CDZ Democrats need to regroup

[Coyote]

This election has been a HUGE wake up call for both major parties.

We've been hearing about the Republicans for several years now. It's like an impending divorce that is messy, stuff gets thrown and broken and there are calls for "we have to stay together for the kids". It's been loud and public, like celebrity marriage. It's been analyzed and reanalyzed.

But what about the Democrats? Their midlife crisis has been much more quiet. Lots of behind closed doors bickering and presenting a happy face for the kids. Bernie kind of opened the door on that. Hillary's loss cemented it.

What is the Democrat Party going to do, from here on in? It can't continue as the party of "identity politics". And what does it/should it represent? We have major demographic changes which offer hope to both parties IF they can grasp them?

Hispanics: this is a demographic that is growing, hugely. It's a demographic the Dems have largely attracted because of immigration issues. Yet it's a demographic that is, by and large, socially conservative and Catholic. It should be prime picking for Republicans EXCEPT another big part of their party is a strong anti-immigrant contingent.

Blacks: another demographic that is growing but and could easily be exploited by the Republicans. Like white voters, they are diverse outside of racial issues. A high proportion of them are religious and socially conservative.

If the Republican's hang on the politics of fear - they're going to to take your guns away, discriminate against your religion, flood this country with foreigners, and whites will be a minority - the Democrats hang on to the politics of identity - black, female, hispanic, lgbd. This strategy works only as long as the OTHER side, opposes identity. Essentially, each side has become a house of cards.

But we don't hear much about the Democrat's implosion and I think we need to.

What do the Dems need to do to rebuild their party? What principles can they promote that can resound in a way that reaches everyone - not selected groups who are actually fairly diverse and might not always be counted on for support across the board?

Obama was and is a popular president among Dems. That has kept the infighting from leading to fracture heretofore. The unifying effect of Obama is about to disappear.

I think the public has reached a point where they recognize political theater when they see it, due to collective cynicism. If that's true then changing the optics isn't going to help. Engineering the correct ratio of Hispanics, women, rust belt politicians and so forth isn't going to help. Changing political stances (like being pro or anti TPP) to suit the mood of the day isn't going to help.

The public wants someone who is genuine, even if they don't agree on all the issues. A lot of people supported Bernie even if they didn't agree on free college and a massive increase in the minimum wage.

I tend to agree.

As Bernie a question, and he says what he thinks. Ask Hillary a question and she says what she thinks will get her elected.

It is a question of authenticity.

Totally agree here, and that is something also that Hillary lacked but Trump had.

 

[Coyote]

How about we just save deportations for non-citizen criminals who have actually broken the law?

That is what Trump is proposing.

Your other claim is a straw man.

Ok. Once again. I didn't make that claim. I was responding to something Pumpkin Row said. Not saying anything about Trump.

I'm failing quite miserably at finding where Pumpkin said Law-abiding people should be deported or mentioned somebody who did.

Can you do me a solid and point it out? I'm getting old and sometimes don't see things.

Ohhkay..went and looked back...apologies to both you and Pumpkin. It was not Pumpkin Row, it was conversion with Longknife that my comments were related to.

 

[JimBowie1958]

The Democrats have a flawed model of future demographic growth and what they plan to shift their tactics to requires an accurate demographic growth model prior to any revisions.

This post I made a couple of days ago might help.

Trump +7 with blacks and +8 with Hispanics over Romney in 2012 (lots of racist blacks and hispanics)

 

[JimBowie1958]

Republicans Now Control Record Number of State Legislative Chambers

Republicans are now in control of a record 67 (68 percent) of the 98 partisan state legislative chambers in the nation, more than twice the number (31) in which Democrats have a majority, according to the bipartisan National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL).

“That’s more than at any other time in the history of the Republican Party,” according to NCSL. “They also hold more total seats, well over 4,100 of the 7,383, than they have since 1920.”

