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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWhat exactly is so horrible about the Democratic party ?
I hear it time and time again. Tavis Smiley was just on my local news program discussing trump and was asked why democrats can't win. His answer was a snarky we don't have time to talk about that. That seems to be the theme for many when talking about democrats. I need to know what is so distasteful about the Democratic party. This country has always been better economically, socially and fiscally under democrats that is well documented. Other than trump who 99% of the time gets a pass NO one seems to want to ask what's wrong with the Republican party. The party of massive debt and constant tax cuts for the wealthy. The party that has given up the responsibility of their branch of Congress to the executive branch and billionaire donors with seemingly no remorse or concern. What am I missing ?
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librechik
(30,956 posts)We like black people and other minorities.
They used to have an ugly phrase for it. But we made them stop saying it. And they really hate us for that.
LexVegas
(6,958 posts)
Blue Full Moon
(3,380 posts)dutch777
(5,041 posts)...we can be bleeding minority support vs. Trump/GOP AND have 25% of our registered voters stay home for the 2024 election. That combination if it goes forward, whether in national or state wide elections, makes a comeback almost impossible.
Freddie
(10,092 posts)They don’t want a woman president.
Hispanics especially are horrified at anything called “socialism”.
LS0999
(280 posts)It's not always about economics.
Freddie
(10,092 posts)That’s why, unfortunately, our next presidential candidate must be a white male. Maybe we’ll get a woman president in my granddaughter’s lifetime.
lildDemz
(100 posts)come in many colors. It's hard to identify them if you don't live with them.
haele
(15,318 posts)And the minorities who voted for him thought that since Democrats were hypocritical hidden racists(MLK's unreliable Middle class White Allies), they could deal with *rump's open racism; because ultimately, *rump would deal as "fairly" with them as he would with the Whites at their social status despite his racism because successful businesspeople only really see the color Green.
They're sadly mistaken, but that's because at a certain emotional level, they're channeling their own needs to have some group to look down on...
LeftInTX
(34,098 posts)Koch brothers infiltrated decades ago under nice sounding names like, "Libre Initiative". Naive Democrats fall for it.
Scrivener7
(59,294 posts)the necessary discussion happens, those who point out weak areas are swarmed by people asking, "What are YOU doing?" as if we are the elected officials with the bully pulpits. Or they demand that we only speak about problems with republiQans, which is not going to help us turn the terrible Democratic approval statistics around.
The question can't be answered here because questions can't be asked here.
kacekwl
(9,087 posts)Weak areas ? Could we start there ?
berniesandersmittens
(13,138 posts)Send people to listen in at town halls. Talk to people in their communities. Find common ground in whatever ways possible.
Economy
Working class issues
Support for veterans
Develop response teams for things happening locally and organize on social media.
Have someone at every county fair, swap meet, council meeting, bake sale, school event, and business expo.
This work is hard. But as Kamala said, we like hard work.
IMHO, us rural folk have got to get together and rebuild from the ground up.
Having heavy fighters like Newsom, Bernie, Pritzker, and AOC hold on the national level to give us hope. A few rural flips will give us all some hope.
murielm99
(32,915 posts)If you don't see it, you are not paying attention.
betsuni
(28,983 posts)automatically corrupt Democrats and make them mindlessly obey oligarchs or whatever should really try to use their brains. Campaign finance reform is a top Democratic goal along with all the other D goals that people pretend don't exist.
berniesandersmittens
(13,138 posts)Yes, I pay attention locally.
Celerity
(54,169 posts)This is neither a safe nor constructive space for open, frank discussion and self-reflection. It has been gamed and manipulated by some to the point where a person (now judged by the board-gamers to be a heretic and likely falsely painted as a Dem-hating troll) is systemically punished and artificially limited from critiques that go against certain groups' meta-narratives and subject gatekeeping.
WarGamer
(18,479 posts)SineQuaNon001
(13 posts)If we truly permitted sincere, constructive self-reflection, we could begin the work of proactive change. Until we stop simply reacting to every single thing conservatives do—and forge decisive, forward-thinking, fresh strategy—we're stuck in Orange Man Bad rage and screaming into the void.
