Post

Thanks; that was really illuminating!

Definitely different, but being a relentless and effective communicator was a major asset for Reagan in the environment that existed in 1981-84 and failing to be a relentless and effective communicator was a major liability for Biden in the environment that existed in 2021-24.

Every election is about the economy. It's very, very boring so the media is incentivized to make it appear about other issues, but it is *always* about how voters feel about their wallets. (2004 is MAYBE the only counterfactual in my lifetime)

Reagan didn’t contend with right wing podcasters and other social media bent on conspiracy and pushing misinformation 24/7/365. Fox is state media filled with propaganda brainwashing low information citizens. It’s helpful data, appreciate the time and research!

Great analysis here! Not to be too obvious, but there really was large inflation under Biden. Media presentation aside, it wasn't like he was running in the 1996 economy and Fox News just cast a spell on 200 million people.

You're telling me the guy the media loved did better than the guy the media hated?

I agree with this. You cd say BHO did the same. Amazing communicator campaigning, not so much once Pres. Dems never seem to learn effective communication or, like O, they know it but quit using it. Notice that T is losing more & more as he loses his appearance of strength. Lackeys now do it.

"Voters" gave dems all of that multiple times, and dems proceeded not to do shit with that either.

Sinema killed the minimum wage increase Manchin killed build back better They both voted with republicans to block the John Lewis Voting Rights Act Sinema is currently lobbying for more data centers Those two did far more harm than the squad could ever dream

Ah, but the Manchins and the Sinemas are how they get the control by them having a D instead of an R behind them. That does ignore whether the party apparatus properly supports other D options on the local level. Why do they have to be the candidate?

Many ppl who consider themselves DSA-type progressives attack Dems more often than they attack Repubs. They’re part of the problem bc they’re both creating & feeding into a false narrative.

That's incredibly unrealistic, that thinking is part of what tanked Biden. If you don't aggressively toot your own horn and just assume everyone will see the good you are doing, you will fail.

I too want Dems to fight harder but I also suspect at least part of this effect is that the minority party doesn't have that many tools and people don't internalize that. As far as messaging goes, you can message the same policy in a way that will appeal to ideologically distant voters. You can.

Very interesting which party Americans perceive as "elitist": 57% think the *GOP* is elitist, 43% think Dems are. That seems to weigh in against a very common trope and worry by Dems that they come across as condescending scolds and/or incomprehensible policy nerds.

AIPAC controls the DNC.

They choose not to hear the base or respond appropriately but they sure will beg for money while they fuck it all up

Milquetoast Chuck has got to go.

This is how my kids (36 & 40) feel.

I'm a progressive, but if I lived in Massie's district, I would vote for him. He has a set of balls and will fight for what he believes in. Same thing with AOC, Crockett and Kat A (IL-9) candidate. I'm tired of the milquetoast pols who just want to keep their jobs (Schumer, Jefferies, Durbin).

The midterms are contested in districts and this is national polling data.

Out of curiosity, does anyone know if independents thought that Kamala Harris was weak? I think of her as stronger and tougher than Biden, and certainly more than any of the jokers currently in leadership.

To make it clear, Fetterman was never a raving Leftist; he was a conservative Democrat who said he’d fight for his principles. Unfortunately, stroke or not, those principles seem now to be fascist to the core.

And what if looking weak or being weak is a choice? Better to be called weak than corrupt

Exactly. The same voters who despise Trump dislike the lack of fight they see in the D party. Maura Healey just figured it out.

Telling a weak person to act strong when they have no idea how is kind of asking for trouble IMO, it feels like half the time the result will be "not like that! WTF" Having said that getting them to resign would also be a good outcome, so

There is a hugely divisive undercurrent in the Party between the middle class & working class, and it often gets tinged w elements of race. I believe Independents r more moderate, center driven home owners, but heavily exposed 2 economic risk, like most others. A critical time 2b bold & unified.

Yes that’s very interesting data

Stand for something and fight for something. This has always been what draws voters. MAGA figured this out a long time ago and the entire globe is now suffering for it.

So true. Dems are fighting the fight with the wrong tools. We can’t bring a knife to a gun fight, as they say

In "normal" times, reasonable compromise is the best default. We are far past normal times. We are working against a political party and cabal of billionaires who are actively destroying our country. We are desperate for leaders who will fight for us.

And AIPAC Dems who align with the GOP should be primaried and defunded.

Bingo! You nailed it!

Incorrect. In politics “Always highlight the mistake when your enemy is making it.” If your total strategy is to rely on a passive approach you are doomed. The data is now clear - a failure to enunciate policy is seen as weak. You’re not trying to win the Democrat voter (that’s a given).

You can say the same to legacy media outlets who think that if they just have a few more conservative voices the MAGAts will flee Fox and Joe Rogan.

Thank you for perfectly stating what I've been trying to think of a way to write👑

Once again the Dems are like the guy who takes you to the prom, but instead of dancing & having a good time with you, he’s too interested in watching the girl he asked 1st, but she turned him down. MAGA wants to stay with DJT & the ish storm he brings, so concentrate on the non voters.

Agreed. They are too far down the rabbit hole,

It comes down to people wanting politicians to actually fix things, and when you have one candidate saying "i'll fix it all" (even if he's crazy and wrong) and the other says "My consultants say I should have a dialogue about XYZ", which one are people going to see as strong?

Good point

Reactionary centrism is by its very definition weak. Chasing an imaginary swing voter ever rightward into fascism.

Yes, what’s popular is a clear vision, a plan to implement the vision, principles, inspiration, determination and fire in the belly.

WEAK???? If want to talk weak, talk about the Republican Congress enabling the Rot at the Top!!

