this post was submitted on 28 Jun 2024
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That's just not true. The last time Dems ran from the left was Obama's first campaign where he ran on hope and progressive change. He won that election in a landslide with high voter participation.
Then he governed as a moderate and won reelection by a much narrower margin and with much lower voter participation to a corporate raider and animal abuser turned centrist Republican incarnate.
Then they insisted on Hillary, who, in spite of the "map room" you keep babbling about to salvage your busted hypothesis, ran to the right of most Democrats, which in combination with her Pied Piper strategy resulted in extremely low voter turnout and the worst entity to ever run for the office coming within cheating distance of the white house.
That's just not true. Remember Hillary's PUMA? They retconned it into "people united means action" when they made it into a corporation, but the original words behind the acronym was "party unity my ass"
A much higher percentage of PUMAs and other Hillary 08 primary voters voted for McCain or not at all than Bernie voters for the Mango Mussolini or not at all.
Well if it walks like a centrist and spews condescending lies about the left like a centrist.. 🤷
Yeah, you're unfairly criticizing the left for not showing up to vote. Which is a common centrist smear job when their corporatist candidates fail or almost fail to win.
You know that words have meanings, right? 🙄
Yes, Biden is awful but much less awful than Trump. Shouldn't be so hard to understand.
Which is what centrists who haven't heard about or deny the ratchet effect keep claiming. It's not true, though.
Dem leadership fights the left MUCH harder than they ever fight the fascists on the other side of the aisle. A good example is how the Hillary-endorsed establishment favorite beat Jamaal Bowman with money from AIPAC and crypto scammers, outspending him 7/1 in the most expensive primary this election cycle.
With the exception of Obama's first campaign (but none of his time in office), Dems have kept following as the GOP move further right ever since they learned the wrong lessons from Carter losing to a well-funded and charismatic demagogue.
So yeah, pretending that you move left by voting for Dems IS a very centrist kind of bullshit claim. One the ultraincrementalist corporatist Dem leadership itself loves repeating.
As I've explained above, neither of that is actually true. It's just comforting lies that center right to right wing Democrats use to fool people into voting for them rather than the people whose policies they agree with.
If it was all about charisma, Biden wouldn't have won. Meanwhile, the utterly repulsive Trump has a perverse kind of "strong man charisma" that makes fascists and stupid people fall in love with him.
Nah, tbh I'd much rather have boring politicians with great policy positions than people like Obama who seem cool but self-identify as moderate Republicans. There's far too much demagoguery in politics.
Well I have 2 breakdowns saved for conversations exactly like this.
Let's run through the recent story so people have it:
Jimmy Carter: Told people to conserve and got voted the fuck out. AKA left voters never show up.
Bill Clinton: After successive losses Bill figured out "it's the economy stupid". And when you run against an incumbent (Bush senior) you run from the center. So that's what he did. And he won.
Gore: After the population hopefully warmed up with Bill Clinton, he stuck his head out left with climate change, that supposedly big important issue to left people. And bam he lost the election. Thanks 3rd party protest voters!
Obama: So guess what Obama learned? Don't stick your head out. He ran on vague "hope", hoping the ambiguity would be enough considering Bush's disastrous wars. And he won.
Hillary Clinton: After the population hopefully warmed up with Obama, she stuck her head out just a tiny itty little bit left on climate change (that thing all the leftists care about right?) with the Map Room. And guess what happened? Bam she lost. Thanks protest non-voters! AKA left voters never show up.
On to Biden. Just like Obama learned from Gore, Biden learned from Hillary that you don't stick your head out left. And he was running against an incumbent, so once again when you do that you run center. He's actually been governing more from the left, but he ran center.
And people are amazed that they don't run an extreme left platform? Every time they stick their head out a little itsy bitsy tiny bit left they lose. And the next guy learns to go to the center to win.
So how do you get them to move left? By giving them victories. Consistent and overwhelming victories. Because when they lose, like they've lost 20 years out of the last 24 years, they will go to the centre to find votes.
The Dems lost the house of representatives in Obama’s years 3 and 4. Again in years 5 and 6. And then lost both the house of representatives and the Senate in Obama’s years 7 and 8.
They lost control in 3 out of 4 elections under Obama. There is more than just the presidential election you know. The left voters never showed up after the first election. AKA the left voters never show up [after the first election].
And you’re wondering why they didn’t make a big move left after? Hilary made a small move left on climate change, that big important issue.
Oh man and you're still on it. Yeah you're projecting hard with your binary categorization simply because I'm informing you that when Dems lose they go to the center. Well given that we'll see how much of the rest I'll reply to.
Very fairly, see history above.
Fucking lol at your backflips. I'm telling left people how to be effective and you're backflipping that into a centrist smear job.
Oh man you just continue with jabs the whole way down. I'm not going to call them all out, just that you do that.
Ok I've had this conversation and realized that people can't do the math. So lets do it:
Let's evaluate the last say 24 years and when the Dems had all 3 of the House of Representatives, Senate, and Presidency. Obama had it for 2 out of 8 years. Biden had it for 2 out of 4 years. Let's add it: That means Dems had control for 4 out of 24 years. Read that again, they had control for only 4 the last 24 years.