In addition to how the Democrat brand is perceived as overly woke, scolding, and looking down upon those with whom we disagree, the worst judgment (in my view) is that the Left is grim and humorless. It's weird, but the perception is we are no fun anymore. We used to own comedy culture!
Striking a happy warrior attitude, armed with outside-the-box ideas, would be appealing to many weary Americans. Donald Trump's name doesn't even have to come up if we deliver new, positive, breakthrough messaging.
As always, my two cents.
summer_in_TX
(4,120 posts)The "happy warrior" vibe has been largely missing – until Gavin Newsom's comms team started their brilliant mimicry. There have been precious few of us following Molly Ivins' exhortation:
Recently I've been mulling over a Canadian's post about how oppressive to freedom both parties are. That surprised me. Guess I'm blind to our/my own faults. He pointed out political correctness as why he said it about us. It occurs to me that perhaps political correctness is a version of judgmentalism. Or it least it may be misperceived like that.
Perhaps we are struggling to find the humor in things due to depression. Having our country uprooted and its ideals tossed on the garbage pile is, God knows, depressing. I'm personally feeling determined and resolute, but I can't say I feel able to make jokes right now. But Gavin Newsom's comms team has been lifting my spirits.
betsuni
(28,983 posts)Scrivener7
(59,294 posts)and they seem to get more shrill each time they are proven wrong on an issue, so I try not to engage with them.
leftstreet
(40,116 posts)Hopefully that's not too controversial to state.
The GOPers are masters at controlling the narrative. They throw out outrageous ideas and statements, the Democrats are then pressured to react.
But rarely do Democrats throw out a popular POLICY (say Medicare For All) then sit back and wait for the reactions
LeftInTX
(34,098 posts)We also are short on cash and sorta go into hiatus during down times.
We need to be more pro-active.
Some here want Democrats to scream and shout, but that's reactive.
Republicans have a "long game". We tend to be more reactive.
But being short of cash, kinda puts us in "reactive" mode.
But everyone complains about fundraising.
samsingh
(18,396 posts)i will say that we keep thinking republicans care about America at some level, and they don't. We think because we are decent, others will be too. They aren't. We keep bringing a knife to a fight where the republicans are yielding machine guns and tanks.
chouchou
(3,074 posts)Nice car= Nice person Nice house = Hard working family. Brag, Brag, Brag = Must be telling the truth.
Coat and tie = Must be an honest person. "Fox News said it" Henry..."They know what they're doing."
(They DO know what the hell they're doing...just not what most people think)
...and the rest of the in-your-face-Media....sure doesn't take a few points off of the Democratic side. 
..and the beat goes on.
TnDem
(1,390 posts)Nobody can say anything on here without getting twitterpated and reporting a post as a closet Republican because your view of the party doesn't agree 100% with theirs.
Echo chambers are for people that want their ears tickled and soothed and not the truth.
RussBLib
(10,553 posts)...perhaps you should think about terminating your account. I mean, why bother saying "anything" if you are going to get reported or alerted on? It's an exaggeration that I see pretty often. Not enough for me to alert on it, but it gets old.
I do see a ton of whining about Democrats here, and about the climate here at DU. To me, that's just par for the course and I let it slide. Democrats have varied opinions and styles. I think that in my 24 years here on DU, I have alerted on one single post, and it was blatantly offensive.
Speak your mind, regardless of the consequences, and let the chips fall.
https://russblib.blogspot.com
Doodley
(11,845 posts)the misperceptions, the fear-mongering about the Democratic Party.
kacekwl
(9,087 posts)Democrats and so called independents not just Republicans. I know democrats aren't perfect but can't figure out what is the issues.
LeftInTX
(34,098 posts)that Democrats are horrible.
That's not accurate. Parties are long term, an effective party does not run on "whiplash".
