Failed roll for self-awareness

Yeah I feel similar, it's just another place going the way of Reddit

Gotta keep tugging for those republican votes. We may need to adopt some republican priorities in order to get those voters, but its all for a good cause right?

Very true. I think we need to do our own version of the ratchet effect. In places that are solidly red we need to vote blue to lighten them up a bit. In places that are blue we need to start doing grass roots efforts to winning local offices and state reps that do represent our issues.

proportional to my power

This is the thing that always kills me. My vote was 100% worthless. Completely performative, just throwing paper to the wind. My state was one of the few that actually went for Harris, my state governor is one of the few actually fighting against Trump, my city has so far done an excellent job fighting back against him, and none of the races were even really close. I'm sure there are many other people, in the other firm blue states just like mine, who couldn't stomach voting for genocide when they know their vote is just a gesture.

You got a fascist elected. Hope your moral purity was worth it

The only argument for voting trump while thinking “left” that I can think of, is that all that anger and chaos leads to a big reform of the political landscape where there is a way for a more social system in the end

But I’d consider that an extremely risky move..

You clearly don't understand leftist thought. Voting for a cop, a warmonger and a complicit child-kidnapper is incompatible with many leftists' beliefs and values. Continued aversion to actually listening to criticisms of the Dems and DNC from the left is why your beloved party is crashing and burning.

That's literally the program which benefits their donors.

Peope can't afford their bills and the Democrats were out there saying the economy is stronger than ever. They had no intention of helping people and you are shocked that people didn't go out to vote. If it's damned if you do, damned if you don't, most people will chose the latter

I could be wrong about this: But I increasingly feel that the major issue for most of these people was economic instability - not making enough to make ends meet. But, out of a feeling of humiliation around saying “im poor” the message instead targets points of blame; either to potentially spare more dollars for themselves, or just genuinely to lash out at a world that’s succeeding without them.

Doesn’t make the approach of their message in any way valid or okay. I’m just explaining that they needed an answer to their struggles. Trump gave them an elaborate lie about it, which to them was better than nothing.

Lot of those people who voted in 2020 weren't Democratic voters. They voted for the Democrats that one time and then the Democrats failed to retain them. That's on the Democrats. I don't know how many times people can say it. It's a candidate and the party's job to earn people's votes. Earn them. There is literally no other way to do it. Democrats refuse to do that that's why they lose.

Yeah their policies are so progressive that the dick Chaney family endorsed them. Biden was so progressive that as soon as the supreme court repealed Roe v. Wade, he made an EO to protect the rights of women. Oh and of course how can we forget that he made college and vocational schooling free for everyone, and secured the rights of trans Americans to literally just fucking exist.

oh wait. no wait he didn't do any of that. in fact I think he might've just held up the status quo of the time.

they were not doing Anything and are still not doing Anything.

hope that clears it up

When your opponent is everything Mr Trump is, one would think

• economy slowly improving from covid
• protect human rights
• hold the line for the Supreme Court
• keep democracy safe
• .. so we can at least talk about other stuff

would be enough. That was enough. It's a no-brainer IN A BINARY CHOICE.

“If you dislike pancakes that must mean you LOOOOVE waffles right?”

No bitch thats a brand new sentence wtf is you talking about.

In a two party system, especially when there's no clear "I don't like either" option then yes, nothing else exists. When you don't vote you're not saying "I don't like either party" you're saying "I don't care which party wins". If you don't care which party wins then you're in support of both parties.

Imagine posting this meme when just today the DNC have announced their “new” leadership and it’s just the same as the old leadership, and they’ve done absolutely nothing to push back against Trump this whole time.

"But maybe next DNC chair you'll get a progressive! Vote for us and we'll give you what you want next time."

they’ve done absolutely nothing to push back against Trump this whole time.

What do you mean? Didn't you see their tiny signs last night? That'll sure show him!

Degree of minorities murdered matters.