Next year, the GOP will control both legislative chambers in 32 states - an all-time high, according to NCSL - while Democrats will have total control of just 13 state legislatures.

In 24 of the 32 states with Republican-controlled legislatures, voters have also elected Republican governors. In contrast, Democrats have a “political trifecta” in just six states.

Since 2009, when President Obama took office, his party has lost a total of 919 seats in state legislatures nationwide, according to NCSL data.Since 2009, when President Obama took office, his party has lost a total of 919 seats in state legislatures nationwide, according to NCSL data.

During Obama’s first year in office, Democrats held 1,024 of the 1,971 total state Senate seats in the nation, compared to 889 in Republican hands. They also held 3,058 of the total 5,411 state House seats, compared to 2,334 for Republicans.

In addition, there were 28 Democratic governors, compared to 22 Republican governors.

However, near the end of Obama’s two terms in office, the partisan balance in the nation's state legislatures has been completely reversed.

As of Nov. 7, 2016, there are just 823 Democratic state senators out of a total of 1,972 seats nationwide, according to NCSL data. Meanwile, Republicans have increased their ranks to 1,089.

Likewise, of the 5,411 state House seats, there are now 3,029 Republicans compared to 2,340 Democrats – a mirror image of both parties’ status in 2009.

 

[Coyote]

I think the Republicans growth in the state legislatures is not due to demographics, it's due to a carefully orchestrated long term plan. Dems focused money on top down strategies - controlling the WH, and Congress, but the Republicans focused money on the state races (Dems screwed up big by ignoring the "small" races). That put the Republicans in a strong position after the census and were able to redraw districts to favor them despite the changing democraphics. A lot of gerrymandering.

 

[theHawk]

This election has been a HUGE wake up call for both major parties.

We've been hearing about the Republicans for several years now. It's like an impending divorce that is messy, stuff gets thrown and broken and there are calls for "we have to stay together for the kids". It's been loud and public, like celebrity marriage. It's been analyzed and reanalyzed.

But what about the Democrats? Their midlife crisis has been much more quiet. Lots of behind closed doors bickering and presenting a happy face for the kids. Bernie kind of opened the door on that. Hillary's loss cemented it.

What is the Democrat Party going to do, from here on in? It can't continue as the party of "identity politics". And what does it/should it represent? We have major demographic changes which offer hope to both parties IF they can grasp them?

Hispanics: this is a demographic that is growing, hugely. It's a demographic the Dems have largely attracted because of immigration issues. Yet it's a demographic that is, by and large, socially conservative and Catholic. It should be prime picking for Republicans EXCEPT another big part of their party is a strong anti-immigrant contingent.

Blacks: another demographic that is growing but and could easily be exploited by the Republicans. Like white voters, they are diverse outside of racial issues. A high proportion of them are religious and socially conservative.

If the Republican's hang on the politics of fear - they're going to to take your guns away, discriminate against your religion, flood this country with foreigners, and whites will be a minority - the Democrats hang on to the politics of identity - black, female, hispanic, lgbd. This strategy works only as long as the OTHER side, opposes identity. Essentially, each side has become a house of cards.

But we don't hear much about the Democrat's implosion and I think we need to.

What do the Dems need to do to rebuild their party? What principles can they promote that can resound in a way that reaches everyone - not selected groups who are actually fairly diverse and might not always be counted on for support across the board?

Don't expect them to change. They always do this win they lose big. They do some "soul searching" for about 2 weeks, then its right back to their Progressive Agenda and doing anything to push it on America. Their goal is the destruction of "white America", they see it as pure evil. They hate whites, they hate Christians, they hate America's history. The Democrat Party already has become the Party of BLM, La Raza, feminists, enviro-wackos, LGBT and Muslims....all of which are terrorists in one form or another. They will NOT change. Progressives will just dig their heels in and protest everything Repubs/Trump do. The question is how much of the population that identify as "democrats" will wake up and see them for what they are and leave the party for good.

