There are groups on the left to ignore. Anyone who ever earnestly used the sobriquet "Genocide Joe," for instance. But the actual likely Democratic Party voter is way more liberal than these center-right fauds believe.
The thing is that we have tacitly ceded power and authority to the DNC. We didn't elect their members, they don't actually have any authority or right to make the kinds of decisions that they are making as power brokers within the party. One step short of creating a new party should be creating a competing power structure within the Democratic Party. basically a 'version' of the DNC that is populist and progressive. Something with as high a profile as the DNC. Basically something that can take over from within. I would rather turn the Democratic Party into what it should have been all along instead of creating a new one out of scratch and creating conflict and peril considering who are major enemy is
"Pollster Lakshya Jain told Democrats, “The base will vote for you anyway. Don’t worry about liberal defections.” Yet mainstream Democrats have blamed liberal defections for their losses in 2000, 2004, 2016, and 2024. In all those elections, Democrats made overt appeals to the center, which ultimately failed"
You're leaving out the absolutely apocalyptic self-inflicted losses in 2010, which delivered Congress (and many State Houses) literally into the hands of the Tea Party, which gave the reactionary Republicans an outsized role in gerrymandering the nation into permanent division by running against Obama and offering up themselves as 'Republican-Lite'.
The Democrats have ALWAYS under-bussed their base every fucking chance they get, then they stand around, agog at "Why did we lose?"
Example #1: The Democrats are more angry at David Hogg who is a central party official than they are at Trump burning down the country and sticking the military on US CITIZENS EXERCISING THEIR FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS.
(And Matt Yglesias can go eat a bag of salted Ted Cruzes with his bullshit.)
Oliver Willis has it right, these aren't "distractions" they're all different fronts to be fought on.
But the Biggest thing That I can clearly see is the problem is Indeed Leftists, it’s the Messaging and Lack of Transparency. And the complete Disregard for the working class and snubbing of Middle America.
The Virtue Signaling has to STOP. The Idiotic Purism and SJW goalposting has to End.
You certainly probably are going to not just ignore me, but predictably go after me with Pitchforks and Torches.
"The Virtue Signaling has to STOP. The Idiotic Purism and SJW goalposting has to End."
Excuse me for asking, but what does this even mean? Perhaps you could provide a couple examples of these powerful"leftists" who are the problems that you see?
Screaming “Free Palestine!” “FAFO, “Centrist are Evil” and “Establishment” aren’t exactly appealing to key Middle American voters especially Swing and Independent voters. There’s No Transparency at all whatsoever. The Leftist are Alienating people they NEED for Democrats to WIN Elections and save Democracy. The fact that you are getting easily offended and triggered or someone trying to be Transparent and Blunt is exactly what I’m talking about and Feeds RIGHT into the Fascist Narrative of MAGA and is why we’ve been dealing with a Desperate Wannabe Dictator.
Where’s the Camaraderie? Where’s the Indignation? Where’s the Open Minded Ness? Where’s the Effort of encouraging Reformed Maga voters and defectors of helping Educate and teach them how Authoritarianism comes in? Where’s the “Let’s See Down and Talk to Dem leaders and Express our Grievances”?
The Left have been in the Wilderness for 15 years since Citizens United. All they seem to do is pick the Right Fights at the WRONG Time. If they’d Reach out to others and Encourage a Countrywide Revolt and Quit with the distractions, then the chances of Trump finally being REMOVED from office via 25th Amendment will finally increase. All it takes is 38 States to Revolt and to Revolt against some of their Red States Governors.
If certain Dems want a Tea Party they seem to forget that the Tea Party was astroturf funded by billionaires. Even then the goal of destruction of federal regulatory power is shared by virtually all Republicans because it is useful for increasing profits and hurting the vulnerable minorities they hate. So it is yet more misapplied politics.
When the centrists lose in 2026 and I'm forcibly detransirioned because I'm no longer allowed to get gender appropriate care, at least I'll remember the comity. It'll keep me warm.
