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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsOkay.. the elections are done.. so now I will tell you about Iowa
On election night I said I would talk about the take down of Iowa by the right a little later.. wanted to celebrate how good we were doing.. I told everyone.. we are in great shape.. this country is ready for a change.
BUT this is for the powers that be that may drift by DU..not the hard working Democrats who access this site also..
Iowa got hit by the red tide.. no two ways about it.. but as some started to call Iowa a *hithole state, I tried to limit my anger to .. just stop that.. Iowa is NOT NOT NOT a *hithole state..
Democrats worked their fingers to the bone here.. but we cannot get a bit of help from the party. Fly over country they like to say.
The people who are in charge of the party.. who are in places of power most us will never see.. should pay attention to and ponder on the Dean 50 state plan. He was right.. we reclaimed Va,. NC etc.. but suddenly we went coastal and rural don't count and we lost Wisconsin, Iowa almost Minnesota.. The powers that be need to stop writing entire states off..
In 2020 Miller Meeks got the house over Democrat Rita Hart by 6 votes .. 6 count them ..
Once people get in office it is like granite getting them out..
Admiral Franken was behind Grassley by only 3 points in October.. but as we all know most voters make up their minds in the last two weeks of the election.. Where was the support for Democrats when we needed them..I remember when Martin O Malley came and campaigned for our people years ago... but I am not seeing any investment in money and or time in the state.. there is no reason in the world that Iowa should be a red state.. purple yes.. red no
We need to stop the dropping the middle of the country as fly over country and focusing only on the coasts.. we need to go back to the Dean philosophy. I am not saying we all get the same amount of money.. but just writing the Midwest off is wrong!.. This is Obama country for Christs sake.. Jimmy Carter country..
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SharonAnn
(14,173 posts)
secondwind
(16,903 posts)
progree
(12,977 posts)Oh, someone flying from the east coast south of North Carolina on the way to Anchorage, AK would fly over us, but that's about it.
Most people have trouble believing there's anybody living up here except for some weather people in International Falls tracking temperatures in "the nation's icebox".
Sometimes people hear a Twins or a Vikings score and wonder if the players really live here.
We need to stop the dropping the middle of the country as fly over country and focusing only on the coasts.
the_sly_pig
(752 posts)And as it is people that vote, not land (as so many Magat meme's try and show), Minnesota has voted blue for years. AND we don't mind being a frozen, fly over land. The cold keeps the freaks and idiots out.
*hithole states are *hithole states because they vote republican despite republican treason, misogyny, voter suppression, a failed idiot coup attempt and fake-christian-fascism.
So again, it's not the land mass that makes Iowa a *hithole state, it's the people in it.
Ohio Joe
(21,898 posts)The true heroes of this cycle… Thank you 
I 100% agree, more help needs to go where it’s needed.
ananda
(35,145 posts)I feel your pain.
HelpImSurrounded
(560 posts)I worked with a campaign and found out the DCCC will not spend money anywhere unless they think they can win.
So I will NEVER EVER give money to the party again. It's candidates only. Here in Texas we have Blue Horizon Texas whose goal is to have a democratic candidate in each and every race. I'll be supporting them, too.
DFW
(60,186 posts)He has been trying to help Texas Democrats like forever, it seems. His name is Matt Angle. He's still at it, too.
ananda
(35,145 posts)Good thinking.
JT45242
(4,043 posts)Iowa gerrymandered the Miller Meeks district to make it safer. The local campaign did not absolutely kille Meeks who claimed to be a doctor and voted aginst $35 insulin and negotiating medicare.
The Jan 6 committee decision not to do anything about Grassley's involvement and the coup and "I'll be there in charge" did not help. Plus, even his literally 50 years of voting to overturn Roe did not move the needle. Of course, running another old white guy instead of a woman was a horrible primary win.
The right wing super PACs spent a lot of money on the crime lie and literally NONE of the candidates stood up and said -- Iowa has more crime per capita than any of those places. I don't know because it would not be "Iowa nice" to say that we live in a crime infested shitty schools state.
Covid Kimmy won in a landslide...
Every media outlet is owned by right wing megadonors so none of them called out the lies that the Rethugs said about being for cheaper drugs and voted against it, for new roads and bridges and voted against it. Etc.
Iowa wants racists like former Rep King -- just not for them to say the bad stuff out loud.
Sorry, this has more to do with Iowa hating people of color than anything else. There are still people in Johnson county, supposedly the liberal haven of the state, pissed off about people from closed Section 8 housing from Illinois being moved here over a decade ago.
This election needs to put the final nail in the coffin that Iowa has no business being early or important in the presidential election process for our party. It might play well for the rethugs and the racist electoral college system. But Iowa should be written off for primaries/caucuses/whatever.
The rethugs have gerrymandered at least a ten year hold of the state and congressional seats. I used to live in Ohio, and would say that the same is dangerously true of Ohio as well.
rurallib
(64,688 posts)Iowa does have a bunch of new voter suppression laws that seemed to really pay off for Republicans.