Gavin Newsom believes that going back to the good old days before pronouns existed, and bigots could sh!t on Trans people without consequence, is the answer. I can't even tell you how much I disagree with that.

Opinion that cruelty is strength that is what’s wrong. The electorate needs to get its fucking head out of its ass.!

definitely too weak. I guess they never ask that question on polls

But...but....they might call us woke! That would be terrible

Well hello…

simpsons.png

We have a border. We have laws. Some people will merit deportation and I'm fine with that. However we don't apply the law exactly the same way for every single crime, and trying to deport every single person for what is a misdemeanor is just plain stupid. Nvm the whole violating rights thing.

Honestly I just don't want my reps to be pussies.

This hits like a tuning fork

So basically it doesn’t matter what your stance is as long as you seem like you have convictions and, I’d add, actually be seen as accomplishing significant improvements once in office. No mealy-mouthed bullshit.

I think the issue here is they aren’t “misreading” the data. They’re simply not interested in moving left. The Dems are mostly corpos and don’t think they should be “forced” to do what their voters want.

@laurensdassen.voltnederland.org

That a because they are weak. They always have been weak. We believe in safety nets, health care for all, civil rights, human rights, protections for the weak or disenfranchised, housing for all, immigrant rights These are awesome things to believe in. They are worth fighting for.

Even moderate Dems want fighters.

But Dems ARE weak... WTF is so "progressive" about licking Trump's arse clean for ten years now? @schumer.senate.gov @hakeem-jeffries.bsky.social

💯

the position attract the types

Obligatory reference

It’s not that their weak, it’s their denial as to what occurred starting in 2016. This has to be dealt with, all of it. Nothing else matters until the traitors are dealt with . If this scares them, they should step down, so a fighter can enter the ring🇺🇸

(it didn't get enacted. got tied up in the courts and you can imagine what the landlords all did in the meantime.)

Dude (I speak to our elected reps), stand for what you believe in, what you think is right for our country and people, and stop trying to follow polls. People generally want elected leaders who ... stand for what they believe in!

The know the Dem leadership is weak. Pretty easy to fix this, boot leadership.

Democratic Politicians have an unerring sense of where the money is, and little else matters to them. Where is the money? Israel!

It's like the UK Labour Party. They just got hammered in a safe seat by-election by the Green Party under a new eco-populism platform. 50.8% in 2024 turned into 25.4% in 2026 while the Greens shot up from 13.2% to 40.6%! www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Excellent. Just don't tell Chuck and Hakeem.

I still think dems read of data is influenced by big money donors. They’re the people Hakeem and Schumer listen to and they don’t want activist progressives, so Dem leadership reads this as about moderation.

Until current dem 'leadership' is replaced with individuals who have a REAL conviction of 'The People First' nothing will change.

100%. Stand for something. Be willing to fight for it. People will follow. I feel like so much of the "are we too far left/extreme" handwringing comes from the portion of the party too is afraid to do those two things. Those people need to step aside.

I am forced to interact with these people at my job. People want to talk to me, and as soon as they say things like “Nancy Pelosi murders babies”, I put my earbuds in. I try to be kind and friendly, but these people are insufferable.

I don’t understand why leftists don’t form their own party. Then you won’t have to worry about what the Dems are doing or not doing.

I ran a poll too. My poll says American people are stupid. They continue to fall for the same old lies over and over and over again while politicians say how smart they are. Bullshit! The American people don’t understand their own fucking government.

And what makes Republicans strong? They’re all a bunch of pussies afraid of a guy in makeup.

📌 Move to the left

And many campaign consultants steer them wrong by polling only likely voters. So they think they’re trying to create a brand to take votes from Republicans who vote, instead of creating a brand that will mobilize people who don’t vote regularly to do so. tramontela.medium.com/the-politics...

I don't understand how they're NOT getting the message. We've mad our anger as clear as day. It seems to me that they're just ignoring us because they think they and their consultants know better. We need to "know better" them right into the sun at the ballot box.

Nancy Pelosi wasn’t weak. Look how we treated her.

They have been listening to Faux News tell people for years that Democrats are feckless, evil, always incorrect, baby-eaters, groomers, weak, the list is endless. They don't have a single show for a single hour in any month that is hosted solely by a Democrat, to show people the difference

You fan be dumb, racist, and corrupt - just be strong and you’ll get the votes.

The biggest success the Democrats had in the last 40 years was Obama, a Black man who ran on the message "hope and change", but somehow they keep thinking "return to tradition" and appealing to people who hate them and will never vote for them is a good strategy.

The one thing left and right can agree on.

It's not a misreading of the data. They know what the data says. The Dem strategy debate is: How can they LOOK like they're listening to voters *enough* so they get the votes, but how can they ACT in accordance to their big donors and PACs etc. who don't want what the voters want?

also "moderating" or "moving toward the center" for them IS moving left

it may be that the goal shared by the various political strategists and their ilk who Dems listen to is to ensure Dems *don't* move to the left

Yeah and it's exhausting. Here am I, the fool, wanting someone who takes the responsibilities of governance seriously. Voters have been selecting on second- and third-tier factors for decades and the outcome really quite awful.

Based on everything I read in this post and in the thread it sure is going to be easy to just win voters hearts with the right mojo and take over the Democratic party! Looking forward to watching you all go out and win! Because you know what works! And you will prove it by winning! Really winning!

So the point for Dems to “get their shit together” would be reasonably consistent with this analysis. Makes sense. Wherever they land (mod or left) less important than “emphatic and effective messaging” (aka, their “shit”).

exactly! 5 months of declining support they should be in attack mode!!

They don't care about the numbers - that's why they've refused to release the election autopsy report

Truth

“misreading”

They think dems are complicit and we’re watching fake outrage and no action