I know several affluent white people who couldn't stand Hillary and called Kamala "uppity".
What I meant was, there were 24% of black men who voted Trump in 2024 (yes, 74% voted for Kamala), but only 8% voted for Trump in 2020. So there are 16% of black males voted Biden in 2020 and Trump in 2024.
You got there before I did Rita. Harris, with a much larger voting population than 8 years ago, got only 500,000 votes more than Hillary did. She had better messaging, ran a better campaign and was, in general, a more attractive candidate so the answer, sadly, is easy.
I'll add to this, Dave. The white Christian evangelicals were never going to vote for Kamala. Holly Berkley Fletcher, who came from that group, did a take down of them yesterday which was magnificent.
Messaging. Joe could not - or did not - message to the American people all the shit he was doing to make their lives better. Idk, fireside chats during the height of the inflation shock to explain to the American people what was happening, why, that it was a global issue and that we’re working as rapidly as possible to unsnarl supply chains, etc? Then when legislation was passed, nobody ever heard about it. We had/have terrible messengers who don’t understand how to communicate with normal people. When Kamala chose Tim, things were awesome when they let him be himself. But then the corporate fucks got in there and tested every message and got mad at him if he slipped back to populism.
As Ryan Broderick pointed out in Garbage Day yesterday, Kamala was pitching to a demographic that no longer exists. The Bulwark and Lincoln Project people were never going to save us from Donald but instead of leaving the getting of them to surrogates, she chose to embrace them and I know that cost her. I am not going to diagnose everything that went wrong. But I will say that we need to stop with the consultants and the fucking Obama people. If we are ever going to win again, we need to accept that the landscape has changed. That corporate media is dead. That podcasts and substack and Twix and Bluesky and … and … will allow everyone to self-silo into their build your own reality adventure. I don’t know what the solution is other than to say that we need to make sure we are building and maintaining strong communities starting NOW. And we cannot let them defeat us, no matter how ugly it gets. America has had her challenges in the past and this will be her latest and possibly most dire to date. I’m grateful for the community here. Peace, y’all!
You're right about the messaging and corporate control. Kamala and Tim ran a great retail campaign right after the convention and then, just as she was showing some progress that even the legacy media couldn't ignore, Tim got lost somewhere and the momentum died. That said, however, overcoming the twin drags of racism and misogyny along with 15 million Biden voters who didn't turn up this time wasn't in the cards and helped drag down many of the down ballot races as well.
Purges, suppression like the white supremacist text to FL (Brevard county?) voters that they must vote 45, bomb scares from Russia closing multiple polling sites in four states for hours (hours not made up due to Rs), and really, who knows what else? I'm not that interested in blaming anyone as in having someone demand a paper ballot count in some sample locations to see that they come to the same number as reported. Then I'll be satisfied. When Maddow asked why 45 suddenly said he didn't need votes because he had plenty of votes, despite the polls being so close, I think we all assumed 45 was hinting at violence. I'm not confident he wasn't hinting at something else. I am pretty sure that with a 45 presidency we can assume election officials everywhere will be loyalists in 2028 and then we could work as hard as humanly possible and solve all the country's problems and have a perfect candidate, and the results will again magically look awfully bad for us.
Wrong unless you have evidence to back it up. Please cite your sources. Republicans have been playing dirty for a long time. North Carolina's gerrymandering is a perfect example. One of many strategies that have been in action for decades now.
If you're for democracy, you're part of Kamala's demographic. It was never about policies or Progressives. It was do you want to continue on the path to democracy. It was helping people get into their first house. It was keeping health costs down for seniors like me. And, most of all, it was securing reproductive rights for our daughters and granddaughters. Yesterday Holly Berkley Fletcher did a take down of the White evangelicals. Everyone should read it. These people along with the "I'll never vote for a woman", "I'll never vote for a Black person" and the "hell no I won't vote for a Black woman" sunk Kamala. It didn't matter what she or Tim said, these people would never have voted for them.
BusyBee is right on. Every Democratic presidential candidate is advised by the corporate-friendly power structure to move right, as if you get free votes that way at no cost. They still have not learned that this costs you votes, since it leaves the many. many progressives out who are looking for an agenda that they just don't get. Running as a prosecutor while Black men are planning to sit the election out because they remember Bill Clinton's gutting of welfare and ramping up of mass incarceration? Failing to communicate what Biden did with the economy while minorities across the country remember how Obama bailed out Wall Street, not Main Street, and a massive trove of home equity in the middle and lower economic classes evaporated overnight? Bill Clinton's NAFTA hollowing out industrial America. Zero difference between the Republicans and the Democrats on Israel's unfathomable destruction of Gaza. Why would progressives or minorities be excited about a Democratic candidate? Meanwhile, Trump tapped into racism, misogyny, authoritarianism, patriarchy, bigotry, anti-science, anti-government, gun-love and billionaires'/tech bros' fixation on $$$$$ - tax cuts, crypto, pro-monopoly, anti-consumer protections, anti-climate change action, and an anti-regulation tsunami. These are just a few of the things Trump was promising that, sadly, a majority coalition of Americans respond to. Hate and fear and resentment and religious fervor and love of money motivate far more effectively than concepts like democracy, fairness, diversity and justice. They. are psychologically deep, rationality is not. This proved true even for women to the point that the gender gap could not overcome it. I sincerely doubt that the Democrats will get this. I am already hearing the pundits talk about how Kamala was too far left. OMG. If the Democratic Party would have gotten behind him, Bernie could have beat Trump in 2016 and in 2020, or 2024, because he speaks with absolute confidence, like Trump does (for very different reasons). He would pull in every progressive vote. However, the power dynamic in the Democratic (Republican-lite) Party would never allow it, since they have thrown their lot in with those who can write the big checks, and they run scared of looking "weak" on law and order.
Jon Stewart had a good show this week - and really put a light on the "pundits" doing the blame game. Either Kamala was too far left OR too far right. She was too aligned with Biden OR not close enough to Biden. Either too pro Palestine OR too pro Israel. They dont like her laugh - shes too forceful - and yet, very few if any ever ever ever deigned to criticize Orange Jesus! You know the sexual abuser, crook - and well, a traitor - after all he was the only one who AFTER he LOST the 2020 election - removed - safe to say - maybe a hundred or so BOXES of classified & top secret information from the WH where he was no longer sitting president! Actually, I guess some of them are still there - in the bathrooms, the closets etc. But I guess thats okey dokey because ?????????
Sort of goes to show just how impossible it is, has been, and would be for a woman (and heavens above a BLACK woman) to run for president.
White Supremacy rules. The Right (wrong) Wing was all in a tizzy after the
t-Rump proved his white supremacist bonafides to the Oligarchy and they annointed him as their savior for creating the Obama birtherism. That is why they chose him, for gdmnfkn kryst's sakes. With the Obama presidency, they were all "there's a N****r in the White House!!!!! What has become of our nation???!!!???!!! " The rightwing kristyun gun nuts of Amerika turned out en-mass to defend their rights, as defined two hundred years ago that they could kick,spit upon and lynch Black people with impunity because they were superior. Pitting the poor against each other by Race was their defen$e against them uniting in their suffering to stand up together and throw off the slave masters that kept them all down for their massive expansion of wealth.
Nothing has changed and we progressives have, as I have been yammering about for the past forty years, been resting on the laurels of our "progress" of the sixties and early seventies while, as I say,
"Rust Never Sleeps". The The Republican hierarchy of Senator Robert Taft, the indicted and tried Hitler funded coup plotter of 1939 have diligently been perfecting their course, 24/7, to establish a business controlled State, without it's cumbersome "democracy" to allow the MEN who know best, run everything. While we slept soundly and peacefully.
Agree. As a Democratic Socialist I don't have anything good to say about the Democratic party. However I always vote with them just to at least get some of what I think is important.
To hear any Democrat think they are too far left is missing the point. They're way too centrist. They have lost their message. Hell, they didn't even have a message.
Harris ran a decent campaign. She was not able to appeal to the maga fence sitters and didn't try.
Misogyny and racism were big factors and probably always will be in this country. The only way to battle that is with education at school and at home. There are teachers who try to teach fairness and inclusion. I am in awe of them. It will take generations of educating kids to be better than we are now.
I have to comment on Republicans. I remember Nixon as governor of California. My dad worked for him until they showed up at our house and gave him an offer he was not to refuse. He did and paid for it. Dearly.
From there they have been relentless in the devastation of the "others". They package it in "hey, we love you ignorant folks", and now have the power finally to do whatever they want.
Frankly I am still too dumbstruck to have any words of wisdom or hope.
Bill Clinton, our Wall Streeter banker friendly "progressive" prez got more Republican legislation through than any GOP pres ever did with a congressional majjority. They hated him and impeached him anyway.
Thank you! You saved me a bunch of keystrokes. It’s never been an either/or, and these days it’s very likely college educated AND working class, anyway. As for the left-right, I worked in higher education for 35 years. Trust me there are plenty of academicians with a bunch of alphabet soup after their names who lean as far right as they can reach. And there’s nothing wrong with that. The trouble comes, and always has, when ideology ignores evidence. That happens, sadly, on both sides of the spectrum.
It seems to me that this a structural problem, not a Democratic Party problem, and that the structural flaws are racism, misogyny and dark money. The rest is quibbling.
Not sure we ever figured that part out; LBJ was right about the consequences of his Great Society reforms. But those reforms were both right and necessary. Maybe we could start with honest and consistent enforcement and interpretation of the laws we have, not forgetting voting rights, antitrust and the 14th amendment— all of which keep getting either ignored or shrunk.
The structural problem in the Democratic Party is that they are still primarily identity politics based. Second generation Latinos see themselves as American, not *other*. By creating a mythical “Hispanic” voting bloc, we saw them as different and not concerned about the exact same things the rest of their (educational level, income level) white cohorts were. And they voted accordingly. Ditto for all the other identity groups. Even the number of Black people who are immigrants is rivaling the population descended from slavery. I don’t say any of this to minimize the outreach that has been done by many to reach people where they are. I just think we are failing because of how the Dem leadership views the world. And that same view is present throughout the nonprofits that operate on the left. Purity politics is killing us and driving people away.
