j4remi wrote:GONYK wrote:
I was hoping you would see the thread and I'm glad you were able to respond.
I don't disagree with you, but we may or may not differ on the path forward.
I don't think there is any way that someone who leans into socialism and wokeism can become the party leader. At least not people who are explicitly those things. So I rule out the ascendency of someone like AOC.
I think Dems can craft a message with Blue Collar compassion without resorting to the baser natures of white nationalism. I agree that Dems may have forgotten how to talk to people. Every time a black person asked Biden why they should vote for him, and Biden went to policy, I cringed. The answer wasn't wrong, but it also wasn't what the person was truly asking.
I think socialism needs to be rebranded towards populism and the conversation around identity needs to be more understanding than accusatory.
Absolutely agree with all of this. I think AOC's problem is that she's already been targeted with the type of attacks that the GOP used to disarm Hillary Clinton over a long term and she also has the establishment of her own party targeting her (ie: her primary challenger ran a third party ticket in the election and still raised 7 figures of donations).
But generally speaking, I do think that any attempt to build out with the Democratic Socialist cause is going to struggle as they move up to higher stages of government at least until sentiment is pushed further left on economic issues (by voting bloc changes moreso than persuasion imo). I'm still nervous at the prospects of AOC challenging a Senator in NY and NY is becoming a legitimate lefty hotbed for us.
On the messaging aspect, did you catch any of the Charles Booker campaign? He broke through late in the primary season and still almost over took McGrath. That's notable bc McGrath got a TON of resources from the party and was a Schumer direct pick. Booker's Hood to the Holler concept in Kentucky really gained traction by trying to bridge urban and rural needs. It was brilliant. But he broke so late that mail-in ballots had been cast by quite a big margin. I think his campaign is worth a look though (I also think he'd have done better against Mcconnell though Idk about beating Mitch outright...just better).
Love it. I think we're all on the same page here.
I was very intrigued by the Booker campaign. I wanted him to overtake McGrath, because she was DOA. I do think campaigns and candidates like him and Bowman are the future. True engagement.
GONYK wrote:But I also think we shouldn't analyze a race we won like we lost it, and throw the baby out with the bathwater. The big takeaway is that Dems have a marketing/messaging problem. I don't know if our hearts are fundamentally in the wrong place.
I refuse to call it a win just because Biden squeaked by. Not when the House lost seats, the Senate still requires us to win run-offs to control and state legislatures that handle redistricting will be majority Republican for the most part. That's a loss electorally. Throw in that the Judicial branch is lost for a generation and I think there's a lot more soul searching to do.
Well, I think there is a gap between what is and what could be. Hence, there should be reflection and adjustment.
I think there are things that Biden did well and there are places he could improve that progressives are just better at. To blend the best of both worlds, there needs to be a bottom up reconfiguration. I don't think any faction of the Dem party can claim complete vindication here.
We need to get in the lab and take Centrist wing's Larry Bird and Progressive wing's Magic Johnson and build our Grandmama platform.
The first thing that needs to happen is that everyone needs to identify as a proud member of the “Democratic” Party. Not Liberal or Progressives or Blue Dog it Moderate Democrats. People need to start taking some pride. And there needs to be compromise among the Party regarding what they talk about nationally and for God sakes everyone stay the **** off of Twitter
