jakeisphat Posted March 31 Posted March 31 Quote Nearly two months later, Democrats still haven't bottomed out. The party has lurched from strategy to strategy in their efforts to confront Trump, mostly falling flat. Democrats interrupted and stormed out of Trump's joint address to Congress, which had the effect of making their rowdiness the story and sparking new intraparty feuds. That was followed by the release of cringeworthy videos on social media pegged to the "Choose your fighter" trend and Gen Z slang that tried to be playful but were roundly mocked as reeking of desperation. The party's latest attempt to emulate the kind of authenticity that voters associate with Trump is using more four-letter words. . . . Interviews with more than 30 Democratic elected officials, party leaders and consultants for this story reveal that after suffering their biggest defeat in decades, Democrats are deeply fractured, rudderless, and struggling to figure out at the most basic level what their message and strategy should be. Some longtime Democrats are worried, even enraged, that few of their leaders have reexamined their prior positions — let alone shown a willingness to consider a dramatic break with party norms or practice. Grassroots activists are demanding more fight from elected officials. Along with the party's high-dollar donors, they are asking when, exactly, their leaders will face the 2024 election with eyes wide open and come up with answers about how to confront Trump and how to regain lost electoral ground. . . . But as much as Democrats talk about change, few have seemed actually willing to make the leap. Instead, they've called for tweaking their tactics or freshening their message — or the way it's distributed, by appearing on outlets like Joe Rogan's podcast — in what amounts to a pitch for better marketing. . . . Other Democrats, such as Ken Martin, the Minnesotan who was crowned the new DNC chair after the January forum, have argued outright that the party doesn't need to do a 180. He has called for strategic shifts, like "contesting races throughout this country" and "standing up a war room." But, he said in an interview, Democrats are in a better position today than they were after Trump first won in 2016. "Our data infrastructure is way ahead now of the Republicans. Our ground game is way ahead of the Republicans. Our infrastructure through state parties, local parties and the national party is stronger than it's ever been before. So this is not a burn-it-down moment," he said. "There are people out here who say, 'Well, we just need to start over. Everything sucked.'" . . . Grassroots rage is being channeled at top party officials like Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, whom many criticize for employing what appears to them to be an old-fashioned and insufficient approach to taking on Trump. Democratic voters have told pollsters they are frustrated with their own party. Fed-up donors have threatened to shut off the money spigot until Democrats develop a clear strategy for navigating this moment. Liberals are fiercely debating the new book, Abundance, and whether it's the answer to lowering prices — or repackaged neoliberalism. "Donors are incredibly frustrated," said Alexandra Acker-Lyons, an adviser close to Silicon Valley fundraisers. "They think there's no plan. There's no leadership." . . . The situation has forced Democrats to think outside the box. Some of the party's top strategists are talking about fielding independent candidates in states that are seen as lost causes for Democrats, as they did last year in Nebraska, where Dan Osborn lost but ran well ahead of Harris. If independent candidates win in those places but refuse to vote to install a Democrat or Republican as majority leader, the thinking goes, they'll at least make the math harder for the GOP to maintain control. The conversation itself is incredibly revealing: Democrats aren't talking about how to win these states, but how to game the system. And it's not like it has worked so far: Osborn lost. https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/03/28/2024-election-democrats-kamala-harris-00230631
HeavyMetalAura Posted March 31 Posted March 31 I mean do we think the elections will be fair moving forward? I absolutely believe the Trump administration will do everything in their power to intimidate blue voters, restrict their access, and fudge the results where they can. Our checks and balances are eroding before our very eyes. I'm not trying to be alarmist, because the alternatives I can imagine to Democrats regaining control without elections are….scary to even think about… but I don't really see anyone playing by the rules anymore. Or am I wrong? I hope I'm wrong. 3
IBeMe Posted March 31 Posted March 31 That was Bernie's idea not DNC strategists. Also them artificially creating secret dems who run as independents is going to blow up in their faces. It needs to happen organically like it did with Bernie and that other iconic independent senator I forget his name.
BionicWooHoo Posted March 31 Posted March 31 The way the solution is right there: actually run progressive candidates and progressive policies that help actual people and yet Dems will do 100000 years of mental gymnastics about "not needing to do a 180" lmao 1 1
JustHoran Posted March 31 Posted March 31 (edited) 7 hours ago, HeavyMetalAura said: I mean do we think the elections will be fair moving forward? I absolutely believe the Trump administration will do everything in their power to intimidate blue voters, restrict their access, and fudge the results where they can. Our checks and balances are eroding before our very eyes. I'm not trying to be alarmist, because the alternatives I can imagine to Democrats regaining control without elections are….scary to even think about… but I don't really see anyone playing by the rules anymore. Or am I wrong? I hope I'm wrong. I completely agree. I still think something doesn't smell right on election night, but let me keep that to myself. However, Elon working with Trump is very concerning. I wish they did a investigation into the results just to make sure nothing was rigged. Edited March 31 by JustHoran
JustHoran Posted March 31 Posted March 31 (edited) I don't feel very safe that our elections aren't going to be rigged from here on out by the wanna-be dictator, and his boyfriend Elmo. I mean Trump has said several times already they rigged the election, so he's either admitting it or testing the waters to see if anything would be done. Results: Nothing is done, of course. Edited March 31 by JustHoran
ClashAndBurn Posted March 31 Posted March 31 Quote But, he said in an interview, Democrats are in a better position today than they were after Trump first won in 2016. Utterly delusional. They haven't been worse off since the days of Reagan, and they actually HAD control of Congress back then. As things are now, they're never going to get the Senate back. It's gone forever now, so they'll never actually be in a position to govern after squandering everything on Joe Biden, the absolute weakest, most worthless president of all time.
Recommended Posts