It sounds like you e,pet them to do exactly what the Republicans did.

The party is by no means the party of violent extremism as you imply, that's like saying the Republicans are the party of white supremacists etc.

When the Republicans began THEIR "come to Jesus" self examination, a lot of people were calling get on them to move back to core conservative values, saying they need to move further to the right. Others were saying they need to reach out to a more diverse group of people.

So if what the Republicans need to do is take their message and broaden their base - the Democrats need to RETURN to a message that unifies their base. They have lost their message.

It would had been nice if Repubs did the same thing and went further right, sticking to their values, but they didn't. They reached for the middle and that blew up in their face. The difference between Republicans and Democrats is when Republicans try to "broaden their base" by abandoning their principles, they lose. Trump has proven if you just stick to your guns, you'll win big. Dems on the other hand have to lie about their core values and they try to act much far less liberal than they really are during elections because that wins votes. If they just advertised themselves as progressives they would lose.

 

[JimBowie1958]

I think the Republicans growth in the state legislatures is not due to demographics, it's due to a carefully orchestrated long term plan. Dems focused money on top down strategies - controlling the WH, and Congress, but the Republicans focused money on the state races (Dems screwed up big by ignoring the "small" races). That put the Republicans in a strong position after the census and were able to redraw districts to favor them despite the changing democraphics. A lot of gerrymandering.

Yes, that is a large part of it, but as the articles in my link show, the use of Identity Politics to try and string together enough minority groups to allow Democrats to abandon poor white workers and white rural populations has been a complete failure.

For this to have worked they would have needed explosive growth in Hispanic populations that had not assimilated into the main stream white population and still saw themselves as primarily Hispanic, but the demographic changes did not support such confidence. Successful Hispanic families do assimilate into the white mainstream and abandon Spanish complete within a few generations then start voting like any other white group, which they are. All year I have been asking people what is it about speaking Spanish that makes someones race different, but no one ever answered it but the question points to the core problem with the Democratic Party's demographic strategy. They still repeat that Republicans have to find a way to accomodate Hispanics, when actually, no, Republicans dont, and the central assumption of continued Hispanic demographic growth is deeply flawed when one considers historically how most ethnicities react when they see their own native populations being over whelmed by immigration; they close the borders for a while and send them home.

A similar flaw int he thinking of the Democratic Party is that the Gender Gap helps them, when no, actually it does not. There is strong evidence that in elections where there is a large Gender Gap, Democrats consistently LOSE those elections.

In the above graphic the solid line is the Gender Gap and the dashed line is the final vote share the Democrats got. There is a strong correlation between a large gender gap and a large Democrat loss.

The Democrats need to abandon Identity Politics and return to fighting for the working class of all races, religions and genders. Instead it looks like they plan to try and make a martyr out of Hillary and maintain their part of the corporate crony network.

 

[Disir]

I think the Republicans growth in the state legislatures is not due to demographics, it's due to a carefully orchestrated long term plan. Dems focused money on top down strategies - controlling the WH, and Congress, but the Republicans focused money on the state races (Dems screwed up big by ignoring the "small" races). That put the Republicans in a strong position after the census and were able to redraw districts to favor them despite the changing democraphics. A lot of gerrymandering.

It absolutely is a long term plan. ALEC literally writes laws in the states. The Democrat version is that "bipartisan" organization Jim Bowie listed: the NCSL. They go in and write laws as well. Democrats don't like to talk about that and people need to start asking why that is.

You know what made BLM die down? Charter schools. The NAACP kicked out a report. Poof! Gone. People need to start asking why that is.

All politics is local.

People before party. The Democrats nationally talk about how they give a damn but they really don't.

Participatory budgeting is people before party albeit small. All money allocated in Chicago must be used or returned to the city. The only reason Rahm does this is to keep actual power from being in the hands of the people. It does demonstrate that groups of people from a variety of backgrounds can solve problems.