I would love for someone to give me the details on how the so-called radical leftists are pushing the Dems too far left? What does that mean?
Too much pushing for civil rights and for protecting minorities?
Too much protesting against genocide?
Too much opposition to get dark money out of politics?
Too much pushing for the rule of law to prevail?
Too much protecting the right to unionize?
Too much trying to protect the right to legal abortion?
As I see it, the party Dems have moved so far to the right trying to find the center in a futile attempt to cling to power that they are better described as closet Republicans. They fight for nothing and they stand for nothing, with very rare exceptions. And when one of them like AOC who actually is a Democrat tries to propose real change for working people, they leave her twisting in the wind.
Yep. There are no such things as extreme left positions. It was always completely made up under the assumption that if there is such a thing as an extreme right, then by definition there has to be an extreme left. Classic false dichotomy. The TRUE spectrum is along the line of 'social to anti-social'
"that they are better described as closet Republicans."
Who are "bravely" kicking that closet door open to be their "authentic selves".
Meanwhile Joe Walsh, an OG "Tea Party" firebrand actually announced he has registered as a Democrat because it is the only party that can stand in opposition to the onrushing authoritarian dictatorship he and his ilk helped unleash on the country..
This x1000. The ruling class have their office job, travel expenses, a home in DC and in their home state, people who fluff their ego following them around all day asking for their opinion, gold standard healthcare, pensions, security details, an at-work gym, book deals, excellent financial advice for all their stocks and a job waiting in the pubilc sector if they ever "retire."
And they want to complain about the people who find time in their day to protest.
I volunteer at a soup kitchen once a week and the number of meals we serve is going up.
viewed Obama as “more liberal” and radical than he actually was.
LOL, didn't we all?
If centrist dems are so focused on polls, why don't they push for medicare for all? That polls very well. Honestly (and maybe because I'm miserable sitting here with covid) all I think the centrist dems want is money in their own pockets while doing very little to help their constituents. Nancy and her fucking stock trading comes immediately to mind.
Yes, we do love a woman who admits she was wrong. I think if you ask most women they prefer to be treated like they should know better instead of like white men, you know, for their brand.
That's the heart of the matter. She did know better. She was a successful stockbroker before she became a celebrity, so there's no reasonable argument that she didn't know she violated laws against insider training. She either thought the FBI didn't have the evidence, or was arrogant enough to think she could outlawyer them. Either way, she was guilty as charged, and I don't think it's helpful to suggest that a matter of hubris on the part of a multimillionaire makes her a victim of inequality. She chose to lie to the FBI rather than accept what would likely have been the standard slap on the wrist.
And I don’t think it’s a waste of time to point out that while white men get a slap on the wrist the rest of us get sent to jail. That’s my point. I’m talking about a corrput system, and you are berating a woman to another woman.
If you entirely favor pragmatism (winning power) over idealism, it seems the smart move isn’t picking which faction of the coalition to trash but rather finding ways to seal them together and expand the popularity of core positions anywhere to the Left of the GOP. So, draw your contrast with the Right in broad enough lines that both Left and Center can unite over it (say, “no unlawful kidnappings”, “no destroying Medicare for tax cuts”), and where your core philosophies are not popular enough (say, trans rights) figure out how to make them more popular so the Center can’t really disagree with them (“stop inspecting genitals, let people live their lives free of government interference”).
We actually see how this worked for Republicans. Goldwater was a political idiot who refused to even try to appeal to GOP moderates, losing their support in 1964 and a huge landslide, and the moderates thought he was a nut and were happy to oblige him. Reagan on the other hand focused on making his extreme opinions more palatable (selling big tax cuts, welfare cuts, defense buildup to expand their popularity to moderates) and drew a stark contrast with the hated liberals in a way that drew in moderates. Moderates for their part backed him, seeing him as preferable to the Democrats.
We’re going to need to be more “evangelical” (focus on winning new adherents) in our approach, and finding ties between Left and Center if we are ever to win again, because we can’t afford another election where a sizable chunk of our potential voters are disgusted and unmotivated.
