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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
I’m sorry, I get annoyed when I see comments about taking our country back! We should’ve never let it go in the first place. Where was everybody on election day? I’m tired of people demanding Democrats find good messaging. We are individually responsible for educating ourselves about the people we put in power.  if you need a message, read up on people’s views on policy before you vote. Don’t be lazy, Work for your freedoms. Keep your house clean rather than clean up after messes are made
 
So again, the thing Dems did wrong was to not blame Reps enough, and not be hard enough on Reps?

But let's take a look here, because I don't think this is as airtight as you think it is.

Needing to work extra jobs to get by. Erosion of workers rights? You might be able to make that argument, but only in the context of weakened union protections, I think. On the other hand, workers have been granted equal opportunity laws, protection against discrimination, safety regulations, mandatory breaks and lunches, FMLA, worker's compensation insurance, increased overtime pay, affirmative action, and increased minimum wage. In addition, however, there's been an increase in work visas allowing more competition for jobs, lax control of illegal entrants working many labor jobs, and the destruction of US industrial work as it gets outsourced to foreign countries. Most of those things - both good and ill - have had bipartisan support or at best silence from both parties. I don't recall Dems rallying to protect US industry, or to control immigration and prioritize US job placement, or to reduce work visas.

No housing available. You're right that allowing secondary and tertiary market actions on mortgages contributed to this situation, but it wasn't something pushed by Reps nor was it opposed by Dems. It had tacit approval from both parties. But there was a lot more that has contributed to this current situation. For example, overcorrection for redlining extended sub-prime mortgages to people who really couldn't afford them and increasing the risk of default. Following that bust, a large number of houses were purchased by foreign venture capital and rent rates increased substantially. Stops put in place during Covid exacerbated this, even though it was well intentioned, by disallowing evictions for non-payment of rent. That led to apartment owners being unable to afford to keep their properties, and a large number of those properties were sold to foreign interests. I don't recall Dems taking action to protect property owners from bankruptcy, nor to limit the ability of foreign interests to purchase a significant chunk of the US housing market. Compounding all of this is the gentrification of urban areas which increases rents and housing prices in the areas where most jobs are, which pushes workers out.

Hospital visits causing bankruptcy. You're right that this is a problem. But GOP didn't cause this, both parties did. Allowing both health care providers and health insurers to be publicly traded entities introduced a significant conflict of interest into the system, and both parties are to blame for that. Additionally, it's been a Dem platform to socialize insurance, to subsidize premiums, and to continually demand that more and more services be considered essential health benefits, and to eliminate underwriting, while not imposing any requirements on the delivery of care. This has created a situation where negotiating power is in the hands of large provider systems, in many cases ones that insurers are required to have in network in order to be able to sell insurance at all. Over the last few decades, the prices that providers charge for their services have continued to rise much faster than inflation, and in the last few years it's skyrocketed. Providers are making considerable profits, and engaging in some questionable billing practices that push up premiums and the cost of insurance. There's a whole lot wrong in the medical industry in the US, but you're fool if you think only GOP is to blame for this situation.
Exactly. The Democrats were wrong for religiously engaging with bipartisanship, compromise and centrism when the republicans were not dealing in good faith.
At the end of the day, most of the problems in the US can't be laid solely at the feet of one party or the other. And the unwillingness to come to a reasonable solution across the aisle isn't something that is exclusive to republicans.

your entire screed was a list of things the Democrats compromised and found the centrist position on. You made the case they should have gone further left and fought harder against the Republicans
 
Exactly. The Democrats were wrong for religiously engaging with bipartisanship, compromise and centrism when the republicans were not dealing in good faith.


your entire screed was a list of things the Democrats compromised and found the centrist position on. You made the case they should have gone further left and fought harder against the Republicans
There is an old, somewhat politically incorrect witticism defining "moderate Arabs" as "mythical beings to whom State Department officials make sacrificial offerings". One need only replace "moderate Republicans" to "Democratic political leaders" to update the joke, it seems.
 
AOC Chances of Winning in 2028 as Report Says She’s Weighing Run (Newsweek, Sep 19, 2025)
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Polling in New York Senate Race
The Data for Progress survey of 767 likely Democratic voters found that 55 percent supported Ocasio-Cortez, while 36 percent backed Schumer. Nine percent said they were unsure of how they would vote. That poll took place from March 26 to March 31.
Meanwhile, a Honan Strategy Group of New York City Democrats found Ocasio leading 54 percent to 33 percent against Schumer.

AOC Surges As Polls PROVE Stunning Election Truth (The Damage Report on YouTube, Sep 27, 2025 - 8:01 min.)
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez surges in new political polls, broken down by data guru Harry Enten, that reveal the need for a Democratic party change through her growing favor for a leading Senate position and for a possible presidential run. John Iadarola breaks it down on The Damage Report. Leave a comment with your thoughts below!
Clip from CNN at 4:56-->
She is running 30 points ahead of Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader in the United States Senate among her and his constituents here in the state of New York. My goodness gracious. What we are talking about is if Ocasio-Cortez decides, 'You know what, I don't want to run for president. I want to challenge Chuck Schumer in a 2028 Democratic primary for United States Senate.'
Net Favorable among NY Democrats:
Ocasio-Cortez +46 pts
Schumer +16 pts

I wonder what the Baileys will say to that!
 
