What did Democrats do wrong?

What did Democrats do wrong?

  • Didn't fight inflation enough.

    Votes: 12 16.9%
  • Didn't fight illegal immigration enough.

    Votes: 21 29.6%
  • Too much focus on abortion.

    Votes: 1 1.4%
  • Too much transgender stuff.

    Votes: 27 38.0%
  • America not ready for Progressive women leader.

    Votes: 24 33.8%
  • Should have kept Joe.

    Votes: 1 1.4%
  • Not enough focus on new jobs.

    Votes: 2 2.8%
  • Nothing, Trump cheated & played dirty!

    Votes: 12 16.9%
  • Didn't stop Gaza War.

    Votes: 6 8.5%
  • I can be Agent M.

    Votes: 5 7.0%

  • Total voters
    71
Poll says:

40% -too much transgender stuff

29.1%-didnt fight illegal immigration enough

18.5%-didn't fight inflation enough



That's 87.6% right there.
 
And for the record I think it's because they're consistently terrible at messaging and letting the other side define the talking points.
Which talking points should the Democrats have used to draw attention away from the ones given in the OP?
 
Which talking points should the Democrats have used to draw attention away from the ones given in the OP?
Draw attention away from implies that they're valid complaints, they're not, they could have done more to say it's manufactured ◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊.

Mostly though they kept up the Republican narrative that inflation = cost of living, so when inflation was coming down but peoples cost of living was still high they got the blame for it.
 
Mostly though they kept up the Republican narrative that inflation = cost of living, so when inflation was coming down but peoples cost of living was still high they got the blame for it.
So what the Democrats did wrong was they didn't "well ackshully" hard enough?



"Inflation is high, what are you doing about it?"

"Well actually, that's cost of living. I've brought inflation down. You're welcome."



Maybe it's for the best the Democrats kept their mouths shut, on that one.
 
Draw attention away from implies that they're valid complaints, they're not, they could have done more to say it's manufactured ◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊.

Mostly though they kept up the Republican narrative that inflation = cost of living, so when inflation was coming down but peoples cost of living was still high they got the blame for it.
Inflation went down, but previous price hikes were maintained. So the damage was done.
 
Draw attention away from implies that they're valid complaints, they're not, they could have done more to say it's manufactured ◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊.
The claim that annual inflation lead to persistently higher costs of living in the post-COVID era wasn't manufactured, it was inevitable.

The claim that undocumented immigration surged during that same period also wasn't manufactured.

Do you really believe telling voters that their concerns about uncontrolled inflation & immigration aren't "valid complaints" would have been good electoral strategy?
 
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The claim that annual inflation lead to persistently higher costs of living in the post-COVID era wasn't manufactured, it was inevitable.

The claim that undocumented immigration surged during that same period also wasn't manufactured.

Do you really believe telling voters that their concerns about uncontrolled inflation & immigration aren't "valid complaints" would have been good electoral strategy?
Democrats told the people in NY during 2024 that the concerns about rising crime due to new bail laws was just GOP propaganda. That didn't work out soo well. Asking the voters to keep their heads in the sand is a poor strategy.
 
Draw attention away from implies that they're valid complaints, they're not, they could have done more to say it's manufactured ◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊.

Mostly though they kept up the Republican narrative that inflation = cost of living, so when inflation was coming down but peoples cost of living was still high they got the blame for it.
MAGA voters do not do any math. They did not even know the first Trump tax cuts made the payroll checks look bigger, but at the end of the year it was not really a cut. They "feel" prices and only vaguely note salaries going up after a delay. They still can't buy a house. It's the Democrats' fault or rarely the Republican president. Those tend to cut things but somehow make that look like a "saving" and the MAGA folks cheer. No more talking traffic lights for the blind people! They should get a dog.
 
MAGA voters do not do any math. They did not even know the first Trump tax cuts made the payroll checks look bigger, but at the end of the year it was not really a cut. They "feel" prices and only vaguely note salaries going up after a delay. They still can't buy a house. It's the Democrats' fault or rarely the Republican president. Those tend to cut things but somehow make that look like a "saving" and the MAGA folks cheer. No more talking traffic lights for the blind people! They should get a dog.

Even if there was little Biden could do to slow down the rapid inflation, he could have tried to be more sympathetic to the plight of the American people. Instead he and Kamala seemed to basically say "it wasn't me".
 
Even if there was little Biden could do to slow down the rapid inflation, he could have tried to be more sympathetic to the plight of the American people. Instead he and Kamala seemed to basically say "it wasn't me".
... By doing what?
 
inflation wasn’t uncontrolled, it was remarkably well managed considering the circumstances.

you’ll see what uncontrolled inflation looks like later this year
 
MAGA voters do not do any math. They did not even know the first Trump tax cuts made the payroll checks look bigger, but at the end of the year it was not really a cut. They "feel" prices and only vaguely note salaries going up after a delay. They still can't buy a house. It's the Democrats' fault or rarely the Republican president. Those tend to cut things but somehow make that look like a "saving" and the MAGA folks cheer. No more talking traffic lights for the blind people! They should get a dog.

that’s a good point. for example, this year the dollar is down about 10%, so inflation plus a weaker dollar makes it even worse than the numbers appear.

i don’t blame everyone, it’s complicated and a bit esoteric. but obviously being lied to by a propaganda machine and fed only the numbers and slanted data to manipulate them doesn’t help them understand anything either. which is my primary complaint.
 
inflation wasn’t uncontrolled, it was remarkably well managed considering the circumstances.

you’ll see what uncontrolled inflation looks like later this year
FED could have raised interest rates MUCH more drastically in early 2022.
 