 

[Coyote]

I think the Republicans growth in the state legislatures is not due to demographics, it's due to a carefully orchestrated long term plan. Dems focused money on top down strategies - controlling the WH, and Congress, but the Republicans focused money on the state races (Dems screwed up big by ignoring the "small" races). That put the Republicans in a strong position after the census and were able to redraw districts to favor them despite the changing democraphics. A lot of gerrymandering.

It absolutely is a long term plan. ALEC literally writes laws in the states. The Democrat version is that "bipartisan" organization Jim Bowie listed: the NCSL. They go in and write laws as well. Democrats don't like to talk about that and people need to start asking why that is.

You know what made BLM die down? Charter schools. The NAACP kicked out a report. Poof! Gone. People need to start asking why that is.

All politics is local.

People before party. The Democrats nationally talk about how they give a damn but they really don't.

Participatory budgeting is people before party albeit small. All money allocated in Chicago must be used or returned to the city. The only reason Rahm does this is to keep actual power from being in the hands of the people. It does demonstrate that groups of people from a variety of backgrounds can solve problems.

We have ALEC writing laws here now that we are Republican majority. Problem is some like charter schools won't work well in our state, and study after study is disregarded. What I hate is that these groups are coming in from outside a d don't have a fucking clue about what the people in the state need or want.

 

[ding]

This election has been a HUGE wake up call for both major parties.

We've been hearing about the Republicans for several years now. It's like an impending divorce that is messy, stuff gets thrown and broken and there are calls for "we have to stay together for the kids". It's been loud and public, like celebrity marriage. It's been analyzed and reanalyzed.

But what about the Democrats? Their midlife crisis has been much more quiet. Lots of behind closed doors bickering and presenting a happy face for the kids. Bernie kind of opened the door on that. Hillary's loss cemented it.

What is the Democrat Party going to do, from here on in? It can't continue as the party of "identity politics". And what does it/should it represent? We have major demographic changes which offer hope to both parties IF they can grasp them?

Hispanics: this is a demographic that is growing, hugely. It's a demographic the Dems have largely attracted because of immigration issues. Yet it's a demographic that is, by and large, socially conservative and Catholic. It should be prime picking for Republicans EXCEPT another big part of their party is a strong anti-immigrant contingent.

Blacks: another demographic that is growing but and could easily be exploited by the Republicans. Like white voters, they are diverse outside of racial issues. A high proportion of them are religious and socially conservative.

If the Republican's hang on the politics of fear - they're going to to take your guns away, discriminate against your religion, flood this country with foreigners, and whites will be a minority - the Democrats hang on to the politics of identity - black, female, hispanic, lgbd. This strategy works only as long as the OTHER side, opposes identity. Essentially, each side has become a house of cards.

But we don't hear much about the Democrat's implosion and I think we need to.

What do the Dems need to do to rebuild their party? What principles can they promote that can resound in a way that reaches everyone - not selected groups who are actually fairly diverse and might not always be counted on for support across the board?

The harder left they tack, the more they will fail.

 

[ding]

I think the Republicans growth in the state legislatures is not due to demographics, it's due to a carefully orchestrated long term plan. Dems focused money on top down strategies - controlling the WH, and Congress, but the Republicans focused money on the state races (Dems screwed up big by ignoring the "small" races). That put the Republicans in a strong position after the census and were able to redraw districts to favor them despite the changing democraphics. A lot of gerrymandering.

Or it could be that Americans are rejecting their core message and behaviors. Blaming this on anything else will lead to multiple root solutions which are false and will lead to predictable surprises. What you are describing here are the symptoms of the illness not the disease. The disease is radicalism during a winter cycle of the saeculum.

 

[Coyote]

I think the Republicans growth in the state legislatures is not due to demographics, it's due to a carefully orchestrated long term plan. Dems focused money on top down strategies - controlling the WH, and Congress, but the Republicans focused money on the state races (Dems screwed up big by ignoring the "small" races). That put the Republicans in a strong position after the census and were able to redraw districts to favor them despite the changing democraphics. A lot of gerrymandering.