IDK how we fix the dark money problem. Especially given the fact that Elon will now be shadow president. Sharrod Brown’s loss sucks. Luckily Sheldon is still there fighting the fight. But he can’t do it alone. And for the time being, all that can be done is to shine a light on it and hope someone is paying attention.
I am not entirely sold on misogyny and racism being the only answer. It seems too easy. And I get Occam’s Razor and all, but, we simply didn’t get the vote out. The kids didn’t turn out and we suffered backsliding in the suburbs. I don’t know how women could’ve voted for him, but I will assume it was financial - not because they hate other women or even Black people. But, yeah, I could be wrong.
We lost because of the fact that Jesus was replaced by Donald in the eyes of all the freaky NAR evangelicals in the country and they voted and brought their friends and we didn’t.
The Catalyst data will be pored over for years to come once that’s released.
And I go back and forth on if it will be good if we are all made to suffer together under the terror of our mad king in the long run for America. Once the policies they promised start to happen, things are going to start to change - rapidly. Ffs, the stock of the 2 largest private prisons in the country both went up like 40% yesterday. If that doesn’t send chills down your spine…
BusyBee, here I lack your confidence. I don't think that the coalition Trump has pulled together is going to be horrified by increased prison populations, whether it's minorities (like now), immigrants or protestors or journalists or political opponents. Trump and the other Republicans will easily blame the economic disaster caused by deportations, tariffs and tax cuts were in fact the fault of the Democrats, somehow, it doesn't matter how, and they will speak with one voice, from Trump to the Congress to the state legislators to the far-right media-sphere (with Fox at the top), and repetition will replace facts, just like with the 2020 election denial program, which ended up as of August 2023 with 69% of Republicans and Republican-leaners polled by CNN believing that Biden's win in 2020 was illegitimate. Yikes!!!
I've lived in Texas most of my life. I'm White and politically an Independent. Whites, as a whole, particularly Christians, are scared to death of losing their majority. And lose the majority they are regardless of the gestapo tactics. I used to have friends among them. And I promise you the racism is deep and real. A close friend of over twenty years is Hispanic. And she said to me, "Some of these Latino men are so stupid. They need to lose the machismo crap". A Hispanic man who is a friend and walks his dog with my husband is beyond distraught Kamala lost. He said to my husband - "Mexicans can be so stupid!" But he also said something else. He said historically speaking Hispanics don't like Blacks. I have seen that to be true. And you are so right about Hispanics in general - whether they are second generation or even undocumented. They view themselves as hard working Americans who are worried newer immigrants will take their jobs so Trump will round the "other" up not them. I have been told this several times. They don't understand Trump will round up every Brown face he can. Look, I'm as distraught as every one here. But sometimes the simple answer is right. It wasn't policies. It wasn't a damn thing but rather racism and misogyny.
I think it wasn't policies which were objectively popular when there was an honest presentation of them vs the twisted misrepresentation of the corporate media. I think it was our allowing billionaires to own the media and to purchase candidates through enormous dark contributions which set up a national environment friendly right wing extremism including tolerance for racism and misogyny, the corporate media normalizing, sane washing and even praising 45 while shining an unfairly even lying light on every move Kamala or Walz made, and then the resultant racism and misogyny being able to turn a full focus on Kamala as the democrat candidate.
I also think though it was a snow balling of missed opportunities during those fleeting two years when Dems had the legislative ability and the oval office. Of course Merrick Garland should have jumped right on it with investigations, laws should have specified religious groups engaging in political activity lose their tax exempt status, find a work around law to address Citizens United and the Fairness Doctrine, The SCOTUS Should Have Been Expanded, and in Ukraine, we should have made sure Putin met with a direct punch to the face a la Shock and Awe style support so that didn't drag on. I could go on, but the point is that as much as I liked Biden and as much as he accomplished, he needed to have been much more aggressive when he had the power and we would live in a nation where different attitudes prevail. He had too much faith in people seeing the improvements without the media showing it to them.
As of now, I think we need to begin thinking of and messaging the White House with ways to push furniture in front of the doors to at least slow 45 and his administration down. For example, when you can put off drilling in the Arctic National Refuge by a year's worth of delays in the courts, you get three years of damage rather than four and maybe a few more species only teeter on the brink of extinction rather than take that irreversible plunge. We have two months to propose ways to layer protections onto our national secrets - with some of those being ironically transparency - such as public access for reporters and others to the list of who has checked out which documents (contents being secret) and when they've been returned. Reporters could do wonders with that alongside White House visitor logs. What do we urgently need to protect? We've got two months.
Thank you, BBB. So do you think with outreach/messaging, we should ignore cultural aspects(a phrase, pic,whatever) that could appear to be “othering” ?
Yeah. Americans are Americans. The only people who aren’t are the ones who haven’t yet had the chance to become Americans - or are waiting for their own countries to stabilize so they can return to them.
I think identity politics has run its course. My sister started grad school last year @ 49 y.o. Her classmates are mostly in their 20’s and see the world very differently than she does. We are kids of the 1970’s. There were gas lines, so we rode our bikes everywhere. There were blizzards, but we built the coolest snow forts. And the biggest thing, we had communities that didn’t appear to see color. My best friend in elementary school was Black and I never thought anything about it until my racist aunt asked my mother “you let her spend time with Blacks?” (My mother promptly kicked her out.) We had a community pool (now filled with cement) and a parks & rec program that was designed as a sort of summer camp and cost next to nothing (and we just hung out there for free). All of this stuff is gone. It started going in the 80’s and the pool was filled about 15 years ago. I don’t know if this was the afterglow of the civil rights movement or what, but the world today is far too minced and chopped into interest groups whose interests often don’t overlap, but somehow they’re all part of this coalition. (The actual Dem one, not this new fangled garbage with all the GOP has been a who are trying to pull us right for their own ends). We’ve gotten a reputation for being elites for a reason. People don’t like being spoken down to. College educated women on both the left and right love Pete. I think he’s a smarmy consultant. I live in exurban America and I see people’s reaction to that kind of talk every day. They want the *truth*. Sadly, there are those who are more than happy to supply them with it.
Someone better do a deep dive on ALL THE THINGS the bills Biden passed accomplished so there is a record of it. Where the markets were the day before Donald won the election, employment numbers, all that stuff. If we don’t, he will claim credit for all the good things w were able to do and we can not allow that to happen.
I agree with almost all of this but I love Pete Buttigieg. He has a great way of talking to right wingers that is sort of like the dog whisperer talking to an enraged pitt bull.
I have no doubt that everything bad that comes out of this next administration will be blamed on the Dems and everything that is just a good product of the enormous inertia of huge systems like our economy will be ballyhooed as 45's success.
Yes, my husband is Mexican American and proud of his culture/heritage yet he is truly an American. We( because I took his surname) occasionally receive mail with only Spanish wording.
I understand what you’re saying about Pete B….but I do love him and watching he and Jessica Tarlov doing smackdowns on Faux News.And how dare she talk over Jesse Watters and put him in his place ! I know…perhaps not helpful but so fun to watch!
And not just dark money, but dark control over the dis/misinformation propaganda that people are ingesting. Seems to me that behind it all, Russia has eventually won the cold war (think the many classified documents that were leaked by DT as an example, resulting in Russian interference that has taken over in indoctrinating large swathes of the electorate.
As we enter 2025, America stands at a dangerous crossroads. Project 2025, under our new president, is not just a set of policies; it’s a plan to redefine what this country is and who belongs in it. Supported by voters who crave stability and order, this new administration promises to protect a particular version of America, but at what cost? Let’s break it down.
A majority of white men and about half of white women voted for this change. Many see it as a way to regain a familiar, controlled past—clear boundaries, strong leadership, and no tolerance for ideas or people that don’t fit their vision. In contrast, Black Americans largely voted against it, knowing that this kind of “order” can quickly turn into something else: restriction and exclusion. For them, history is a warning. Latino voters were divided, but many sensed a shift away from openness toward a narrower, more closed-off future.
This is not just about shifting policies; it’s about a new way of running the government. Project 2025 plans to replace experienced civil servants with loyalists, reshaping government into a political tool. This means that those who serve the public would have to show political loyalty, something that echoes dangerous moments in history.
Take Nazi Germany, for example. When Hitler came to power, he quickly reshaped government to serve his goals, silencing opponents and spreading fear. Almost immediately, civil liberties disappeared. Political dissenters were jailed or worse, as institutions once meant to protect people became tools of control. We can’t ignore this history.
Project 2025 would also make police and immigration authorities one and the same, turning local officers into national enforcers focused on keeping certain people out. Education, too, would change, with the Department of Education weakened and local control encouraged, allowing schools to push specific viewpoints while shutting out others. Nazi Germany followed a similar path, using schools to shape loyal followers.
This isn’t just about the government’s structure. Project 2025 aims to limit who qualifies as a “real” American. It seeks to redefine reproductive rights, roll back LGBTQ+ protections, and push strict definitions of gender and family. Once again, history warns us: when governments start labeling who belongs and who doesn’t, exclusion soon follows. In Nazi Germany, marginalized groups faced growing restrictions until they were driven out or worse.
And it doesn’t stop there. Environmental protections will be rolled back, focusing on economic gains over public health or nature. Under the Nazis, similar priorities placed power and expansion above well-being, with devastating consequences.
If we move forward with this plan, America will change in ways that may be hard to undo. This country could become a place defined by what it rejects, with freedom only for those who fit a narrow definition. Those who voted for Project 2025 may think they’re securing the country’s future, but they may find it’s a future with less freedom for everyone.
The history of Nazi Germany is a clear warning. Once democracy starts slipping into control and exclusion, freedoms for everyone become fragile. If we want to protect what makes America free and diverse, we must be wary of a path that promises order but limits freedom.
