One lesson almost everyone learned from 2016:

[MineralMan]

Threatening to withhold your vote if you don't get your way on something is not a winning strategy.

I hope we don't ever see such a thing being used again among Democrats, Liberals, and Progressives.

Too much is at stake. Too much was at stake, really, last time, but some ignored that.

[uawchild]

1. No Dead-enders!

I totally agree, MM. No matter how disappointed ANY of us might be if our favorite does not get the nod, we all must get behind our nominee in 2020.

Call me silly, but I am very optimistic that a consensus candidate will emerge from the primaries and unite all Democrats in supporting them against Trump.

Trump is going down.

[brewens]

2. It's not us that matters, we all did get behind our candidate. It's the people that were not

inspired to vote for our candidate that were the problem. What we should have learned from 2016 is to not anoint someone early on that seems to be the safest bet that we all will vote for.

[murielm99]

3. Who was this anointed one, pray tell?

[uawchild]

4. Lets not re-fight the last campaign

I think that's actually a DU forum rule.

Let's look forward, not backwards.

[MineralMan]

8. Nobody gets annointed. Our nominee gets elected to be the nominee.

The people decide who they want as the nominee.

They will do that again next year. It's up to all of us to support the people's choice, because there are bigger issues than we think out there. We've seen that clearly in the current administration.

[StevieM]

27. No. The problem was James Comey.

Take him out of the equation and we would have won by a very decisive margin.

[Seedersandleechers]

29. I'm not totally convinced

Hillary really did lose the election.

[Hortensis]

43. My suggestion is a kick in the pants for everyone who

imagines they're supposed to be "inspired" by anything but their own duty, principles and goals. If that requires too much athleticism, a smack in the face.

For those with undefined principles and goals, choose right or wrong on one understandable issue and stand up for it.

This isn't a silly reality entertainment show. Those children who may never see their families again are real. Vote to reuinite them with their parents if nothing else inspires.

WE HAVE A DUTY.

[MineralMan]

6. I'm counting on that.

[cwydro]

5. Sadly, I've already seen posters here hinting at doing just that.

And not just from supporters of the candidate you’d think.

[Wellstone ruled]

7. Your statement is interesting.

Noticed some of the same nay sayer's and misinformation folks are working the edges several times a week.

Please do not forget,the Bot's and Troll's have not gone away.

[MineralMan]

12. There are hints of it already, I think.

[Wellstone ruled]

14. Couple

indications,Malcolm Nance mentioned on several interviews that they are still active and have set Bot Bomb's keyed to certain events. Secondly,Senator Harris has been talking about several attempts to break into her Information System. Senator Rubio has said that he has had attempts to hack his System.

Never thought the Trump Campaign shut down their data mining operation,and it is becoming more evident each day with the amount of Pop-ups and other types of Click Bait Ads appearing on Web Pages. They are spending millions on this.

[MineralMan]

15. Yes, there will certainly be attempts to interfere with our elections again.

We need to be mindful of that and watch for it. When it does, we need to point that out and get back on track, I think. The one answer to all of it is massive turnout of Democrats. That can override almost anything, if we can make that happen.

I know that GOTV is a boring subject to a lot of people, and it's hard, hard work. But, it's the only insurance we have that can protect us from meddling. We can overwhelm all of it by simply getting everyone who is on our side to the polls.

[Wellstone ruled]

20. Yup,and

for myself,I was able to touch base with several of my cohorts whom worked the Phones in 2016 as well as 2018. In saying that,we are all set to go starting late summer next year. Hope fully we are all able. Think the youngest is 70 and the oldest is 92. Hope the College and post High School folks join in like the last few go arounds. For us oldster's,it is watching the enthusiasm of the younger folks when they get involved.

[MineralMan]

21. Minnesota consistently is at or near the top of turnout

numbers every election. Thanks, in part, go to all the people who work hard to get people to to and vote.

We do good here, for sure.

[MineralMan]

10. Yes. I agree.

It's important for us to make the stakes as clear as possible as the 2020 field narrows and we finally choose a nominee.

We've seen what happens when we don't pay attention to the overall picture, I think. I hope so, at least.

[JI7]

31. there are trolls also who will try to discourage voting for Democrats all the time

no matter who it is.

[Politicub]

9. I write those people off. And if they're on DU, I block them.

They obviously don't have anything at risk since not voting is a vote for Trump.

I don't have time for such nonsense, or inclination to convince the unconviceable. Time is better spent speaking with undecideds and getting people to the polls.

[aikoaiko]

11. Well, a lot of "good" DUers told them to eff-off -- so they did.

I agree that threats of not voting for the Democratic candidate didn't work, but demands for fidelity didn't work either.

Too much was at stake, but there was too much hubris.

[MineralMan]

13. I'm not sure I agree, actually.

What I remember is a lot of people pledging to support and vote for the nominee. They were also asking others to do the same. Some could not bring themselves to do that, unfortunately.

Every presidential election year involves the same process, which leads to a convention that votes for the Democratic nominee, based on the votes of everyone who participated in the primary election process. In November the nominee of one of two political parties will get elected as President. The more people who turn out to vote for the Democratic nominee, the better that nominee's chances are, regardless of other factors that influence the election.

Our nominee lost by less than 90,000 votes in three states. Had we gotten 91,000 to turn out in those states to vote for the Democratic nominee, we'd be looking at a different set of problems right now.

That's what's at stake in this. That rises above all other considerations, or should.

[aikoaiko]

16. I'm not surprised you don't agree.

I think we have to do better than tell people they should vote for the D.

