What did Democrats do wrong?

[thaiboxerken]

Mumblethrax, you are mistaken to believe that voters and constituents matter anymore. We are in a facist government starting Jan 20th. The Party will pick who gets to vote and will ensure The Party will have no political opposition that matters. People who voted for The Party are majority christian and believe freedom of religion only applies to their brand of christianity.

 

[Thermal]

A full week after the polls closed, and it's still the same answer to what Democrats did wrong: they didn't show up.

Trump got about 1 million more votes than he did in 2020. But Harris got 9 million less than Biden got in 2020. Record turnout, yes, but seeing as the opponent was literally the same guy, why was it not important for them to vote this time?

 

[mumblethrax]

I don't know why you think the tradeoff would work this way.

Because I defined it as working that way in the hypothetical. Obviously it doesn't work that way in real life.

I'm not saying we should do this. I'm saying we have lots of Very Serious People proposing that Democrats become more anti-immigrant, for example. Why? Because they themselves are much more sympathetic to the view that there's too much immigration, and not at all sympathetic to the view that we could budge an inch on issues of religious liberty.

I'm just trying to illustrate the confirmation bias.

Compromising with fascists is not a reliable strategy.

I don't think people who want this ◊◊◊◊ in classrooms are necessarily fascists. The US was not a fascist country when we have mandatory school prayer.

I think the idea is illiberal, but there's a huge array of things that I think are illiberal that fall well short of fascism.

And since at least some of the people who voted for this fascist aren't themselves fascists, well, maybe this could have changed things. Probably not. Like I said, it's Lucy with the football.

 

[mumblethrax]

Mumblethrax, you are mistaken to believe that voters and constituents matter anymore. We are in a facist government starting Jan 20th. The Party will pick who gets to vote and will ensure The Party will have no political opposition that matters. People who voted for The Party are majority christian and believe freedom of religion only applies to their brand of christianity.

All the more reason to say we should have done almost anything possible to avoid this outcome.

 

[The Great Zaganza]

Word of the Year: "exblaming".

 

[Shrinker]

Of course it does, just like being the party of gay rights "hurts Democrats". Just like being the party of civil rights "hurts Democrats". Just like being the party of reproductive rights "hurts Democrats". Taking a stand for *anything* "hurts Democrats".

That Democrats need to take even fewer risks and buy into even more Repub-lite positions is exactly the wrong lesson to take home, IMO.

"Donald Trump is such a serious threat to US democracy that we've taken the considered step of compromising on absolutely none of our principles, and so we'd be grateful if Republican voters would heed the dire warnings and compromise on all of theirs in order to avert disaster."

That's what I heard whenever some Democrat pleaded for votes. It felt, if I may say so from overseas, as opportunistic as those folks who tailgate ambulances to get through traffic.

 

[Donal]

Harris agreed to expand fracking. The Biden administration made more leases available to drill on. Increased military budgets. Cop sucking every chance they had and parading around with the Cheneys. And we won't even mention Israel.

What do you mean the Democrats made no compromises of their principles?

 

[Samson]

Here is a detailed look at how trans is being processed by democrats:

For example

"
This has led some, including Representatives Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) and Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.), to blame transgender issues for Harris’s loss, with Moulton expressing concern that his two daughters might be “run over on a playing field” by trans girl athletes. Yet transgender athletes have competed in Massachusetts for years, and there is no evidence that transgender athletes who meet league requirements regarding hormone levels have advantages beyond typical female norms in any sport—or that they cause more injuries than other players. Furthermore, anti-trans sports laws tend to be sweeping and restrictive, overriding leagues' ability to ensure fair and safe competition without discrimination. These laws and policies have even led to nonsensical bans on transgender girls in sports like disc golf, fishing, billiards, and even chess."

The reality is that darts and billiards competitions are dominated by trans people.
And it gets worse of course with more physical sports.
This is a settled matter, and with Newsom the front runner, Democrats have no chance 2028 until they understand all this.
This is not transphobic, it is physiology and fairness.