Doodley
(11,845 posts)being anti-man and wife, killing babies, being the anti-Christ, phony science like climate change and vaccines, pandering to other nations, allowing twenty or thirty million immigrants in, many muderers and rapists, starting the war in Ukraine. This is just some of the gaslighting that many millions of Republicans believe.
marmar
(79,579 posts)..... is disapproval by people who identify as Democrats who view the party as not fighting hard enough. With the recent actions by Gavin Newsom, Prtizker and others, I think that's about to change.
bigtree
(94,013 posts)...pointing to Dem Governors with Dem legislatures and as some kind of reawakening of Democrats, as so many in the media have, over their ability to advance legislation in their states, including redistricting efforts in their states through Democratic majority legislatures is really brushing way past the fact that Dem voters didn't show up last November to give Democrats in Congress the numbers needed to 'fight' like Dem majorities ALWAYS fight.
When we have majorities, we not only fight, we win.
LexVegas
(6,958 posts)
Democrats are still playing the game of Democracy, Republicans are playing a different game that is win at all costs.
The Democratic Party represents almost all of my values as an American, but I want them to play to win, not play to respect everything and everyone.
Susan Calvin
(2,425 posts)I was searching for a way to say just that.
kacekwl
(9,087 posts)they are accused of not visiting my town or not caring about my issues.
Susan Calvin
(2,425 posts)I know they care and listen, at least the vast majority. But a whole lot of them need to learn how to do barroom fighting.
Paladin
(32,354 posts)Democrats have insisted on playing in accordance with a set of good conduct rules that Republicans wiped their asses with and discarded, years ago. We're now paying a huge price for that naive behavior. Time for a radical and immediate change in tactics---unless you're OK with living in a police state, which is exactly what trump and his goons are putting in place.
gab13by13
(31,950 posts)Just one example; every Democrat in the House except one, voted against the CR in March, voted to take a stand, expecting the Senate to follow suit. Chuck Schumer knee capped the House and he and enough Senators allowed the CR to pass with a mere majority.
Krasnov got what he wanted and Democrats got absolutely nothing. The Big Ugly Death Bill was given the green light.
Schumer was afraid of being blamed for a government shutdown, the majority of Congressional Democrats wanted safeguards for the safety social net before allowing the CR. Schumer then went on Chris Hayes and stated that Krasnov will burn it all down and then we will win the next election. he actually said that.
Democrats are fantastic at governing but that message gets trampled by the right wing echo machine.
There was a question here about a month ago asking who was the best president in our lifetime? Many people picked Bill Clinton who signed welfare reform into law, and signed the Telecommunications Act into law which allowed a handful of people to control the MSM. That Act resulted in right wingers buying up news outlets to spread its right wing propaganda. That Act put Democrats behind the 8 ball for getting its messages out.
kacekwl
(9,087 posts)sooner than later. Maybe some younger blood and new ideas would change things.
womanofthehills
(10,927 posts)So the young feel more represented.
There are only 2 Democrats under 5O in the Senate and one of those 2 is 49.
The young are anti war and anti genocide and we only have the progressives really calling for peace.
Then we have AIPAC spending $8.5 million against Cori Bush because she is progressive and anti war. If AIPAC keeps spending against our progressive candidates, we are screwed getting the young vote.
SocialDemocrat61
(7,457 posts)who never got over his jealousy of Obama.
kacekwl
(9,087 posts)comment while not unexpected got me thinking about how many times I've heard this.
SocialDemocrat61
(7,457 posts)just bs that they all repeat as if it's true.
walkingman
(10,701 posts)and many whites, especially white males, view it as a threat to their system of privilege they have enjoyed since our nation's founding. They are convinced that the "merit" system of privilege they have always enjoyed is threatened, undeservedly, by minorities who are getting special considerations based on their race and/or minority status. This also includes women for many people - for whatever reason, including religious beliefs.
They feel so threatened by it that they are willing to give up our basic principles and practices of democracy. In other words, they really don't care what or who it takes as long as they get what they want.
As the middle class has shrunk with the loss of manufacturing, union jobs, multinational corporations, the economic prosperity that was once enjoyed by them is now being split among women and workers of color then add to that racism, sexism and homophobia, which is a long held cultural legacy in America, and you've got a recipe for fear, loss, and even rage.
Also as we've move from a rural ag based economy to a more urban industrialized one the majority of the population now live in an urban area - more diverse and therefore a tendency to be more democratic leaning - when things are not going their way....who do they blame? Democrats which represent most urban areas.
