What did Democrats do wrong?

[d4m10n]

how come the farmers are complaining about lack of workers during harvest after the ice raids.

Imported labor helps farmers meet their productivity goals and it also helps them keep labor costs down; these are interrelated phenomena.

The impact of immigrant on labor rates is complex, but there are bound to be both winners and losers among the native-born labor pool.

Even DemSoc folks like Bernie Sanders used to see unrestricted immigration as a capitalist plot to suppress wages:

 

[Susheel]

Which is why they campaign for a minimum wage and more worker beneficial labour laws....in which case immigrants and locals can compete on the basis of productivity rather than the excuse of willingness to work for lower wages. Now, from my understanding, it's not the lower wages that are the problem, but the lack of ability among the "immigrants are taking our jobs" folk. There are stories that 'murricans weren't ver good at back breaking farm labour and folk qit after a few days if not within that same day.

 

[arthwollipot]

I think this would be a mistake:

Kamala Harris tells BBC she may run for president again

The former US vice-president made her strongest suggestion to date she will make another bid for the White House

www.bbc.com

 

[TragicMonkey]

I think this would be a mistake:

Kamala Harris tells BBC she may run for president again

The former US vice-president made her strongest suggestion to date she will make another bid for the White House

www.bbc.com

If she actually means it. Perhaps she's just drawing fire from Trump until the election (if any) nears and then the actual candidate will step forward, and Trump will have wasted two or three years attacking Harris.

 

[P.J. Denyer]

If she actually means it. Perhaps she's just drawing fire from Trump until the election (if any) nears and then the actual candidate will step forward, and Trump will have wasted two or three years attacking Harris.

I'm sure she'll be in prison by then, they're just waiting for Trump's Justice Department to decide what crimes she will have had committed.

 

[dirtywick]

i'm sure she wants to actually be president

 

[thaiboxerken]

Oh, please. American progressives have been talking about how the GOP has been taken over by Nazis since the Bush administration.

I doubt it. However, Dubs did take quite a few steps towards consolidation of executive power, steps towards authoritarianism. Also, Nazis have preferred the Republican party ever since Nixon. Also, the reich wing isn't even hiding their love of Nazi very hard. But you can keep trying to say it's all hyperbole, I mean, it's important for Nazis to pretend that they aren't Nazis.

 

[Random]

I doubt it. However, Dubs did take quite a few steps towards consolidation of executive power, steps towards authoritarianism. Also, Nazis have preferred the Republican party ever since Nixon. Also, the reich wing isn't even hiding their love of Nazi very hard. But you can keep trying to say it's all hyperbole, I mean, it's important for Nazis to pretend that they aren't Nazis.

I mean, there are American Nazis. Not figurative Nazis, but actual, swastika wearing, Hitler supporting, Mein Kampf reading Nazis. And they did not vote for Harris.

 

[Donal]

Between your words and your actions. You pay lip service to the doctrine of sustainability, but go on consuming more and more anyway.

Yes, I consume resources as a living being. That is not incompatible with sustainability. I do, however, recognize how our current system drives us towards unsustainable consumption. I am pointing out that while personal responsibility is a component, that is often used as a cudgel to absolve government, business, and society at large of collective responsibility.

"You people"?

ya, you people

 

[Donal]

Alternatively, perhaps what they did wrong was to dismiss median voters in purple states as bad faith interlocutors unworthy of serious engagement. Deplorables, if you will, bitterly clinging to their guns and religion.

ya, that didn't happen. Harris and her campaign did that standard establishment Dem thing of running to the right to try and appeal to these mythical "median voters". Do you remember Harris bragging about her Glock? Going on tour with Liz Cheney?

 

[Safe-Keeper]

A note here...

- Elon Musk was not considered a "nazi" just because of his wave. textbook Nazi salute.

FTFY.

https://bsky.app/profile/sirnorman.bsky.social%2Fpost%2F3lgdzqtrwts2f

There was a side-by-side comparison of Elonia and Hitler, too (with the 'waves' just as identical), but that post has been removed for some reason.

Either way, it's frustrating, but not at all unexpected, to see the usual suspects still trying to gaslight us it was a 'wave'.

 

[Safe-Keeper]

i'm sure she wants to actually be president

I think that if elections were to be held in 2028 she'd have a good chance. Biden wasn't exactly super-charismatic but still won by a landslide in 2020. Four more years of Dump mis-managing the country should drive the idiots who stayed at home or voted Drumpf out of protest to come to their senses and vote for democracy this time.

The amnesia is incredibly annoying, though. They should've learned in 2016 that you have to vote Democrat even if you're sure they're going to win, and they should've learned once and for all from 2016-2020 what a horrible mess a Dump regime inevitably turns out to be. But no, apparently a lot of Americans can't remember that far back. Endlessly frustrating.