The big takeaway from this election seems to be that Democrats simply did not show up. In my county we had an 11% Democratic turnout way down from our normal 40% plus. What the hell happened?
The way the 1st district was redrawn should have given Bohannan an edge, but Dems did not show up. Ditto in the second district -Mathis should have. had an edge, but Dems didn't show up.
Axne's district was made harder. Feenstra's is simple another world.
soldierant
(9,354 posts)that is is not gerrymandered. It can't be by law - I forget whther it's actually in the Constitution or just legislation, but there are rules. Each district is required to be approximately rectangular, for one thing. It's not totally gerrymander-proof - notig is - but it's pretty good.
brooklynite
(96,882 posts)See: Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Nevada, Arizona...
Point 2: There is no "The Party". It's a bottom up organization. Built from City Committees, County Committees and State Committees. Additionally, the DNC doesn't support candidates. They support State Parties, including Iowa. We have DSCC, DCCC, DGA, DAGA, DASS and DLCC who support candidates to the extent of their budgets. If they give more to the candidates you like, they're giving less to someone else. I track every competitive race in the3 country and Iowa has not been seen as competitive in a number of years.
Point 3: You seem to equate "support" with "money". Franken raised $9.2 M, fairly competitive with Grassley's $10.2 M. How much would extra money have made a difference? And was was he and other candidates unable to raise it? (nb: I met with Franken in the Spring. I decided not to support him because his race never appeared to be competitive. Ann Selzer's poll in July has him in the 30s).
Point 4: You don't seem to apply any blame to the Iowa Democratic Party. Here in NYS, we had a bad election day but nobody's blaming the folks in Washington. We're targeting our own State's weaknesses.
Gore1FL
(22,951 posts)Why have we not been as successful since the 50-state strategy was eliminated by people who knew better?
Clearly something worked under Dean that hasn't worked since it was arbitrarily eliminated.
LymphocyteLover
(9,847 posts)Gore1FL
(22,951 posts)LymphocyteLover
(9,847 posts)2006 was a natural blowback from Bush and the lack of success in 2002 and 2004.
We won big in 2018 and 2020 without Dean.
I'm not saying Dean's strategy didn't work, per se. Just I'm not clear about the evidence that his strategy was more successful than our more recent approach..
Gore1FL
(22,951 posts)2004: Lost
2006: Won
2008: Won
2010: Lost
2012: Lost (saved White House)
2014: Lost
2016: Lost
Something was working in 2006 and 2008 that did not work before or after. The biggest delta that I am aware of is the DNC's chair and strategy.
brooklynite
(96,882 posts)2018: Won House
2020: Won WH
2022: Won Senate, Governorships, State Legislatures...
Gore1FL
(22,951 posts)We'd have really cleaned up. You know, like 2006 and 2008.
Unfortunately, we don't.
brooklynite
(96,882 posts)Gore1FL
(22,951 posts)LymphocyteLover
(9,847 posts)a waste to put a lot of money in them, like TX and FL right now. So you do have to be strategic to some extent.
progressoid
(53,179 posts)2020 won because of Trump and covid.
2022 won because of Trump and Roe
Sympthsical
(10,969 posts)I think, "Everything we did was awesome!" is pretty much the Wrong Answer. But then, look how 2016 is examined. "Not anyone's fault, nothing wrong, practically perfect campaigning, and how dare you suggest otherwise!"
So . . . yeah, actually, this reaction sounds perfectly on brand.
progressoid
(53,179 posts)It's great that there wasn't a red wave but so many of our "wins" were by a razor thin margin.
DemocraticPatriot
(5,410 posts)which was totally negated by the 'pro-choice and pro-democracy wave'... !
That's why things ended up so close.
Without serious inflation and the usual 'midterm blues', it would have been a 'blue wave'...
And without the Dobbs decision, it would have been a 'red wave'.
I think we can do better in 2024. The Republican House and Donald Trump certainly aren't going to do themselves any favors... and inflation is already beginning to abate.
LymphocyteLover
(9,847 posts)Bottom line is DNC money is not infinite and some places need to be prioritized.
I do feel like in the near future, there's no reason to put a lot of money into Texas and Florida. I mean some money is fine to keep the state parties going but the fact is a lot of states are lost causes right now.
Gore1FL
(22,951 posts)Our electoral success demonstrably grew when the strategy was in effect and demonstrably declined when it stopped.
betsuni
(29,078 posts)Of course Democrats won in 2006 and 2008!
brooklynite
(96,882 posts)It wasn't "arbitrarily eliminated". DNC has been providing funds for State Parties for years. That doesn't automatically turn a Party into a success.
Gore1FL
(22,951 posts)brooklynite
(96,882 posts)Parties change depending on who the State decides to have lead it. (See: NV, taken over by DSA). Money doesn't automatically make a Party strong. And we've won back a considerable number of races since Dean stepped down as DNC Chair.
LymphocyteLover
(9,847 posts)focusing on those and winning a lot of those back again.
