Right, back on topic ;)
You know you’re smiling…
Part of my frustration is that I believe Dem turnout, which includes energizing mainstream liberal and further left Democratic voters is more important, numerically speaking than trying to flip the very small number of flippable votes in the middle. Also, a strong message, a strong positive message (which can actually be fairly liberal) is the best way IMO to both flip the middle AND energize the Dem base.
For example, where is Biden and the Dem congressional leadership on health care? Health care, specifically guaranteeing some form of universal coverage which prevents being denied care for money and reduces medical bankruptcies, is an absolutely HUGE winner for the Dems. It doesn’t have to be full blown single payer immediately, but some form of guaranteed universal coverage (Medicare Buy In is my personal preference) is a big campaign winner. Where is Biden on that?
As far as I can tell, Biden has no health care proposals of any meaningful significance. I guess he’s in favor of protecting the ACA but protecting the battered skeleton of a fairly tepid and incomplete plan is only about 10% of the reform we actually need. If Biden steps up his health care game by a huge factor, he would be improving both his electoral chances and his appeal to many Dems, but I see no indication of this.
That’s just one example.
Tacking “to the middle” in a GOP-lite sense is not just bad policy, it’s a pathetic strategy from a political POV as well.
The Overton window is going to be shifted at state legislative and Congressional level as much as it is presidential.
To tie the electoral discussion into the anger topic, I believe that a great many American voters are dissatisfied with the current status of the US (in many cases, severely dissatisfied) and want positive change. I think a political message of policies that voters believe will lead to improvement is a very strong political message.
Without a strong message of positive change, I think the dissatisfaction of voters of all stripes will continue to fester.
So, if the Dems want to win, they need to put out that kind of message. That message can be more on the left or it can be “centrist yet bold” but it needs to be strong and positive. By contrast, I feel like the current Dem strategy is more focused on trusting the existing institutions and getting rid of Trump as an aberration and that’s just not strong enough, bold enough, or positive enough to be a winner IMO.
For example, a “moderate” but not “left” message that I think would appeal should at a minimum include things like universal health coverage (does not have to be single payer), infrastructure investment that improves things for all or most communities in the US, and major investment in clean energy. My liberal wish list is far longer than that, but in terms of combining both good policy and good political messaging that will appeal to swing voters, those three items are a minimum necessity.
The fact that Biden does not to my knowledge have any kind of meaningful health care proposal other than “protect the ACA” is IMO not just bad policy but also terrible politics.
And on top of that, it leaves a huge swathe of Dem voters without a constructive place to put their energy. And that is both politically wasteful on a mass scale and also leaves a lot of Dem voters existentially angry.
We need bold leadership. Doesn’t have to be down the line lefty, but the tepid “trust the system and don’t spook the right” strategy is just not going to cut it, either in winning elections or in helping me personally to preserve my sanity.
Most people know Timbuk 3 from their hit "The Future’s So Bright (I Gotta Wear Shades). But my personal favorite of theirs was always this song, which has never been more appropriate than it is today. (Particularly the line “Assholes get elected, because assholes get to vote”)
If you’re gonna be all stressed out over the current state of things, may as well get some toe tappin’ in. ;)
Trevor would rather die than see the darkies get healthcare.
Yes, @Sharpe, well said. I mean why did Bernie have the effect he did? He pulled the party left because he spoke to a vision that energized people. That’s the kind of energy needed.
And it doesn’t have to be going full democratic socialist, though I may wish it so. But it certainly can’t just be a tepid rehashing of centrist triangulation either. That’s weak tea, and I want none of it.
Alstein while I agree, there is something to be said for tone at the top. We have seen some reinvestment at the state levels. But let’s be honest, in today’s media environment, the top of the party is extremely important in driving the message nationally. A weak and uninspiring message will depress downstream activity, no matter if those issues are getting focused on. And things like climate and environmental issues must be national in scale. State level just doesn’t cut it.
Maybe part of me holds up hope that Biden will be better than we think, or that he’ll pull a McKinley and croak early on.
I do think Biden will do some populist rhetoric. It just might be in the guise of consumer rights instead of DemSoc policy. I don’t think he’ll get in the way of legal pot, he just won’t push it. Biden is a politician, he understands that he has to give progressives something or they might bust, especially if you keep banging those drums to scare him.
I kinda want that now lol.
I don’t swear any more. Of course I don’t swear any less either.
This is all Armondo’s fault, isn’t it. :)
Next you will have a great urge to shit on graves.
But on a serious note, you should probably take a break from P&R. As heinous as Trump is I think you need to realize that for the most part this is a total anti-Trump and GOP forum that really does have some people who have been saying that the sky is falling since the election. We have been Godwinned for more than two years now, and on these fine pages (do internet forums have pages?) we have read of the doomsday to come in the next few years.
Trump is an ass, and he is unethical racist bastard, but I believe the country will survive him and if the Dems are worthy (can get out to vote) he will be gone in 2020. And it is best not to always be reading thru the eyes of those who see him as some kind of right wing Nazi demon who will somehow subvert the constitution and stay in power.
From the great Dungheap of Patriots shall the Tree of Liberty flourish
Mike Godwin himself says these guys are nazis…
I appreciate that. I actually come here seething with anger to report on the stuff I come across throughout my day. So it’s not the forum doing this to me. I’m just really upset at how evil this country has become and it’s impossible to not see it every day. The only way I could do that is to go camping at the South Pole for the next year and a half I think :)
I can go thru my normal day and never worry about Trump. It doesn’t mean I don’t think he and his administration are doing horrible things but more that I realize that there are things that I can’t change today, or even tomorrow. Living your life totally engaged in the shit that is Trump and the GOP is really no way to live your life. Do what you can for yourself and your family. Write letters and make phone calls if it makes you feel better, give money and or time to the causes you believe in if you can. But don’t beat yourself up over that which you have no direct control.
Next time you see some headline or news report that makes you want to scream take a deep breath and remember how many times over the last 2 years you have felt that way. Then relax and approach it without your anger. Easy to say I know and now always easy to do, but it is better for you.