this post was submitted on 08 Nov 2024
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Summary

Historians suggest Democrats might have fared better against Donald Trump by embracing the economic issues championed by Senator Bernie Sanders, who has long pushed for a focus on “bread-and-butter” concerns for working-class voters.

Despite Kamala Harris’s progressive policies, polls showed Trump was favored on economic issues, particularly among working-class and Hispanic voters.

Historian Leah Wright Rigueur argued that Sanders’ messaging on economic struggles could be key for future Democratic strategies.

Sanders himself criticized the party for “abandoning” the working class, which he said has led to a loss of support across racial lines.

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[–] [email protected] 31 points 2 hours ago (3 children)

It is absolutely clear now. The DNC is a private company whose main function is to fund raise, period. If they also win an election then that's great, but if it comes to a choice between winning and raising money, they will choose raising money. They will never move to the left to win voters if it will cost them fund raising opportunities from the center and right.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 hour ago

This honestly makes so much more sense than anything else. I think you nailed it. Republicans are motivated by money and exerting social control so they write up manifestos (p2025), take over the courts, work hard to disenfranchise voters, lie, cheat, anything is on the table. The DNC does indeed seem fairly comfortable with losing by comparison, despite the fact that the leftist ideals they supposedly dabble in create a moral imperative to never lose. I wonder if Republicans fucking pay the DNC money to run these candidates we all know aren't the best. They're just good enough to get votes against mother fucking Trump. But not always good enough to win, barely good enough when they are, typically.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 hours ago

It's downright sad that I can't think of any argument against this.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

I'm not thrilled with the DNC either, but I'm not buying this whole idea that they are shooting themselves in the foot on purpose. The DNC does better when they win elections.

In previous elections, the candidate that raised the most money was more likely to win. Also, a moderate Democrat won the last election. They made the decisions they made in this election cycle because they thought it was their best chance of winning.

I don't have access to the data that they have to determine whether the leftist that Lemmy wants on the ticket could actually win the general.

I'd certainly like to believe that it's just that simple and all the DNC needs to do is put up a pro-Palestine Democratic Socialist and the election is in the bag... I just don't know if that's the reality on the ground. If that is not the reality on the ground, are the leftists that stayed home still committed to their protest? Or is there a point at which they would admit that we haven't had a true leftist on the ticket because a true leftist is not viable?

I hope someone can put together some clear data to answer that question soon... I'm afraid that a pro-Palestine Socialist will get crushed by AIPAC funded attack ads about Marxism and supporting terrorism that will really stick with moderates, and that no matter how energized the base is it wouldn't be enough to win the general.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 18 minutes ago

I am not saying that they are losing on purpose. I'm saying that they are making decisions about policies and candidates based on fund raising rather than on attracting voters. On purpose or not, they did shoot themselves in the foot by courting disaffected Republican voters. Everyone knew they were not going to win a lot of those voters, but they sure did rake in a lot of dough. I believe that is their primary motivation.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 hour ago

Bernie is a leftist politician. The Democrat party is not a liberal leftist party, they're a conservative corporatist party.

[–] [email protected] 47 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

I've been saying that since the DNC fucked him over in the 2016 election. I voted for Biden, then Harris, but I never fucking forgot who's to blame for the state of things now.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

Berine had the biggest grassroots campaign I've seen in my time alive, bigger than Obama, more individual donations than any candidate ever.

But the DNC knew if they ran a real progressive it would threaten their corrupt racket

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 hours ago

I never gave to a politician before Bernie Sanders. I wanted to see him win so bad.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 hours ago

I recently tried to explain to Lemmy that non-white working class voters see their social program as weird and off putting. I was downvoted to oblivion just for honestly relating an opinion from people these chronically online "allies" would never hear from, because they simply don't associate with seamstresses/fruit packers/construction site crossing guards etc. Not to mention the majority of these folks can't speak any language but English.

Tell my Chilean wife how she is going to make more money tomorrow than she did today and she will listen. Tell her she is a bigot because she believes that it takes more than "feeling like" a women to actually "be" a woman and she will stop listening. That is what just happened here.