 

[dann]

Endorsing Mamdani shows the Dems want a full Commie take over.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1981814165259121051

We're not exactly talkin' 'bout a revolution, but finally the tables seem to be starting to turn.
The establishment Democrats are very slowly realizing that, even though the MAGA GOP is losing popularity fast, ...

Trump Whines He’s “Unappreciated” & Self-Soothes with Ballroom and Third-Term Talk (The Daily Show on YouTube, Oct 28, 2025 - 15:46 min.)
After Trump echoes a complaint that he's unappreciated by Americans for his "sacrifices," Jon Stewart looks at all the things the president has accomplished without getting proper recognition, like going against protocol to tear down the East Wing of the White House for an ostentatious ballroom, or blowing up Venezuelan boats without due process. Jon also takes a look at the Republicans properly eating ◊◊◊◊ for the president and determines that a third term is the only appropriate show of gratitude for this poor little billionaire.

... the popularity of the Democratic Party isn't on the rise as they expected it to do while they were leaning back and waiting for it to happen.
Hakeem Jeffries' endorsement of Mamdani is the first sign:

Zohran Mamdani - Reimagining NYC Through Safety and Affordability (The Daily Show on YouTube, Oct 28, 2025 - 22:17 min.)
New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani sits down with Jon Stewart to discuss building a campaign on delivering politics that “aspire for more than what you’re living through,” ensuring his tax plans aren’t just popular but precedented, taking safety beyond the NYPD to job and housing security, reaching the hearts of young voters with inviting rhetoric, and whether the days of endorsements deciding elections have come to an end.

 

[dann]

Charlamagne Tha God Shows Democrats How to Harness the "No Kings" Energy (The Daily Show on YouTube, Oct 30, 2025 - 7:19 min.)
Democrats have been riding high since the success of the “No Kings” protests and the emergence of Democratic prospects like Zohran Mamdani. But why is the Democratic Party so afraid to harness this energy? Charlamagne Tha God breaks down how to swap this tired system for an energetic change.

5.00--> Chuck, democracy is on the line. To save our country, Cash app me $5 at $CThaGod-Bald-and Beautiful-69.
[APPLAUSE, CHEERING]
That's right. That's right.
And that-- that brings me to the real problem:
Democratic leaders never support candidates who might disrupt the capitalist system.
But guess what?.
The current system isn't working.
Americans want it remodeled the way Trump is "remodeling" the East Wing, all right?.
Dems act like they'll get a cookie for being the most rational people in the room.
No one cares.
You're trying to win voters, not get a signed headshot from Ezra Klein.

 

[Emily's Cat]

Perhaps what the Democrats did wrong was waste time engaging with bad faith interlocutors.

They should stop talking to themselves. They should also stop talking to Republicans.

 

[Emily's Cat]

This happens all the time, the kinda suck us in with their trolling, lies and BS. It's hard not to engage with them because they are everywhere and the things they say are outrageous.

"Biden is as sharp has he's ever been"
"I will not pardon him"

Politicians lie. Partisans swallow those lies and repeat them as truths without every boerthing to engage their brains.

 

[Emily's Cat]

Of course, even if there were a few Americans willing to (for example) do farm work for the wages offered, it would still be dominated by foreign (illegal) immigrants. So yeah, maybe technically not a separate labor market, but close enough.

You know you're repeating a false narrative, don't you?

Most farm work isn't done by illegal immigrants. It's done by us citizens and foreign-born people here on legal H-2A temporary agricultural work visas. Of course, some farm work is certainly done by illegal immigrants. Some of the highest proportions of illegal farm workers are in California and Washington... where they are also paid at exploitive rates.

 

[Emily's Cat]

Meanwhile Pete Hegseth proudly wears a great big Jerusalem Cross on his chest and "Deus Vult" on his arm.

Oh Tnoes! The absolute horror of someone being a christian! It's a sure sign of the end when a christian-majority country has actual christians in political positions! Whatever shall we do????

 

[Emily's Cat]

So...how come the farmers are complaining about lack of workers during harvest after the ice raids. Where are the hard working 'murricans now that the "competition" has gone?

Where are the progressives dedicated to living wages telling the farmers they need to pay something more than barely subsistence levels to their employees?

Also... my grocery store hasn't seemed to lack for seasonal produce, eggs, milk, or meat. So apparently the farms are getting by just fine.

 

[Emily's Cat]

If she actually means it. Perhaps she's just drawing fire from Trump until the election (if any) nears and then the actual candidate will step forward, and Trump will have wasted two or three years attacking Harris.

Trump kind of attacks any and every Democrat that wanders across their field of vision, social media feed, etc. I don't think it would make any difference to Trump.

But I do think it would be a bad idea for Harris to run again.