Or it could be that Americans are rejecting their core message and behaviors. Blaming this on anything else will lead to multiple root solutions which are false and will lead to predictable surprises. What you are describing here are the symptoms of the illness not the disease. The disease is
radicalism during a winter cycle of the saeculum.

I don't think it's entirely that. I think most of what Dis said is on the ball, all politics is local. The Dems have evidence ignored that to their loss. As a whole, they need to to get back to a message that goes beyond special interest politics. Healthcare, education, higher education, tech and trade schools to prepare our workforce, childcare assistance for working families, paid parental leave, clean water, criminal justice email reform, abortion rights,...that's a handful of traditionally leftwing things that would resonate across ethnic and racial groups.

 

[Coyote]

This election has been a HUGE wake up call for both major parties.

We've been hearing about the Republicans for several years now. It's like an impending divorce that is messy, stuff gets thrown and broken and there are calls for "we have to stay together for the kids". It's been loud and public, like celebrity marriage. It's been analyzed and reanalyzed.

But what about the Democrats? Their midlife crisis has been much more quiet. Lots of behind closed doors bickering and presenting a happy face for the kids. Bernie kind of opened the door on that. Hillary's loss cemented it.

What is the Democrat Party going to do, from here on in? It can't continue as the party of "identity politics". And what does it/should it represent? We have major demographic changes which offer hope to both parties IF they can grasp them?

Hispanics: this is a demographic that is growing, hugely. It's a demographic the Dems have largely attracted because of immigration issues. Yet it's a demographic that is, by and large, socially conservative and Catholic. It should be prime picking for Republicans EXCEPT another big part of their party is a strong anti-immigrant contingent.

Blacks: another demographic that is growing but and could easily be exploited by the Republicans. Like white voters, they are diverse outside of racial issues. A high proportion of them are religious and socially conservative.

If the Republican's hang on the politics of fear - they're going to to take your guns away, discriminate against your religion, flood this country with foreigners, and whites will be a minority - the Democrats hang on to the politics of identity - black, female, hispanic, lgbd. This strategy works only as long as the OTHER side, opposes identity. Essentially, each side has become a house of cards.

But we don't hear much about the Democrat's implosion and I think we need to.

What do the Dems need to do to rebuild their party? What principles can they promote that can resound in a way that reaches everyone - not selected groups who are actually fairly diverse and might not always be counted on for support across the board?

The harder left they tack, the more they will fail.

I don't know ... you know the same argument is playing out with the pubs. One side saying goes further right to core values, the other more broad umbrella. I'm not sure what Trumps election test us about that because he really isn't that conservative.

 

[ding]

This election has been a HUGE wake up call for both major parties.

We've been hearing about the Republicans for several years now. It's like an impending divorce that is messy, stuff gets thrown and broken and there are calls for "we have to stay together for the kids". It's been loud and public, like celebrity marriage. It's been analyzed and reanalyzed.

But what about the Democrats? Their midlife crisis has been much more quiet. Lots of behind closed doors bickering and presenting a happy face for the kids. Bernie kind of opened the door on that. Hillary's loss cemented it.

What is the Democrat Party going to do, from here on in? It can't continue as the party of "identity politics". And what does it/should it represent? We have major demographic changes which offer hope to both parties IF they can grasp them?

Hispanics: this is a demographic that is growing, hugely. It's a demographic the Dems have largely attracted because of immigration issues. Yet it's a demographic that is, by and large, socially conservative and Catholic. It should be prime picking for Republicans EXCEPT another big part of their party is a strong anti-immigrant contingent.

Blacks: another demographic that is growing but and could easily be exploited by the Republicans. Like white voters, they are diverse outside of racial issues. A high proportion of them are religious and socially conservative.