As in all places where the oligarchs rule, politics is a class struggle. Our policy clashes prior to Citizens United were different in nature and Dems addressed the concerns of a much broader swathe of voters. And even though Biden understands the worldview of working people, his administration has also been the product of big money. That money just got bigger for Trump. Our real concern must be the power and control bought by Thiel and Musk, two guys who earnestly think they were born to rule. While both have conflicts of interest galore, Musk is the more troublesome of the two who will be running the administration because of his business ties with the Pentagon and foreign dictators. He bears special scutiny, but I fear all media eyes will still be on the day to day antics of Trump.
As we move on to the midterms in this endless fight, let's be sure to visibly back our local unions and their strike activities, keep pushing for unions among the gig workers, keep demanding after-school programs at the local level, show up to stare down the book banners (assuming they weren't just props for this last election), boycott the gougers, move the best democratic ideas out of online silos and across all others, and use existing laws to challenge the worst of Trump's and the GOP's efforts. And if we get an opportunity to stick out a well shod foot as Stephen Miller scrambles down an aisle, take it.
Yes, and as the MSM withers away, those antics will be less effective. Perhaps we will be moving back to seeking out the best and most accurate independent voices like we had with The New Republic, The I.F. Stone Weekly, and others in the last century via substacks, podcasts, and maybe even environmental art to send real messages. Performers like Trump will have a hard time emerging. The problem will be the selling out and the "disappearing" of such voices.
Love you, TC, but Rep Torres is full of bullshit. Biden has never gotten the credit he should have for helping unions or the working class. Between his infrastructure bill to the Inflation Reduction Act, Americans have benefitted. And if Biden was five years younger and had stayed in the race, he would have won...because he is a white guy. The numbers show WHITE people voting in the majority for Trump. WHITE women voted in the majority for Trump. Let that sink in. WHITE women. Kamala is amazing and ran the best campaign I've seen in fifty years. She had amazing support and coalitions. The problem for white Christian Americans is they weren't going to vote for a Black woman. In 2020 they were exhausted by Trump and voted for Joe Biden - white, working class male. So seriously, there's no need to wring hands and look in the mirror. The majority of white America is racist and misogynistic. They'll deny it but it is true. Kamala would have been a fantastic President for all of us, but these fucking idiots only saw her gender and skin color. There's a lot of country between California and New York, and it's made up of these people. But believe me, by the time Trump gets done even those people will wish they voted for Kamala.
We have ourselves to blame for him not getting credit. Say what you will about Trump the Showman, but if he had passed the IRA and Chips and Science acts, there would have been a Big Show With The President There at every ground-breaking of every chip factory, of every infrastructure project, massive PR on all. Everyone would have known who did what.
Contrary to what Democrats believe, these rats won't fuck themselves. The thing DOES NOT speak for itself. And the people we want to know what we did like The Big Show. It makes them think that if the President came there for that, that maybe the President thinks they're important.
I know that we well-educated upper-middle-class nerds look down on that sort of razzmatazz, but like it or not, it works. And it would have worked over the past three years.
Face facts: in 2024, the Republicans didn't win; we lost. When you lose even in the places you win, that's not Trump doing anything. That's on us. We have to see this, we have to ask the questions we don't like asking, and we have to be the folks who change their minds in the face of new additional data, like we say we are. That's the only choice that leads to victory in the future. Like it or not.,
Tom Nichols said it best. The majority of Trump voters are actually financially fine. They're just bored. I don't need a parade to know what Biden did for this country. And it wouldn't have mattered to these people. We are the envy of the fucking world and these dumb asses don't like the direction of the country. There is no fixing stupid. Twelve years ago David Souter said his worry was that one day someone would come along and promise to "fix it all" and give them what they want. If that happened, people would abdicate their responsibility. Well here we are.
Media. And democrats being poor at messaging. And (many) people being simple creatures.
Take a classroom of elementary school kids and all of the little girls view one little boy as the heart throb. He can be the homeliest little guy but if he's got a huge ego and thinks very highly of himself all the little girls take him at his opinion of himself. All the little boys too - he's the cool guy. People never really grow up. A huge percentage of us believe what we hear without putting work into evaluating it for ourselves.
I struggle to avoid the magnetism of thinking about how many of our fellow Americans are just plain unintelligent, and sadly that's a fact... but it's also a fact it's very difficult to distinguish low intelligence from low information and it doesn't really require high intelligence or high levels of privilege or education to absorb a few facts if we'd get them out there clearly and succinctly. We need a democrat think tank to figure out an entry level reality wedge that isn't immediately rejected by the MAGAt infected mind, and work up from there - with confidence. I have been sent Tangle so I'll be checking that out...
I agree, but I am not an upper or even middle class nerd. Middle class, at least where I live is $175K at least. Social security and a pension don't get you there.
And I don't look down on getting the message out there in simple terms. People are inattentive at best. They obviously respond to whatever is in their face. Democrats don't get that.
Apparently, "Biden no longer on ticket?" peaked during the election on Google search. During The Election. As in maybe people got their ballots and that's the first they knew of it? My forehead has a permanent hand print by now - and these people get one vote too. Better Voter Education cannot come soon enough.
And clearly you had forehead foresight and spared the palm to avoid the print.
Years ago I sat next to a woman who called the election help over as if she had a problem but just wanted to ask how she was to choose. The help, with commendable lack of expression, said "I can't help you with that. You have to choose for yourself." At that the woman said brightly "Well - this guy Grey, I've heard of his name before. Maybe I'll vote for him." I had to clench everything I had to refrain from telling her that his name was familiar because he'd been in the news lately for a really awful story where he was under consideration for disbarment for unethical tactics to help a client he befriended (way beyond a standard client relationship) who killed his child and beat up his girlfriend and her sister... As Well As other delights. I know it's a slippery slope upon which we must tread carefully, but sheesh we have to find a solution for voter ignorance.
I would add that we need to figure out a way to reach the Hispanic men in this country. Their machismo mentality and their aversion to having a woman, any woman, in leadership is apparent to those of us who live in communities with large Hispanic populations. By and large, they are a patriarchal population. Last night, I heard a reporter who is also Hispanic explain that, although the issue is complicated, many Latinos will vote against their best interests (aka deportation) because as relatively "new" citizens, they long to be considered "white" and a part of the "white culture." I am probably oversimplifying this, but the Hispanic vote needs to be reviewed. It is not a monolithic vote and it is complex. But it is growing.
I'm in Texas. A friend of over twenty years is Hispanic as is a friend of my husband's. They both get so upset with other Hispanics. I'm white and right now I'm not crazy about white people. But that reporter nailed it. I know several Hispanics who work in the trades - carpenters, painters and landscapers. They see themselves as part of white America and that immigrants coming into this country will take their jobs. And they believe Trump will take these folks not them.
In my younger days, I spent a month in San Angelo for work and got a chance to hang out with the locals - I don't remember a lot of what we talked about, but do remember their point to us gringos that "we were here first", as in, when Spain colonized the region, before other Europeans. It made sense to me, and they both took that as a point of pride, something to say to white people when they wanted to annoy them, and also to differentiate them as people with roots much further back than most white folks or other hispanic people who emigrated much more recently.
A former friend, who is Mexican American, is now MAGA. At one point she was arguing with people on Facebook. She told me she told them she was a real American. I told her I didn't realize she was Native American.
Again with the "too many never grow up" behavioral observations, but if a group of "mean girls" or "bully boys" begin to pick on one child, others standing by rarely speak up and often those on the periphery of the group see it as an opportunity to solidify their own position in the clique. They can be the nastiest, slam the doors fastest once they're through, and in general try to oust anyone who may in some respects be confused with themselves but who they strongly wish to distance themselves from to preserve their own status.
My family, except for me, is black. We know many Latinos. Racism is not just for white folks. Neither is misogyny. That may sound like a sweeping generalization, but it is the reality I have observed.
Most of the stats I saw said that of all women a strong majority voted for Kamala. Setting spoilers aside, that leaves a minority for 45 (ugh. I guess I have to get used to saying 47?). Let's say 57 to 43. Somewhere in there those numbers were roughly reversed for men of all subgroups, and that the total number of women who voted was higher than the total number of men. Okay, that is really really simplifying it Way down, but just taking that simple set of statements, if that was so, how on earth did 4... 7 (it's not coming easily) win? Plugged into an equation, that doesn't work out. As to ... him, when he gets done they will not wish they voted for Kamala because the State Media will have vilified her so thoroughly they will bless their stars they didn't vote for her since she will be blamed for everything. Look at how no one remembered tRump's record or what his reign was like and believed the sky was green polka dot if their beloved Fox news said so.
It was a majority of Black women who voted for Kamala. A majority of white women, many evangelical Christians, voted for Trump. I don't like it but it's true. The things Maga media white women said about Kamala were disgusting and racist. The things white GOP women (looking at you Sarah Huckabee Sanders) said about Kamala were the same. Part of me thinks the election was rigged. What I do understand is we have a coming fight on our hands. I genuinely believe history is repeating itself and this will be Hitler 2.0. When Trump says mass deportation, believe him. I genuinely believe people are going to die. Cruelty is their point. And when the shit starts happening, it is going to also hit these idiots.
I understand the need to look at messaging, reaching working class voters, doing a better job of showing just how the Biden admin's / Democratic policies benefit middle class/working class families and individuals. I think the largest hurdle is how to break through when the MSM isn't interested in that story. Telling people what is going right is not nearly as sexy as fanning the flames with screaming headlines. What MSM and corporate Republican politics do is to entertain the masses like the Romans did with their circuses in the Coliseum. The roar of the mob drowns out fact. I sometime feel like the "right" has been playing 3D chess with a long term strategy of packing courts and gutting education. While the "left" is so busy blaming each other for either being too progressive, not progressive enough or whatever else the protest vote du jour is! Oh yeah, and rampant misogyny, racism and ersatz Christian values. They wrap themselves in the flag and allow people to lie to themselves about how really prejudiced they are against women, black and brown people, gays and anyone else they can find to hate/fear.
