What did Democrats do wrong?

What did Democrats do wrong?

  • Didn't fight inflation enough.

    Votes: 12 15.2%

  • Didn't fight illegal immigration enough.

    Votes: 22 27.8%

  • Too much focus on abortion.

    Votes: 2 2.5%

  • Too much transgender stuff.

    Votes: 28 35.4%

  • America not ready for Progressive women leader.

    Votes: 26 32.9%

  • Should have kept Joe.

    Votes: 3 3.8%

  • Not enough focus on new jobs.

    Votes: 2 2.5%

  • Nothing, Trump cheated & played dirty!

    Votes: 14 17.7%

  • Didn't stop Gaza War.

    Votes: 8 10.1%

  • I can be Agent M.

    Votes: 6 7.6%
  • Total voters
    79
TomB said:
God, must every thread migrate to the trans issue?

I think there is a lot of nuance in the stance that the majority of Democrats take on the issue, which they failed or were afraid to express.
This of course, gave the Republicans (who themselves were afraid to express any nuance on the issue) a target they could inflate into a much more prominent issue.

I base this on the observation that most of the conservative people I know and most of the liberal people I know are actually in pretty close agreement on the issue. And that point of agreement is not at either extreme.

This probably was something that the Republicans were able to use as a wedge issue. You don't have to think the Republicans were correct on merits in order to recognize that. I'm not sure how you fight that, but it's probably not by saying everyone who doesn't come down on the "trans side" on every context is an evil bigot. Hell, I'm not even sure the majority of trans people come down on the "trans side" in every context. (Hence the quotes around "trans side." I'm not actually sure what the "trans side" really is because they are not a monolith.)
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Of course Republicans used it as a wedge issue. But the idea that the staunchly anti-science party did out of some fidelity to science or rational thought is laughably stupid. They did out of bigotry and as part of their overall agenda of demonizing marginalized groups. This is an uncomfortable truth for some people who find themselves ideologically aligned with Republicans on this issue, but a truth it is nonetheless.
 
One factor that went in favor of Trump was that Trump had formed a bond with tens of millions of voters in 2016. That group was never going to flip. If you had a discussion with a 2016 Trump voter criticizing Trump and explaining how some thing was better under Biden, they were insulted. An accusation about Trump was insulting that voter personally. They could easily gather that you thought they were stupid and gullible. Which they were.

Harris on the other hand was "just a politician and a DEI hire."
 
johnny karate said:
Of course Republicans used it as a wedge issue. But the idea that the staunchly anti-science party did out of some fidelity to science or rational thought is laughably stupid. They did out of bigotry and as part of their overall agenda of demonizing marginalized groups. This is an uncomfortable truth for some people who find themselves ideologically aligned with Republicans on this issue, but a truth it is nonetheless.
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Take bigotry off the table and what is the GOP left with? Tax cuts for the rich? Cutting Social Security and Medicare to free up money for tax cuts for the rich? Actual Republican policies are deeply unpopular with broad swaths of the American people. They have to cover the poison pill with a candy coating of bigotry to make people swallow it.
 
johnny karate said:
Of course Republicans used it as a wedge issue. But the idea that the staunchly anti-science party did out of some fidelity to science or rational thought is laughably stupid. They did out of bigotry and as part of their overall agenda of demonizing marginalized groups. This is an uncomfortable truth for some people who find themselves ideologically aligned with Republicans on this issue, but a truth it is nonetheless.
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Sure. But pointing to Lea Thomas on the female swim team highlights an area where a broad group of people, both conservative and liberal, actually agree. Responding by accusing everyone who disagrees with her being on the female swim team of being a bigot targets the majority of voters.

Do you get what I'm saying? It's not the fact that the Republicans calling it out do so out of bigotry that makes it a wedge issue. It's the fact that it triggers a response that alienates the majority of voters that does.
 
but you must admit, using this issue as a basis for your vote turned out to be pretty foolish for anyone but the republicans. especially for those voters that wanted nothing to do with the maga agenda but still allowed it to alienate them.

and that’s completely on them.
 
