I hate to admit it (in this case) but Obama is right.

[Tom Rinaldo]

I am proud the that Democratic Party stands on the front lines of defending our democracy. I don't think there is any issue in American politics more important than that. I pay heed to the warning Benjamin Franklin gave when he was asked, upon exiting the Constitutional Convention, what kind of government we would have. His answer rings true today: "A Republic, Ma'am, if you can keep it." Many generations of Americans fought hard to keep it, and now it is in grave danger on our watch.

Donald J. Trump will go down in history as a worse traitor to the American experiment than Benedict Arnold ever was, but only if we win this fight. Unfortunately not enough Americans view this fight in the same light as most of us here do. It's not easy for me to accept that reality, but it keeps staring me in the face. Progressive forces in America have always stood strong on two legs; equality/human rights, and economic justice. One without the other seemingly is not enough for us to win.

Over the decades Republicans have tried to separate the two politically, seeking to weaponize our demands for equality etc. into cultural war wedge issues that they can exploit to their electoral advantage. We can't give in to bigotry in any form, just like we can't surrender our democratic heritage, but we can't afford to lose now either. Too much is at stake. With three weeks to go before the midterms we have to meet voters where they are at, and right now, for many if not most, their eyes are on their pocketbooks. Historically, for a century at least, Democrats have advanced the interests of the middle and working classes economically. We once were closely identified with the working class, the lower middle class, and the middle middle class, while Republicans were more associated with the upper middle class and the wealthy. That is our political heritage.

Republicans almost never deliver the goods for people who struggle to make ends meet, which is what most Americans have to do. Democrats delivered Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act. Democrats fight for higher minimum wages. Democrats defend Unions when corporations run rough shod over their workers. Democrats support progressive tax policies that make the well off pay a greater share. Democrats deride trickle down and promote bottom up economics in myriad pieces of legislation. DEMOCRATS FOUGHT AND WON IMPORTANT FIGHTS ALONG THESE LINES SINCE JOE BIDEN BECAME PRESIDENT. Republicans have only been obstructionists, pure and simple. They have no plans to help average Americans get by economically, what they do have in mind would only make matters worse.

Democrats support the kind of efforts that enable common people to survive economic turmoil. Neither Party has the power to banish economic challenges from life. Inflation is a global issue right now. Rising energy prices are a global issue. The disruptions caused by Putin's invasion of Ukraine are global. Supply issues for all kinds of goods and commodities, in the face of a pandemic, are global. One political party will make it easier for average Americans to weather these storms. One political party will make it harder. That is the message we have to focus on for the next three weeks.

[BeyondGeography]

1. You (and Obama) are completely missing a very basic point

An effective Democratic Party would have branded the GOP as the Party of Lies a long time ago. And not for the sake of political gamesmanship. For the survival of the Republic. When only one of two parties is grounded in reality our days as a functioning democracy are numbered.

What a failure. Here we are a few weeks before the midterms arguing about whether to even mention Trump, who never intended to accept defeat and was ready to kill his own VP in order to nullify the results of a free and fair election.

We could have had fun with this. Start every press update by mentioning it’s Day Whatever of the Joe Biden presidency, winner of the 2020 election, the results of which been withstood frivolous legal challenges in over 60 courts nationwide. And when asked why, point out the Party of the Big Lie still doesn’t accept these basic facts so we need to point them out.

Instead we did what Democrats too often do; hope for the best. Put our heads down and do our jobs. We’re good people. It’s laudable. It also doesn’t work politically.

When Obama says nobody cares about Trump’s bad behavior, after all he has done to bring us to the point of political ruin, I would ask the master story teller (because he is), what responsibility our party bears for that sad fact. Because we all know, or should know, that given the same material to work with, our opponents would have made much better use of it than we have.

[Tom Rinaldo]

3. I don't think we should have ignored it. Sure, we likely could have been more effective

But the J6 Committee was on the case big time. Though they aren't an official part of the Democratic messaging machine, they might as well have been. Trump's plan to always declare victory, for example, was a focus. There have been about 30 hours of hearings broadcast nationally since the Spring, and all of the after the fact coverage. Plus the direct coverage of all of his other scandals, including the actions against his corporation by NY's AG and of course the Top Secret document thefts. LOTS of what is called, in the business,"free media" damning Trump.

Plenty of people care about Trump's bad behavior, and even more people know about it, but not all of them care, at least not relative to other issues it seems. That word IS out there and I believe it has cost the Republicans some votes. What will cost the Republicans MORE votes at this point is the political question, and I think Democrats defending their record of fighting for regular people is the answer, in the face of economic anxieties.