If the Republican's hang on the politics of fear - they're going to to take your guns away, discriminate against your religion, flood this country with foreigners, and whites will be a minority - the Democrats hang on to the politics of identity - black, female, hispanic, lgbd. This strategy works only as long as the OTHER side, opposes identity. Essentially, each side has become a house of cards.

But we don't hear much about the Democrat's implosion and I think we need to.

What do the Dems need to do to rebuild their party? What principles can they promote that can resound in a way that reaches everyone - not selected groups who are actually fairly diverse and might not always be counted on for support across the board?

The harder left they tack, the more they will fail.

I don't know ... you know the same argument is playing out with the pubs. One side saying goes further right to core values, the other more broad umbrella. I'm not sure what Trumps election test us about that because he really isn't that conservative.

It tells us that they want us to stay away from social issues.

 

[ding]

I think the Republicans growth in the state legislatures is not due to demographics, it's due to a carefully orchestrated long term plan. Dems focused money on top down strategies - controlling the WH, and Congress, but the Republicans focused money on the state races (Dems screwed up big by ignoring the "small" races). That put the Republicans in a strong position after the census and were able to redraw districts to favor them despite the changing democraphics. A lot of gerrymandering.

Or it could be that Americans are rejecting their core message and behaviors. Blaming this on anything else will lead to multiple root solutions which are false and will lead to predictable surprises. What you are describing here are the symptoms of the illness not the disease. The disease is
radicalism during a winter cycle of the saeculum.

I don't think it's entirely that. I think most of what Dis said is on the ball, all politics is local. The Dems have evidence ignored that to their loss. As a whole, they need to to get back to a message that goes beyond special interest politics. Healthcare, education, higher education, tech and trade schools to prepare our workforce, childcare assistance for working families, paid parental leave, clean water, criminal justice email reform, abortion rights,...that's a handful of traditionally leftwing things that would resonate across ethnic and racial groups.

What exactly do you think the job of the government is? The government is not going to "save" us, especially from ourselves.

 

[JimBowie1958]

We have ALEC writing laws here now that we are Republican majority. Problem is some like charter schools won't work well in our state, and study after study is disregarded. What I hate is that these groups are coming in from outside a d don't have a fucking clue about what the people in the state need or want.

They have no clue and whats more they dont care if you all know that they have no clue.

 

[JimBowie1958]

I don't know ... you know the same argument is playing out with the pubs. One side saying goes further right to core values, the other more broad umbrella. I'm not sure what Trumps election test us about that because he really isn't that conservative.

Trump, as best I can tell from what I have read of him, is like a 1968 liberal that woke up around 2010 and realized that the Dimocratic Party has abandoned what he believed in, so he went to the GOP.

He is pro-gun rights and wants universal reciprocity on gun CC licenses. That is a conservative thing.

Trump wants to rebuild our depleted military. That is a conservative thing.

Trump wants to return the right to speak out to Christian churches by repealing the Johnson Amendment. That is a conservative thing as well.

Trump wants to return authority on abortion laws to the states for them to determine and repeal Roe v Wade. That makes him slightly to the right of Genghis Khan according to the Dimocrats.

Trump wants to cut taxes more than any prior President. That is conservative.

Trump is going to reduce the presence of lobbyists in government and reduce regulations by eliminating two old regs for each new one. That is conservative.

Trump is going to preserve Social Security benefits which by definition of the word is conservative.

Trump is going to bring back jobs, industrial plants and limit illegal immigration. That too is conservative.

I dont know what you mean by a "conservative" but if it isnt Trump, well screw conservatism, I am whatever Trump is.

 

[Coyote]

I don't know ... you know the same argument is playing out with the pubs. One side saying goes further right to core values, the other more broad umbrella. I'm not sure what Trumps election test us about that because he really isn't that conservative.

Trump, as best I can tell from what I have read of him, is like a 1968 liberal that woke up around 2010 and realized that the Dimocratic Party has abandoned what he believed in, so he went to the GOP.