"Another Democratic senior aide told Semafor that they would be “shocked if any of the leaders have a plan.”" It would be well beyond shocking, since there's no evidence that any such planning has taken place since Joe Kennedy decided that his eldest surviving son should be President. We have 2 years to organize at the state and local level and 2 more to get our national campaign s*** together. The Senate doesn't offer much, but Hakeem Jeffries, Jamie Raskin, and AOC offer some hope in the House. The DNC is a joke, Jaime Harrison has disappeared along with Stacey Abrams, both of whom showed some strength as organizers, but there are potential power bases in CA, IL, MI, TN, and MD with solid governors and, little noticed but nonetheless important, there are the grassroots operations like Every State Blue that have begun the building process at the county and district levels. We can do it if we have the will and can set aside egos and click obsession in order to put together a coherent campaign.
My local party meets on Monday and I am going to go in guns a’ blazin! I told these morons that they were doing it wrong and they didn’t listen. Maybe they will now. The CTDEM party, much like our NY counterpart, has gotten complacent because we’ve enjoyed full control of our states for so long. Both states have a plethora of those voters in the Trump sweet spot of $30-50k/year with no degree. All politics is local, right? The inroads he made in the blue states is on us and we’ve got to start local. Red state Dems have been doing the hard work for years and the thing they hear most is that they like the policies, they just don’t like Democrats. I have no idea how to overcome this hurdle.
Jamie Harrison was a failure as a senate candidate and he’s sucked as chairman. He is a great fundraiser and that’s about it. We need new leadership from outside the corporate bubble.
I was writing a long-winded thought, but Rita Parker nailed it! The quality of a campaign and the quality of the candidate are irrelevant, particularly when an extraordinarily capable woman of color is opposing a convicted white male rapist.
Issues are only ephemeral nonsense thrown up as a screen to block out any deeper inquiry into motivation.
The genetic depth of misogyny and racism embedded in the political culture of the US is an insurmountable problem.
Simplistically, the choice of any opposition is to become misogynist and racist and join the opposition in a race to the genetic sewer, where they already reside, or to conceive a strategy of cultural change that will alter the political genes of the nation, good luck with that!
The “middle way” then becomes never run a woman for the presidency over the next 100 -200 -2300 years, no matter how skilled, no matter how grounded, no matter how far she exceeds her opponent in character, competency, collaborative connections, commitment to democratic norms and the common good, temperament, no matter anything, because misogyny and race outrun these factors every time.
It seems to me that a problem with the Democrat platform is how divided the electorate is. I read here that candidates ran too far to the left and weren't speaking to the working class. However, I am also hearing from many people who identify as Progressives that they haven't felt heard; that candidates are running moderate campaigns that minimally address the climate crisis, the genocide in Gaza, or how control is moving increasingly into the hands of a relatively few obscenely rich people who have bought our main sources of information, corporatized our healthcare system.
The electorate has always been divided. The challenge for the Democrats is that they've forgotten how to construct a message that appeals to a majority of the population and have, instead, tried to pursue each group as though it were the only one necessary to win elections. While this appeals to the egos of the public faces of such groups, it does little for the majority of voters.
Exactly! As opposed to constructing policies for AMERICANS, they assign something to each group. It’s like some holdover from the Tammany Hall days or something. The party giveth. Love the party.
Seriously, we need real grass roots and the consultants need to not be invited back into the rooms until they learn some things about the American people by going and spending time with them as opposed to their data science and focus group tested messaging. Their ways are obviously no longer working.
On thing the Democrats should NOT continue, is begging for money. I don't give a shit what they think they need, knowing they've already collected billions of dollars which they seek to enrich the pockets of the already too wealthy mainstream media owners, what the hell good do they do. I didn't receive a single text in the last 15 months that told me all the good Biden did, or the terrific plans Harris had. They were "take this poll and send us money" "are you voting for Biden then Harris? send us money" You know what popped into my mind? Yeah, right a bunch of young punks pulling off another get rich quick scheme.
What they should have been doing is reminding people of all the horrible things trump did and all the bragging about non-accomplishments - like the wall, the border situation. Or all of Joe's accomplishments. Other elderly people here in my senior apartment never heard about the CHIPS act, the American recovery act, the Infrastructure act, All the jobs Biden brought back to America. These people aren't on X or Tik tok, or Instagram. A few use Facebook all of them text. That's what they read. They are not wealthy, most don't even have $1000 in savings. They have no idea that Project 2025 and JD Vance want to dissolve Social Security on which all of us depend to some extent.
So, If you ever again have a chance at a free election (which I doubt since that does no sit well with dictators) forget about how much money you can make and think about how many votes you need.
THIS! Thank you!! I got so many money grubbing texts and emails till I was blue in the face (pun intended!) And not one god damned message contained any substantial content. It was “hey, you’re a dem! We have a deadline coming up .. send money!”
As I wrote yesterday, we are still being punished for having the gall to elect and re-elect Obama as well as the Nixon resignation (for those of us old enough to remember). See the great documentary on MAX "Right America, Feeling Wronged," for the beginnings of this. Slotkin took a page out of Obama's 'lose, but lose by less' strategy in beating that carpetbagger Mike Rogers.
Harris is proof that we aren't in a 'post-racial' America and we may never be.
Hillary's "Deplorables" came back to bite us in the ass worse than 2016. WAY too much emphasis on the middle class and none on bringing the WORKING class up to the middle. Helped by Putin's trolls discouraging a large chunk of the 60,000,000, according to Fair Fight, registered Dems who did not vote. It would be good to know how much Dem and LP adds were played on Sinclair Media, the largest rural radio and tv available out there where it is very red.
Rep. Torres is both right and wrong. I'll put it this way. The New York Times had an editor named Turner Catledge. He had been a DC political reporter and ordered that his reporters do the opposite of what he had done in covering a tax bill. He focused on the players and the inside baseball. He said he wanted to know within a couple of paragraphs what the tax bill would mean to the individual reader--how much they would save. Of course, The Times long since reverted to the previous idea under the leadership of the likes of Bipartisan Carl Hulse, who soon will write an "analysis" about some republican being bipartisan by agreeing to oppose hanging all Democrats.
Well, Democrats CAN talk about the social issues that matter. But we have to get to the individual working-class voter, and have policies that fit them. That won't happen under the current leadership.
Thanks. You're very kind. Now, I have to add this. During the winter of 1860-61, a southerner he knew wrote to Lincoln about ways to settle them down and keep them in the Union. Essentially, he told Lincoln to issue a statement, and Lincoln said that he had a public record and it was clear. But he also said, not in so many words, we'll be fine if you just repudiate everything you have ever claimed to believe on the subject of slavery.
Wait... I love the story but I'm missing the connection. Maybe it's this odd weave of responses and answers with margin lines... or maybe it's just late here on the east coast when anxiety nixes a good night's sleep?
If Democrats want to win over the voters who went for the republican, they simply need to announce they no longer believe in equality for anyone but white men.
Do you have any way of knowing who is an actively contributing reader who is not able to pay? Like, maybe you remember someone saying they would if they could (but on SS for example?) or a tip jar? I have seen those...
I just started getting those posts - also get one called the Land Desk - about what goes on out West - I live in NY so they both are really interesting.
Simon Rosenberg at Hopium mentioned that Harris better had not to have agreed and sympathized with the fact that inflation is high which wasted an opportunity to educate the public about the details of why our nation is the envy of the world (pre election), economically, under the current administration.
“We swung the pendulum too far to the left,” Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., told Semafor. “We are increasingly becoming the party of the college educated rather than the working class. And as a result, we are paying an electoral price for it. I hope we have a serious reckoning with the results of the election.””
This is utter garbage. Voters love progressive policies, they just don’t trust CORPORATE Democrats to deliver when they make populist promises. They’ve never given the Biden admin a whisker of gratitude for all the things they did for the working class, for unions, etc. The Democrats didn’t get voters out. The GOP had every preacher in the country telling their flocks Donald would save them from the tyranny of the woke left and they turned out IN DROVES. We, however, did not. If we had gotten the same number of people to turn out as 2020, we would have won. We did not.
What we need to understand going forward is if we are ever going to be able to be a unified nation again, how do we reach people for whom our policies are better but who view us as baby eating demons?
Please explain WHY that 3 percent that didn't vote for Kamala across the board - places she won, places she lost, who voted for Biden in 2020, didn't want to vote for her. That is The Question.
Easy TC. Misogyny and racism. They were not going to vote for a Black woman. If Biden was five years younger and stayed in the race, they would have voted for him.
Not necessarily because of race. Because so-clled "normal folks" look at Biden and say "he's like me." Biden never forgot where he came from. And 16% of the black men who voted for Trump in 2024 voted for Biden/Harris in 2020. Ditto Latinos. The thing we keep forgetting (but those of us who weren't originally from the middle class don't forget) is that Social Class Matters.
16%, TC, not 84%. Big difference. Black men and women voted overwhelming for Kamala. The people who put Trump over this election were white people - men and women. I know several affluent white people who couldn't stand Hillary and called Kamala "uppity".
What I meant was, there were 24% of black men who voted Trump in 2024 (yes, 74% voted for Kamala), but only 8% voted for Trump in 2020. So there are 16% of black males voted Biden in 2020 and Trump in 2024.
Misogyny -- pure and simple.
I seem to recall the description "uppity" applying back before & during the civil rights era - probably well before! Now THAT is racist!
I grew up in Georgia in the 50s and 60s. You hit the nail on the head in re: “uppity”.
Heard that a lot as a young person in NC
And "emotional." Racist, sexist garbage. (There, I used the "garbage" word!)
Actually "emotional"? Which means they were intimidated by a female! And it IS garbage!
Yes to this!
You got there before I did Rita. Harris, with a much larger voting population than 8 years ago, got only 500,000 votes more than Hillary did. She had better messaging, ran a better campaign and was, in general, a more attractive candidate so the answer, sadly, is easy.
