What did Democrats do wrong?

[wareyin]

i think they felt that way yes. they had priorities and dems expected them to settle for that while they ditched them to pursue moderate centrists. seems accurate to me



i think you’re misattributing the blame there. progressives are more similar to independents imo, and you aren’t calling them out for doing the same thing. actually, conservative leaning independents probably actually voted for trump.

Of course the conservative leaning independents voted for Trump. That’s a predictable outcome because those voters recognized the basic value of getting some of what they want rather than getting none of what they want. Why are you willing to grant those voters the strategic agency to make that choice, but then treat progressives as if they have no agency at all?

Holding people responsible for their own choices isn't "misattributing blame." You are framing progressives as if they’re just passive observers of their own lives who couldn't be expected to recognize that choices have consequences. It’s a bizarre double standard. You understand and expect that right leaning independents had the common sense to vote for their interests, but then argue it's "reasonable" for progressives to act against their own interests because they didn't get 100% of their wishlist.

They aren't kids who need to be shielded from the results of their own actions. They are adults who made a choice to either stay home or help Trump win, knowing exactly what he promised to do to their priorities. If a "conservative independent" can do the math on "some vs. none," why are you so invested in the idea that progressives shouldn't be expected to be able to do the same thing?

 

[dirtywick]

this isn’t really going anywhere and getting repetitive and don’t really care to spend anymore time on it.

 

[W.D.Clinger]

this isn’t really going anywhere and getting repetitive and don’t really care to spend anymore time on it.

But the ongoing discussion may well have justified @Hercules56's creation of this thread, and given him some satisfaction even though he can no longer contribute.

 

[Thermal]

But the ongoing discussion may well have justified @Hercules56's creation of this thread, and given him some satisfaction even though he can no longer contribute.

Shall we have a moment of silence to honor his inability to do the same?

 

[bruto]

Shall we have a moment of silence to honor his inability to do the same?

Depending, of course on how we interpret the word "honor," I recommend that the moment of "silence" be provided by a chorus of whistles loud enough that nothing else can be heard.

 

[P.J. Denyer]

Depending, of course on how we interpret the word "honor," I recommend that the moment of "silence" be provided by a chorus of whistles loud enough that nothing else can be heard.

Or we could hit pots and pans with wooden spoons like we're celebrating the hard work of NHS workers, or 'Boris' Johnson's painful demise.