As an older white male, that is what I think is happening. Although I honestly do not understand the youth vote (or lack thereof), to me young people seem much less idealistic than in my youth - maybe because we have left them a shitstorm to deal with and they resent it? I don't know.
myohmy2
(3,721 posts)...will be written about this and trump for next 100 years and will all amount to a, '...who gives a fuck.'...because no one was willing or capable of finding a political straight-jack for trump and the fascists...
...in the interim, our country in the world, our democracy, our economy, our political system and the people's welfare has suffered a huge decline...
...possibly an irreversible decline...
...not good...
Ping Tung
(4,364 posts)The endless squabble about what their party stands for between the Democrats started in the 19th century and continues to this day. Which is as it should be. Fortunately, we don't have Loyalty Oaths demanding that we all think the same.
"Were parties here divided merely by a greediness for office,...to take a part with either would be unworthy of a reasonable or moral man." --Thomas Jefferson
sheshe2
(97,108 posts)I stopped listening to that ass back when he had a show with Cornel West.
https://nonprofitquarterly.org/cornel-west-calls-obama-a-rockefeller-republican-in-blackface/
JI7
(93,484 posts)People don't expect Republicans to do much in way of things like economy for them. They just want them to hurt certain people.
People expect democrsts to help on policy matters even if they aren't in control.
It's a few things .
There are certain extremist attention seeking types that we get associated with even though they don't represent us and in fact hate us and that doesn't help. A few examples of this are defund the police and open borders.
LeftInTX
(34,098 posts)Whenever a "left-leaning" anything commits a crime, it gets blamed on Democrats. We got blamed for this:
maxsolomon
(38,535 posts)2. We don't have a vast network of propagandist media on AM Radio and Television.
3. Our Pols are too old.
Diamond_Dog
(40,334 posts)I have heard that one before. One issue voters.
ClimateChangeisReal
(91 posts)The repugs terrible budget bill takes food out of the mouths of already born children in the lowest incomes in order to give big tax cuts to billionaires and big corporations. Controlling women's bodies is about power. The repugs are copying the 20th century's worst dictators Hitler, Stalin and Mussolini who all believed that the government should control women's bodies in the repugs quest to control women's bodies in our country.
JanLip
(862 posts)My mom passed away 5 years ago. She was 94 at the time. She and I were the only Democrats in our family. We were and are liberals. Her great granddaughter called us “baby killers”. And that hurt just because we believe in a woman’s right to choose. Still hurts but knowing they only watch Fox we weren’t surprised. Those on the “right wing” were influenced by propaganda against liberals. They were just parroting what they were told. You would think by now they would see they were wrong.
Jan
kentuck
(115,365 posts)...after a while, they begin to believe it. Trump and the right-wing propaganda machine have been very effective at calling the Democratic Party "ugly".
ClimateChangeisReal
(91 posts)and let W steal Al Gore's victory and they've been unilaterally disarming ever since. Even now with some notable exceptions like AOC, Jasmine Crockett, Chris Murphy, , the firewall against Rump is coming from the blue states.
BlueTsunami2018
(4,945 posts)Without it being alerted.
But there needs to be an alternate, opposite party to the fascistic capitalists. And we just don’t have that. We have allowed the ruling class to so propagandize the benefit of the many over the few as a bad thing that we can’t even try to balance the scale.
When you pay lip service to the workers by throwing them a scrap or two and still further the ends of the ruling class, it turns people off. We need someone fighting for the workers, to end poverty, which shouldn’t exist in the richest country in the world, for universal healthcare, education and housing. We should be fighting to take the profit motive out of every single thing we do. This greed, this need to make money, particularly personal fortunes, the most important thing in society is poison to a healthy, equitable nation.
No one is fighting for that. Hell, our guys won’t even back someone trying to do even the slightest bit of that.
What our system does is make the worst instincts of people, greed, competition, ruthlessness and opportunism into virtues and the best instincts compassion, equality, collective benefit and true justice into weakness.
That’s what people mean when they say “both parties are the same”. They obviously aren’t the same when it comes to details, particularly social issues, but they do believe in the same failed system at the end of the day.