I would ALSO wager that the centrist democratic BASE (whatever tiny percent that is) is considerably to the left of centrist democratic politicians and powerbrokers. Most centrist voters are simply conflict averse. They don't like all the fighting and yelling from EITHER side. They're kinda chickenshit that way, But the very reasonable policies that are derided as 'PROGRESSIVE FAR LEFT by republicans and centrist power brokers are pretty much equally popular across the entire democratic voter base INCLUDING centrist leaning voters. So centrists in DC aren't even representing the centrist voter base...That's why I think the republican party has their hand in this centrist push...It ONLY benefits republicans
Centrist Dems are targeting the wrong groups to ignore. They should be ignoring the political consultants and the focus groups telling them that appealing to the squishy center will create a Blue Wave in 2026. They should be listening to the Dem base, and stop taking us for granted.
Maybe the real trouble with centrist Dems is that they don't have any convictions other than keeping their cushy jobs, with benefits that most Americans don't get. Anyone with convictions would fight for them, and if you are a Congress Critter, you should fight for your constituents. So what if you lose? It's better to go down fighting than to preemptively give up. That is how I see centrist Dems - they gave up without a fight.
One of their central problems is they see public opinion as something fixed in place, rather than something that can be molded by actors. And considering many of these centrists are in a position to do the molding, it’s particularly ironic.
Republicans learned this a long time ago, Democrats still haven’t.
I think it also speaks to the lack of a genuine conservative party in America. As the GOP has become straight up fascist, it no longer holds a place for the Rockefeller/Eisenhower set.
There are groups on the left to ignore. Anyone who ever earnestly used the sobriquet "Genocide Joe," for instance. But the actual likely Democratic Party voter is way more liberal than these center-right fauds believe.
The thing is that we have tacitly ceded power and authority to the DNC. We didn't elect their members, they don't actually have any authority or right to make the kinds of decisions that they are making as power brokers within the party. One step short of creating a new party should be creating a competing power structure within the Democratic Party. basically a 'version' of the DNC that is populist and progressive. Something with as high a profile as the DNC. Basically something that can take over from within. I would rather turn the Democratic Party into what it should have been all along instead of creating a new one out of scratch and creating conflict and peril considering who are major enemy is
It is true the Sixties are over and the old ways of Street Protest are outdated and fruitless.
Why don't they just take over the Capitol like the Right wing did .
Because “they” aren’t vile insurrectionists?
"Pollster Lakshya Jain told Democrats, “The base will vote for you anyway. Don’t worry about liberal defections.” Yet mainstream Democrats have blamed liberal defections for their losses in 2000, 2004, 2016, and 2024. In all those elections, Democrats made overt appeals to the center, which ultimately failed"
You're leaving out the absolutely apocalyptic self-inflicted losses in 2010, which delivered Congress (and many State Houses) literally into the hands of the Tea Party, which gave the reactionary Republicans an outsized role in gerrymandering the nation into permanent division by running against Obama and offering up themselves as 'Republican-Lite'.
The Democrats have ALWAYS under-bussed their base every fucking chance they get, then they stand around, agog at "Why did we lose?"
Example #1: The Democrats are more angry at David Hogg who is a central party official than they are at Trump burning down the country and sticking the military on US CITIZENS EXERCISING THEIR FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS.
(And Matt Yglesias can go eat a bag of salted Ted Cruzes with his bullshit.)
Oliver Willis has it right, these aren't "distractions" they're all different fronts to be fought on.
https://www.oliverexplains.com/p/there-are-no-distractions-in-a-war
You forgot all about 1984 and the 1994 Midterms.
But the Biggest thing That I can clearly see is the problem is Indeed Leftists, it’s the Messaging and Lack of Transparency. And the complete Disregard for the working class and snubbing of Middle America.
The Virtue Signaling has to STOP. The Idiotic Purism and SJW goalposting has to End.
You certainly probably are going to not just ignore me, but predictably go after me with Pitchforks and Torches.
