This is an easy question to answer, they have never been good at lying and cheating, whereas that comes naturally for Republicans. That’s it, everything else is a subset of this.
Agree until point 3 of the article. Americas base has moved toward the center and away from the far left. The message from the far left isn’t resonating the way it used to and Dems would not/ could not believe it. It takes a total defeat like this to make real change.
AND EVEN IN THIS ANALYSIS, THERE IS NOT A HINT THAT OUR ATROCIOUS SPENDING FOR GLOBAL MILITARY DEATH & DESTRUCTION IS THE REASON THE U.S. ECONOMY IS IN DISMAL CONDITION!
Yet another think piece slicing and dicing all the reasons the dems lost that we’ll be inundated with for the next two years while as usual failing to question any underlying assumptions about our entire social system that would both give rise to a Trump in the first place and then have the majority of the country vote for him. I’ll give it to you simply…capitalism and the worship of money and fame. How else do you get as twisted a person as Trump to become popular and an electorate to only think about the current state of their wallet when voting (and I don’t blame them). It’s time to start thinking about these things and not what the already captured by corporate interests Democrats can do to win again. They’ve shown us who they are as much as the GOP has and they’re worse in every conceivable way. At least the GOP is honest about who they are, while the dems paint rainbows on everything and virtue signal all while the Nancy Pelosis of the party all line their pockets with insider trading and do nothing for the working class.
Thank you for this analysis. You're putting statics to something I've been thinking for days: The Democratic Party found itself in an impossible position. In order to stop Trump, they tried to keep their rhetoric consistent (rights-based, pro-regulation, welcoming to diversity) while fundraising to compete nationally. Big money and that rhetoric are at odds with each other, and they can't be combined consistently...and people sense it. The Republicans are very clear about where they stand; they take corporate money, and they push corporate policies. Which makes the Democrats look weak. We ask more of them than of the Republicans, as if they were the adults in the room--and they are---but they can't deliver in a post Citizens United world. (We need to reduce our addiction to oil, but we support fracking in Pennsylvania because, you know, we gotta beat Trump.) Standing up for principle, any principle, may have been more effective...I don't know. But they compromised everything and lost anyway. And now we'll have to realign.
I guess my question isn't so much "What went wrong with the party?" but more "How long can we pretend parties themselves -- their existence as institutions -- aren't the problem?"
Political party operatives' incentives don't always align with their responsibilities, and Americans are culturally allergic to policy explained by people who dress well.
For years I have been trying to think of a solution to this, and I came up with something that, to me, seems like it could at least complement the party system to fix its many fatal issues. I was calling it a “vote coach” system, where each congressional district would have a few full time employees (proportionally representative of their demographics based on the census) to listen to their community, drive the conversations about what matters (sometimes focusing on issues that are against politicians’ interests, like term limits and ranked choice voting), then spend their time researching everything that will be on the ballot, interviewing candidates, attending council meetings, breaking things down into clear concepts, organizing the information into grids where you can compare candidate responses in print and analyze their policies, voting records, evasiveness, etc. Voters who do not have enough time to be thoroughly informed can find a “coach” they specifically trust and copy their answers for an informed sample ballot, while those of us who still want to be actively informed can do so with a lot less work, and can tune out of the news when they need a mental break. If it becomes widely adopted, you could see advertising and pleas for cash becoming more obsolete. Political parties, if they continue to be necessary, could focus on candidate recruitment and legislating instead of messaging to a distracted public. The power of misinformation and myths would be defanged. I keep thinking about more and more problems that could be solved. I know there would be a lot of huge hurdles to figure out, like how these salaries of these people would be funded (subscriptions? maybe until it eventually gets public funding?) or how to keep them independent and free from perceived corruption. But I am on a mission to explain it to as many people as possible and see who might be interested in figuring it out. If anyone reads all this, let me know if I might include you.
This is total bullshit. It’s the left that has engaged in fascist activity. Just look at how Kamala became the candidate. The left created Trump and got him elected. The leftist media conspiring with Democrats in a 10 year campaign of lies and hyperbole about Trump and a coordinated coverup of the abuses by the Biden family and administration, law-fare, weaponization of government agencies against Trump, against American corporations and against Americans themselves. The left is totally to blame.
1) joe was down early in the primaries of 2020 until southern ‘blue dogs’ voted and raised his ranking. there were so many good candidates; many of them might have won. in reality, the primaries excluded many voters views as they reach a target number the rest of the states don’t even get to vote. an all fifty states vote would give a true reading.
2) joe stated he’d be a one term president. the primary ought to have been the VP, the two other candidates who did primary Joe, and other candidates also, with a true nation wide vote.