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I'm astonished that Melania or anyone on her staff had the intellectual wherewithal to quote not just a science fiction author, but one who is known for writing about diplomacy between humans and aliens.
eta: ChatGPT got it wrong, by gluing an incorrect author's name to the quote. Dunno if it's an actual quote from someone else.
"Ninety-five percent of all quotes are made up" - Sun Tzu
 
One of the best things Democrats could do Right Now is to make a strong statement that they will investigate and prosecute any misconduct and abuse committed by ICE agents and their bosses at DHS.
That might many wannabe brown shirts think twice before joining up, and twice before violating constitutional rights.
 
One of the best things Democrats could do Right Now is to make a strong statement that they will investigate and prosecute any misconduct and abuse committed by ICE agents and their bosses at DHS.
That might many wannabe brown shirts think twice before joining up, and twice before violating constitutional rights.

Only if they believe the Democrats will ever get into power again.
 
One of the best things Democrats could do Right Now is to make a strong statement that they will investigate and prosecute any misconduct and abuse committed by ICE agents and their bosses at DHS.
That might many wannabe brown shirts think twice before joining up, and twice before violating constitutional rights.
I doubt your intended audience will give a rat's ass about such a statement. Maybe they should strenuously object, as well. And send a strongly-worded letter to the editor. Ask to see the manager.

Meanwhile, coming out strong against immigration enforcement probably won't gain them any votes in the midterm, so your proposal would probably end up on the list of things Democrats did wrong.

Only if they believe the Democrats will ever get into power again.
It's enough that The Great Zaganza believes it.
 
I doubt your intended audience will give a rat's ass about such a statement. Maybe they should strenuously object, as well. And send a strongly-worded letter to the editor. Ask to see the manager.

Meanwhile, coming out strong against immigration enforcement probably won't gain them any votes in the midterm, so your proposal would probably end up on the list of things Democrats did wrong.


It's enough that The Great Zaganza believes it.
You seem to have a lot of advice for Dems...and very little for the repugs who just shut down your government.
 
You seem to have a lot of advice for Dems...and very little for the repugs who just shut down your government.
Silly criticism. A. There's no help for the Reps until Trump is out of the picture. B. What they did wrong is easy, they nominated Trump. C. This isn't a thread titled, "What did the Republicans do wrong?"

The answer for a lot of people to what did the Dems do wrong seems to be, "Nothing, absolutely nothing! Well underestimate how awful the US voters are." Great, what can you actually do with that?
 
Why did the Dems did do anything seriously wrong? If you assume there are fundamental differences between the 2 parties then why couldn't they have simply not been what the electorate wanted at that time?

A lot of what people seem to be putting forward in this thread are issues with the political system in the USA.
 
If you assume there are fundamental differences between the 2 parties then why couldn't they have simply not been what the electorate wanted at that time?
I think the premise of the OP is that the Dems could have at least done better in the polls if they had governed and/or campaigned a bit differently.

From what I've seen so far from Kamala Harris' new book (Google AI summary) she doesn't reject this idea.
 
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i think the dems made a number of mistakes, some bigger than others. i’ve listed some myself throughout the thread. often when i dispute some of the suggestions from others who have a different idea of what mistakes were bigger or smaller, that gets forgotten and becomes nobody thinks the dems did anything wrong.
 
Why did the Dems did do anything seriously wrong? If you assume there are fundamental differences between the 2 parties then why couldn't they have simply not been what the electorate wanted at that time?

A thousand times this. Democrats did things wrong in the sense that any losing campaign does things wrong.

The bottom line is that the American electorate wanted what Trump and the Republicans were selling in all its cruelty and ugliness.
 
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I’ll bite. Yes, the Dems have a significant responsibility for their loss in 2024. However, it is not, as the “sensible” Republicans, and the “liberal centrists” would have you believe, because of the supposed progressive/left push by the Dems. It is just the opposite. The Pelosi, Schumer and various others have always been naïve enough to think that the Republicans, who publicaly admitted that their agenda would be to block any Democratic policy in congress, could be people who could be negotiated with. In my opinion, there were many voters, tired of the same old same old, and saw the 2024 circus more as just the promotion of the more centrist folk who actually think that the Republicans can be negotiated with. The DNC were keen to promote centrists and sabotage the more radical progressives in local elections. Many chose not to vote probably under the belief that Trump 1 was survivable and this would be too. Even I, who think Trump is terrible, am at times surprised at the extent of how bad he is and even more so, the fact that it doesn’t put the slightest dent on his popularity among the reich-wing voters.

Even now, I believe that the in the run-up to the upcoming mid-terms., the Dem establishment will rather shoot themselves in the foot and continue to sideline and even sabotage more progressive candidates (Re: Mamdani) in favour of some centrist who wont rock the boat.
 

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