Gore1FL
(22,951 posts)See also 2010.
brooklynite
(96,882 posts)Gore1FL
(22,951 posts)I know you are richer, smarter, wiser, better connected, and have a vast understanding of all things compared to your fellow DUers. It therefore perplexes me that you seek answers that have already been provided.
bello
(140 posts)Point 5. As a life long Iowan, I know that I am not the only person that thinks that the Democratic power structure in Iowa is its own worst enemy. My impression of the Iowa Democratic Party (IDP) is that it is a closed little self admiration society and us “little folks” aren’t allowed to play in their sand box.
For years they have been supporting their friends to run for U.S. senator. To a person these candidates have been uninspiring party apparatchiks that have toiled in the IDP trenches but couldn’t get a voter excited even if they offered free beer and skittles.
For senator this year the IDP supported one of their own who couldn’t get reelected as a U.S. representative even if those positions are “set in granite”. When the Democratic voters rose up and selected someone else, the IDP basically abandoned him. And it wasn’t just about money. I couldn’t obtain a Franken yard sign from either the IDP or my local county Democratic Party office. Okay, that may be a small, petty point, but it is still true.
And Grassley was reelected, again.
LymphocyteLover
(9,847 posts)I know there are other factors and money has a lot to do with it, but the Dem party in Indiana is pretty sad these days IMO, despite a new chair.
Bettie
(19,704 posts)I am in a rural county...the IDP is pretty much nonexistent here, until they want people to deal with caucuses.
I ended up getting my Franken sign from his campaign and wasn't able to get a DeJear sign at all.
I personally know our last two county party chairs and have been involved on the local level and have seen it first hand. Whether it's by design or incompetence, the support for those of us outside of Des Moines and other metro areas is negligible.
In fact, I'll quote a campaign worker who told me their campaign for state house received "fuck all" support from the IDP.
LisaM
(29,634 posts)It's our job as voters to go vote for the best person. Government in this country is "we the people". We're not children. It's not a game.
I am tired of people who need to get a pony and a balloon to go out and vote. It's our job, and it's our obligation. I get very cross at people who won't vote. This latest drooling over the 27% of college students who wandered over to a campus building is a case in point. It should be closer to 100% turnout on college campuses.
bello
(140 posts)I can’t quantify what the “best” person is, but it is surely more than positions on the issues. “Exciting” shouldn’t be the sole criteria for selecting a candidate, but the fact is, it is one of many that help drive participation of voters. Other assets of a leader might be “dynamic”, “inspiring”, “honest” and so on and so forth. Think “HOPE”, “Yes, we can!” and other attributes that helped drive voters to elect Obama. He was a fantastic leader.
You can’t force people to vote. Something has to make them want to vote. Being cross at people isn’t going to inspire them to want to vote.
Mariana
(15,626 posts)
catbyte
(39,153 posts)MIDems were "in the wilderness" after 2011, just like it sounds like Iowa is now. The MIGQP dominated every branch of government, the legislature proceeded to gerrymander the hell out of the state, as well as holding the majority on the MI Supreme Court. It seemed pretty hopeless that Democrats would have any sort of power for the foreseeable future.
However, MIDems started seeing some hope starting in 2018 with two props that citizen petitions put on the ballot -- legalizing recreational marijuana and de-gerrymandering -- that were very popular and favored Democrats. We were able to elect a Democratic Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, and Chief Justice of the MI Supreme Court -- all women. We also elected enough Democratic state senators to eliminate the MIGQP's super majority.
In 2020, we made further inroads in the state legislature, but the MIGQP was still the majority. We did manage to flip the MI Supreme Court to blue and passed an expanded voting rights prop via citizen petition.
In 2021, the Independent Citizen's Redistricting Commission began working to reconfigure the state into more equitable districts, setting the stage for 2022.
The MIGQP helped our cause in 2022 by making a lot of unforced errors. They were cowed by MAGAts in the MIGQP who completely dominated their nominating convention, resulting in the weakest slate of candidates I've seen since I've been involved in politics. The MIMAGAts got everything they wanted, which was a gift to the MIDems. The MIDems nominated smart, capable people to run against them, which paid off handsomely on November 8 when we flipped both houses to blue and re-elected the Democratic administration. We also got a lot of help from the DCCC because of the close races to re-elect Elissa Slotkin and Dan Kildee.
Sorry for the long post, but what I'm trying to say is that it took years to dislodge the stranglehold the MIGQP had on the state. The MIDems had hit rock bottom in 2016 after Mango Mussolini took the state by 10.7K votes, held a super majority in the state senate, and had control of every major State office and the majority on the MI Supreme Court. They got serious, started to rebuild, and boy, did they. They got help from fed up citizens, too, who put de-gerrymandering, increased voting rights, and reproductive choice on the ballot in the following years.