I've often said to people I know (not that many people really) that the only way to have beaten him then and now is to find someone who is a better ◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊ artist than he is. Politics has never been about reality or truth, it's always been about what people believe. Trump is a master at using complete nonsense to convince people that he is the only one that can solve whatever it is they already believe is wrong with anything and everything. And if that isn't working then he'll make something up and just keep repeating that nonsense over and over again. Which is why he's so popular with evangelicals and anyone who operates on faith and belief as they are used to defining their own reality and/or having it dictated it to them.

I'm really afraid though that the resistance will still try to convince people that they and he are wrong by using truth, facts, and reality. It won't work, just like you can't reason with unreasonable people.
 
Once again, a reminder to keep to the topic of this thread. Any detailed discussion of trans issues, or any other topic, belong in the appropriate threads.
Replying to this modbox in thread will be off topic  Posted By: zooterkin
 
TomB said:
Sure. But pointing to Lea Thomas on the female swim team highlights an area where a broad group of people, both conservative and liberal, actually agree. Responding by accusing everyone who disagrees with her being on the female swim team of being a bigot targets the majority of voters.

Do you get what I'm saying? It's not the fact that the Republicans calling it out do so out of bigotry that makes it a wedge issue. It's the fact that it triggers a response that alienates the majority of voters that does.
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If one’s anti-trans position supersedes all other issues to the point that they betray the very principle they claim is the reason for their anti-trans position in the first place (protecting women), then they never really had that principle.
 
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Dems should consider allying themselves with the fringe candidates, involving them in the party platform talks, offering them cabinet positions if the fit is good enough.
Joining forces with Cornel West might have been enough to swing some States.

Of course, that would require actual willingness to change your own program, not just do things for show.
 
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What a load of codswallop - people earning over $914,900 can't be called rich, they still have problems, probably can't even afford more than 2 homes and a small dinghy! Need to be a billionaire before you can label them rich and even then it's jealousy.
 
Tero said:
we failed to convince

Tony Masino Sr. (@tonym3006) • Threads, say more

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Tony to quit supporting Trump. Oh wait, that would never happen. Trump has 20-25% of these white not so rich people.
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It is this weird thing that not even supporters of foreign aid seem to want to point out that the bulk of the money never leaves the country of origin, it effectively goes back into the national economy. Foreign aid by and large it consists of a government buying goods and services at home and sending those aboard.
 
Indeed - buying produce from US farmers and shipping them is pretty much the most expensive, least effective way to provide food to hungry people half the world away.
USAID is a program to subsidize Americans first and foremost - or it was.
 
Garrison said:
It is this weird thing that not even supporters of foreign aid seem to want to point out that the bulk of the money never leaves the country of origin, it effectively goes back into the national economy. Foreign aid by and large it consists of a government buying goods and services at home and sending those aboard.
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No, this is not entirely true. Foreign aid also invests locally - giving a microloan to a farmer to buy a tractor so that they can take their goods to the local market, for example. Habitat for Humanity (you know, the charity that Jimmy Carter worked with) helps poor people to build homes. WaterAid helps to provide clean water facilities. Médecins Sans Frontières provides boots-on-the-ground medical care.

It's one of the biggest misconceptions that foreign aid is all about giving people stuff. While, sure, plenty of stuff is given, it's also about helping people contribute meaningfully to their own economy. Because a healthy economy is one of the biggest contributors to wellbeing in developing countries, after education for women and girls.
 
arthwollipot said:
No, this is not entirely true. Foreign aid also invests locally - giving a microloan to a farmer to buy a tractor so that they can take their goods to the local market, for example. Habitat for Humanity (you know, the charity that Jimmy Carter worked with) helps poor people to build homes. WaterAid helps to provide clean water facilities. Médecins Sans Frontières provides boots-on-the-ground medical care.

It's one of the biggest misconceptions that foreign aid is all about giving people stuff. While, sure, plenty of stuff is given, it's also about helping people contribute meaningfully to their own economy. Because a healthy economy is one of the biggest contributors to wellbeing in developing countries, after education for women and girls.
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I think Garrison was talking about government funded foreign aid, not about char
 
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