Last night the Democrats official response the Donald Trump's speech was to praise Ronald Reagan. It somehow here you stand today defending them. Unbelievable

People didn't vote for Harris because her campaign sucked ass, it's her and her staff who failed to convince people to vote for her, not people who voiced their dissatisfaction with her proposed policy. They need to do better, and if they do, then people excercising their freedom of speech on the internet won't sway votes away from the party. Idea that people shouldn't be allowed to complain about the genocide because it voices loudly the dissatisfaction over the party actions and that may lead to lower voter turnout is flawed to it's core. Those comments are the symptom of the problem, the sign that there is something wrong with the way they directed the campaign, not the source of it. You will get nowhere by silencing the dissidents, you need to take away their reasons to complain, not their means. Until Dems learn this lesson, they won't win elections again, not with the antiestabilishment vibes and lack of trust towards the government that are prevailent im USA. Not only this messaging of censure won't work, it will only piss off the electorate and alienate them further. Before the elections I have assumed that this campaign to shame people into voting was a psy op, but it seems like it's actually their position on the matter, which definitely makes me think they're controlled opposition at this point. They can't actually think this kind of messaging helps them in any way, right? This arrogant approach is specifically why Republican electorate hates them. If they want to win, like, ever, they need to work on that.

Oh yeah, I'm sure it had nothing to do with people like you yelling at people that they're monsters for even slightly criticizing the DNC and Harris campaign.

The idea someone would not vote because they read "Democrats are Centrists" online is funny to me.

If a Democrat's billion dollar war chest can't stand against an anonymous online person saying "Democrats are centrists" maybe they shouldn't be centrists.

I don’t enjoy it at all. Your glee is disgusting.

That’s encouraging to hear.

Can you share any links about the strategy changes you think will help?

We can't do anything about that, wagging your finger at voters will not accomplish anything. But we CAN do something about the party itself, the candidate, and the campaign strategy.

Fixating on things we can't change is a way to deflect from having actual productive conversations about things that we can change. It's a way for the DNC to avoid taking responsibility.

In other words, it's the voter's duty to perform a communist revolution. How well are you personally performing your duty, comrade?

The biggest flaw is not being inspiring. Like yes, Trump told a bullshit story, but at least he told a story, and that's what the DNC didn't do.

Look at Obama in 2008 and 2012. He had an uplifting slogan of hope and change, and he focused his platform around a popular and easily-understood issue, healthcare reform. That's how to run a good campaign, we've done it before, we can do it again. We don't have to be blue fascists, we just need to be appealing.

If you think the trolley problem has an obvious solution, you do not understand the trolley problem.

I'm pretty sure it's actually a broadcast from the future mate.

As somebody who's worked on leftist local campaigns, no amount of time was ever going to help us. A large majority of the American people want to stay on the globalist neoliberal train until it inevitably crashes. The only thing they can't agree on is the conductor.

If only there was an organization, like, a big, established political party, that's been around for a really long time that could have done something, rather than people trying to organize last minute.

I mean, you certainly argue like a MAGA.

The point is we failed to promote the DNC in those months when it actually mattered and millions of people who voted for the party before stayed home instead. We need to promote the DNC, not just shit on them. We need to convince people to vote for those fucking mummies and those tech and science illiterate dolts because the alternative is worse and we need to scream that from the mountaintops "The DNC will protect you. The DNC will enrich your lives. Voting against the DNC is self-harm. The GOP wants DEATH for Profits."

We are trying. I volunteer for campaigns and knock on doors for progressive candidates. And they get attacked by the kind of democrats who take most of their campaign contributions from property developers and car dealerships.

If you are voting for the establishment and attacking anybody who brings up valid criticisms, YOU are not doing anything about it.

Lemmy tradition: assuming everyone else is a keyboard warrior with no direct action.

for whatever reason that was ignored and everyone focused on Harris and Biden.

It's because Democrats have always been held to higher standards. Because we expect nothing from Republicans, because Republicans never deliver. Ever. So now all our expectations rest on Democrats and when you place all your expectations on one thing, it will always fail to live up.

So Democrats have to be flawless while Republicans get to literally be lawless.

Pretty stupid country we've got here. Signing our democracy away because one party can't be perfect.

Yeah, except for the whole genocide thing. But mostly college kids protested that. You can just beat up those.

Hold on, last election he refused to say so explicitly, but he repeatedly implied he wouldn't run for a second term and described himself as a bridge candidate. Then he demanded a second term at the last minute.

A basic move would've been: "I will move to have better policies than before. Rally with our party and we will commit to changing course for working class families."

It could've been as empty a promise as her opposition made, but that would've been basic competant campaigning. Easiest trap to avoid ever.

spoken like a true cult member.

The GOP always votes Red, no matter who.

They literally don't though. They voted for Trump because they liked him, not because he ran as a Republican. There's that phenomenon where Trump voters also vote for candidates like AOC or Bernie Sanders, so... Yeah.

The GOP always votes Red, no matter who.

How'd that work out?