"The Virtue Signaling has to STOP. The Idiotic Purism and SJW goalposting has to End."
Excuse me for asking, but what does this even mean? Perhaps you could provide a couple examples of these powerful"leftists" who are the problems that you see?
Screaming “Free Palestine!” “FAFO, “Centrist are Evil” and “Establishment” aren’t exactly appealing to key Middle American voters especially Swing and Independent voters. There’s No Transparency at all whatsoever. The Leftist are Alienating people they NEED for Democrats to WIN Elections and save Democracy. The fact that you are getting easily offended and triggered or someone trying to be Transparent and Blunt is exactly what I’m talking about and Feeds RIGHT into the Fascist Narrative of MAGA and is why we’ve been dealing with a Desperate Wannabe Dictator.
Where’s the Camaraderie? Where’s the Indignation? Where’s the Open Minded Ness? Where’s the Effort of encouraging Reformed Maga voters and defectors of helping Educate and teach them how Authoritarianism comes in? Where’s the “Let’s See Down and Talk to Dem leaders and Express our Grievances”?
The Left have been in the Wilderness for 15 years since Citizens United. All they seem to do is pick the Right Fights at the WRONG Time. If they’d Reach out to others and Encourage a Countrywide Revolt and Quit with the distractions, then the chances of Trump finally being REMOVED from office via 25th Amendment will finally increase. All it takes is 38 States to Revolt and to Revolt against some of their Red States Governors.
Don’t forget “ACAB” and “Defund the Police.”
That’s right. That’s exactly what I mean when I say “They pick the Right Fights at the Wrong Time”.
Thanks for the reply. The random capitalization in your rant tells me all I need to know.
If certain Dems want a Tea Party they seem to forget that the Tea Party was astroturf funded by billionaires. Even then the goal of destruction of federal regulatory power is shared by virtually all Republicans because it is useful for increasing profits and hurting the vulnerable minorities they hate. So it is yet more misapplied politics.
It's the least they can do.
When the centrists lose in 2026 and I'm forcibly detransirioned because I'm no longer allowed to get gender appropriate care, at least I'll remember the comity. It'll keep me warm.
I would love for someone to give me the details on how the so-called radical leftists are pushing the Dems too far left? What does that mean?
Too much pushing for civil rights and for protecting minorities?
Too much protesting against genocide?
Too much opposition to get dark money out of politics?
Too much pushing for the rule of law to prevail?
Too much protecting the right to unionize?
Too much trying to protect the right to legal abortion?
As I see it, the party Dems have moved so far to the right trying to find the center in a futile attempt to cling to power that they are better described as closet Republicans. They fight for nothing and they stand for nothing, with very rare exceptions. And when one of them like AOC who actually is a Democrat tries to propose real change for working people, they leave her twisting in the wind.
Yep. There are no such things as extreme left positions. It was always completely made up under the assumption that if there is such a thing as an extreme right, then by definition there has to be an extreme left. Classic false dichotomy. The TRUE spectrum is along the line of 'social to anti-social'
"that they are better described as closet Republicans."
Who are "bravely" kicking that closet door open to be their "authentic selves".
Meanwhile Joe Walsh, an OG "Tea Party" firebrand actually announced he has registered as a Democrat because it is the only party that can stand in opposition to the onrushing authoritarian dictatorship he and his ilk helped unleash on the country..
This x1000. The ruling class have their office job, travel expenses, a home in DC and in their home state, people who fluff their ego following them around all day asking for their opinion, gold standard healthcare, pensions, security details, an at-work gym, book deals, excellent financial advice for all their stocks and a job waiting in the pubilc sector if they ever "retire."
And they want to complain about the people who find time in their day to protest.
I volunteer at a soup kitchen once a week and the number of meals we serve is going up.
viewed Obama as “more liberal” and radical than he actually was.
LOL, didn't we all?
If centrist dems are so focused on polls, why don't they push for medicare for all? That polls very well. Honestly (and maybe because I'm miserable sitting here with covid) all I think the centrist dems want is money in their own pockets while doing very little to help their constituents. Nancy and her fucking stock trading comes immediately to mind.