[Sympthsical]

2. We have to have a coherent "sell" for inflation

One of the things that's bothered me since summer is that it's been known that inflation and potential recession would be looming large over the midterms, but there has been a resistance (and even outright denials) to engage on the issue. I think this is mainly because, being the party in power, there's a perception that there is no winning by engaging on the issue. Inflation is awful. Grocery prices are awful. Housing prices have been rising. Medical costs are rising.

And the approach seems to have been, "What if we just kind of don't acknowledge it and get angry at anyone who does?" As if inflation were a shitty relative we could simply choose not to invite to the party and not speak about. No one wants to sully our splendid occasion.

But it just doesn't work. People live these economic issues every single day. In the last year, I have paid more attention to inflation than I ever have in my entire life. I'm not sure I have ever, in my forty some years, seen prices increase in the kind of real time I have been seeing since at least spring. I'm financially insulated from this stuff, but I remember what being poor was like, the paycheck to paycheck grind, the making choices between what kinds of meals I can afford. "Can I swing meat this week?" These are choices people are making. Food banks are being inundated.

By ignoring, talking around, or expressing hostility whenever the issue arises, a vibe is creating whether intended or not. It communicates, "I don't care about this, and I resent you even bringing it up. What you're dealing with is either unimportant to me or actively against my benefit." Communication is not only what people say, it's also what people refuse to say, talk about, or allow to be said in their presence.

I was watching a Bernie Sanders interview on MTP yesterday, and he was nailing down the global nature of inflation and all the component parts contributing to it. He wasn't having it all laid at the Democratic Party's feet. Just not having it. But he wasn't just pushing back, he was vigorously explaining. He had a thorough, simple, cogent response that was 1) True, 2) Acknowledged the situation, and 3) Sounded as pissed off about it as the average voter is. If that had been our default stance for the past six months instead of a kind of weird denialism and hostility to the very idea of the topic, I think we'd be in a pretty good place.

Americans just don't care about what political junkies and partisans are obsessed about. If people haven't dug into the NYT/Sienna poll and the Harvard/HarrisX one, they need to. The January 6th stuff, calling everyone a fascist, saying the world will end because Republicans are the root of all Hitlerian evil? It doesn't scan. They're not thinking about it. It's not what they're taking with them into the voting booth. And yet that has been Storyline #1 all year long. The front page of DU does not look like nor sound like any conversation I've had in my personal life or in my work life. Everyday, it's, "Ugh, I just paid $300 for groceries. Ugh, my insurance just went up again. Ugh, my kid's starting school next year and I don't know how I'm going to pay for it. Ugh, I still owe $2,000 from that ER visit last spring."

Two articles in the NYT this morning discuss this kind of thing.

Voters See Democracy in Peril, but Saving It Isn’t a Priority

Threat to Democracy? Start With Corruption, Many Voters Say

The hour is growing late, but we need a full court press on the costs of living and inflation. We have to drive home, "Republicans are not going to help you on this. We can. And here's how we're going to do it." I almost haven't heard anything about what our plans are for all this. It feels like our responses has been, "Well, inflation is what it is, whatareyagonnadoaboutit? How bout that Trump, eh?"

That is not good enough. That never should have been the strategy. It's almost political malpractice. I know the political drama on TV is very compelling to the people who watch. Everyday people rush to Twitter to discuss the latest episode like it's just another drama in the House of the Dragon genre.

But that is not where voters live. It's time to turn the soap opera off and walk around the neighborhood a little. We have three weeks to do it. I've already turned in my straight Democratic ballot. I'm good. But there are millions out there who are not good who can yet be persuaded if we're showing them we give a shit beyond shallow immediate political considerations.

[Tom Rinaldo]

4. Thanks for this excellent post

It is long but well worth reading every word

It fits very well here as a reply to this OP, but more people will get to see it if you also make this into a separate topic for discussion as a stand alone OP. Please do.

[New Breed Leader]

10. The gray Lady can go f**k herself

[Stuart G]

5. K and R...Thanks for posting..

[FakeNoose]

6. I love Barack Obama and I think he's very smart, but we need to recognize

... that he is a major recipient of the worst racism and ugliness that the Repuke Party is dishing out.

He can't get into any kind of tit-for-tat with the Repukes. He's been way outnumbered by the racists and haters ever since he entered politics. The liberal/left white majority needs to lead this fight, and we need to see that Chump and the MAGAts are indicted and punished however we can. It will never be possible for Obama or any Black man to do it.

But it must be done.

[BeyondGeography]

7. The only news he makes anymore is when he nicks Democrats

You could look it up. It’s somewhat pathetic.

[FakeNoose]

8. It's what the media choose to report, it's not the sum total of what he says

[BeyondGeography]

9. I said "it," not "he"