And that can still be filibustered. So if you want the filibuster proof majority, then Obama had it for 4 months. Not years, MONTHS. Biden never had it. Add it up: Dems had filibuster proof control for 4 months of the last 24 years.
Look at those stats again: Dems had control for 4 years of the last 24 years. For filibuster proof control, Dems had control for 4 MONTHS of the last 24 years.
This is why Dems compromise and reach across the aisle, because they basically never have control. To get literally anything done they need to compromise. Take your pick, either 4 years of the last 24 fucking years, or the 4 months or the last 24 years. And you wonder why they have to compromise? And why they go to the centre on the next election?
If you want progress you have to give Dems overwhelming and consistent victories.
Want to add Bill Clinton? That goes to 6 years of the last 32 years, and still 4 months for filibuster proof for the last 32 fucking years.
Want to add Bush senior? Then it’s 6 years of the last 36 fucking years.
Want to add Reagan? Then it’s 6 years of the last 44 years.
That's right, 6 years out of the last 44 fucking years that Dems had control. And for filibuster proof majority they had 4 months of the last 44 fucking years. Not 4 years, 4 MONTHS of the least 44 fucking years.
Where do you think things would be if Gore won? It would be further left.
Where do you think things would be if Hilary won? It would be further left.
People need to stop waiting for this left candidate that's they think is going to magically appear (and until then they will logically protest no-vote). If you want things to go left you give Dems wins consistently and overwhelmingly.
Some left people think this is a mexican standoff, and that they just need to standoff and then the Dems will move left. But no they won't. The dems will just go to the voters that show up, which is, drumroll please, the center. Every time they lose they go to the center.
A center voter is worth double, because it's both a vote for you and a vote taken away from the other party. So when Dems lose, they go to the center voter (worth double) that actually shows up. Do you want the Dems to move left? Then be the voter that shows up, so that the Dems don't lose and have to go to the center to find voters.
Ah I skimmed through and see your jabs and insults. There's no good faith discussion when you rely on this, so we'll see what I respond to (and this will be my last reply, after I report your comment).
Jimmy Carter didn't just lose, he was unceremoniously punted the fuck out. That's the left voters not showing up.
Bill Clinton. What are you even suggesting? Charisma? He won because he went to the center. Many people here say he went right past center and went to the right. That's what he had to do to find votes.
Oh we had President Gore? You can talk about courts all day, we did not have President Gore. Thanks protest 3rd party voters!
Oh you do another jab.
Obama was broad "hope", thinking that was enough after the wars. And after those wars that was all was necessary. And what did his first 2 years of ACA get him? Voters that didn't show up for his years 3-8. AKA left voters didn't show up.
Oh you do another jab.
Hilary after seeing voters not show up for Obama's years 3-8 stuck her head a little left on the one issue that supposedly matters to logical leftists: Climate Change. And guess what: The. Left. Voters. Did. Not. Show. Up.
And a big jab. Yeah this will be my last reply when you act like that.
Biden, like i said when you run against an incumbent you run center. If he ran left, who know what would have happened.
Oh yeah no subtleness there, you just go for insults. Definitely report and last reply. No logical discourse is possible. I'll hurry this up and skip over the rest of your insults and whatever else.
I can say it again, they go center because they keep losing. They've lost 20 of the last 24 years. So they go to the center to find votes. Because guess what? left. voters. never. show. up.
Since 1992? You mean when Clinton needed to go center to find voters after repeated dem losses?
And since 1992: they've had control of all 3 houses for 6 years of the last 32 years. And you're amazed that they're forced to reach across the aisle to pass anything?
You mean the thanks that Obama got for the most progressive healthcare reform ever was, drumroll please, losing the house of representatives. AKA. the. left. never. shows. up.
On to the next point. First you say:
Then you say:
Barely a line apart!
And you wonder why I have to point out there is more than the presidential election! He was president, but he lost congress in 3 of the 4 elections. Obama's reward for the ACA was the left not showing up to give him congress.
More jabs from you.
Again, they go to the center to find votes. When they lose elections, they go to the center to find votes. Because center is worth double and, wait for it, those are the voters that show up.
You want leftists to change this? Then you/leftists have to make sure Dems don't lose. Because, drumroll please, when they lose they go to the center to find votes.
You're the one that has this backwards. You/they won't get it when Dems keep losing elections. Because when they lose they go to the center. That's all there is to it. They aren't going to court the left voters that never show up. They are going to court the center voters that do show up.
Thus what leftists can do: Show up. And vote for Dems.
This is why there are so many of these sayings: You walk before you run. You stick your toes in before you take the plunge. All of those.
Whenever the Dems stick their toes in, they lose. What's that definition of insanity? Doing the same thing twice and expecting different results. (Except in this case it's like double insanity, going even further and expecting different results.) The results are: the. left. voters. never. show. up.
That's not how it works. They aren't going to go further left when they constantly lose when they go a little bit. That's why there's so many of those sayings: Walk before you run, and all those.
Ok gotta speed things up and I'm mostly repeating anyway.
What the ever loving freak is this? You keep going on about how they just need to run left and they're going to get all these votes. And then you say there's no voters there on the left? Are you saying that the centrists are suddenly going to vote for them? They are centrists by definition.
It's just like above about the presidential and congress elections.
Oh more jabs and insults. That about wraps up the bad faith and insults from you. Again, this is my last reply and your comment is reported.