The Democratic Party needs to be the opposite of the bullshit the Republicans are doing. I just don’t think they’re allowed to be even if they wanted to.
Something has to be done to break the hold of the greediest, most selfish and uncaring people over the government. That is the fight we need and it’s probably going to take pitchforks and torches to get it.
We should have been there a long time ago but people are still too comfortable, still too concerned about being inconvenienced. But if things keep going as they are, we’ll be there soon enough.
eppur_se_muova
(41,680 posts)Rush Limbaugh and Newt Gingrich presented a gullible audience with a cartoon version of politics, in which the Dems are always the bumbling bad guys, and people bought it. They've made sure that the "debate" ever since is about impressions, emotions, and insults, not facts. When you start checking facts about which policies have benefited American voters and which haven't, the GOP loses big-time. Ask any R voter what the GOP has done for them and they'll usually come up with "they cut our taxes", never mind that the GOP in office has never offered anything more than token tax relief to middle-class voters, and always balanced that with giveaways and deregulation of corps that have cost R voters far more than they've ever paid in taxes, anyway.
If you ain't rich, the GOP is not on your side. Not ever.
JI7
(93,484 posts)
Torchlight
(6,702 posts)Other than that, it's great (but I will pretend the solicitations for money are oppressive).
D_Master81
(2,488 posts)I think the answers that Democrats provide only work when tough times arise. It’s easy to be a republican and tell people “we’re going to stay out of your business, you know best”. People only want the government to be the answer when the GOP has F’d things up. A lot of the generation that remembers the depression and the Great Society have since passed on and new generations that have grown up with trillion of dollars in RW propaganda being shoved down their throat since the 80s that government is incompetent have come of age.
relayerbob
(7,410 posts)
IronLionZion
(51,108 posts)voter registration, election security, making sure at the state and local level that eligible voters can vote.
we have many things we can work on.
JMCKUSICK
(5,840 posts)With same/similar message going back to the seventies and eighties. Better Healthcare, Better wages, better education, a fairer system for all. Sounds great right?
The problem isn't the message, it's the delivery, people make most of their decisions based on emotions, Democrats keep appealing to your logic.
Same message, except tailored to improving your life, fighting oligarchy and really standing up for the little guy, not using us as a negotiating tool.
The only things I felt last fall was fear and righteous.
Thank about it, MAGA means nothing specifically, take our country back, simple slogans sheep can get behind " with pride".
I mean seriously, who can't support that at least in an idealistic way?
Our slogans in 2016, the one I remember, was "I'm With Her"
Remember the old adage, better to ask forgiveness than permission?
We haven't seemingly learned that one yet. When was the last time we had an effective bully using the bully pulpit? It wasn't Obama, it wasn't The Clinton's, and while Biden got to s of great things done, it wasn't because of the bully pulpit.
I firmly believe that the Democratic Party has the right positions, and has within its grasp, an easy winning message. Let's get this party speaking plain English again, with attention to honesty, corruption and such, but the main message has to be economic and real. It's almost like we forgot how to talk to voters in a meaningful language.
stuck in the past, where they were able to actually make some gains with "better" and "more robust" and "protecting, shoring up"
It's 2025.
No one wants to "improve" private health insurance.
People want single payer nonprofit healthcare
JMCKUSICK
(5,840 posts)I could go on.
uponit7771
(93,524 posts)... how did a bunch of poor people convince themselves they should fight for rich people's property?!?!
Some dark ahit but it works in masses
GoodRaisin
(10,855 posts)This is probably what I hear said the most. Heavy legacy media bothsiderism, except on Fox News, where everything about Democrats is bad and everything about Republicans is good.
JustAnotherGen
(37,983 posts)And Tavis Smiley? He's still pissed he didn't get a personal invite to Obama's first inauguration.
Response to kacekwl (Original post)
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LeftInTX
(34,098 posts)He brought Europe and NATO with him.
What happened to Europe/NATO?
They were treated like shit and made to look weak.
Democrats are like Europe.
We get bullied, then we get hated because we get bullied.
Now Europe and NATO looks weak and Putin/Trump looks strong.
If NATO can't control him, how can the Democratic Party?