Several Democratic Senators Rebuke Scapegoating Trans People After Election

A growing number of leaders in the Democratic Party are pushing back on the narrative that they must sacrifice transgender people in order to win elections.

open.substack.com

 

[dirtywick]

Harris agreed to expand fracking. The Biden administration made more leases available to drill on. Increased military budgets. Cop sucking every chance they had and parading around with the Cheneys. And we won't even mention Israel.

What do you mean the Democrats made no compromises of their principles?

the biggest one was the border bill, which was exactly what republicans asked for.

like honestly, the dems aren't the ones refusing any bipartisanship. i think they're biggest mistake is to keep pursuing it. you guys think the dems lost because they didn't appeal to whoever. in my mind, biden was hired to clean things up. straighten out the supreme court, secure free and fair elections, and bring justice to the seditionists. he did none of that. he accomplished some things, but not what he was hired for. imo that's why they lost.

i'm debating never voting dem again. they ◊◊◊◊◊◊◊ blew it.

edit

and what principles were republican voters asked to compromise? hating mexicans and gays? lol

 

[Brainster]

Which points should we cede? Banning gay marriage? Banning abortion? Banning any sex education that isn't abstinence-only? Banning women from running for President because 1 Timothy 2:12? Abandoning environmental and sustainability policies because the end times are near? Roundfiling the 1st Amendment? No, I don't think those are things worth doing.

Strawmen; you know darn well those are not the issues that are killing the Democrats. It's the stuff that gets approving nods in the faculty lounge but draws a "WTF?" from Joe and Jane Sixpack, like the government paying for gender-affirming surgery for prisoners and illegal aliens. Trump put the ad featuring Harris talking about that in heavy rotation the final weeks of the campaign and the NY Times helpfully did a fact check about how Trump's craziest claim was actually true--and Trump put that in the ad as well. It's things like talking approvingly of the (mercifully brief) "defund the police" movement.

 

[thaiboxerken]

I agree, Brianster. Bigotry and ignorance did play a major role in Trump's victory.

 

[Roger Ramjets]

Strawmen; you know darn well those are not the issues that are killing the Democrats. It's the stuff that gets approving nods in the faculty lounge but draws a "WTF?" from Joe and Jane Sixpack, like the government paying for gender-affirming surgery for prisoners...

Yes, the issues that really matter.

This tells us all we need to know about American politics, and Americans in general.

 

[Reformed Offlian]

Strawmen; you know darn well those are not the issues that are killing the Democrats.

No, I don't know that. As I said before: Voters are liars. That evangelists are currently performing concern about trans folks in sports doesn't mean that they aren't still mad about the other issues I mentioned; it just means they think trans issues are currently the lower-hanging fruit.

 

[Trausti]

 

[Thermal]

The above are good arguments for why many people should not be allowed to vote. The weird part is that I honestly can't tell if they are jokes or real.

 

[Donal]

Ya, there's a nonzero chance he just lifted that from the Onion, which would explain why he didn't link the source.

 

[Donal]

Strawmen; you know darn well those are not the issues that are killing the Democrats. It's the stuff that gets approving nods in the faculty lounge but draws a "WTF?" from Joe and Jane Sixpack, like the government paying for gender-affirming surgery for prisoners and illegal aliens. Trump put the ad featuring Harris talking about that in heavy rotation the final weeks of the campaign and the NY Times helpfully did a fact check about how Trump's craziest claim was actually true--and Trump put that in the ad as well. It's things like talking approvingly of the (mercifully brief) "defund the police" movement.

Do you have any real examples or just these invented scenarios of what you think happens in places you'll never be?

 

[Tero]

"If the Democrats quit exterminating their babies, they would raise Democrats and would win more elections."

 

[I Am The Scum]

like honestly, the dems aren't the ones refusing any bipartisanship. i think they're biggest mistake is to keep pursuing it.

Agreed 100%. One side promises bipartisanship and compromise. The other trashes the opposition. Guess who just won in a landslide? This strategy is not working.

i'm debating never voting dem again. they ◊◊◊◊◊◊◊ blew it.

I wouldn't go that far, but I understand the sentiment. A Dem promising to "reach across the aisle" is quickly becoming a dealbreaker for me.

 

[thaiboxerken]

The Dems didn't embrace White Supremacy enough, if you believe what MAGA posters are saying.