Let's remember they all trade stocks with their insider info, but only the women get tagged for it. Just ask Martha Stewart.
TBF, Martha could have admitted fault and saved herself a lot of legal problems. But it's been great for her brand.
Yes, we do love a woman who admits she was wrong. I think if you ask most women they prefer to be treated like they should know better instead of like white men, you know, for their brand.
That's the heart of the matter. She did know better. She was a successful stockbroker before she became a celebrity, so there's no reasonable argument that she didn't know she violated laws against insider training. She either thought the FBI didn't have the evidence, or was arrogant enough to think she could outlawyer them. Either way, she was guilty as charged, and I don't think it's helpful to suggest that a matter of hubris on the part of a multimillionaire makes her a victim of inequality. She chose to lie to the FBI rather than accept what would likely have been the standard slap on the wrist.
And I don’t think it’s a waste of time to point out that while white men get a slap on the wrist the rest of us get sent to jail. That’s my point. I’m talking about a corrput system, and you are berating a woman to another woman.
If you entirely favor pragmatism (winning power) over idealism, it seems the smart move isn’t picking which faction of the coalition to trash but rather finding ways to seal them together and expand the popularity of core positions anywhere to the Left of the GOP. So, draw your contrast with the Right in broad enough lines that both Left and Center can unite over it (say, “no unlawful kidnappings”, “no destroying Medicare for tax cuts”), and where your core philosophies are not popular enough (say, trans rights) figure out how to make them more popular so the Center can’t really disagree with them (“stop inspecting genitals, let people live their lives free of government interference”).
We actually see how this worked for Republicans. Goldwater was a political idiot who refused to even try to appeal to GOP moderates, losing their support in 1964 and a huge landslide, and the moderates thought he was a nut and were happy to oblige him. Reagan on the other hand focused on making his extreme opinions more palatable (selling big tax cuts, welfare cuts, defense buildup to expand their popularity to moderates) and drew a stark contrast with the hated liberals in a way that drew in moderates. Moderates for their part backed him, seeing him as preferable to the Democrats.
We’re going to need to be more “evangelical” (focus on winning new adherents) in our approach, and finding ties between Left and Center if we are ever to win again, because we can’t afford another election where a sizable chunk of our potential voters are disgusted and unmotivated.
I would ALSO wager that the centrist democratic BASE (whatever tiny percent that is) is considerably to the left of centrist democratic politicians and powerbrokers. Most centrist voters are simply conflict averse. They don't like all the fighting and yelling from EITHER side. They're kinda chickenshit that way, But the very reasonable policies that are derided as 'PROGRESSIVE FAR LEFT by republicans and centrist power brokers are pretty much equally popular across the entire democratic voter base INCLUDING centrist leaning voters. So centrists in DC aren't even representing the centrist voter base...That's why I think the republican party has their hand in this centrist push...It ONLY benefits republicans
Centrist Dems are targeting the wrong groups to ignore. They should be ignoring the political consultants and the focus groups telling them that appealing to the squishy center will create a Blue Wave in 2026. They should be listening to the Dem base, and stop taking us for granted.
Maybe the real trouble with centrist Dems is that they don't have any convictions other than keeping their cushy jobs, with benefits that most Americans don't get. Anyone with convictions would fight for them, and if you are a Congress Critter, you should fight for your constituents. So what if you lose? It's better to go down fighting than to preemptively give up. That is how I see centrist Dems - they gave up without a fight.
A-fucking-men sister!
One of their central problems is they see public opinion as something fixed in place, rather than something that can be molded by actors. And considering many of these centrists are in a position to do the molding, it’s particularly ironic.
Republicans learned this a long time ago, Democrats still haven’t.
I think it also speaks to the lack of a genuine conservative party in America. As the GOP has become straight up fascist, it no longer holds a place for the Rockefeller/Eisenhower set.
Another problem is they want the seats they fill to be their "career" not "service."