I am from a different cultural context than her and I tend to believe what the people who study these issues have to say ie: gender affirming care saves lives. But to say that this one issue determines a persons entry or exclusion from our ever shrinking tent is political suicide, no matter how much we might wish that wasn't the case.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 3 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago) (1 children)

Dems imbraced the race to the bottom instead of being a true opposition party. I voted for them this time around but never again unless they make a platform surrounding core left prencipals and left leadership. Many within my communities gave up on political means to help their communities and threw themselves into volunteering, activism, and self sustainability. You can't demand bottomless support and obedience from your base while ignoring their cries for help.

Dems said they are the party of science and facts but wouldn't support universal health care or simply stop sending weapons to Isreal. If they were just as ravenous as republican are, can you honestly say we couldn't achieve those good things?

Dems said the Supreme court and justice system was courupt, but never even investigated the court or made cuts to the militarization of the police forces. Police are still killing people at the same rates with no real accountability. If the Supreme Court was left leaning Republicans would have expanded the court to make it right leaning.

Just do what Republicans do to get there way but for good. I honestly can't think of one dem policy that has been as impactful as some of the top Republican changes in the past 50 years.

Ultimately we need to come together and demand better because if the dems don't change it'll be 50 more years of being steamrolled.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 hours ago (2 children)

Honestly, your democratic party is very right wing to most of European. And you saying people give up on politics and turn to sctivism is so sad.

If the government doesn't take care of his poor, minorities, what are they doing.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 hour ago

If the government doesn't take care of his poor, minorities, what are they doing.

Facilitating the transfer of wealth to the richest fraction of the population.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 hour ago

If the government doesn't take care of his poor, minorities, what are they doing.

Grifting and insider trading.

[–] [email protected] 38 points 5 hours ago

Thats what they get for squeezing Bernie out and giving the people garbage candidates. Eat it, you fools.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 4 hours ago (3 children)

We tried. Biden's Build Back Better bill had a lot of pro-working class stuff in it. We just couldn't pass it with Manchin and Sinema resisting.

Details are important.

[–] [email protected] 26 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

This is about messaging, not policy. Most people don't really pay attention to actual policy, so it's more about convincing your average Joe you're working for them. Bernie had that, Biden and Harris didn't.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 hours ago
[–] [email protected] 19 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

I think the inherent problem with the build back better deal is it's still framed within the neoliberal trickle down economics of post Regan America.

Would it have increased some workers protections and child care, sure. But it would ultimately be a gift to the shareholders and owners of corporations able to tap into the 3 trillion dollars of funding.

Americans are tired of progressive bills that vicariously improve their lives by further bribing the economic class that actually have their boots on our necks.

People are tired of seeing headlines that the American economy is doing fine while they struggle to put food on the table. Nobody cares if your bosses retirement portfolio is breaking records when they have to pull overtime to maintain the same quality of life they had 20 years ago.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 hours ago (2 children)

Funny when it was the more neoliberal, pro-business dems that shot it down, shortly before leaving the democratic party. There's really not a whole lot of corporate profits to be found in here, though, despite the rampant misinformation floating around online. It actually raised corporate taxes, which is not a neoliberal policy position:

https://schakowsky.house.gov/build-back-better-act#:~:text=The%20Build%20Back%20Better%20Act%20invests%20in%20securing%20universal%20preschool,and%20the%20universal%20preschool%20initiative.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/build-back-better/

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 hours ago (9 children)

Yeah, they split it into two bills, one with all the stuff that was intended to pass, and the one with all the stuff they ran on that they never intended to pass.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 hours ago (3 children)

Funny when it was the more neoliberal, pro-business dems that shot it down, shortly before leaving the democratic party.

Shot it down? The bill passed in 2022 after being modified to hell by special interest.

There's really not a whole lot of corporate profits to be found in here, though

If it's not going to be implemented directly by the state it means that it's going to be implemented by private businesses. Those private business owners are going to walk away with the lion's share of any money they accept from the government.

It actually raised corporate taxes, which is not a neoliberal policy position:

It's almost like corporations aren't a monolith of mutual aid and support. You don't think Raytheon wouldn't support raising some taxes if it meant they could funnel a ton of government funding towards the privatized military industrial sector?

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

We just couldn’t pass it with Manchin and Sinema resisting.

There are always enough Manchins.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 hours ago

Yep. That excuse does not fly.