I'll add to this, Dave. The white Christian evangelicals were never going to vote for Kamala. Holly Berkley Fletcher, who came from that group, did a take down of them yesterday which was magnificent.
Please link the takedown!
So true.
Messaging. Joe could not - or did not - message to the American people all the shit he was doing to make their lives better. Idk, fireside chats during the height of the inflation shock to explain to the American people what was happening, why, that it was a global issue and that we’re working as rapidly as possible to unsnarl supply chains, etc? Then when legislation was passed, nobody ever heard about it. We had/have terrible messengers who don’t understand how to communicate with normal people. When Kamala chose Tim, things were awesome when they let him be himself. But then the corporate fucks got in there and tested every message and got mad at him if he slipped back to populism.
As Ryan Broderick pointed out in Garbage Day yesterday, Kamala was pitching to a demographic that no longer exists. The Bulwark and Lincoln Project people were never going to save us from Donald but instead of leaving the getting of them to surrogates, she chose to embrace them and I know that cost her. I am not going to diagnose everything that went wrong. But I will say that we need to stop with the consultants and the fucking Obama people. If we are ever going to win again, we need to accept that the landscape has changed. That corporate media is dead. That podcasts and substack and Twix and Bluesky and … and … will allow everyone to self-silo into their build your own reality adventure. I don’t know what the solution is other than to say that we need to make sure we are building and maintaining strong communities starting NOW. And we cannot let them defeat us, no matter how ugly it gets. America has had her challenges in the past and this will be her latest and possibly most dire to date. I’m grateful for the community here. Peace, y’all!
You're right about the messaging and corporate control. Kamala and Tim ran a great retail campaign right after the convention and then, just as she was showing some progress that even the legacy media couldn't ignore, Tim got lost somewhere and the momentum died. That said, however, overcoming the twin drags of racism and misogyny along with 15 million Biden voters who didn't turn up this time wasn't in the cards and helped drag down many of the down ballot races as well.
Have to wonder how many of those 15M got bounced via red state voter purges and suppression tactics.
Not enough to make a difference. That was mostly noise and a lot of those attempts were quashed in court.
Purges, suppression like the white supremacist text to FL (Brevard county?) voters that they must vote 45, bomb scares from Russia closing multiple polling sites in four states for hours (hours not made up due to Rs), and really, who knows what else? I'm not that interested in blaming anyone as in having someone demand a paper ballot count in some sample locations to see that they come to the same number as reported. Then I'll be satisfied. When Maddow asked why 45 suddenly said he didn't need votes because he had plenty of votes, despite the polls being so close, I think we all assumed 45 was hinting at violence. I'm not confident he wasn't hinting at something else. I am pretty sure that with a 45 presidency we can assume election officials everywhere will be loyalists in 2028 and then we could work as hard as humanly possible and solve all the country's problems and have a perfect candidate, and the results will again magically look awfully bad for us.
Wrong unless you have evidence to back it up. Please cite your sources. Republicans have been playing dirty for a long time. North Carolina's gerrymandering is a perfect example. One of many strategies that have been in action for decades now.
If you're for democracy, you're part of Kamala's demographic. It was never about policies or Progressives. It was do you want to continue on the path to democracy. It was helping people get into their first house. It was keeping health costs down for seniors like me. And, most of all, it was securing reproductive rights for our daughters and granddaughters. Yesterday Holly Berkley Fletcher did a take down of the White evangelicals. Everyone should read it. These people along with the "I'll never vote for a woman", "I'll never vote for a Black person" and the "hell no I won't vote for a Black woman" sunk Kamala. It didn't matter what she or Tim said, these people would never have voted for them.
Peace just got voted down. Prepare to fight.
Misogyny.
She a female
BusyBee is right on. Every Democratic presidential candidate is advised by the corporate-friendly power structure to move right, as if you get free votes that way at no cost. They still have not learned that this costs you votes, since it leaves the many. many progressives out who are looking for an agenda that they just don't get. Running as a prosecutor while Black men are planning to sit the election out because they remember Bill Clinton's gutting of welfare and ramping up of mass incarceration? Failing to communicate what Biden did with the economy while minorities across the country remember how Obama bailed out Wall Street, not Main Street, and a massive trove of home equity in the middle and lower economic classes evaporated overnight? Bill Clinton's NAFTA hollowing out industrial America. Zero difference between the Republicans and the Democrats on Israel's unfathomable destruction of Gaza. Why would progressives or minorities be excited about a Democratic candidate? Meanwhile, Trump tapped into racism, misogyny, authoritarianism, patriarchy, bigotry, anti-science, anti-government, gun-love and billionaires'/tech bros' fixation on $$$$$ - tax cuts, crypto, pro-monopoly, anti-consumer protections, anti-climate change action, and an anti-regulation tsunami. These are just a few of the things Trump was promising that, sadly, a majority coalition of Americans respond to. Hate and fear and resentment and religious fervor and love of money motivate far more effectively than concepts like democracy, fairness, diversity and justice. They. are psychologically deep, rationality is not. This proved true even for women to the point that the gender gap could not overcome it. I sincerely doubt that the Democrats will get this. I am already hearing the pundits talk about how Kamala was too far left. OMG. If the Democratic Party would have gotten behind him, Bernie could have beat Trump in 2016 and in 2020, or 2024, because he speaks with absolute confidence, like Trump does (for very different reasons). He would pull in every progressive vote. However, the power dynamic in the Democratic (Republican-lite) Party would never allow it, since they have thrown their lot in with those who can write the big checks, and they run scared of looking "weak" on law and order.
Jon Stewart had a good show this week - and really put a light on the "pundits" doing the blame game. Either Kamala was too far left OR too far right. She was too aligned with Biden OR not close enough to Biden. Either too pro Palestine OR too pro Israel. They dont like her laugh - shes too forceful - and yet, very few if any ever ever ever deigned to criticize Orange Jesus! You know the sexual abuser, crook - and well, a traitor - after all he was the only one who AFTER he LOST the 2020 election - removed - safe to say - maybe a hundred or so BOXES of classified & top secret information from the WH where he was no longer sitting president! Actually, I guess some of them are still there - in the bathrooms, the closets etc. But I guess thats okey dokey because ?????????
Sort of goes to show just how impossible it is, has been, and would be for a woman (and heavens above a BLACK woman) to run for president.
Joe would’ve lost even worse.
I think so too. The "old age" crap would have been used.
I remember how Michele Obama was treated - how Hilary was treated and now of course Kamala. My what forward-thinking bunch of "voters" we have.
White Supremacy rules. The Right (wrong) Wing was all in a tizzy after the
t-Rump proved his white supremacist bonafides to the Oligarchy and they annointed him as their savior for creating the Obama birtherism. That is why they chose him, for gdmnfkn kryst's sakes. With the Obama presidency, they were all "there's a N****r in the White House!!!!! What has become of our nation???!!!???!!! " The rightwing kristyun gun nuts of Amerika turned out en-mass to defend their rights, as defined two hundred years ago that they could kick,spit upon and lynch Black people with impunity because they were superior. Pitting the poor against each other by Race was their defen$e against them uniting in their suffering to stand up together and throw off the slave masters that kept them all down for their massive expansion of wealth.
Nothing has changed and we progressives have, as I have been yammering about for the past forty years, been resting on the laurels of our "progress" of the sixties and early seventies while, as I say,
"Rust Never Sleeps". The The Republican hierarchy of Senator Robert Taft, the indicted and tried Hitler funded coup plotter of 1939 have diligently been perfecting their course, 24/7, to establish a business controlled State, without it's cumbersome "democracy" to allow the MEN who know best, run everything. While we slept soundly and peacefully.
Got it?? You can't reap what you do not sow.
Yeah - I'm pretty sure most of us are well aware of all of that.
And I'm also pretty sure that an large majority of both women and men on these posts worked hard to keep what happened from happening.
BUT we got out voted basically by voters who think tffg is going to lower prices! He fooled them the last time and hes fooled them again.
I hope I'm above ground long enough to see this "corrected" - but who knows?
Excellent.
Agree. As a Democratic Socialist I don't have anything good to say about the Democratic party. However I always vote with them just to at least get some of what I think is important.
To hear any Democrat think they are too far left is missing the point. They're way too centrist. They have lost their message. Hell, they didn't even have a message.
Harris ran a decent campaign. She was not able to appeal to the maga fence sitters and didn't try.
Misogyny and racism were big factors and probably always will be in this country. The only way to battle that is with education at school and at home. There are teachers who try to teach fairness and inclusion. I am in awe of them. It will take generations of educating kids to be better than we are now.
I have to comment on Republicans. I remember Nixon as governor of California. My dad worked for him until they showed up at our house and gave him an offer he was not to refuse. He did and paid for it. Dearly.
From there they have been relentless in the devastation of the "others". They package it in "hey, we love you ignorant folks", and now have the power finally to do whatever they want.
Frankly I am still too dumbstruck to have any words of wisdom or hope.
I think you might mean Reagan - Nixon was never governor - he ran in 1962 and lot to Pat Brown.
I was thinking of Nixon. I forgot he lost. Thanks.
Bill Clinton, our Wall Streeter banker friendly "progressive" prez got more Republican legislation through than any GOP pres ever did with a congressional majjority. They hated him and impeached him anyway.
Thank you! You saved me a bunch of keystrokes. It’s never been an either/or, and these days it’s very likely college educated AND working class, anyway. As for the left-right, I worked in higher education for 35 years. Trust me there are plenty of academicians with a bunch of alphabet soup after their names who lean as far right as they can reach. And there’s nothing wrong with that. The trouble comes, and always has, when ideology ignores evidence. That happens, sadly, on both sides of the spectrum.
Another reason and a blown opportunity to deal with the tax exempt status of politically active churches.
It seems to me that this a structural problem, not a Democratic Party problem, and that the structural flaws are racism, misogyny and dark money. The rest is quibbling.
How we deal with that is the question.