Name one.
1. Monetary Policy:
  • Increasing Interest Rates:
    .Opens in new tab

    Central banks can raise interest rates, making borrowing more expensive. This can reduce consumer spending and investment, which in turn can lower demand and help control inflation.
    • Controlling the Money Supply:
      .Opens in new tab

      By adjusting the money supply, central banks can influence the amount of money circulating in the economy. Reducing the money supply can help to curb inflation by decreasing the overall level of spending.
2. Fiscal Policy:
3. Supply-Side Policies:
4. Other Measures:
 
MAGA voters do not do any math. They did not even know the first Trump tax cuts made the payroll checks look bigger, but at the end of the year it was not really a cut. They "feel" prices and only vaguely note salaries going up after a delay. They still can't buy a house. It's the Democrats' fault or rarely the Republican president. Those tend to cut things but somehow make that look like a "saving" and the MAGA folks cheer. No more talking traffic lights for the blind people! They should get a dog.
I've tried explaining concepts like this. How paying an extra $1 in taxes can net you $6 in your cost of living expenses. All they know is "gubment bad". "Gubmint not efficient". It was the mantra that other mush brain was selling us when he wasn't selling missiles to Iran and giving the money to Latin American warlords.
 
1. Monetary Policy:
  • Increasing Interest Rates:
    .Opens in new tab

    Central banks can raise interest rates, making borrowing more expensive. This can reduce consumer spending and investment, which in turn can lower demand and help control inflation.
    • Controlling the Money Supply:
      .Opens in new tab

      By adjusting the money supply, central banks can influence the amount of money circulating in the economy. Reducing the money supply can help to curb inflation by decreasing the overall level of spending.
The president can't do that
2. Fiscal Policy:
Cutting government spending almost always means cutting the services that actually help people get through their day.
3. Supply-Side Policies:
O, the ◊◊◊◊ that got us in this mess in the first place. Ya, lets not.
4. Other Measures:
Which flies in the face of your other Supply Side policies
You mean like encourage housing construction? Which the Biden administration was trying to do?
 
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1. Monetary Policy:
  • Increasing Interest Rates:
    .Opens in new tab

    Central banks can raise interest rates, making borrowing more expensive. This can reduce consumer spending and investment, which in turn can lower demand and help control inflation.
    • Controlling the Money Supply:
      .Opens in new tab

      By adjusting the money supply, central banks can influence the amount of money circulating in the economy. Reducing the money supply can help to curb inflation by decreasing the overall level of spending.
2. Fiscal Policy:
3. Supply-Side Policies:
4. Other Measures:
I'm sure many of those options are debatable. Maybe economists can weigh in.

But that's not really the crux of your argument. You've acknowledged that maybe inflation wasn't controllable, yet Biden should have shown more sympathy. Now you're saying that he should have shown sympathy by being more effective. Or by trying things that wouldn't work.
 
Agreed, that was poor wording on my part.

I'm not sure if there was any way to get this across to the relatively low-engagement voters who turned out to decide the election.
i agree it’s difficult to convey.
 
it must be understood that government spending was increased, in terms of welfare and loans, and rates dropped to keep the economy moving due to covid and it’s recovery. inflation was expected.

many of the traditional options to control inflation weren’t available due to that.
 
And if 'my' reason isn't on the poll?
And for the record I think it's because they're consistently terrible at messaging and letting the other side define the talking points.
And Trump being very clear about what he was going to do wasn't a good enough reason for people to get off their asses and vote for Harris? Sorry but all these excuses for people failing to get out and do something when it mattered are purely self-serving.
 
And Trump being very clear about what he was going to do wasn't a good enough reason for people to get off their asses and vote for Harris? Sorry but all these excuses for people failing to get out and do something when it mattered are purely self-serving.
Indeed, it was VERY clear what damage trump wanted to do to our country, and VERY clear what the Democrats were going to do instead.

There was no question at all what the Democrats were going to do regarding taxes, the environment, healthcare, immigration, etc.
 
There was no question at all what the Democrats were going to do regarding taxes, the environment, healthcare, immigration, etc.
Only one of those issues is really in the Dems favor, according to the researchers at Blue Rose (jump to pg. 14).

Ezra Klein and Matt Yglesias take Blue Rose pretty seriously, so I'm inclined to do so as well. Certainly it's more useful in terms of messaging than the one from Catalist. At any rate, it's pretty hard to read that report and come away optimistic, given the macro-level trends.
 
Even if one were to take Yglesias or Klein seriously, and no one should, all that goes to show is the difference between perception and reality. The Democrats' biggest errors in this regard is letting the GQP drive the narrative and playing defense. Moving to the right was holding up a sign saying "WE AGREE WITH THE REPUBLICANS". Who the hell was supposed to be moved by that message?
 
Moving to the right was holding up a sign saying "WE AGREE WITH THE REPUBLICANS".
Speaking of perception vs. reality, upon which of those issues did the DNC or the Biden/Harris campaign start "moving to the right" in your view?

To be fully persuasive, I'd need to see a before/after from 2020 to 2024 or something like that.
 
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Speaking of perception vs. reality, upon which of those issues did the DNC or the Biden/Harris campaign start "moving to the right" in your view?

To be fully persuasive, I'd need to see a before/after from 2020 to 2024 or something like that.
Specifically Harris? Campaigning with Liz Cheney. she had more public appearances with the daughter of the architect of the Iraq War than any Democrat, including her own VP pick.

Democrats in general have been running right for over 40 years. The response to Trump's address to Congress earlier this year was to send a refuge from the Bush II admin to breathlessly exalt Ronald Reagan and tell us how great Republicans are.
 
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Apparently I forgot to add something to the poll which explains why many of my fellow Chosen folk voted against Kamala:

-the Democrats dared to question Israeli annihilation and starvation of Gaza.
 

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