Increase Democratic turnout, or try to convert Trump supporters?

[Garrett78]

Which one?

I don't think the Democratic Party can do both, and I'd say the latter is a fool's errand.

One might suggest that it depends on where the candidate is running, but I think running against your party's national platform can cause substantial problems and make re-election pretty damn difficult.

[elleng]

1. Must try to do both.

[Orrex]

2. We don't need Trump's idiot racist fuckheads. Fuck them.

The effort that it takes to turn one of them into a rational human being isn't worth it, when the same effort could bring 10 or 20 progressive voters to the polls.

[Garrett78]

4. Agreed.

But it doesn't mean abandoning "identity politics," as Bernie and some of his supporters claim.

At the same time, we can't continue down the current path that's led to Republican control of around 70% of state legislative bodies, 70% of governorships and a huge majority in the US House.

Those who defend the horrors produced by the Bill Clinton Admin (welfare reform, crime bill, NAFTA, etc.) *and* the Bernie Bots are both wrong.

[GulfCoast66]

5. Well I guess my sister and I

After convincing our 'idiot, racist, fuckhead' Mother to see that the Democratic Party has her interest at heart, should tell her nevermind, vote for Trump again.

You are correct that our path to victory is increasing the voter pool. But we should not give up on all trump voters. Many people just do not keep up like we do and vote party by habit. A majority? No, of course not. But enough.

And Stereotyping is not a trait I value in Democrats. My mother is not an idiot, racist fuckhead.

[Purveyor]

6. That's the meme as of late... Good luck with that 2018. Only thing the left has going for it

is Trump himself.

Other than that...nothing.

[GulfCoast66]

8. I know I am not that smart...

But what are you trying to say?

That we should not try to convince Trump voters their best interests are represented by democrats?

That while we do that the true secret to winning is increasing the number of Democrats voting?

Both of which I suggested.

Please clarify.

[Purveyor]

19. Bringing back dems that voted for Trump seems to be frowned upon in these woods.

The forum is replete with proclamations to "fuck them, they strayed and we don't need them anyway"...

Not going to work out well, IMHO.

[GulfCoast66]

22. Thanks for simplifying it for me

I agree. I bet if all the voters who voted for Obama and then Trump had voted for Hillary she would have won.

[Orrex]

82. Let's see some hard numbers:

1. How many Democrats jumped ship and voted for Trump in 2016?
2. How many citizens would have voted for Clinton, but stayed home on election night?
3. How many citizens would have voted for Clinton, but were dubiously prevented from voting?

I am confident that 2 & 3 outnumber 1, so in terms of raw totals alone there's a bigger potential payoff of pursuing those votes.

Obviously we should aim for every vote we can get, but when a certain category of voter says "I'm with the idiot racist fuckhead," and when I have seen first-hand that they do not readily respond to reason or evidence, then I am less inclined to waste effort in trying to steer them back into the light of day.

[LeftInTX]

90. My son and his girlfriend were #2

They enthusiastically voted for Obama.
They sat out 2016 because Hillary wasn't motivating and they expected her to win anyway.

My other kids held their nose and voted for Hillary.

The kids that held their nose are probably going to be more active voters in the future.

Two of the kids that held their nose had moved from San Antonio to Houston. We had to prod them to update their voter registration. If we hadn't reminded them, they would not have been eligible to vote in Houston.

[Orrex]

91. Yes, we can all cite anecdotal exceptions

But here's a thread worth reviewing that addresses the issue on a larger scale.

[LeftInTX]

92. It is a fact the young adults tend to move more than older adults

However, getting their voter registration updated is easy to forget. The son and his wife who had moved could have easily been #3. I'm a deputy voter registrar and one thing we do is ask if voters need to update their voter registration information.

None of my kids (ages 24-30) voted for Trump.

2 that voted in previously sat out the election
3 voted for Hillary

2 would have been disqualified if their voter registration had not been updated.

Although my family might seem anecdotal, my hunch is this is fairly common among that age group. Through a bit of prodding, we did get two young adults to update their address, which I believe is anecdotal. Without the prodding they would not updated their voter registration. They would have gone to the polls and been turned away.

[Squinch]

54. I'm sorry, this is a silly equivalence. We are talking about allocation of party resources.

You and your sister were able to convince your mother.

Likely a flyer or an ad or a phone call would not have convinced her. Likely any money spent trying to convince your mother would have been wasted.

