What did Democrats do wrong?

[Emily's Cat]

Exactly, what the charities do is admirable but government aid is a wholly different matter, as some US farmers are now discovering.

How the US Government handles farming subsidies is kind of wonky. I'm very far from expert on it, really just bits and pieces... but there have been many times throughout history where the fed ends up paying farmers to grow foods that we don't use, instead of stuff we would use. Some of the stuff during the depression was astonishingly weird, like paying farmers to grow crops that they couldn't sell... and then destroying those unsold crops instead of giving it to people who didn't have enough food.

Sometimes we do really strange things for reasons that I can't make heads or tails of.

If you're interested...
America's Raisin Cartel

 

[ahhell]

Not sure if its still happening but at one point, the US was subsidizing Brazilian farmers so that we could continue to subsidize American farmers.

 

[Brainster]

Here's an oddball notion to help the Democrats win in the future: "Listen to working class people."

The “what-would-the-working-class-say” test can tell you a lot about whether Democrats are on track with their approach. If the test indicates that Democrats are advocating or saying something that is likely unpopular, off-putting and/or just lacks salience with working-class people, that policy or rhetoric is probably on the wrong track. Conversely, if the test indicates that working-class people are likely to view what Democrats are advocating/saying as desirable, in tune with their values and actually important to their everyday lives, that is a very good sign.

I can't imagine that going over well with the Democrats' highly-educated base, but Texiera makes a good case that if they don't they are doomed to the status of a minority party. Referring to the next few Senate elections:

The Republicans have abundant pickup opportunities in low-education, working class heavy states while Democratic opportunities are slimmer and generally involve knocking off Republicans in the same kind of low-education states. This is daunting to say the least.

There is an astounding graphic accompanying the piece which shows that the Harris coalition of 2024 most resembles the coalition 28 years earlier, not of Bill Clinton, but of Bob Dole!

 

[ahhell]

Here's an oddball notion to help the Democrats win in the future: "Listen to working class people."


I can't imagine that going over well with the Democrats' highly-educated base, but Texiera makes a good case that if they don't they are doomed to the status of a minority party. Referring to the next few Senate elections:

There is an astounding graphic accompanying the piece which shows that
the Harris coalition of 2024 most resembles the coalition 28 years earlier, not of Bill Clinton, but of Bob Dole!

Oddly funny from the guy that wrote the "Emerging Democratic Majority". Granted, that book was probably mostly misunderstood. That misunderstanding may well have contributed the Dems move toward the educated elites. Also, not really all that astounding.

 

[Brainster]

Oddly funny from the guy that wrote the "Emerging Democratic Majority". Granted, that book was probably mostly misunderstood. That misunderstanding may well have contributed the Dems move toward the educated elites. Also, not really all that astounding.

Trump has largely turned politics on its ear, to the point where it's hard to chastise Judis and Texiera (who were not misunderstood--they really foresaw another Democratic majority like the Donks had from 1932-1980). Keep in mind that although the Democrats did not win the 2004 election, they did very well in 2006 and 2008, and held onto the presidency in 2012. I've been reading Texiera's substack for quite a while and while I don't always agree with him, I am impressed by the amount of data he presents to back up his arguments. The chart where he shows that Kamala's coalition most resembles Bob Dole's blew my mind (not least because I was a part of both).

 

[The Great Zaganza]

Here's an oddball notion to help the Democrats win in the future: "Listen to working class people."


I can't imagine that going over well with the Democrats' highly-educated base, but Texiera makes a good case that if they don't they are doomed to the status of a minority party. Referring to the next few Senate elections:

There is an astounding graphic accompanying the piece which shows that the Harris coalition of 2024 most resembles the coalition 28 years earlier, not of Bill Clinton, but of Bob Dole!

It's the West Wing Brain.

 

[The Don]

Here's an oddball notion to help the Democrats win in the future: "Listen to working class people."

They did/do but they came up with policies which aimed to actually address the problems of working class people (better access to affordable healthcare, dealing with the effects of deindustrialisation, trying to start to address income and wealth inequality) rather than making false promises to go back to the 1950s, making huge tax cuts for billionaires, removing personal, economic and financial safety nets.

 

[TragicMonkey]

They did/do but they came up with policies which aimed to actually address the problems of working class people (better access to affordable healthcare, dealing with the effects of deindustrialisation, trying to start to address income and wealth inequality) rather than making false promises to go back to the 1950s, making huge tax cuts for billionaires, removing personal, economic and financial safety nets.

And that's the crux of the problem: half of America doesn't care what actually gets done, they only care what is said.

 

[Brainster]

They did/do but they came up with policies which aimed to actually address the problems of working class people (better access to affordable healthcare, dealing with the effects of deindustrialisation, trying to start to address income and wealth inequality) rather than making false promises to go back to the 1950s, making huge tax cuts for billionaires, removing personal, economic and financial safety nets.

And the Democrats were unable to prevent this because they weren't listening to working class people. I get that liberals want to comfort themselves with the notion that "we're right and they're wrong," but when the "they" is a sizeable majority of the population, it behooves the "we" to recalibrate their positions.