Seriously, if your plan is to follow the same path as Republicans, does that mean you think it's worked out well for them the last 20 years?

Are republican voters being taken care of by their elected officials or did having no standards and excusing everything their party did just make it so the most corrupt candidate advances to the general?

What is different about Dems that would make the result be literally the opposite, and how much more time do you think we should waste seeing if it works?

Instead of running a charismatic candidate with a progressive which statistically results in the presidency, House, and Senate?

Why not take the easy path that gets us what we want instead of the hardest path where we get the least reward?

The fascist party always votes for fascists without thought? Who woulda guessed.

Guess we gotta be fascists and vote without thought to beat them! Why has no one just tried to out fascist fascists before, it's so simple and you're so smart for coming up with that strategy.

GOP also always picks a Republican head of the FBI when they're in charge. So does the Democratic president. Why is that?

You may want to inform party leadership there's a war on, they been out here trying to pull a muscle reaching across the aisle.

Except the GOP doesn't always vote red, not matter who. I am friends with several people who are still registered Republicans that did not vote for Trump either time.

Fucking echo chambers are dangerous man.

The fact that it wasn’t shows it’s not just ‘what the democrats do’ it’s that people are fucking stupid and hateful.

Well here's the thing: The average person does not, in fact, care about nebulous ideas like democracy. And why would they? Why did the democracy people do for them? Hint: The answer is nothing. That's why they vote Republican, because Republicans promise change rather than more of the same.

Oh my God it's like talking to a brick wall with you people.

The Democrats have been running on a platform of "we aren't Trump" for 3 elections in a row. They lost two of them.

This loss falls on Democrat leadership far more than it falls on the people on the fence.

The fact is the Democrats failed to convince enough people they were the better option. Mostly because they tried the same strategy against the same opponent 3 fucking times.

Same.

And I’ll hate it every time and expect nothing in return.

Join community groups and socialize in meatspace.

This is probably what I'm most interested in, but I find it to be a drag to even locate. I've gone to meetup groups and even helped organize a meetup group before but everything about them seemed pretty worthless. It could just be my particular circumstances or my particular location, but it seems like it's difficult to find any regular community group, and then any -- even sporadic -- activity outside of work mixers, happy hours, ticketed events, and concerts.

At one point I took a look around the area for mutual aid groups and found only one -- and this was mid-pandemic when they were getting a lot of attention and hype -- and it didn't even appear to be active anymore. I think the web link I got was dead or something.

My working theory of why this country is so far off the rails is multifaceted, but one big aspect is that meatspace is deader than myspace.

We can’t control the American voters so complaining about them doesn’t actually accomplish anything.

We can, however, change the Democratic party to better align with the voters.

That should be everyone’s focus.

Milquetoast incompetence makes them lose elections.

Them losing elections allows republicans to have a shit show.

Then the Dems get a modicum of power and do milquetoast incompetence again, and the cycle repeats.

It’s been this way my entire life.

I’m an adult, so I’ll take an uncharismatic candidate over a traitor felon rapist

Great.

But like a whole shit ton of people tried to warn for the last year now, Biden/Kamala we're enough to beat trump.

We'll need all the voters again, we won't need anyone that was involved in either of their campaigns though. So why shit on the literal tens of millions we need in defense of less than an airplane's worth of people who hightailed it back to their mansions?

You get that, right? We don't have to run uncharismatic conservative candidates to beat trump, it's literally the worst option we have

We can just run a charismatic candidate with a progressive campaign promise like we did with Obama. Did you forget that?

Partie’s will always exist. They are a natural progression of people aligning their values. You can call them different names but a ‘group of politically aligned people’ will always form.

Parties can be dictatorships, but should be a reflection of the ideal governance of the system they're trying to run. In the US certainly nearly all parties are oligarchical dictatorships, since that's just what the US has been from the start.

Ideally we'd have a coequal party spring up or at least a co-op party. But I fear both of those are too complicated for American brains since even PSL has a fairly strict hierarchy based on funding potential instead of merit or internal democracy.

The problem is they've been promising that for two decades.

They're great at saying things, sometimes, to specific outlet while saying the opposite to their donors and other outlets. But they're terrible at doing anything. At all. After decades of lies, after decades of trying to push them left... The Harris campaign paid partial lip service and promised what Obama did in 2008.

Also no, Dems are the same as Republicans because their goals, based on their actions and voting records, are exactly the same. Make rich people more rich, bust unions, keep the poor poor.