No one is saying don't to talk sense to your relatives, and good for you to have been able to get her, belatedly, to see the nose on her face.

But by the way, and I say this as someone with a number of family members who are idiot, racist fuckheads, if she voted for Trump, there's idiot racist fuckheadery in there.

[Orrex]

72. Well, she voted for the idiot racist fuckhead

So that means that she decided that the idiot racist fuckhead was the best choice to lead and represent the nation.

I'm pleased that she has convinced you that she's seen the light, and if she votes Democrat in 2018 and 2020, then I'll believe that she truly has.

[GulfCoast66]

78. Wow. We hate them so much

That you imply that my 78 year old mother is practicing some kind of subterfuge on her only son.

70 years ago most whites in this country were comfortable with racial suppression supported by law. 50 years ago the idea that women were in any way equal to men was pretty radical. 20 years ago the idea that people could marry who the wanted was mocked.

And I will agree that there still lots of people that hold those views. But not the majority. People changed. If we demonize our political opponents and declare them unredeemable then in my opinion we have given up hope.

Have a nice evening.

[Orrex]

81. They are idiot racist fuckheads until they demonstrably change their position

That goes for my 74 year old aunt and my 43 year old sister as much as for the middle aged "freedom fry" vendor at the flea market yesterday.

If you think that your 78 year old mother is engaging in subterfuge, well, that's something you're going to have to work out with her. However, I strongly suspect that a great many of the so-called "remorseful" Trump voters will manage to overcome their remorse and vote Republican again the next time around. That doesn't imply subterfuge; it can simply mean that they realize that Trump is a horror, but they'll somehow remember why they like Republicans in 2018 and 2020.

And, as Squinch rightly noted, the fact that you and your sister convinced your mother is hardly equivalent to plotting a strategy at the national level.

[we can do it]

9. I have to agree. There's no appeasing haters.

[LBM20]

49. HUGE mistake labeling them all "haters." Most who voted for Trump are not "haters." This is just

where too many progressives to completely wrong. This is elitist and very biased labeling. Polls showed that about 20% of those who voted for Trump did not even like him. They were angry with government, felt ignored by both parties, and especially Democrats, and therefore cast a protest vote because Trump ran a populist campaign as an anti-politician and a "different" kind of Republican, more like an independent. If Dems run the right candidates with the right messaging, the party can win back many of these voters. It is very very ridiculous to simply write off millions of voters.

[Squinch]

55. This is bullshit. Here are some factors that strongly correlated with a vote for Trump:

Wish for women to be subservient.

Lack of contact within zip code with people of color.

High regard for authoritarianism.

This is a type. These characteristics are deeply ingrained. This is not something that Democratic Party money is going to turn around.

If those people you are talking about really are people of good faith, they have already understood their mistake and will vote Democratic in the future. If they still don't realize what a human stain Trump(R) is, they never will.

[we can do it]

59. Yep

[Orrex]

73. That is a magnificent summation

A self-declared "remorseful" Trump voter who votes Republican next time around is still an idiot racist fuckhead.

[Squinch]

74. Well... thank you!

[Orrex]

75. Well, let them have the idiot racist fuckhead whom they elected

They had a clear choice: the idiot racist fuckhead who was obviously and unmistakably lying to them at every turn, or a thoroughly qualified candidate running on an admirably progressive platform.

And these people, as a group, declared "yes, I believe the idiot racist fuckhead, and I believe that he is the best choice to lead and represent our nation."

If they have seen the light, then let them demonstrate this to be the case. If they have not, the fuck every last one of them.

[Chasstev365]

3. Yes

[Willie Pep]

7. Some Trump voters also voted for Obama in 2008 and 2012.

We need to win those swing voters as well as increase turnout.

[Proud liberal 80]

11. That % is probably very small

The larger % is obama voters who didn't vote in 2016. They are who we need to go after.

Going after trump voters is a lost cause.

[Willie Pep]

12. But the margins were small enough in areas like the Rust Belt that it mattered.

We shouldn't abandon trying to win these people if we can.

[Garrett78]

16. It'd be far more efficient and constructive to increase Dem turnout.

Inspire youth and come out more strongly for civil rights.