 

[Brainster]

The Columbia Journalism Review calls for a working class media:

What would that media look like? It would be one where economic reporters are embedded in blue-collar communities and neighborhoods rather than financial districts, and source networks built around people with direct experience instead of outside analysts. Centering inflation coverage around wage stagnation rather than the stock market and written for people who live paycheck to paycheck. Healthcare reporting would be conducted by those who have experienced medical debt. Labor reporting that represents workers not as mute sufferers but as true experts. Housing that is considered from the perspective of the renter, not the landlord or developer.

Did wince at the "embedded" bit; surely a legitimate working class media would be part of those communities, not some Columbia J-School grad slumming it for career advancement.

 

[The Don]

And the Democrats were unable to prevent this because they weren't listening to working class people. I get that liberals want to comfort themselves with the notion that "we're right and they're wrong," but when the "they" is a sizeable majority of the population, it behooves the "we" to recalibrate their positions.

To what ? Simply lying and making false promises ?

The working class are worried about making ends meet and putting food on the table. The GOP promised to do that but the actual policies will have the opposite effect.

 

[Tero]

And the Democrats were unable to prevent this because they weren't listening to working class people. I get that liberals want to comfort themselves with the notion that "we're right and they're wrong," but when the "they" is a sizeable majority of the population, it behooves the "we" to recalibrate their positions.

What working class people? "We are bareley getting by" working class people? The GOP has prevented minimum wages being raised for all of this century.

 

[Tero]

Trump promised the working class an impossible future. Of America making running shoes and rakes and lawn mowers and all manner of things we don't make anymore. No cell phones will ever be made in the US.

 

[Thermal]

Trump promised the working class an impossible future. Of America making running shoes...

New Balance's Made in USA running shoes and other apparel:

https://www.newbalance.com/made-in-the-usa/

and rakes

Bully got you covered:

Shop Leaf & Bow Rakes - Bully Tools, Inc.

We manufacture the best and most durable leaf & bow rakes, thatching rakes, stone rakes, and asphalt rakes, 100% Made In The USA steel by Bully Tools.

bullytools.com

and lawn mowers

Several well-established brands to choose from:

Walk Behind Lawn Mowers Made in the USA: Cut Grass, Not Corners - Made in the USA Matters

WALK-BEHIND LAWN MOWERS MADE IN THE USA! Find & compare American made push mowers & self-propelled lawnmowers in our USA made brand directory.

madeintheusamatters.com

and all manner of things we don't make anymore. No cell phones will ever be made in the US.

Yet they already are:

Introducing the Liberty Phone – Purism

Purism makes premium phones, laptops, mini PCs and servers running free software on PureOS. Purism products respect people's privacy and freedom while protecting their security.

puri.sm

Had you put a second's thought into finding out if you knew what you were talking about?

 

[arthwollipot]

The "Liberty Phone"?

 

[Tero]

Had you put a second's thought into finding out if you knew what you were talking about?

The New Balance may be some good size business (10-15%), but how much of the market are the rest? 2%?

• New Balance has facilities in Maine and Massachusetts.

• New Balance has six contract plants in China.
• New Balance also has factories in Vietnam.

 

[Thermal]

The New Balance may be some good size business (10-15%), but how much of the market are the rest? 2%?

• New Balance has facilities in Maine and Massachusetts.
• New Balance has six contract plants in China.
• New Balance also has factories in Vietnam.

Their market share is low because people don't give a ◊◊◊◊ if the products they buy are making American jobs. People like you, who declare they don't exist, when they for damn sure do. You think Craftsman, Husquvarna, and Troy-Built are rare brands of mowers? It's simply a value call.

I had to buy a new pair of work boots recently. With the magic of this thing called the internet, I was able to identify models made domestically in seconds, and chose from them. Settled on a pair of Keens, made in Oregon, $90. American manufacturers succeed when people like me give a ◊◊◊◊. Go buy your Chinese products while crying that a google search is too much effort.

ETA: you say it's"impossible" to have American manufacturing for goods. Still feeling confident? Cuz I got a whole lot of Made in USA, from my boots to my sunglasses that says you're full of ◊◊◊◊.

 

[Thermal]

The "Liberty Phone"?

Not exactly competatively priced yet, but ya can't say "they don't exist and never will" when I have been able to buy one for years.

 

[Tero]

My mower is made here, at least the engine. Now ten years old. The store barely has any gas mowers. Last I looked. No idea where the Ryobi and Makita re made.

 

[Thermal]

I agree it's harder to find domestic products. Everything I have that is more than 10-15 years old has a Made in USA stamp, but since then there is often not much choice.

Ryobi is generally chinese made, as is Makita. Although my Makita barell jigsaw was made in Great Britian, of all places.

Air compressors are still easy and cheap to get American made (Campbell Hausfeld, Porter Cable) and DeWalt and Milwaukee are making limited selections of power tools in the States.