TnDem
(1,390 posts)...Who Zelensky brought with him to the US....It may mean something on here, but out in the real world, it means two things:
1) Jack
2) Shit
betsuni
(28,983 posts)slapping them in the face with their own hands while taunting "Why are you hitting yourself?"
Hekate
(100,133 posts)Last edited Tue Aug 19, 2025, 12:04 AM - Edit history (1)
I am old enough to remember when there were 2 political parties and the public posture was one of mutual respect. I am old enough to remember when there was a kind of agreed-upon “civic religion” — that is, the public posture was that if one had to have a public prayer, that it would be to a generic benevolent God, no references to specifics like Jesus, and open to inclusive interpretation to all but the most ardent atheists (Madeline Murray O’Hare comes to mind) .
In other words, I am old.
I thought that the RW nutjobs could be overcome by the sheer numbers of centrist Americans on both sides — probably most of us did. It wasn’t until the early years of the BushCheney admin that I realized the RW had literally turned the words “Democrat” and “Democratic” into slurs and dirty words.
In other words, we Democrats and the Democratic Party need to finally deal with the deliberate and likely permanent degradation of our political discourse — which was not done by us.
Rather like Russia attacking Ukraine, actually. Ukraine did not ask for this war, and appeasement never, ever works.
All I’ve got at the moment is that millions of us are protesting and resisting, and that it is having an effect. Institutions that refuse to capitulate are actually finding that Trump is TACO. And — Dem politicians who are in office, like Gavin Newsom, who are quick on the uptake and who fight fire with fire are definitely having an effect, and we need more like him.
Self-reflection is good. Self-flagellation is not.
At least #65 Repub1 made its one lengthy post and departed after pizza delivery. But oh, the need to open the windows and turn on a fan.
betsuni
(28,983 posts)but it really took off when new writers with new attacks against Democrats from the Left joined the table.
It's fiction and it's stupid. Ask fans of the show and they can't provide any proof of Democratic corruption or supposedly ignoring the working class and economy, what policies are the same as Republicans (neoliberal), how can candidate X and candidate Y vote the same 93% of the time yet one is a corrupt establishment elite neoliberal monster controlled by billionaires and oligarchs while the other is an authentic progressive purity saint in solidarity with The Will of the People? The characters are over the top.
I often wonder what exactly is so fucking horrible about the Democratic Party. Never an answer.
AStern
(807 posts)Then there's trolls like Manchin, Sinema, Fetterman.
Bring back FDR.
Skittles
(170,982 posts)repukes give them that
Hekate
(100,133 posts)….had to do with women (as I have ranted here repeatedly since Dobbs) . I now truly believe that there is a piece of the American psyche that longs for the return of slavery. Literal slavery of anyone who is not a white male in the mold of Whiskey Pete Hegseth.
Only a “piece” of the national psyche, mind you, but the GOP and RW uber-wealthy find them useful (obviously) and caters to them and has placed them in positions of power throughout the government and the military.
Response to kacekwl (Original post)
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murielm99
(32,915 posts)the Democratic Party is. Again! And on the Democratic Underground. I am busy working for my local Democratic Party here in rural red Illinois. Tomorrow I will go out with my nominating petitions for everyone from JB to lowly me. Saturday I was at a rally to push back against TSF and his unlawful takeovers. When I attend an event like that, I have to use a wheelchair, because my shortness of breath makes it hard for me to walk long distances or stand for lengthy periods. I am going to a coffee this Thursday, hosted by my republican state representative. I intend to challenge some of his recent remarks.
Do the work. Then tell me how crappy we are. Analyze us to death and post on a public message board. Go for it.
no_hypocrisy
(54,737 posts)acting like Gladiators like Republicans.
Sorry, but the "game" of politics is now akin to entertainment, not citizen involvement in Government. To many Americans, it's too abstract, too above their heads. Not even on the level of William F. Buckley debating the finer points.
Rush Limbaugh and other RW talk show hosts made it enjoyable to get angry at nothing and then aim their ire at Democrats.
At least, when Air America was on the airwaves, Al Franken (for example) could counter politics-are-sports.
Democrats aren't entertaining -- and nor should they be. They're trying to do the business of American Government, and that's boring to too many voters.