[Garrett78]

14. Yep. As a guest on Democracy Now said...

STEVE PHILLIPS: Yeah. So, the challenge the Democrats face is to focus on the math, and not on the myth, of what happened in 2016. And so, the myth is that all of these Democratic voters, all of these working-class white voters who had supported Obama, defected from the Democrats and then flocked to Donald Trump’s campaign and backed him, and that’s what the—that’s why Democrats lost, and that’s why they have to pursue them to be able to actually try to reassemble their power and get back into positions. But that’s not actually what happened, and it’s certainly not why they lost the election.

We had unprecedented—or, unprecedented in 20 years, black voter turnout drop-off. More than a million fewer black voters came out. And you had a splintering of the progressive white vote. And you had a larger increase of voters for Johnson and Stein—I sometimes call the JohnStein voters—than you did for Trump. And if you look in a place—Wisconsin is where it’s clearest. Trump got fewer voters in Wisconsin than Romney did. So it wasn’t like everybody flocked to him. It’s that the progressive votes splintered and was depressed. And that’s the challenge that the Democrats face, is how to reinspire, bring back out African-American voters, bring up Latino vote and bring back the whites who defected to third and fourth party. That’s the way to put back the Obama coalition. That’s the way to get back into power. But all this attempt to try to figure out how to woo voters who were drawn to one of the most racist, misogynistic, xenophobic campaigns in history is a fool’s errand.

As for Trump's low approval rating, which excites so many, Trump's approval rating was always low. Still, Republicans are near record numbers in terms of state legislative bodies and governorships (around 70% control nationwide), while controlling every branch of the federal government.

[lunasun]

21. All Of the above. Glad you can see beyond the myth makers . Not too many can they like the story

even if it is not factual

[leftstreet]

39. Thanks for posting that

Found the full transcript

Excellent!

[Squinch]

56. This should be an OP.

[Garrett78]

66. It was.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10029399286

[CakeGrrl]

10. Priority should be to increase Dem turnout

You may get a few reasonable Trump supporters that are starting to see the lies, but there will always be a core that really would continue to back him if 'he shot somebody on 5th Avenue'.

There are simply some people who are totally in tune with Trump's racism, xenophobia, and misogyny.

[Hoyt]

13. The 40% who don't vote seems easy picking. Besides, who wants to coddle white wingers.

[BzaDem]

40. "Easy picking?" Really?

The most unlikely people to vote are the people with a repeated history of not voting. The idea that it is "easy" to get the vast majority of non-voters to the polls is ludicrous. Of the few repeated non-voters that eventually decide to vote, it is very difficult to predict which ones will do so in advance. Most non-voters do not follow politics at all, nor do they have strong political views either way.

[Squinch]

57. See post 14. Yes, easy pickings.

[BzaDem]

67. If you would like to step out of a fantasy world, see post 41. n/t

[Squinch]

69. Not sure why you need to be nasty about it. And the opinion you voiced in post 41 is, first of all,

not proof of anything and second it doesn't dispute the post I referenced.

[BzaDem]

70. It responds to the exact same Democracy Now quote as referenced in post 14.

There is actually quite a bit known about the population of non-voters. To say that it is "easy" to get them to vote is factually incorrect, and would probably receive a very poor grade if proposed in a political science class.

[Squinch]

71. Jesus. How stunningly pompous. Not to mention senseless. Have a nice day.

[Hoyt]

61. Admittedly, we haven't done a good job -- but yes, they are easy pickings compared to white wing

fools.

[LBM20]

50. Labeling people "white wingers" and refusing to compete everywhere has been THE problem.

[Hoyt]

62. Disagree. White wingers ain't gonna change. Forget them.

[Boomerproud]

77. They are/were motivated by hate, not their economic situation.

Have you read any comment section where there is "Obama", "Clinton" or even "Kennedy" in the title? Their mindset is so ingrained with blaming anyone who is "different" that it has become (maybe it always was) part of their DNA.

[mythology]

15. One of the most likely predictors of whether someone will vote is if they are a voter

It's harder to convince somebody to start voting if they haven't been a regular previous voter. It's the same in any number of fields. Why do businesses make such an effort to retain customers? Because it's easier to keep one than to get a new one. Why does the Red Cross call me constantly? Because I'm a regular donor. The Red Cross says that over 50% of blood donations come from regular donors, 25% from occasional donors and 25% from first time donors. In a situation where you have a limited amount of time and in a winner take all scenario, it's more cost effective in terms of resources (money, time, effort expended, etc) to go after the people most likely to vote already.

People who insist that it's easier to get a non-voter to vote are arguing against human nature.