Not sure we ever figured that part out; LBJ was right about the consequences of his Great Society reforms. But those reforms were both right and necessary. Maybe we could start with honest and consistent enforcement and interpretation of the laws we have, not forgetting voting rights, antitrust and the 14th amendment— all of which keep getting either ignored or shrunk.
The structural problem in the Democratic Party is that they are still primarily identity politics based. Second generation Latinos see themselves as American, not *other*. By creating a mythical “Hispanic” voting bloc, we saw them as different and not concerned about the exact same things the rest of their (educational level, income level) white cohorts were. And they voted accordingly. Ditto for all the other identity groups. Even the number of Black people who are immigrants is rivaling the population descended from slavery. I don’t say any of this to minimize the outreach that has been done by many to reach people where they are. I just think we are failing because of how the Dem leadership views the world. And that same view is present throughout the nonprofits that operate on the left. Purity politics is killing us and driving people away.
IDK how we fix the dark money problem. Especially given the fact that Elon will now be shadow president. Sharrod Brown’s loss sucks. Luckily Sheldon is still there fighting the fight. But he can’t do it alone. And for the time being, all that can be done is to shine a light on it and hope someone is paying attention.
I am not entirely sold on misogyny and racism being the only answer. It seems too easy. And I get Occam’s Razor and all, but, we simply didn’t get the vote out. The kids didn’t turn out and we suffered backsliding in the suburbs. I don’t know how women could’ve voted for him, but I will assume it was financial - not because they hate other women or even Black people. But, yeah, I could be wrong.
We lost because of the fact that Jesus was replaced by Donald in the eyes of all the freaky NAR evangelicals in the country and they voted and brought their friends and we didn’t.
Good contribution - there's a lot of good insight here.
Thanks. I’ve been working through my emotions with exit polling. 🤣
It's gonna be hard but I hope everyone else follows your example. It takes personal intellectual integrity and courage to do so.
The Catalyst data will be pored over for years to come once that’s released.
And I go back and forth on if it will be good if we are all made to suffer together under the terror of our mad king in the long run for America. Once the policies they promised start to happen, things are going to start to change - rapidly. Ffs, the stock of the 2 largest private prisons in the country both went up like 40% yesterday. If that doesn’t send chills down your spine…
BusyBee, here I lack your confidence. I don't think that the coalition Trump has pulled together is going to be horrified by increased prison populations, whether it's minorities (like now), immigrants or protestors or journalists or political opponents. Trump and the other Republicans will easily blame the economic disaster caused by deportations, tariffs and tax cuts were in fact the fault of the Democrats, somehow, it doesn't matter how, and they will speak with one voice, from Trump to the Congress to the state legislators to the far-right media-sphere (with Fox at the top), and repetition will replace facts, just like with the 2020 election denial program, which ended up as of August 2023 with 69% of Republicans and Republican-leaners polled by CNN believing that Biden's win in 2020 was illegitimate. Yikes!!!
I've lived in Texas most of my life. I'm White and politically an Independent. Whites, as a whole, particularly Christians, are scared to death of losing their majority. And lose the majority they are regardless of the gestapo tactics. I used to have friends among them. And I promise you the racism is deep and real. A close friend of over twenty years is Hispanic. And she said to me, "Some of these Latino men are so stupid. They need to lose the machismo crap". A Hispanic man who is a friend and walks his dog with my husband is beyond distraught Kamala lost. He said to my husband - "Mexicans can be so stupid!" But he also said something else. He said historically speaking Hispanics don't like Blacks. I have seen that to be true. And you are so right about Hispanics in general - whether they are second generation or even undocumented. They view themselves as hard working Americans who are worried newer immigrants will take their jobs so Trump will round the "other" up not them. I have been told this several times. They don't understand Trump will round up every Brown face he can. Look, I'm as distraught as every one here. But sometimes the simple answer is right. It wasn't policies. It wasn't a damn thing but rather racism and misogyny.
I think it wasn't policies which were objectively popular when there was an honest presentation of them vs the twisted misrepresentation of the corporate media. I think it was our allowing billionaires to own the media and to purchase candidates through enormous dark contributions which set up a national environment friendly right wing extremism including tolerance for racism and misogyny, the corporate media normalizing, sane washing and even praising 45 while shining an unfairly even lying light on every move Kamala or Walz made, and then the resultant racism and misogyny being able to turn a full focus on Kamala as the democrat candidate.
I also think though it was a snow balling of missed opportunities during those fleeting two years when Dems had the legislative ability and the oval office. Of course Merrick Garland should have jumped right on it with investigations, laws should have specified religious groups engaging in political activity lose their tax exempt status, find a work around law to address Citizens United and the Fairness Doctrine, The SCOTUS Should Have Been Expanded, and in Ukraine, we should have made sure Putin met with a direct punch to the face a la Shock and Awe style support so that didn't drag on. I could go on, but the point is that as much as I liked Biden and as much as he accomplished, he needed to have been much more aggressive when he had the power and we would live in a nation where different attitudes prevail. He had too much faith in people seeing the improvements without the media showing it to them.
As of now, I think we need to begin thinking of and messaging the White House with ways to push furniture in front of the doors to at least slow 45 and his administration down. For example, when you can put off drilling in the Arctic National Refuge by a year's worth of delays in the courts, you get three years of damage rather than four and maybe a few more species only teeter on the brink of extinction rather than take that irreversible plunge. We have two months to propose ways to layer protections onto our national secrets - with some of those being ironically transparency - such as public access for reporters and others to the list of who has checked out which documents (contents being secret) and when they've been returned. Reporters could do wonders with that alongside White House visitor logs. What do we urgently need to protect? We've got two months.
I would vote for you. Seriously.
Thank you, BBB. So do you think with outreach/messaging, we should ignore cultural aspects(a phrase, pic,whatever) that could appear to be “othering” ?
Yeah. Americans are Americans. The only people who aren’t are the ones who haven’t yet had the chance to become Americans - or are waiting for their own countries to stabilize so they can return to them.
I think identity politics has run its course. My sister started grad school last year @ 49 y.o. Her classmates are mostly in their 20’s and see the world very differently than she does. We are kids of the 1970’s. There were gas lines, so we rode our bikes everywhere. There were blizzards, but we built the coolest snow forts. And the biggest thing, we had communities that didn’t appear to see color. My best friend in elementary school was Black and I never thought anything about it until my racist aunt asked my mother “you let her spend time with Blacks?” (My mother promptly kicked her out.) We had a community pool (now filled with cement) and a parks & rec program that was designed as a sort of summer camp and cost next to nothing (and we just hung out there for free). All of this stuff is gone. It started going in the 80’s and the pool was filled about 15 years ago. I don’t know if this was the afterglow of the civil rights movement or what, but the world today is far too minced and chopped into interest groups whose interests often don’t overlap, but somehow they’re all part of this coalition. (The actual Dem one, not this new fangled garbage with all the GOP has been a who are trying to pull us right for their own ends). We’ve gotten a reputation for being elites for a reason. People don’t like being spoken down to. College educated women on both the left and right love Pete. I think he’s a smarmy consultant. I live in exurban America and I see people’s reaction to that kind of talk every day. They want the *truth*. Sadly, there are those who are more than happy to supply them with it.
Someone better do a deep dive on ALL THE THINGS the bills Biden passed accomplished so there is a record of it. Where the markets were the day before Donald won the election, employment numbers, all that stuff. If we don’t, he will claim credit for all the good things w were able to do and we can not allow that to happen.
I agree with almost all of this but I love Pete Buttigieg. He has a great way of talking to right wingers that is sort of like the dog whisperer talking to an enraged pitt bull.
I have no doubt that everything bad that comes out of this next administration will be blamed on the Dems and everything that is just a good product of the enormous inertia of huge systems like our economy will be ballyhooed as 45's success.
Yes, my husband is Mexican American and proud of his culture/heritage yet he is truly an American. We( because I took his surname) occasionally receive mail with only Spanish wording.
I understand what you’re saying about Pete B….but I do love him and watching he and Jessica Tarlov doing smackdowns on Faux News.And how dare she talk over Jesse Watters and put him in his place ! I know…perhaps not helpful but so fun to watch!
BusyBusyBee. I agree with you except for your point that black immigrants are outpacing black descendants of slavery.
I don't think that's possible at this point.
Can you cite anything?
And not just dark money, but dark control over the dis/misinformation propaganda that people are ingesting. Seems to me that behind it all, Russia has eventually won the cold war (think the many classified documents that were leaked by DT as an example, resulting in Russian interference that has taken over in indoctrinating large swathes of the electorate.
I think you nailed it.
As we enter 2025, America stands at a dangerous crossroads. Project 2025, under our new president, is not just a set of policies; it’s a plan to redefine what this country is and who belongs in it. Supported by voters who crave stability and order, this new administration promises to protect a particular version of America, but at what cost? Let’s break it down.
A majority of white men and about half of white women voted for this change. Many see it as a way to regain a familiar, controlled past—clear boundaries, strong leadership, and no tolerance for ideas or people that don’t fit their vision. In contrast, Black Americans largely voted against it, knowing that this kind of “order” can quickly turn into something else: restriction and exclusion. For them, history is a warning. Latino voters were divided, but many sensed a shift away from openness toward a narrower, more closed-off future.
This is not just about shifting policies; it’s about a new way of running the government. Project 2025 plans to replace experienced civil servants with loyalists, reshaping government into a political tool. This means that those who serve the public would have to show political loyalty, something that echoes dangerous moments in history.
Take Nazi Germany, for example. When Hitler came to power, he quickly reshaped government to serve his goals, silencing opponents and spreading fear. Almost immediately, civil liberties disappeared. Political dissenters were jailed or worse, as institutions once meant to protect people became tools of control. We can’t ignore this history.
Project 2025 would also make police and immigration authorities one and the same, turning local officers into national enforcers focused on keeping certain people out. Education, too, would change, with the Department of Education weakened and local control encouraged, allowing schools to push specific viewpoints while shutting out others. Nazi Germany followed a similar path, using schools to shape loyal followers.
