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In reply to the discussion: Other than Katie Porter & a couple others, the Democratic Party STILL doesn't know how to fight back [View all]LiberalLovinLug
(14,173 posts)"A whole thread about how weak Dems are for not being tough enough on Republicans. With not one bad word about Republicans in it. Classic."
Why would it be necessary for my post to somehow be complete, if only I'd added a few cuss words at Republicans? The topic of the OP is elected Democrats, from top to bottom, left and right, being hard enough, publicly critical enough, on their peers on the other side.
Just to refresh both our memories of 2010, here's how the Guardian saw it,
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/nov/03/us-midterm-election-results-tea-party
Barack Obama was today facing a harsh new US political reality in the wake of one of the worst Democratic defeats for 70 years.
In midterm election races across America, Republicans pummelled their opponents, capturing the House of Representatives and a fistful of Senate seats.
With some seats still to be counted, the Republicans picked up at least 60 House seats, eclipsing their 54 gains in 1994 and the party's best result since 1938. They also gained at least six Senate seats, falling short of the 10 they needed to gain control of the upper house.
It was a remarkable comeback from two years ago, when many experts expected the party to endure a long time in the political wilderness in the wake of Obama's emphatic 2008 presidential election victory.
And one of the main reasons was the letdown on the enthusiasm by the left wing of the party, and by younger voters, new voters, who thought they heard a more progressive direction from Obama during the primaries. whether you are pissed at those folks or not. Whether you think they expected too much from Obama, makes no difference. It happened.
It wasn't any leftward swing by Obama that caused the 2010 voter meltdown, he went right. Let Wall Street mostly off the hook, and later went on to extend the Bush tax cuts.
It was that he didn't stick hard enough in the left lane, at least that was the perception, to keep the same level of inspiration for real change in the more activist base who had worked like hell to help get him elected. And the same will happen with a Biden administration if he follows Obama's lead and tries appeasement towards an unrelenting enemy that is growing more violent, and radical by the day.
You know why we can 't have nice things? Because we don't fight as one voice for them. Establishment Democrats alliow their left flank to speak up, and nave their say in small bursts. But that's as far as it usually goes. As far as appointing them to key positions. Directing policy and backing them. I believe that a big majority of Americans are liberal at heart. But we concentrate on hiding as much of that as we can. Which instead we should promote, like a new New Deal.,
Stop being afraid to promote policies that a majority of Americans support like M4A. No you don't have to go there 100% now. That would be impossible anyways. But say that you as a party, speak as one voice that M4A, some such variation, will be coming to Americans one day, because Democrats are working hard every day to get there. Where Americans pay half as much for universal coverage no matter their situation or place of residence. Who cares if someone on Fox News might shout out the word "socialist" Its just not sustainable to always play like a sports team that plays not to lose, instead of win.