[–] [email protected] 58 points 5 hours ago (3 children)

In hindsight it seems obvious, but to be honest I really thought Kamala would have fared better.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

To me the main takeaway is that I live in a completely separate reality from most voters. I would have voted on a dead dog over Trump. He is mean, narcissistic and never shows any empathy. On top of that he is clearly losing his wits. If a majority of voters prefers a candidate like this, is even enthusiastic to vote for him, what can you do?

I also know that Lemmy skews left, but I think we have to face the fact that most voters have no ability to empathise with those worse off. There is no left wing politics without empathy and solidarity. What most of us here want is dead.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

I think social media has put everyone in their own eco chamber.

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[–] [email protected] 34 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago) (1 children)

We all did, you're not wrong.

It's a sad reality we all woke up to on Wednesday. Learning that the majority of Americans are ignorant, racist, misogynistic, selfish assholes.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

We all did

No, we did not "all" think so, a lot of us have been saying this for quite a while. In fact since at least the 2016 election cycle started in 2015.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

This is what many said in 2016 after Clinton lost but we still did it again in 2020 and yet again in 2024. If I were a betting man I'd say that if there's sill an election worth having in 2028 we'll see another, even further right leaning, centrist Democrat win the nomination.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 4 hours ago* (last edited 4 hours ago) (1 children)

Yoyo look, this guy's fucking nostradamus up in here, right? It's gonna happen just like this.

I'm thinking newsome is the "perfect" candidate for 28.

Whoever it is, I bet you, just like me can't wait to be told how stupid i am and actually great they are by credulous online political minds who call parroting the pundits talking points word-for-word fucking theory

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

Progressives need to start picking a single nominee to get behind right now. Or we're getting whichever candidate the establishment wing of the party has already selected. Maybe they'll run Liz Cheney.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

Lol i bet in 4 years we'll be beggin' for a moderate Dem like Cheney

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 hours ago

And Democrats will run her if they think they can get away with it.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 4 hours ago

TIL I'm a fucking historian, apparantly

[–] [email protected] 107 points 6 hours ago (11 children)

More voters should have listened to Bernie.

He told people what to do.

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[–] [email protected] 50 points 6 hours ago (4 children)

The screams of "Dems need to move right" (not from Bernie, obv) are fucking clown shoes and hilarious. She was running around with Liz and Dick Motherfucking Cheney. There's no more right to move to without literally just embracing Trump.

But here's the thing: libs keep cutting their noses off. Why would the actual left give the DNC the fucking time of day? They raise a billion fucking dollars, light it all on fire and go out to brunch. They co-opt movements like the Floyd uprising and metoo but leave everyone else to do the actual work. When we need bodies in the streets, when we need material support, when we fucking TELL THEM WHAT POLICIES WILL WORK FOR US, they spout some 1950s realpolitik bullshit and have some more wine.

Biden: you're immune. Have some fun with it. Show us you have skin I the game. $100 says he keeps up this "when they go low we go high" bullshit and does somewhere between nothing and the bare minimum.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

They raise a billion fucking dollars, light it all on fire and go out to brunch.

This is the most infuriating part, and it made me happy I kept replying STOP to all their fucking "ZOMG 10X MATCHING" texts. They blew all that money and their political consultant cronies made out like bandits. They outraised and outspent Trump and have fuck all to show for it.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 hour ago

Not only that,they're still sending them to help with recounting.

were on our knees to stop trump, by only fund raising not doing anything to actually deal with the issues

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[–] [email protected] 49 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

That’s great analysis except for one detail… what progressive policies?! Like ceding the “border issue” to the republicans? Like backpedaling on fracking when they needed votes from PA? I voted for her because she was the only option but in no universe was her campaign progressive.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

I think they mean that her running mate did some progressive stuff as governor. Or maybe we're just so far right now that referring to LGBT as if they're human beings counts as being progressive

[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago)

The build back better bill had Republicans calling fixing roads instead of letting them collapse progressive. The 'middle' point on infrastructure seems to be 'let some roads and buildings collapse' like that apartment building in Florida. Roads are something even libertarians want the government to do. It literally doesn't matter what dems say, Republicans will have the media calling it progressive to demonize it.

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