This isn’t just about the government’s structure. Project 2025 aims to limit who qualifies as a “real” American. It seeks to redefine reproductive rights, roll back LGBTQ+ protections, and push strict definitions of gender and family. Once again, history warns us: when governments start labeling who belongs and who doesn’t, exclusion soon follows. In Nazi Germany, marginalized groups faced growing restrictions until they were driven out or worse.
And it doesn’t stop there. Environmental protections will be rolled back, focusing on economic gains over public health or nature. Under the Nazis, similar priorities placed power and expansion above well-being, with devastating consequences.
If we move forward with this plan, America will change in ways that may be hard to undo. This country could become a place defined by what it rejects, with freedom only for those who fit a narrow definition. Those who voted for Project 2025 may think they’re securing the country’s future, but they may find it’s a future with less freedom for everyone.
The history of Nazi Germany is a clear warning. Once democracy starts slipping into control and exclusion, freedoms for everyone become fragile. If we want to protect what makes America free and diverse, we must be wary of a path that promises order but limits freedom.
As in all places where the oligarchs rule, politics is a class struggle. Our policy clashes prior to Citizens United were different in nature and Dems addressed the concerns of a much broader swathe of voters. And even though Biden understands the worldview of working people, his administration has also been the product of big money. That money just got bigger for Trump. Our real concern must be the power and control bought by Thiel and Musk, two guys who earnestly think they were born to rule. While both have conflicts of interest galore, Musk is the more troublesome of the two who will be running the administration because of his business ties with the Pentagon and foreign dictators. He bears special scutiny, but I fear all media eyes will still be on the day to day antics of Trump.
As we move on to the midterms in this endless fight, let's be sure to visibly back our local unions and their strike activities, keep pushing for unions among the gig workers, keep demanding after-school programs at the local level, show up to stare down the book banners (assuming they weren't just props for this last election), boycott the gougers, move the best democratic ideas out of online silos and across all others, and use existing laws to challenge the worst of Trump's and the GOP's efforts. And if we get an opportunity to stick out a well shod foot as Stephen Miller scrambles down an aisle, take it.
Those antics are what the magician uses to draw our eyes away from the action.
Yes, and as the MSM withers away, those antics will be less effective. Perhaps we will be moving back to seeking out the best and most accurate independent voices like we had with The New Republic, The I.F. Stone Weekly, and others in the last century via substacks, podcasts, and maybe even environmental art to send real messages. Performers like Trump will have a hard time emerging. The problem will be the selling out and the "disappearing" of such voices.
Love you, TC, but Rep Torres is full of bullshit. Biden has never gotten the credit he should have for helping unions or the working class. Between his infrastructure bill to the Inflation Reduction Act, Americans have benefitted. And if Biden was five years younger and had stayed in the race, he would have won...because he is a white guy. The numbers show WHITE people voting in the majority for Trump. WHITE women voted in the majority for Trump. Let that sink in. WHITE women. Kamala is amazing and ran the best campaign I've seen in fifty years. She had amazing support and coalitions. The problem for white Christian Americans is they weren't going to vote for a Black woman. In 2020 they were exhausted by Trump and voted for Joe Biden - white, working class male. So seriously, there's no need to wring hands and look in the mirror. The majority of white America is racist and misogynistic. They'll deny it but it is true. Kamala would have been a fantastic President for all of us, but these fucking idiots only saw her gender and skin color. There's a lot of country between California and New York, and it's made up of these people. But believe me, by the time Trump gets done even those people will wish they voted for Kamala.
We have ourselves to blame for him not getting credit. Say what you will about Trump the Showman, but if he had passed the IRA and Chips and Science acts, there would have been a Big Show With The President There at every ground-breaking of every chip factory, of every infrastructure project, massive PR on all. Everyone would have known who did what.
Contrary to what Democrats believe, these rats won't fuck themselves. The thing DOES NOT speak for itself. And the people we want to know what we did like The Big Show. It makes them think that if the President came there for that, that maybe the President thinks they're important.
I know that we well-educated upper-middle-class nerds look down on that sort of razzmatazz, but like it or not, it works. And it would have worked over the past three years.
Face facts: in 2024, the Republicans didn't win; we lost. When you lose even in the places you win, that's not Trump doing anything. That's on us. We have to see this, we have to ask the questions we don't like asking, and we have to be the folks who change their minds in the face of new additional data, like we say we are. That's the only choice that leads to victory in the future. Like it or not.,
Tom Nichols said it best. The majority of Trump voters are actually financially fine. They're just bored. I don't need a parade to know what Biden did for this country. And it wouldn't have mattered to these people. We are the envy of the fucking world and these dumb asses don't like the direction of the country. There is no fixing stupid. Twelve years ago David Souter said his worry was that one day someone would come along and promise to "fix it all" and give them what they want. If that happened, people would abdicate their responsibility. Well here we are.
Media. And democrats being poor at messaging. And (many) people being simple creatures.
Take a classroom of elementary school kids and all of the little girls view one little boy as the heart throb. He can be the homeliest little guy but if he's got a huge ego and thinks very highly of himself all the little girls take him at his opinion of himself. All the little boys too - he's the cool guy. People never really grow up. A huge percentage of us believe what we hear without putting work into evaluating it for ourselves.
I struggle to avoid the magnetism of thinking about how many of our fellow Americans are just plain unintelligent, and sadly that's a fact... but it's also a fact it's very difficult to distinguish low intelligence from low information and it doesn't really require high intelligence or high levels of privilege or education to absorb a few facts if we'd get them out there clearly and succinctly. We need a democrat think tank to figure out an entry level reality wedge that isn't immediately rejected by the MAGAt infected mind, and work up from there - with confidence. I have been sent Tangle so I'll be checking that out...
I agree, but I am not an upper or even middle class nerd. Middle class, at least where I live is $175K at least. Social security and a pension don't get you there.
And I don't look down on getting the message out there in simple terms. People are inattentive at best. They obviously respond to whatever is in their face. Democrats don't get that.
Apparently, "Biden no longer on ticket?" peaked during the election on Google search. During The Election. As in maybe people got their ballots and that's the first they knew of it? My forehead has a permanent hand print by now - and these people get one vote too. Better Voter Education cannot come soon enough.
I kinda chose to ignore that because it was too unfuckingbelieveable.
And clearly you had forehead foresight and spared the palm to avoid the print.
Years ago I sat next to a woman who called the election help over as if she had a problem but just wanted to ask how she was to choose. The help, with commendable lack of expression, said "I can't help you with that. You have to choose for yourself." At that the woman said brightly "Well - this guy Grey, I've heard of his name before. Maybe I'll vote for him." I had to clench everything I had to refrain from telling her that his name was familiar because he'd been in the news lately for a really awful story where he was under consideration for disbarment for unethical tactics to help a client he befriended (way beyond a standard client relationship) who killed his child and beat up his girlfriend and her sister... As Well As other delights. I know it's a slippery slope upon which we must tread carefully, but sheesh we have to find a solution for voter ignorance.
I would add that we need to figure out a way to reach the Hispanic men in this country. Their machismo mentality and their aversion to having a woman, any woman, in leadership is apparent to those of us who live in communities with large Hispanic populations. By and large, they are a patriarchal population. Last night, I heard a reporter who is also Hispanic explain that, although the issue is complicated, many Latinos will vote against their best interests (aka deportation) because as relatively "new" citizens, they long to be considered "white" and a part of the "white culture." I am probably oversimplifying this, but the Hispanic vote needs to be reviewed. It is not a monolithic vote and it is complex. But it is growing.
Yeah, that was Michael Steele on Ruhle's show. He was right.
Interesting that Mexico just voted in a woman presidente.
I'm in Texas. A friend of over twenty years is Hispanic as is a friend of my husband's. They both get so upset with other Hispanics. I'm white and right now I'm not crazy about white people. But that reporter nailed it. I know several Hispanics who work in the trades - carpenters, painters and landscapers. They see themselves as part of white America and that immigrants coming into this country will take their jobs. And they believe Trump will take these folks not them.
In my younger days, I spent a month in San Angelo for work and got a chance to hang out with the locals - I don't remember a lot of what we talked about, but do remember their point to us gringos that "we were here first", as in, when Spain colonized the region, before other Europeans. It made sense to me, and they both took that as a point of pride, something to say to white people when they wanted to annoy them, and also to differentiate them as people with roots much further back than most white folks or other hispanic people who emigrated much more recently.
A former friend, who is Mexican American, is now MAGA. At one point she was arguing with people on Facebook. She told me she told them she was a real American. I told her I didn't realize she was Native American.
Again with the "too many never grow up" behavioral observations, but if a group of "mean girls" or "bully boys" begin to pick on one child, others standing by rarely speak up and often those on the periphery of the group see it as an opportunity to solidify their own position in the clique. They can be the nastiest, slam the doors fastest once they're through, and in general try to oust anyone who may in some respects be confused with themselves but who they strongly wish to distance themselves from to preserve their own status.
Sounds like my elementary school.
My family, except for me, is black. We know many Latinos. Racism is not just for white folks. Neither is misogyny. That may sound like a sweeping generalization, but it is the reality I have observed.
You're right.
Most of the stats I saw said that of all women a strong majority voted for Kamala. Setting spoilers aside, that leaves a minority for 45 (ugh. I guess I have to get used to saying 47?). Let's say 57 to 43. Somewhere in there those numbers were roughly reversed for men of all subgroups, and that the total number of women who voted was higher than the total number of men. Okay, that is really really simplifying it Way down, but just taking that simple set of statements, if that was so, how on earth did 4... 7 (it's not coming easily) win? Plugged into an equation, that doesn't work out. As to ... him, when he gets done they will not wish they voted for Kamala because the State Media will have vilified her so thoroughly they will bless their stars they didn't vote for her since she will be blamed for everything. Look at how no one remembered tRump's record or what his reign was like and believed the sky was green polka dot if their beloved Fox news said so.