[MineralMan]

17. I think it's a shame we NEED to do that, frankly.

I can't count the number of times I said that I'd vote gladly for whomever was selected as the Democratic nominee. If I wrote it 100 times, I wrote it 500 times. Whoever. In a two-party system, which is what we have here, one or the other party wins. Every last freaking time. that will not change in my lifetime or in yours.

So, it's a pretty simple equation, isn't it? We have Donald Trump in the White House, do we not? Any Democrat would be doing a far, far better job. Don't you agree?

[aikoaiko]

18. Sure, its a shame.

Losing because we expect people to do the right thing is also a shame.

[MineralMan]

19. I'm not sure I take your point...

[mcar]

35. Anyone who doesn't vote for the Democratic nominee

Because he/she isn't their 1st choice, has a position or two they don't agree with, doesn't "excite" them, or isn't pure enough, doesn't care about this country or anyone in it.

[SWBTATTReg]

22. I agree. It's as simple as 'United We Stand, Divided We Fall'. Also, I like to suggest...

ignoring last minute promises too ... rump was promising everyone a 10% tax cut days before the Nov. 2018 elections. Most people ignored rump, still voted, and the House of Representatives was gained and is now used as a check against rump and cronies' excesses.

[MineralMan]

23. Good point.

2018 was a good start on what we need to do, I think.

[irisblue]

25. Welcome to DU

I agree with this premise. "Neither major party in American politics can lay claim to a third of registered voters.
That means the general election is a battle for the unaffiliated vote."

GOTV is damned important. But the party mechanism needs to learn the candidates base & reach out, over& over to that base.

[George II]

26. Getting out the vote is the job of all the local Democratic parties and committees.

[Cha]

28. We Did Well in the BlueWave Midterms.. Thanks

to Nancy Pelosi, the DCCC, and all the others who worked so hard. That's why we have a Democratic House Victory NOW. 40 Red seats were Flipped to Blue by Moderates.

Breaking: 6 countries involved in election interference

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100212154370

Evidence Russia helped elect trump is staggering.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100212133245

Those who stay home because they don't know the fucking difference between saving the Planet and not voting is on them.

[Indygram]

30. The bigger lesson is that the electorate is far more energized to GOTV when they

are given something to vote FOR and not have it assumed that they will be as motivate to simply vote against something else.

I'll vote for whoever is the nominee but unless Democrats provide me with a candidate to vote FOR who I really believe in...I won't be donating time or money. Democrats are not entitled to anyone's vote, money or time. I can't really afford to donate and my health is not good to voluneer...but for the right candidate...I will sacrifice because i trust and believe in them. If Democrats want this Independent to go all in for them then they need to give me a reason to want to be. Again...I will vote against Trump either way. But whether or not I do anything more will depend entirely on if he nominee is someone I believe in and am excited to vote FOR.

No party is entitled to anyone's vote and if Democrats operate on the presumption that they don't have to earn votes then they are very likely to be rewarded with the re-election of Trump. I truly hope that doesn't happen, but I really fear that is exactly where we are headed.

[keithbvadu2]

32. Ideological purity

[Lordquinton]

33. A lesson many didn't learn

No candidate is owed votes, they need to earn them. At the end of the day the winner is the one who convinced more people to vote for them than the other guy.

There will always be crossover votes, fortunately in 2016 it was low (Especially compared to 2008, about half) the total was more, but just missed is several places.

People need to internalize that not everyone feels the same way we do. Too many don't have such a negative view of trump that anyone else will do. It's a proven losing strategy to rely on.

[JI7]

38. yes, but anyone who needs to be convinced to vote democratic is not a liberal

they are attention whores.

[Lordquinton]

44. Wow, great way to win support

And you missed what I was saying completely.

[mcar]

34. Sorry to report, I'm already seeing it

On Twitter and other social media. The infantile "if you're mean to us we may not vote" threat. Some people haven't learned a damn thing...

Or, they got just what they wanted in 2016.

[Laelth]

36. You have got to be kidding.

99% of those principled people who, in 2016, "threatened" to withhold their votes if their preferred candidate did not win the Democratic nomination probably voted for Hillary anyway in the end. They (our fellow Democrats) are not the reason we lost that election. Massive voter suppression combined with a massive Russian disinformation campaign are the more likely culprits.

Keep stirring the pot, my brother. Keep pitting Democrats against other Democrats. That is so very kind and helpful of you.

-Laelth

[Gothmog]

37. I agree with the OP

[Blue_Tires]

39. That's actually a lesson from 2000, sadly...

[MineralMan]

40. Yes, that too.

[ColesCountyDem]

41. We absolutely need to avoid becoming ucompromisingly invested in a candidate

I'm not going to re-hash the 2016 primaries and G.E. here, except to ask EVERYONE, regardless of whom you decide to support in the 2020 caucuses and primaries, to support our nominee, no matter who that may be.

In an ideal world, we would have a nominee who's so exciting and popular that you couldn't help but vote for him or her, but in the real world, the chances of that happening are 'iffy', at best. America is in peril, governed by a narcissistic bully who has little regard for our democratic institutions and it is imperative that we rid ourselves of him and his ilk, and do so decisively. That means that whether or not your preferred candidate is ultimately the nominee or not, if you value our Constitution, our democratic processes, its institutions, and the existence and health of our republic, you must support the Democratic Party's nominee!

That's my $.02...

[MineralMan]

42. Yes, I agree completely.

[Honeycombe8]

45. DU members are more politically involved. But the voters out there in America-land do what they want

If some voters don't like the choices, they may not vote. That's just the reality.

Don't expect that being not-Trump will be good enough. Voters are more apt to make it to the polls if they like the candidate...a lot. Like they did for Obama and Bill Clinton.

[Nitram]

46. I hope you're right, but I haven't seen any evidence to suggest that you are.

It boggles the mind how some people will cut off their noses to spite their face.