'Democrats' Hamlet Moment Isn't the Start of a Solution But the Heart of the Problem'

[sop]

(TPM) "I’ve been observing the on-going debates about which of the several 'reckonings' Democrats need to have to improve their fortunes with what I can only describe as a mounting frustration and disgust. There’s the one over Joe Biden being old. There’s the one about Democrats becoming too 'woke' and speech police-y. There’s the one about having betrayed or fallen short about this or that left-leaning cause. On the merits I agree with some of these more than others. Some I think are genuinely important. But as things Democrats should be focusing on now, taking accountability for, repositioning, whatever (!) they all, taking together, strike me as different sorts of pathetic, out-of-touch and myopic distractions."

"Parties succeed and gain traction by doing far more than by self-analyzing. And my own theory of the case is that core driver and cause of the low standing of the Democratic party right now is not wokeness or immigration or Joe Biden’s age but the fact that Democrats are simply not effective at advancing the policies they claim to support or protecting the constituencies they claim to defend. Put simply, they are some mix of unable and unwilling to wield power to achieve specific ends."

"The way for Democrats to raise their standing is to demonstrate that they can be effective at addressing the challenges and dangers of today, as in stuff that’s happening right now: massive cuts to Medicaid; pervasive worry and insecurity tied to erratic tariff policy and the fear of inflation and recession; massive cuts to basic disease cure research. If I didn’t mention the issue that matters most to you by all means add it. Very little of what Trump is doing is popular. It’s true that Democrats in Washington have very little effective power. But they can certainly use it more effectively than they have over the last four months. And where they can’t directly disrupt present policies they can make the case against them publicly, build opposition, build arguments for electing Democrats next year."

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/democrats-hamlet-moment-isnt-the-start-of-a-solution-but-the-heart-of-the-problem

[Paladin]

1. "Very little of what trump is doing is popular."

Pound THAT into your skulls, Democratic leadership---and DO SOMETHING WITH IT! I am sick of us losing battles to such a pathetic, repeated loser.

[LearnedHand]

2. Well this strikes home

EDIT: Added emphasis.

And my own theory of the case is that core driver and cause of the low standing of the Democratic party right now is not wokeness or immigration or Joe Biden’s age but the fact that Democrats are simply not effective at advancing the policies they claim to support or protecting the constituencies they claim to defend.

[usonian]

3. Bernie sent this simple message.

Why the party is not pounding the table, press, social sites and airwaves 24 by 7 by 365 astounds me.

The others do it with their lies and bullshit. And win with consistent bullshit falsehood messaging.


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People attending rallies in huge numbers are saying
YES to raising the minimum wage,
YES to expanding Social Security,
YES to guaranteeing health care as a human right,
YES to cutting the cost of prescription drugs,
YES to paid family and medical leave,
YES to equal pay for equal work,
YES to more affordable housing,
YES to making childcare and higher education affordable to all,
YES to taking on the existential threat of climate change.

And most importantly they are saying
YES to a government and an economy that works for all of us and not just the billionaire class and the Oligarchs.

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