He is pro-gun rights and wants universal reciprocity on gun CC licenses. That is a conservative thing.

Trump wants to rebuild our depleted military. That is a conservative thing.

Trump wants to return the right to speak out to Christian churches by repealing the Johnson Amendment. That is a conservative thing as well.

Trump wants to return authority on abortion laws to the states for them to determine and repeal Roe v Wade. That makes him slightly to the right of Genghis Khan according to the Dimocrats.

Trump wants to cut taxes more than any prior President. That is conservative.

Trump is going to reduce the presence of lobbyists in government and reduce regulations by eliminating two old regs for each new one. That is conservative.

Trump is going to preserve Social Security benefits which by definition of the word is conservative.

Trump is going to bring back jobs, industrial plants and limit illegal immigration. That too is conservative.

I dont know what you mean by a "conservative" but if it isnt Trump, well screw conservatism, I am whatever Trump is.

I don't think Trump is particularly pro-life (that seemed mostly picked up on the campaign trail), he also has a huge spending bill in mind (not conservative). Preserving SS is more liberal because conservatives push to privatize it (they've long been pushing for that). If he is indeed serious about what Ivanka was talking about, paid parental leave then that is decidely not conservative. He's also not against same sex marriage, which defies traditional conservative positions.

 

[Coyote]

I think the Republicans growth in the state legislatures is not due to demographics, it's due to a carefully orchestrated long term plan. Dems focused money on top down strategies - controlling the WH, and Congress, but the Republicans focused money on the state races (Dems screwed up big by ignoring the "small" races). That put the Republicans in a strong position after the census and were able to redraw districts to favor them despite the changing democraphics. A lot of gerrymandering.

Or it could be that Americans are rejecting their core message and behaviors. Blaming this on anything else will lead to multiple root solutions which are false and will lead to predictable surprises. What you are describing here are the symptoms of the illness not the disease. The disease is
radicalism during a winter cycle of the saeculum.

I don't think it's entirely that. I think most of what Dis said is on the ball, all politics is local. The Dems have evidence ignored that to their loss. As a whole, they need to to get back to a message that goes beyond special interest politics. Healthcare, education, higher education, tech and trade schools to prepare our workforce, childcare assistance for working families, paid parental leave, clean water, criminal justice email reform, abortion rights,...that's a handful of traditionally leftwing things that would resonate across ethnic and racial groups.

What exactly do you think the job of the government is? The government is not going to "save" us, especially from ourselves.

Among other things, I believe in a strong safety net, and that is provided or directed in part by the Federal Government.

 

[Disir]

I think the Republicans growth in the state legislatures is not due to demographics, it's due to a carefully orchestrated long term plan. Dems focused money on top down strategies - controlling the WH, and Congress, but the Republicans focused money on the state races (Dems screwed up big by ignoring the "small" races). That put the Republicans in a strong position after the census and were able to redraw districts to favor them despite the changing democraphics. A lot of gerrymandering.

It absolutely is a long term plan. ALEC literally writes laws in the states. The Democrat version is that "bipartisan" organization Jim Bowie listed: the NCSL. They go in and write laws as well. Democrats don't like to talk about that and people need to start asking why that is.

You know what made BLM die down? Charter schools. The NAACP kicked out a report. Poof! Gone. People need to start asking why that is.

All politics is local.

People before party. The Democrats nationally talk about how they give a damn but they really don't.

Participatory budgeting is people before party albeit small. All money allocated in Chicago must be used or returned to the city. The only reason Rahm does this is to keep actual power from being in the hands of the people. It does demonstrate that groups of people from a variety of backgrounds can solve problems.

We have ALEC writing laws here now that we are Republican majority. Problem is some like charter schools won't work well in our state, and study after study is disregarded. What I hate is that these groups are coming in from outside a d don't have a fucking clue about what the people in the state need or want.

I agree. In fact, I'm over protesters coming in or outside little activists coming in or any number of hack jobs doing the deciding.