ZestolPastilevsky
Diamond Member
- Oct 24, 2024
- 1,171
- 954
- 1,893
I wanna make this thread to sort of reach out to Democrats with some thoughts on what they did wrong this year, and how they can win in four years, or rather improve their odds of winning. Because I see some people getting really depressed about Trump's win, and I don't think this pessimism is warranted. The Democratic Party has a bright future. I also don't want this post to seem condescending, or to read like I'm telling Democrats on here that they suck, or they're bad or something. I'm merely making observations which they may find helpful.
Let's talk about Harris as a candidate, firstly. I'd like to think that most Democrats on here acknowledge that she was not the best candidate Democrats could have run this year. Consider that, technically speaking, she won zero primary elections. In 2016 she wasn't a serious contender. I think it's clear that most Democrats voted for her because she wasn't a Republican. That's a common reason to vote for a candidate, however in general you want enthusiastic voters. Aside from that, she literally had only a few months, if that, to run a campaign. It's clear that Biden should have dropped out earlier. It's also worth noting that she didn't campaign very energetically.
Secondly, I think there was a massive messaging mistake made by the Democrats and their mouthpieces. Most Americans, statistically speaking, believe the economy is in bad shape. Why? Because they can see it with their own two eyes at the gas station, and grocery store. For the Democrats to send the message to voters that, "the economy is the best it's ever been" isn't just ineffective, it's counterproductive. Again, the voter can independently verify that what you're telling him isn't true, and therefore, he knows he is being lied to. This undermines his trust in party mouthpieces. The voter is further irritated because an attempt has been made to effectively gaslight him.
Thirdly, this ties into the second point, Democrats attempted to push issues like abortion (which is a popular issue) and LGBTQIA+ rights (less popular) to try and garner support. In this case, I think they wildly underestimated just how much voters cared about the state of the economy. There were a bunch of other minor issues worth noting. Bad endorsements like Liz Cheney, for example. Many progressives regard her father as a literal war criminal, as do many on the right. Bringing out the tired Hitler comparisons and apocalyptic prophesizing about the end of Democracy was also a poor choice because it's come to become sort of a tongue in cheek joke. And of course there were some bizarre ad campaigns that fell flat. "Masculine men for Harris." "White guys for Harris." Additionally, far too much stock was put into polling. After 2016, polls should not be believed. Finally, though it's very much an opinion, she strikes me and many others as a person totally devoid of charisma or charm. She just fake laughs at everything and puts on bizarre accents and talks in circles.
With all this being said, I think Democrats have the ability to turn the US into a one party state, democratically. They're still very strong with young voters, and very strong with immigrants. So what do I reckon they should do to reverse their fortunes in the next election? Firstly, focus more on concrete problems than abstract messages. Hitler, democracy, fascism, LGBTQIA+ rights are nebulous and abstract to most Americans. Prices and the ability to do what you want should be prioritized. The Democrat party should return to their old platform built on, "as long as you're not hurting someone else, I don't really care what you do." It should far more aggressively pander to the working class, without attempting to divide that class by race, gender, sexual orientation, age, etc. It needs to be willing to admit mistakes (the economy). This is something Republicans have gotten better at. Notice the amount of Republicans who now very openly admit the War on Iraq was a terrible mistake. Admitting you're wrong is the best way to handle it. It can even look good and honest. Finally, robust primaries are needed, and new fresh faces are needed in the party. The Republican party has largely purged itself of Bush-era neo-cons. The Democrats, however, often cling to these experienced politicians, without realizing that experience isn't as positively seen as it once was in politics.
Let's talk about Harris as a candidate, firstly. I'd like to think that most Democrats on here acknowledge that she was not the best candidate Democrats could have run this year. Consider that, technically speaking, she won zero primary elections. In 2016 she wasn't a serious contender. I think it's clear that most Democrats voted for her because she wasn't a Republican. That's a common reason to vote for a candidate, however in general you want enthusiastic voters. Aside from that, she literally had only a few months, if that, to run a campaign. It's clear that Biden should have dropped out earlier. It's also worth noting that she didn't campaign very energetically.
Secondly, I think there was a massive messaging mistake made by the Democrats and their mouthpieces. Most Americans, statistically speaking, believe the economy is in bad shape. Why? Because they can see it with their own two eyes at the gas station, and grocery store. For the Democrats to send the message to voters that, "the economy is the best it's ever been" isn't just ineffective, it's counterproductive. Again, the voter can independently verify that what you're telling him isn't true, and therefore, he knows he is being lied to. This undermines his trust in party mouthpieces. The voter is further irritated because an attempt has been made to effectively gaslight him.
Thirdly, this ties into the second point, Democrats attempted to push issues like abortion (which is a popular issue) and LGBTQIA+ rights (less popular) to try and garner support. In this case, I think they wildly underestimated just how much voters cared about the state of the economy. There were a bunch of other minor issues worth noting. Bad endorsements like Liz Cheney, for example. Many progressives regard her father as a literal war criminal, as do many on the right. Bringing out the tired Hitler comparisons and apocalyptic prophesizing about the end of Democracy was also a poor choice because it's come to become sort of a tongue in cheek joke. And of course there were some bizarre ad campaigns that fell flat. "Masculine men for Harris." "White guys for Harris." Additionally, far too much stock was put into polling. After 2016, polls should not be believed. Finally, though it's very much an opinion, she strikes me and many others as a person totally devoid of charisma or charm. She just fake laughs at everything and puts on bizarre accents and talks in circles.
With all this being said, I think Democrats have the ability to turn the US into a one party state, democratically. They're still very strong with young voters, and very strong with immigrants. So what do I reckon they should do to reverse their fortunes in the next election? Firstly, focus more on concrete problems than abstract messages. Hitler, democracy, fascism, LGBTQIA+ rights are nebulous and abstract to most Americans. Prices and the ability to do what you want should be prioritized. The Democrat party should return to their old platform built on, "as long as you're not hurting someone else, I don't really care what you do." It should far more aggressively pander to the working class, without attempting to divide that class by race, gender, sexual orientation, age, etc. It needs to be willing to admit mistakes (the economy). This is something Republicans have gotten better at. Notice the amount of Republicans who now very openly admit the War on Iraq was a terrible mistake. Admitting you're wrong is the best way to handle it. It can even look good and honest. Finally, robust primaries are needed, and new fresh faces are needed in the party. The Republican party has largely purged itself of Bush-era neo-cons. The Democrats, however, often cling to these experienced politicians, without realizing that experience isn't as positively seen as it once was in politics.