3) Rev Barber is correct. i noticed early on the aiming to the middle class, leaving the lower and poverty voters out of why they should vote much less vote for VP Harris. that 6k credit on the taxes for first year of a child’s life? one has to owe more than that. National Healthcare would have been a winning issue for all people. (tho that would mean less profit for medical related services, which would have conflicted with the “I’m a capitalist “ rhetoric. yet in most all nations, people are cared for - We The People ARE the nation.
thx again Qasim for your writing and opening this conversation. 🙏🏼
That spike in poverty was a rebound from the generous economic policies that got us through Covid. I guess once people experience life on the other side of poverty they don’t particularly want to plummet back in.
That is part of it, sure but the COVID policies themselves were designed due to the real poverty people were facing. With COVID gone, poverty shouldn't have returned, but it did because COVID didn't just increase poverty, it further exposed the cracks already there. Thus, those policies should have remained permanent instead of, Idk, a trillion dollar war chest.
I agree, but I think it’s misleading to say that poverty went up 67% without adding that context. Perhaps if those policies had stayed in place the outcome of this election would have been different. Just another factor to consider. Excellent article—thank you for your work.
With due respect, Patricia. It isn't misleading. The party in power needs to be accountable to the policies enacted or repealed under their leadership. The fact remains that poverty increased significantly under Biden, and he did not do enough to mitigate that.
I appreciate you reading and sharing your insights too. Thank you.
Just who is going to lead Dems out of this desolate wasteland? I am sick and tired of hearing about "grassroots" efforts. The message, the leadership has to come from the top down--not the bottom up.
As a life-long Democrat, you’re right that your info is tough to hear, but am I upset? Nope. Your data is impressive and appreciated. Any thinking person needs to reflect on this catastrophe and consider what to do differently. Where does rampant misinformation/disinformation lie on the continuum of the boatload of factors that got us to this place?
They were deep red rural seats, and I had virtually no support from the Democratic Party. Still, I received more votes than any Democrat in the history of those districts. In the House race the most a Democrat ever received (or has since received) is 144K votes. I earned 187K votes, which is a number that would have won the seat in other years. I did that with zero party support or funds. Imagine what would happen if the party actually invested in rural districts.
While I agree that moving to the center is not fruitful, I’m curious what you think about how or if we should meet the right on the topics of wokeism. They froth at progressive gains for trans people, affirmative action / DEI, etc. to the point that these are red lines for them around the Democratic Party.
This is an easy question to answer, they have never been good at lying and cheating, whereas that comes naturally for Republicans. That’s it, everything else is a subset of this.
What went wrong is corporate money influencing politics. Greed is always the issue.
Musk+ Money happened.
Agree until point 3 of the article. Americas base has moved toward the center and away from the far left. The message from the far left isn’t resonating the way it used to and Dems would not/ could not believe it. It takes a total defeat like this to make real change.
This is an incredible analysis. Thank you for this.
AND EVEN IN THIS ANALYSIS, THERE IS NOT A HINT THAT OUR ATROCIOUS SPENDING FOR GLOBAL MILITARY DEATH & DESTRUCTION IS THE REASON THE U.S. ECONOMY IS IN DISMAL CONDITION!
Yet another think piece slicing and dicing all the reasons the dems lost that we’ll be inundated with for the next two years while as usual failing to question any underlying assumptions about our entire social system that would both give rise to a Trump in the first place and then have the majority of the country vote for him. I’ll give it to you simply…capitalism and the worship of money and fame. How else do you get as twisted a person as Trump to become popular and an electorate to only think about the current state of their wallet when voting (and I don’t blame them). It’s time to start thinking about these things and not what the already captured by corporate interests Democrats can do to win again. They’ve shown us who they are as much as the GOP has and they’re worse in every conceivable way. At least the GOP is honest about who they are, while the dems paint rainbows on everything and virtue signal all while the Nancy Pelosis of the party all line their pockets with insider trading and do nothing for the working class.
Thank you for this analysis. You're putting statics to something I've been thinking for days: The Democratic Party found itself in an impossible position. In order to stop Trump, they tried to keep their rhetoric consistent (rights-based, pro-regulation, welcoming to diversity) while fundraising to compete nationally. Big money and that rhetoric are at odds with each other, and they can't be combined consistently...and people sense it. The Republicans are very clear about where they stand; they take corporate money, and they push corporate policies. Which makes the Democrats look weak. We ask more of them than of the Republicans, as if they were the adults in the room--and they are---but they can't deliver in a post Citizens United world. (We need to reduce our addiction to oil, but we support fracking in Pennsylvania because, you know, we gotta beat Trump.) Standing up for principle, any principle, may have been more effective...I don't know. But they compromised everything and lost anyway. And now we'll have to realign.
Yep. Well said. Couldn’t have said it any better.
I guess my question isn't so much "What went wrong with the party?" but more "How long can we pretend parties themselves -- their existence as institutions -- aren't the problem?"
Political party operatives' incentives don't always align with their responsibilities, and Americans are culturally allergic to policy explained by people who dress well.
Good question. We absolutely need a shift or this will continue to get worse.
