Photo by Tim Pierce Here's an idea that's so crazy, it just might work! After the thorough ass-kicking the Democratic Party suffered on Election Day, some Democrats are considering the possibility that maybe running "Democratic" candidates who are embarrassed to be Democrats is not the best way to appeal to the Democratic Party. Crazy, huh? With candidates refusing to support Obamacare, refusing to support Democratic policies, refusing to even say "Hell, yes, I voted for Barack Obama because I am a Democrat, DUH," the new minority is thinking maybe it's time to get back to being Democrats.
they've been running scared since reagan made 'liberal' a dirty word and nothing has changed. they may talk for a while about getting back to their roots but there is no way they're going to blaze a trail away from the 'free market' and 'small business saints' and hail mary for corporations'
This should work about as well as the conservative argument that they lose the elections because their candidates aren't conservative enough.
And, ugly as it sounds, "progressive" ideas like legal weed, preserving access to birth control and abortion, and raising the minimum wage are all things that do not require the gummint to do anything or spend anything.
Obamacare, on the other hand, required both, and even though it is successful, people still<i> hate</i> it.
Fortunately, I&#039;m a little bit too far removed to hear many campaign advertisements, but the ones I did catch for the Scott Dudebro Brown campaign were devoid of any policy ideas and all about Jeanne Shaheen voting &quot;too Democrat&quot; (whatever that means). Even in usually-red NH, this didn&#039;t seem to sway the voters to Scotty&#039;s cause, even with the ominous deep voiceovers and scary dark graphics. I like to think of this race as a harbinger of things to come for the country.
About damned time they figured this out- only 20-30 years too late. Also too, the proof is in the pudding- let&#039;s see it, Dems. I&#039;m far too cynical when it comes to the brain trust at the DNC. I can see them paying lip service to the idea of embracing their populist roots right now as they try to wipe the egg from their face and silence their many critics. But I can also see them waiting for the dust to settle, then going right back to their hippie punching, corporate boot licking ways. There also needs to be a major shakeup in the Dem farm system at the local level. Everywhere I&#039;ve encountered the local Dem scene while working events I&#039;ve seen nothing but sycophants, gadflies, power groupies and hack party apparatchiks who are more interested in carving out their little fiefdoms and waging petty power struggles than in developing and maintaining any sort of functional system to bring along younger potential candidates or recruit new blood. The incompetence and petty vanity issues are some of the many reasons why despite being a liberal I want nothing to do with the Democratic Party.
I don&#039;t know what other states have by way of progressive or other parties, but Vermont consistently runs Green/progressive candidates for state office. This year we even had the disturbingly named Liberty Union ticket for all state wide offices. They are actually socialist/progressive nerds. Near as I can tell they won fuck all and we bearly kept our quasi Dem governor.
As someone who sits to the left of most &quot;Democrats,&quot; I&#039;d love it if they&#039;d do this. I&#039;m just too cynical to believe they actually will, despite the few good ones in the bunch.
And I agree completely, Wasserman-Shultz should have tendered her resignation first thing Wednesday morning.
Here&#039;s a perfect example of derp. Here in Maine there was a bear-baiting referendum on the ballot and I wanted to find out what was up with this. Discussing it with some co-workers, I never did get a straight answer as to why he had to hunt bears with traps and dogs while those friggin&#039; deer and moose get a pass. Hell, you can&#039;t even put out a salt lick to lure a deer into your kill zone. Then the conversation shifted to the ads and here I felt I was pretty clear - you don&#039;t use state employees, in uniform, on the clock, to advocate for one position or the other. Through my taxes, I unwillingly contributed to the pro-baiting side. Fuck that noise. Now, here&#039;s the derp. One of my co-workers said she didn&#039;t like the anti-baiting side because none of the people in their ads had Maine accents.
Is our Democrats learning?
please. they haven&#039;t figured it out.
they&#039;ve been running scared since reagan made &#039;liberal&#039; a dirty word and nothing has changed. they may talk for a while about getting back to their roots but there is no way they&#039;re going to blaze a trail away from the &#039;free market&#039; and &#039;small business saints&#039; and hail mary for corporations&#039;
sigghhhh.
This should work about as well as the conservative argument that they lose the elections because their candidates aren&#039;t conservative enough.
And, ugly as it sounds, &quot;progressive&quot; ideas like legal weed, preserving access to birth control and abortion, and raising the minimum wage are all things that do not require the gummint to do anything or spend anything.
Obamacare, on the other hand, required both, and even though it is successful, people still<i> hate</i> it.
Fortunately, I&#039;m a little bit too far removed to hear many campaign advertisements, but the ones I did catch for the Scott Dudebro Brown campaign were devoid of any policy ideas and all about Jeanne Shaheen voting &quot;too Democrat&quot; (whatever that means). Even in usually-red NH, this didn&#039;t seem to sway the voters to Scotty&#039;s cause, even with the ominous deep voiceovers and scary dark graphics. I like to think of this race as a harbinger of things to come for the country.
You&#039;re not wrong. Wish I were.
Democrats being Democrats, not corporate tools and toadies of the progressive 1%? This is bad news for Hillary.
About damned time they figured this out- only 20-30 years too late. Also too, the proof is in the pudding- let&#039;s see it, Dems. I&#039;m far too cynical when it comes to the brain trust at the DNC. I can see them paying lip service to the idea of embracing their populist roots right now as they try to wipe the egg from their face and silence their many critics. But I can also see them waiting for the dust to settle, then going right back to their hippie punching, corporate boot licking ways. There also needs to be a major shakeup in the Dem farm system at the local level. Everywhere I&#039;ve encountered the local Dem scene while working events I&#039;ve seen nothing but sycophants, gadflies, power groupies and hack party apparatchiks who are more interested in carving out their little fiefdoms and waging petty power struggles than in developing and maintaining any sort of functional system to bring along younger potential candidates or recruit new blood. The incompetence and petty vanity issues are some of the many reasons why despite being a liberal I want nothing to do with the Democratic Party.
American voting patterns are unique in that they are at once absolutely predictable yet make no sense whatsoever.
I don&#039;t know what other states have by way of progressive or other parties, but Vermont consistently runs Green/progressive candidates for state office. This year we even had the disturbingly named Liberty Union ticket for all state wide offices. They are actually socialist/progressive nerds. Near as I can tell they won fuck all and we bearly kept our quasi Dem governor.
Nice to see them circling back to Plan A after trying Plans B-Z..
As someone who sits to the left of most &quot;Democrats,&quot; I&#039;d love it if they&#039;d do this. I&#039;m just too cynical to believe they actually will, despite the few good ones in the bunch.
And I agree completely, Wasserman-Shultz should have tendered her resignation first thing Wednesday morning.
Yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
In this area, no candidate from any party actually gave any detail as to their platform
Here&#039;s a perfect example of derp. Here in Maine there was a bear-baiting referendum on the ballot and I wanted to find out what was up with this. Discussing it with some co-workers, I never did get a straight answer as to why he had to hunt bears with traps and dogs while those friggin&#039; deer and moose get a pass. Hell, you can&#039;t even put out a salt lick to lure a deer into your kill zone. Then the conversation shifted to the ads and here I felt I was pretty clear - you don&#039;t use state employees, in uniform, on the clock, to advocate for one position or the other. Through my taxes, I unwillingly contributed to the pro-baiting side. Fuck that noise. Now, here&#039;s the derp. One of my co-workers said she didn&#039;t like the anti-baiting side because none of the people in their ads had Maine accents.
FFS