Does Iowa allow citizen petitions for ballot initiatives? That was the spark that lit the flame back in 2018. If Iowa allows citizen petitions for ballot proposals, that might be the way to go.
hlthe2b
(113,971 posts)And MI and WI are UPPER MIDWEST. Central Midwest is considered the flyover country. Can I buy you a map?
brooklynite
(96,882 posts)hlthe2b
(113,971 posts)support Flyover states. So, by doing so, you were equating these as Flyover. They are not.
brooklynite
(96,882 posts)hlthe2b
(113,971 posts)Argue as you will, (and I certainly note that you've changed your argument in your last reply). It is sheer ignorance to claim that AZ, CO, CO, PA are included in that definition of "flyover". Nor would most consider upper MW states like MI and WI in that definition. As politically experienced as you profess to be, I know you know better.
progressoid
(53,179 posts)What constitutes competitive?
Cindy Axne was running for her 3rd term. She lost by just 2,153 votes out of over 300K votes. Seems pretty competitive.
brooklynite
(96,882 posts)...compared to holding THREE in 2018. No real chance of winning Governorship or either Senate seat.
Tetrachloride
(9,624 posts)brooklynite
(96,882 posts)
ancianita
(43,307 posts)Those ideas affect their big campaign funding mistakes. It shouldn't always be about the party's data.
SleeplessinSoCal
(10,412 posts)Even if you're set up for monthly donation, the barrage continues.
Is there a way to get help to "flyover states" that won't involve trying to counter the greedy class of wealthy bigots who fund the Repubs? How did Dr Dean practically implement the 50 state approach?
Joinfortmill
(21,167 posts)Bettie
(19,704 posts)who 'counts', because the only way to matter is to have vast sums of cash to donate.
OMGWTF
(5,131 posts)LymphocyteLover
(9,847 posts)because right now, it's not.
Blappy
(157 posts)Thank you for posting this, Peacetrain. As a long time denizen of JoCo, I know there are a ton of hardworking local Dems that are committed to electing true blue progressives. However, Iowa has changed politically, and much of that is due to the takeover of media outlets by fascist conservatives with their ubiquitous megaphone, AM Hate Radio.
The demographic trends do not bode especially well for Iowa either. Agribusiness conglomerates are responsible for much of the climate-damaging emissions and poor land stewardship of extractive monoculture, so eco-minded ideas are suppressed. This is a low-wage state, and younger Iowans with education and a liberal mindset usually can't wait to gtfo of Iowa. I don't blame them. Try cashing out after a career of working here and moving to a real blue state - you cannot afford it! The educational system is being dismantled by the Republicans, who continually defund whatever good things used to be part and parcel of Iowa's schools.
It is sad to say, but Iowa does not deserve to play an instrumental role in Democratic Party Presidential selection any longer. The same trends that are turning the rest of the US more blue are reversed here in Iowa. Open-mindedness and egalitarianism have been pushed aside in favor of ignorance and nativism. Maybe it is simply the poor water quality and other environmental degradation that is rotting people's brains here, but I suspect is more nefarious. Even in (rural) Johnson County, I have no representation by any Democrat in government, other than the County Supervisors, and this is primarily because of gerrymandering. My new state Representative and State Senator-elects are now Republican, sadly.
I can no longer claim to be proud of being from Iowa. I am uncertain any national party investment in local or statewide races would sufficiently move the needle, but we will likely not find out in my remaining lifetime.
AM Hate Radio, the big one that comes out of Des Moines and blankets the state....
I rarely listen, except to Hawkeye games on Saturdays, but happened to switch on the car radio while driving back from another small town in my area a couple of days ago....
Even the ads were politicized: Buy gold, because Biden and inflation, blah, blah, blah.
Keep 'em ignorant and keep 'em scared could be their motto.
It made me want to puke....
Blappy
(157 posts)Sogo, I know Iowa isn't the only place where the RW political ads are pervasive, but there is no countervailing force for spreading a liberal counter-narrative. The national media is corporate and corrupt, and there is no significant local media. Hence, the fourth estate has largely failed in their constitutional role. 'Money is speech' is the death knell of democracy...
Sogo
(7,191 posts)Was thinking recently about the need for some kind of countervailing voice....
Air America was a stab at the problem, but alas it was short-lived. I think that's where Rachel Maddow got her start, though, so it wasn't a total loss.
Bettie
(19,704 posts)but those who aren't in flyover country will choose to ignore all of this.
There's also the fact that the state party chooses to ignore rural areas in favor of attempting to run up the margins in cities. That ensues that county level parties are without resources.
FakeNoose
(41,634 posts)I'm not talking about DU because here and other Democratic boards, we're all preaching to the choir. It takes smart, dedicated missionaries to go on Tiktok, Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, and other boards and really post good messaging. Smart, funny putdowns of the opponents - paying attention and spinning it to your candidate's advantage. The best ones get forwarded and retweeted across the country in a short time.
A lot of times these spinners/missionaries are unpaid volunteers, because they really believe in a certain candidate. A good example is John Fetterman's Twitter campaign vs. Dr. Oz this year. Most if his tweets got picked up and spread to other message boards (even here on DU) because they were memorable. Some were great. They were funny, entertaining, and pointedly critical of the things Oz did and said.
