What are the Democratic Party leaders thinking?

[Savannahmann]

I have no idea who decided that our party is going to speak for the two thirds who don't vote, but whoever it was should be smacked in the head with a cricket bat.

Political power is derived from the consent of the Governed. If the Governed don't speak, that doesn't mean that they approve, it might be that they don't care. Showing up to be heard is the defining definition of the consent of the Governed. In other words, taking the time to vote. Now, if you don't show up, you don't get heard, and your voice is silent. The rules of the game have been the same since Democracy took hold. If you lose the election, you learn from the loss, and you improve. You don't decide that the election does not matter because most of the people didn't participate. That is their loss, not your gain.

This is among the most stupid arguments I've ever heard, and I'm honestly not surprised that people here are running with it. The people here are loyal and dedicated liberals who are outraged that the Republicans won. Tough. They won. They refused to roll over and give us a quote like Real Rape to bludgeon them with, and we lost because that was our entire campaign strategy. But this tactics, this strategy is incredibly stupid. To win elections, we have to win the voters, and to do that we have to show the voters that we listen to what they say. Ignoring what they say, or worse taking the position that those who spoke don't matter because most didn't is a sure fire way to lose the next couple elections too.

We will go into 2016 with an electorate that is extremely hostile towards Democrats, and we won't take the Senate back, we won't take the House back, and we will lose the White House.

The economy is the single biggest issue. We ignored it. To protect the President we point to wall street and the bogus unemployment numbers and swear that these prove that the economy is doing well. The people don't feel it, they don't see it, and they don't believe it. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-did-the-issue-of-immigration-play-this-election/

Immigration, the Republicans are going to have to deal with the issue. Something akin to the Senate Bill that was approved before will be taken up soon, it will have to be. But if the President goes with executive action, the party is going to suffer badly.

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/221597-angst-grows-over-obamas-plans-for-executive-action-on-immigration

http://pollingcompany.com/poll-vault/new-post-election-survey-findings-on-immigration/attachment/2014-post-election-immigration-analysis-final-11-6-2014-6/

In the polling company report, only 20% support the President going it alone. Do we really want to piss off eighty percent of the voters? Is that a way to get them on our side on the other issues?

So why are we doing everything we can to alienate as many voters as possible? I've heard nonsensical RW CT that President Obama was going to destroy America. It looks like he's working overtime to destroy the Democratic Party to me.

What it really means is that Hillary is going to have to run against Obama, and Rand Paul. While Rand is only going to have to run against Democrats, Hillary will have to distance herself from Obama, and all his supporters to hope to win. She won't be able to win unless she repudiates his policies that are tremendously unpopular, like unilateral action on immigration. That will alienate the Hispanic voters, which will severely cut the voting blocks power in the election.

The nation doesn't want an imperial President. They want Washington to work it out, and compromise a bit. At least those who vote want that. But too many here, and in Washington are backing the Titanic up and ready to ram the iceberg again. We can save the ship, save the party, and give ourselves a damned good chance in 2016. But we have to be smart, and honest with ourselves first. The plans that are out there, and the meme that we are going to represent the majority who didn't vote is a sure fire path to defeat in 2016.

Come on gang, we are better than this. President Obama can't have it both ways. He can't announce more than once that his policies are on the ballots even if he isn't, and then decide that the voters weren't going for him by electing Republicans because he wasn't on the ballot. We got convincingly and seriously stomped. If we want that trend to continue, the path we're taking is a sure fire way to guarantee that we are the minority party for the next decade. Do we want to win or not? That's the only question that matters, that's the heart of the matter for us. If the answer is yes, we have to care about the voters, because they are the ones who decide who is in what office. If the answer is no, then we're on a perfect path to make sure nobody takes us seriously for quite some time.