It was a majority of Black women who voted for Kamala. A majority of white women, many evangelical Christians, voted for Trump. I don't like it but it's true. The things Maga media white women said about Kamala were disgusting and racist. The things white GOP women (looking at you Sarah Huckabee Sanders) said about Kamala were the same. Part of me thinks the election was rigged. What I do understand is we have a coming fight on our hands. I genuinely believe history is repeating itself and this will be Hitler 2.0. When Trump says mass deportation, believe him. I genuinely believe people are going to die. Cruelty is their point. And when the shit starts happening, it is going to also hit these idiots.
I understand the need to look at messaging, reaching working class voters, doing a better job of showing just how the Biden admin's / Democratic policies benefit middle class/working class families and individuals. I think the largest hurdle is how to break through when the MSM isn't interested in that story. Telling people what is going right is not nearly as sexy as fanning the flames with screaming headlines. What MSM and corporate Republican politics do is to entertain the masses like the Romans did with their circuses in the Coliseum. The roar of the mob drowns out fact. I sometime feel like the "right" has been playing 3D chess with a long term strategy of packing courts and gutting education. While the "left" is so busy blaming each other for either being too progressive, not progressive enough or whatever else the protest vote du jour is! Oh yeah, and rampant misogyny, racism and ersatz Christian values. They wrap themselves in the flag and allow people to lie to themselves about how really prejudiced they are against women, black and brown people, gays and anyone else they can find to hate/fear.
Sorry - I am still quite a bit pissed off today.
"Another Democratic senior aide told Semafor that they would be “shocked if any of the leaders have a plan.”" It would be well beyond shocking, since there's no evidence that any such planning has taken place since Joe Kennedy decided that his eldest surviving son should be President. We have 2 years to organize at the state and local level and 2 more to get our national campaign s*** together. The Senate doesn't offer much, but Hakeem Jeffries, Jamie Raskin, and AOC offer some hope in the House. The DNC is a joke, Jaime Harrison has disappeared along with Stacey Abrams, both of whom showed some strength as organizers, but there are potential power bases in CA, IL, MI, TN, and MD with solid governors and, little noticed but nonetheless important, there are the grassroots operations like Every State Blue that have begun the building process at the county and district levels. We can do it if we have the will and can set aside egos and click obsession in order to put together a coherent campaign.
My local party meets on Monday and I am going to go in guns a’ blazin! I told these morons that they were doing it wrong and they didn’t listen. Maybe they will now. The CTDEM party, much like our NY counterpart, has gotten complacent because we’ve enjoyed full control of our states for so long. Both states have a plethora of those voters in the Trump sweet spot of $30-50k/year with no degree. All politics is local, right? The inroads he made in the blue states is on us and we’ve got to start local. Red state Dems have been doing the hard work for years and the thing they hear most is that they like the policies, they just don’t like Democrats. I have no idea how to overcome this hurdle.
Jamie Harrison was a failure as a senate candidate and he’s sucked as chairman. He is a great fundraiser and that’s about it. We need new leadership from outside the corporate bubble.
Right on, good luck to you.
I was writing a long-winded thought, but Rita Parker nailed it! The quality of a campaign and the quality of the candidate are irrelevant, particularly when an extraordinarily capable woman of color is opposing a convicted white male rapist.
Issues are only ephemeral nonsense thrown up as a screen to block out any deeper inquiry into motivation.
The genetic depth of misogyny and racism embedded in the political culture of the US is an insurmountable problem.
Simplistically, the choice of any opposition is to become misogynist and racist and join the opposition in a race to the genetic sewer, where they already reside, or to conceive a strategy of cultural change that will alter the political genes of the nation, good luck with that!
The “middle way” then becomes never run a woman for the presidency over the next 100 -200 -2300 years, no matter how skilled, no matter how grounded, no matter how far she exceeds her opponent in character, competency, collaborative connections, commitment to democratic norms and the common good, temperament, no matter anything, because misogyny and race outrun these factors every time.
It seems to me that a problem with the Democrat platform is how divided the electorate is. I read here that candidates ran too far to the left and weren't speaking to the working class. However, I am also hearing from many people who identify as Progressives that they haven't felt heard; that candidates are running moderate campaigns that minimally address the climate crisis, the genocide in Gaza, or how control is moving increasingly into the hands of a relatively few obscenely rich people who have bought our main sources of information, corporatized our healthcare system.
The electorate has always been divided. The challenge for the Democrats is that they've forgotten how to construct a message that appeals to a majority of the population and have, instead, tried to pursue each group as though it were the only one necessary to win elections. While this appeals to the egos of the public faces of such groups, it does little for the majority of voters.
Exactly! As opposed to constructing policies for AMERICANS, they assign something to each group. It’s like some holdover from the Tammany Hall days or something. The party giveth. Love the party.
DOWN WITH THE CONSULTANTS!
Seriously, we need real grass roots and the consultants need to not be invited back into the rooms until they learn some things about the American people by going and spending time with them as opposed to their data science and focus group tested messaging. Their ways are obviously no longer working.
THIS JUST IN. WaPo:
"Federal Reserve trims interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point as it turns focus away from inflation to the labor market"
There was no reason this could not have happened a few weeks ago.
On thing the Democrats should NOT continue, is begging for money. I don't give a shit what they think they need, knowing they've already collected billions of dollars which they seek to enrich the pockets of the already too wealthy mainstream media owners, what the hell good do they do. I didn't receive a single text in the last 15 months that told me all the good Biden did, or the terrific plans Harris had. They were "take this poll and send us money" "are you voting for Biden then Harris? send us money" You know what popped into my mind? Yeah, right a bunch of young punks pulling off another get rich quick scheme.
What they should have been doing is reminding people of all the horrible things trump did and all the bragging about non-accomplishments - like the wall, the border situation. Or all of Joe's accomplishments. Other elderly people here in my senior apartment never heard about the CHIPS act, the American recovery act, the Infrastructure act, All the jobs Biden brought back to America. These people aren't on X or Tik tok, or Instagram. A few use Facebook all of them text. That's what they read. They are not wealthy, most don't even have $1000 in savings. They have no idea that Project 2025 and JD Vance want to dissolve Social Security on which all of us depend to some extent.
So, If you ever again have a chance at a free election (which I doubt since that does no sit well with dictators) forget about how much money you can make and think about how many votes you need.
THIS! Thank you!! I got so many money grubbing texts and emails till I was blue in the face (pun intended!) And not one god damned message contained any substantial content. It was “hey, you’re a dem! We have a deadline coming up .. send money!”
I was insulted every day with the “we’re begging you”, or “if you don’t respond, we’ll count you as a Trump voter
30 texts a day
Are you voting for Harris? Answer our poll BUT before we count your response, it’ll cost you $10 or $100
My immediate reaction became “Intercourse You”
Yes!
Yes, hundreds of texts and emails daily.
As I wrote yesterday, we are still being punished for having the gall to elect and re-elect Obama as well as the Nixon resignation (for those of us old enough to remember). See the great documentary on MAX "Right America, Feeling Wronged," for the beginnings of this. Slotkin took a page out of Obama's 'lose, but lose by less' strategy in beating that carpetbagger Mike Rogers.
Harris is proof that we aren't in a 'post-racial' America and we may never be.
Hillary's "Deplorables" came back to bite us in the ass worse than 2016. WAY too much emphasis on the middle class and none on bringing the WORKING class up to the middle. Helped by Putin's trolls discouraging a large chunk of the 60,000,000, according to Fair Fight, registered Dems who did not vote. It would be good to know how much Dem and LP adds were played on Sinclair Media, the largest rural radio and tv available out there where it is very red.
First, if I am NOT paying, let me know!
Rep. Torres is both right and wrong. I'll put it this way. The New York Times had an editor named Turner Catledge. He had been a DC political reporter and ordered that his reporters do the opposite of what he had done in covering a tax bill. He focused on the players and the inside baseball. He said he wanted to know within a couple of paragraphs what the tax bill would mean to the individual reader--how much they would save. Of course, The Times long since reverted to the previous idea under the leadership of the likes of Bipartisan Carl Hulse, who soon will write an "analysis" about some republican being bipartisan by agreeing to oppose hanging all Democrats.
Well, Democrats CAN talk about the social issues that matter. But we have to get to the individual working-class voter, and have policies that fit them. That won't happen under the current leadership.
You're paying, Michael. :-)
Excellent analysis (as usual).
Thanks. You're very kind. Now, I have to add this. During the winter of 1860-61, a southerner he knew wrote to Lincoln about ways to settle them down and keep them in the Union. Essentially, he told Lincoln to issue a statement, and Lincoln said that he had a public record and it was clear. But he also said, not in so many words, we'll be fine if you just repudiate everything you have ever claimed to believe on the subject of slavery.
Well, that's part of the problem here, too.
Wait... I love the story but I'm missing the connection. Maybe it's this odd weave of responses and answers with margin lines... or maybe it's just late here on the east coast when anxiety nixes a good night's sleep?
If Democrats want to win over the voters who went for the republican, they simply need to announce they no longer believe in equality for anyone but white men.
Oooo... yes, of course. Thank you, got it. Sorry, so obvious once you spell it out for me. Sheesh. And ugh.
Well, it helped when you made clear that I was unclear!
Do you have any way of knowing who is an actively contributing reader who is not able to pay? Like, maybe you remember someone saying they would if they could (but on SS for example?) or a tip jar? I have seen those...
Perhaps if more people had the actual experience of "walking along the border" it might change some perceptions!
https://www.theborderchronicle.com/p/walking-along-the-border-on-election?utm_campaign=email-half-post&r=b9ign&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
That was interesting.
I just started getting those posts - also get one called the Land Desk - about what goes on out West - I live in NY so they both are really interesting.
Simon Rosenberg at Hopium mentioned that Harris better had not to have agreed and sympathized with the fact that inflation is high which wasted an opportunity to educate the public about the details of why our nation is the envy of the world (pre election), economically, under the current administration.