So the younger voters are mostly influenced by smart, funny observations that are cleverly planted on the SMS. It's not something that will come from the boomer generation. We were all posters, yard signs, t-shirts and the like. Those things influence people you know and live near, but not much else. The SMS/internet platforms are how the new messages are getting out and it takes a lot of people communicating them in coordination. I believe the Repukes got a head start on us because they've been doing it for Chump since 2015.
yardwork
(69,364 posts)Cheri Beasley should have been the 51st Democratic senator on election night. Instead, we have the Trumpist Budd. The whole country suffers for this.
And the Republicans who turned out elected an entirely Republican state Supreme Court and appellate court, and gave our state legislature a Republican supermajority. So our Democratic governor can't do anything.
mwooldri
(10,818 posts)I like the idea of Dean's 50 state strategy. I'd simplify it to "No Seat Left Behind". But VA and NC went more red in 2021 and 2022. In NC it didn't help that a large number of NC House and NC Senate seats were not even contested - in the rural areas. If this strategy is repeated in NC in 2024 we will have an R governor in NC and a pretty red Star Chamber. For statewide races the Democrats can't just hope to turn out the urban vote and hope the rural vote is depressed.
So it's not just Iowa. It's IMO an urban/rural divide and Democrats in general appear to struggle in rural areas and the Republicans struggle in urban areas. My opinion is that Democrats are appearing to give up in rural America, but the Republicans aren't giving up on the urban areas. They're running candidates in more places.
KS Toronado
(23,727 posts)Our party needs a solid 50 State plan to attack Rs as a group, by that I mean ads that show voters how
terrible the repug party is as a group to improve the lives of the middle class. And those ads to run
24/7 in ALL STATES, not just the ones some poll says is competitive. We dump to much time, money,
and energy into a few candidates, let's help everyone running under the D banner. 
emulatorloo
(46,155 posts)I love the state and did a lot of GOTV there.
I’m torn though. I think the state is lost for decades.
Republicans have poisoned the well. Iowa City, Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, and Davenport can no longer outvote Iowans who have swallowed the Trump lie.
I also believe the “Red Tsunami” propaganda suppressed those Democratic areas. How many Democrats in Iowa City and CR sat home because of that? The Iowa Republicans vote no matter what.
I don’t think the National Party is the responsible party here. As Brooklynite notes, they have not given up on the Midwest.
If the Trump spell gets broken, if Fox stops feeding people Trump propaganda as they have promised then maybe they’ll be some changes.
I’m am still a little hopeful and I am so grateful for you, Peacetrain. Keep up the good fight.
mountain grammy
(29,035 posts)this is the response I received when I posted that I believed we need a 50 state strategy..
Get the funding, find the candidates, put together the campaign resources they need around them, distribute the money to the campaigns, run those campaigns and then show us your results on election day.
In every state. Every district.
I can't wait to see how you do in LA-1.
Getting my popcorn now.
https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=17351101
So work your butts off, and I know you did. Mike Franken was an excellent candidate, but a few on DU will just enjoy eating popcorn and watching you fail.
I donated to Mike Franken and spoke with friends in Iowa who were doing as much as they could to get him elected. They definitely weren't sitting around eating popcorn.
BlueCheeseAgain
(1,983 posts)I don't think her loss was due to a lack of money.
BlueCheeseAgain
(1,983 posts)JT45242
(4,043 posts)So...part of it is the ease of their megadonors to amplify racist hate on TV, hate radio, etc.
Post citizen united have to be look at super PAC money, not just candidate and party.
But Iowa is as I said earlier, likely a list cause.
Both sons want to get out of here as soon as possible. Older one graduate from engineering school in may and already has a job. He said that he wouldn't even interview with an Iowa company after seeing the blatant racism, and be we live in the IC-CR corridor.
Bettie
(19,704 posts)as soon as they graduate.
I'm hoping local public schools in Iowa still exist for a few years so my youngest can finish high school in our local, rural school.
Bettie
(19,704 posts)but her campaign wasn't dynamic. They allowed Ernst to define her from the beginning. Heck, I still had cable then, so I saw the ads on local channels and there was barely any pushback.
Plus, Ernst doesn't need to raise money herself, the Kochs and other right wing orgs are all over it.
The one thing about the 50 state strategy is that it was before citizens united. Now, it isn't about candidate fundraising, it's about outside groups and the right wing has more of them.
druidity33
(6,915 posts)I'll reiterate:
"The one thing about the 50 state strategy is that it was before Citizens United"
I even bolded it!
This whole conversation about Dean and the merits of the 50State strategy is moot. Citizens United changed everything about candidate funding and advertising.
Bettie
(19,704 posts)all the money in the world, because they have it and we don't.
They also own most of the media, all really, because the owners of the media tend to be really rich people who don't want to pay taxes.
And yet, it is insanely frustrating to live in a state that is entirely written off because we're not worth it to the overall party. There are Democrats here, plenty of us, but we're demoralized and frustrated.