For years I have been trying to think of a solution to this, and I came up with something that, to me, seems like it could at least complement the party system to fix its many fatal issues. I was calling it a “vote coach” system, where each congressional district would have a few full time employees (proportionally representative of their demographics based on the census) to listen to their community, drive the conversations about what matters (sometimes focusing on issues that are against politicians’ interests, like term limits and ranked choice voting), then spend their time researching everything that will be on the ballot, interviewing candidates, attending council meetings, breaking things down into clear concepts, organizing the information into grids where you can compare candidate responses in print and analyze their policies, voting records, evasiveness, etc. Voters who do not have enough time to be thoroughly informed can find a “coach” they specifically trust and copy their answers for an informed sample ballot, while those of us who still want to be actively informed can do so with a lot less work, and can tune out of the news when they need a mental break. If it becomes widely adopted, you could see advertising and pleas for cash becoming more obsolete. Political parties, if they continue to be necessary, could focus on candidate recruitment and legislating instead of messaging to a distracted public. The power of misinformation and myths would be defanged. I keep thinking about more and more problems that could be solved. I know there would be a lot of huge hurdles to figure out, like how these salaries of these people would be funded (subscriptions? maybe until it eventually gets public funding?) or how to keep them independent and free from perceived corruption. But I am on a mission to explain it to as many people as possible and see who might be interested in figuring it out. If anyone reads all this, let me know if I might include you.
💪😌🇺🇸
This is total bullshit. It’s the left that has engaged in fascist activity. Just look at how Kamala became the candidate. The left created Trump and got him elected. The leftist media conspiring with Democrats in a 10 year campaign of lies and hyperbole about Trump and a coordinated coverup of the abuses by the Biden family and administration, law-fare, weaponization of government agencies against Trump, against American corporations and against Americans themselves. The left is totally to blame.
1) joe was down early in the primaries of 2020 until southern ‘blue dogs’ voted and raised his ranking. there were so many good candidates; many of them might have won. in reality, the primaries excluded many voters views as they reach a target number the rest of the states don’t even get to vote. an all fifty states vote would give a true reading.
2) joe stated he’d be a one term president. the primary ought to have been the VP, the two other candidates who did primary Joe, and other candidates also, with a true nation wide vote.
3) Rev Barber is correct. i noticed early on the aiming to the middle class, leaving the lower and poverty voters out of why they should vote much less vote for VP Harris. that 6k credit on the taxes for first year of a child’s life? one has to owe more than that. National Healthcare would have been a winning issue for all people. (tho that would mean less profit for medical related services, which would have conflicted with the “I’m a capitalist “ rhetoric. yet in most all nations, people are cared for - We The People ARE the nation.
thx again Qasim for your writing and opening this conversation. 🙏🏼
Agreed on all points, Katsden. Well said, and thank you for reading.
That spike in poverty was a rebound from the generous economic policies that got us through Covid. I guess once people experience life on the other side of poverty they don’t particularly want to plummet back in.
That is part of it, sure but the COVID policies themselves were designed due to the real poverty people were facing. With COVID gone, poverty shouldn't have returned, but it did because COVID didn't just increase poverty, it further exposed the cracks already there. Thus, those policies should have remained permanent instead of, Idk, a trillion dollar war chest.
I agree, but I think it’s misleading to say that poverty went up 67% without adding that context. Perhaps if those policies had stayed in place the outcome of this election would have been different. Just another factor to consider. Excellent article—thank you for your work.
With due respect, Patricia. It isn't misleading. The party in power needs to be accountable to the policies enacted or repealed under their leadership. The fact remains that poverty increased significantly under Biden, and he did not do enough to mitigate that.
I appreciate you reading and sharing your insights too. Thank you.
Just who is going to lead Dems out of this desolate wasteland? I am sick and tired of hearing about "grassroots" efforts. The message, the leadership has to come from the top down--not the bottom up.
Exactly. The lack of leadership is alarming and devastating.
As a life-long Democrat, you’re right that your info is tough to hear, but am I upset? Nope. Your data is impressive and appreciated. Any thinking person needs to reflect on this catastrophe and consider what to do differently. Where does rampant misinformation/disinformation lie on the continuum of the boatload of factors that got us to this place?
Thank you, Gretchen. I commend your integrity and commitment to justice. We also need to ask who is going to lead this currently leaderless party?
If these are such politically potent positions, what explains your losses in the Virginia state senate and U.S. House races you entered?
They were deep red rural seats, and I had virtually no support from the Democratic Party. Still, I received more votes than any Democrat in the history of those districts. In the House race the most a Democrat ever received (or has since received) is 144K votes. I earned 187K votes, which is a number that would have won the seat in other years. I did that with zero party support or funds. Imagine what would happen if the party actually invested in rural districts.
While I agree that moving to the center is not fruitful, I’m curious what you think about how or if we should meet the right on the topics of wokeism. They froth at progressive gains for trans people, affirmative action / DEI, etc. to the point that these are red lines for them around the Democratic Party.
I think that's a narrative Dems have foolishly allowed MAGA republicans to define. Their messaging is effective. Dem messaging is terrible.