I'm at the point of not wanting to even participate in any of the county party stuff. I will, but I need a break, before going into caucus torture mode. I SO wish we'd have a primary. LOTS less work.
republianmushroom
(22,326 posts)jonstl08
(565 posts)Agree with you. Not much party money spent on the Dems in winnable seats here also. Example MO-2 (St. Louis County) in 2018 the national party spent a lot of money trying to defeat Ann Wagner. She won 51-49. 2020 no much spent and she won by the same margin despite riding Trumps cottails. This year that vote difference was 55-45 with very little outside money. Not saying Wagner would have been beaten but the GOP would have to spend money here instead of other races.
moniss
(9,056 posts)but sadly there are those who will always bow down and kiss the ring of those at the national level and defend them from any critique of any kind. They will claim we are demanding millions of dollars and all of our situations are curable all by ourselves and we have only ourselves to blame. That same attitude pervades the party leadership at the state level and many times with those who aspire to "move up". I have seen it in Wisconsin where motivated people at the local level want to get involved and run for office but they get the cold shoulder from the state and local leadership in the party because they didn't "come to us first", "we want to run someone we have been grooming", "we don't think this is your time" and so on and so on.
But it's even way more than that when it comes to the national consultants and party leadership. I will go to the discussion of the Iowa Caucus. There may well be things to critique about having Iowa go first but I have seen firsthand just how incompetent the "big boys" are when they try to deal with what they call "flyover" states. I'll give as the example the campaign of Dukakis. I traveled to Iowa a few weeks before the Caucus along with a bunch of other people. We had received specific request from the campaign to do so and spend the weekend knocking on doors in Des Moines, West Des Moines, Urbandale and Ankeny. We were told there would be an organizing meeting on Thursday evening and a dinner. Then we were to go door knocking on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The campaign said the motel rooms for us were all booked already and taken care of. We got to the local campaign headquarters along with about 20 other couples. The only person there was a volunteer and he said he was told that someone from the national campaign was due shortly. No coffee pot and few chairs. So about a half hour later a guy from the national campaign comes walking in wearing a very expensive looking camel hair overcoat and nice suit and tie. He gave a brief pep talk and vanished. Two local campaign people then showed up and told us that they had maps for where they wanted us to go the next day. Total joke as the "maps" were simply photo copies of city maps with no specific areas identified etc. We asked about literature to hand out or a few talking points/policies that they wanted us to have. Nothing. Zip. Zilch. Zero. So by now it's pushing 9:00 p.m. and we asked about the dinner we were told about. They said they would meet us all at the Pizza Ranch. So over we go but lo and behold our local contacts never showed up and we paid for the meals ourselves. But we were still dedicated enough that most of us went to the motel and checked in to the room numbers we had been given by the local campaign folks. Friday came and we did our best going through neighborhoods and knocking on doors (most people not home) and the few people who answered the door would ask us for literature and we had none. They would ask us for candidate positions and we could barely stumble through generalities. It was a disaster. We decided to leave and go back to Wisconsin. We went back to the motel to check out. You can surmise what happened there. Good thing we had credit cards. So Dukakis finished third in the Caucus.
So a "big national figure" from the coast with national consultants etc. couldn't possibly blow it worse than they did. Anybody with even a bare amount of management skills would never think to assemble people for a task and then not be able to give them direction, instruction and support. Let alone shaft them once they assembled. But it goes even deeper. There are plenty of consultants for Iowa who can tell you what neighborhoods to target and when to do so. But you have to have the basic intelligence to know that and to know that if you don't know an area you damned well better find someone who does. Your camel hair coat doesn't cut it by itself.
iemanja
(57,757 posts)but rather the party likely sees Iowa as a lost cause. I'm not saying that's true, but I imagine that's how they think. I don't know how much money MN got from the party, but Dems dominated in the election there, winning the Governorship, the House, and the Senate. Angie Craig's House raise was also one of the most expensive in the country. I imagine that included money from the national party. She won.
hay rick
(9,605 posts)A post here: https://www.democraticunderground.com/104516598
Florida needs long-term planning and investment. The cycle to cycle investments have led us to rock bottom.
LaMouffette
(2,640 posts)seat by about 11,000 votes. If she had had any kind of financial help from the DNC, we might be sending Monica to Washington instead of Zinke, who got elected to the new House seat in spite of racking up EIGHTEEN federal investigations when he was Trump's secretary of the interior.
JMCKUSICK
(6,049 posts)We have to lose better!!
I love that philosophy as votes per precinct make many local, state and federal races winnable.
There's no reason that reducing our losses by fighting for every vote as a strategy won't work nationwide vs just giving fighting for every vote platitudes followed by no action or investment.
BlueMTexpat
(15,690 posts)in the ONLY STRATEGY that Dems should follow.
Until the leadership understands this, whole states that could have been won will be lost! 
Genki Hikari
(1,766 posts)That the national party doesn't do what you think it does.
And that you are not entitled to support from other states, or even individual donors. Your candidates have to earn that kind of support--as in having a decent chance of being elected.
And that your party's problems in the state come not from the national party, but from YOUR OWN STATE PARTY.
Your state party failed to develop and support winning candidates. Nobody outside of Iowa owed you one thing. It was up to YOU in Iowa to get your candidate elected.
Formerly hard-core r California has a strong Democratic party today--thanks in great part to the incredible organizing skills of Diane Feinstein, Barbara Boxer and Nancy Pelosi. Go talk to them about how to turn your state's party around. They know how to get it done.
Stop thinking that Howard Dean had a bigger impact than he did. His strategy worked in purple to red-starting-to-turn-purple states, but it had very little impact in hardcore red states. Alabama, Mississippi, Texas and etc were hardcore red when he led the party. And they were still red after he stepped down. A few Congressional seats flipped amongst the red states, but not that many. Worse, how about governorships? Statewide offices? Legislatures?
There was no change. As an example of how ineffective Dean's "strategy" was in red states, consider this FACT:
The biggest Democratic legislative gains in Texas since the 90s came not from Dean's "strategy" but from Beto's 2018 Senate run. He was a charismatic candidate running a one-of-a-kind campaign who didn't even set out to flip down ballot races, but he nevertheless managed to do that. Because he did what was right for Texas, and never mind what the national party thought of it.
Your state party needs to learn how to run and fund campaigns that are likewise right for your state, and stop depending on outsiders to do the job for you.
calimary
(90,021 posts)His leadership got the House back for Dems.
And the establishment Dems, to my great disappointment, seemed awfully interested in getting rid of him as soon as they got some power back.
Bettie
(19,704 posts)has changed elections forever, or until we find some way to get rid of it.
Kid Berwyn
(24,395 posts)Dr. Dean contested every seat.
mahina
(20,645 posts)Bookmarking.
lees1975
(7,046 posts)Franken was a great candidate and it was doable. No reason not to invest resources and help out there, or in North Carolina or Ohio.
Five electoral votes is a nice cushion.
rurallib
(64,688 posts)ever since then Dems have pursued election strategies geared toward cities. That sure is hard to sell in Iowa.
Dems have done far more for farmers and small businesses that Republicans have even though about, but the media which is nearly a solid 100% red in Iowa has spent decades demonizing Democrats. Hard to beat the propaganda.
What is so disconcerting in this state is to see the trend just get more and more red. Dems are so discouraged they aren't even voting here. Kids are leaving in droves because opportunities are elsewhere, not in Iowa.
And abandoning that 50 state strategy was a monumental fuck up by the Dems
Bettie
(19,704 posts)as soon as Dean was gone, there was no longer any outreach to rural counties.
moondust
(21,286 posts)ahead of (2020) election"
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-farmers-aid-idUSKBN2741D4
Yes, that was 2020, but it probably reinforced some long-standing conservative loyalties to the GQP in rural areas regardless of any other issues.
UpInArms
(54,984 posts)When I moved to Missouri in 1993, we had a Democratic Governor, Speaker of the House Gephart, a Democratic House of Rep in my district, democratic statehouse, etc …
It has been chipped away by the blue dress, the loss of the fairness doctrine, the religious rise associated with the millennium, the loss of factory jobs to China … etc ..
Then, we became the “gonna take yer guns, baby eaters …
I am sick to death of the lack of the big D party support.
We had a great candidate for the statehouse and she was told they couldn’t help her until after the primary (she ran unopposed) and then, after that, they told her there was no support for the general election either.
brooklynite
(96,882 posts)A lot of people seem to think they "know" what Dean's strategy actually was and they "know" we're not doing it now.
Please explain EXACTLY what you want to happen.
DFW
(60,186 posts)But I have a friend there who was the only Democrat to win a statewide election (for State Auditor--a big deal in a rural state like Iowa) twice in a row now. It was close last week, but it appears he won again. I tried to convince him to run for Grassley's seat this time, since he is 40, looks half that, is from a tiny town in rural Iowa, and is constantly on TV there. He knows his state backwards and forwards, and said he didn't think he could win the Senate seat this time. He would have been the PERFECT candidate to unseat Grassley, and I fear he was STILL right, sad as that is. I donated four figures to his campaign and even more to the IDP, but I can't get anything done by myself in a place I have never been to. All I can do is support the people there and hope it's the right thing.
Celerity
(54,408 posts)Rob Sand figured out how to win statewide office as a Democrat in Iowa, and now the presidential contenders are seeking his counsel — that is, when he isn’t deer hunting with bow and arrow.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/07/us/politics/iowa-democrats-2020.html
CARROLL, Iowa — When I asked Rob Sand, the Iowa state auditor, if he could recommend fascinating Iowans to profile, he suggested himself. Then he suggested we go deer hunting. “We can get you in a tree stand this week to spice it up,” he said in a text.
Mr. Sand’s fondness for hunting — cultivated during his childhood years in rural Iowa but also conveniently appealing to the state’s more conservative constituents — helps explain why he was the only non-incumbent Democrat to win statewide here in 2018. And that, in turn, helps explain why he has become one of the most sought after endorsements in what could be the most important state in the most important presidential primary for Democrats maybe ever. Over the last year, many of the 2020 candidates have asked him for advice, viewing him as a next-generation oracle of rural Iowa but also as a model for how to win as a Democrat in a state that President Trump captured in 2016 by more than nine points.
Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Ind., had coffee with him in February and recently called him to talk about agricultural policy. Elizabeth Warren met with him at a coffee shop during a recent visit to Des Moines. He speaks frequently to Cory Booker. Michael Bennet gave him his book. Terry McAuliffe, the former governor of Virginia, had breakfast with him when he was thinking about getting into the race.
“In the early primary states, he is a truly important influencer,” Mr. Booker said on Wednesday in a brief phone interview while en route to Iowa. “Rob’s endorsement for any candidate, should he choose any candidate, would be very significant in his state in general, and especially in a caucus state,” he added.
snip
Link to tweet
DFW
(60,186 posts)We clicked quickly, despite our vastly different backgrounds. One night in late December, in South Carolina, I had booked a table for ten people at our favorite Lebanese restaurant, and saw Rob wandering around alone. After getting the OK from my wife, I asked if he wanted to join us. I could tell that he really didn‘t want go eat alone, but didn‘t want to be an imposition, either. I insisted that he wouldn‘t be, and the bond was cemented. He had never had Lebanese food before, so I ordered for him, and he now is a fan of Lebanese food, too.
He was a young assistant District Attorney in Iowa. He was handed a case that his higher-ups considered unsolvable. It was a hugely intricate scheme to fraudulently win lotteries. Against all expectations, Rob did solve the case, and some of the very surprised perps ended up in jail, their winnings confiscated. It got him something like a six page article in the New York Times Magazine, and some instant national recognition. Now, TV interviews are frequent for him in Iowa. I‘ll bet not too many people in the USA know who their State Auditor is. I sure as hell don‘t. But a lot of Iowans do.
treestar
(82,383 posts)in 2008? What was different then?
Mariana
(15,626 posts)I wish someone would explain to me why so many rural Americans decided to love and worship the born-rich, "coastal elite" lifelong New York City resident Donald Trump. WTF? Until we understand that, I don't think we're going to make much progress.
Tomconroy
(7,611 posts)I don't think the problem is money.
StevieM
(10,578 posts)Last edited Thu Nov 17, 2022, 11:51 PM - Edit history (1)
The media savagely attacked her for doing so. It was held up as an example of her supposed incompetence.
betsuni
(29,078 posts)StevieM
(10,578 posts)JPPaverage
(638 posts)The Iowa Democratic Party is weak. The last (ever?) Democratic Governor we had was lousy, the former "shining light" rep in the then first district ran one of the worst ever senatorial campaigns, basically handing the seat to Ernst, Grassley may still be a Senator even after he's dead, the party refuse to get down and dirty like the repukes. Kind of like bringing a slingshot to a gunfight.
The democrats have to find candidates who can win at the local level and then move up the line. Example, the mayor of the city I live in is a Dem, albeit a moderate Dem, but given his status and getting known a little better statewide, perhaps he could run for U. S. Representative, and if he wins, maybe Governor. Or something like that. Something positive needs to happen. Soon.
Sorry for the length of this post, but I really need to rant.
Demovictory9
(37,113 posts)
TigressDem
(5,126 posts)
AmBlue
(3,460 posts)We used to have Governor Bob Graham, Governor Lawton Chiles.... Florida WAS a blue‐ISH purple state! And it wasn't very long ago registered Democrats outnumbered the Repigs. Now all the gerrymandering has ruined us and our legislature and governorship has gone completely to the dogs.
I have heard many Dems here long for more party investment. But now it will take many years to undo all the damage.
Hermit-The-Prog
(36,631 posts)This is a national problem. Fox and hate radio and all the local media outlets purchased by Sinclair are working all the time to blame Democrats for everything bad (especially if the bad is caused by Republican policies).
How do we get our message and facts past that noise machine?
Martin68
(27,749 posts)conditions have worked against rural communities who support Republican policies against job training, education, and infrastructure improvement. The great irony all along has been that communities that would have benefited the most from Democratic policies have bought into Fox News promulgated propaganda. Republican propagandists have persuaded flyover communities that Democrats look down on them, disrespect them, and are supporting immigrants and people of color instead of them. So the racist wedge persuaded them to vote fort Republicans who are just using them to vote for policies that benefit wealthy corporations more than farmers, and working people. The truth is, Democrats have always supported job opportunities, agriculture, and workers ever since the New Deal. Don't tell me you've fallen for that lie!
betsuni
(29,078 posts)
It's ridiculous and obviously false populist nonsense, but we've heard the "Democrats are out-of-touch coastal elites who ignore the working/middle class because beholden to corporations and Wall Street" a million times especially in 2015/16 and it only helped Republicans. Never knew who the hell they were talking about.
Also, not everyone living in "coastal elite" places are from there. People have relatives in rural areas all over the country.
Martin68
(27,749 posts)Reagan used the canard to good advantage. Republicans adopted the lie that Democrats hate working people and farmers ages ago. Thomas Jefferson started that with his war against Alexander Hamilton and the Federalists.