[Garrett78]

17. Except that some non-voters used to vote regularly.

But they've become disenchanted. And then there's those who are still too young to classify as voters or non-voters.

So, I maintain that increasing Dem turnout is still more efficient and constructive (i.e., in the best interest of humanity) than trying to convert Trump supporters.

Or, as a guest on Democracy Now put it:

STEVE PHILLIPS: Yeah. So, the challenge the Democrats face is to focus on the math, and not on the myth, of what happened in 2016. And so, the myth is that all of these Democratic voters, all of these working-class white voters who had supported Obama, defected from the Democrats and then flocked to Donald Trump’s campaign and backed him, and that’s what the—that’s why Democrats lost, and that’s why they have to pursue them to be able to actually try to reassemble their power and get back into positions. But that’s not actually what happened, and it’s certainly not why they lost the election.

We had unprecedented—or, unprecedented in 20 years, black voter turnout drop-off. More than a million fewer black voters came out. And you had a splintering of the progressive white vote. And you had a larger increase of voters for Johnson and Stein—I sometimes call the JohnStein voters—than you did for Trump. And if you look in a place—Wisconsin is where it’s clearest. Trump got fewer voters in Wisconsin than Romney did. So it wasn’t like everybody flocked to him. It’s that the progressive votes splintered and was depressed. And that’s the challenge that the Democrats face, is how to reinspire, bring back out African-American voters, bring up Latino vote and bring back the whites who defected to third and fourth party. That’s the way to put back the Obama coalition. That’s the way to get back into power. But all this attempt to try to figure out how to woo voters who were drawn to one of the most racist, misogynistic, xenophobic campaigns in history is a fool’s errand.

[BzaDem]

41. Trump being president does far more to "enchant" disenchanted voters than anything Democrats can do.

Frankly, motivating Democrats to go to the polls will not be a problem as long as Trump is in office. Of the few that couldn't motivate themselves to vote for Clinton, the experience of Trump will ensure that most of them don't make the same mistake twice. (For the remaining few irrational enough to continue light themselves on fire after the first experience, the idea that rational discussion would bring them back is ludicrous.)

I know this goes against the "but Democrats need to adopt my policy preferences to convince some massive group of like minded people to vote for them!" crowd. Sorry to burst their bubble with basic poli sci 101.

[LeftInTX]

88. The "Better Deal" does not say anything about voter turnout - big mistake

Dems need to explicitly fight voter suppression. They need to state that they will aggressively fight against laws that disenfranchise voters and do everything in their power of ensure that all eligible voters are able to vote. They need to say that they will do everything in their power to assure that those constitutional rights are not violated.

Hopefully they will add voting rights to their agenda!

[L. Coyote]

18. Increased turnout worked real well in 2008.

Having awesome candidates makes all the difference with turnout. We need to start doing what Emerge does, training people to run for office. And not just the candidates.

[Wounded Bear]

65. That was a presidential year...

Dems problems lately have been low turnout in off-year elections.

And Emily's List is also training candidates. Apparently, they've had thousands of applicants this year.

https://www.emilyslist.org/pages/entry/run-for-office

Indivisible has been publishing directions on how to organize in small local groups.

https://www.indivisibleguide.com/act-locally/

The resistance is here and working to improve the lives of Americans everywhere.

[Ken Burch]

20. Lead with increasing turnout(among both the base and those who simply don't vote much...)

(...especially the currently non-voting poor)

As to Trump voters, target ONLY those who voted Trump on economic hardship grounds-such as the voters who flipped from Obama to Trump in the Upper Midwest.

In targeting The third group, tie the pitch exclusively to economic justice. Make it clear that none of the offer to them involves pandering to xenophobia or white supremacy.

[Garrett78]

25. I don't know how you would identify those Obama voters who allegedly voted for Trump.

Especially when they're so dispersed and few in number. It just doesn't seem remotely efficient.

[Ken Burch]

68. You key on the, to be precise, working-class white voters in the Upper Midwest.

Not in the country as a whole, in those particular states(in Wisconsin, for example, Trump took fewer votes than Romney-he could not have carried that state, even allowing for voter suppression).

And you would weed out the racists by making the pitch to such voters strictly about economic issues, leaving the doorstep if they tried to bring up anything about race, gender, sexual orientation or immigration status.

[Liberal In Texas]

23. Increase turnout.

You're just never going to convert the brainwashed.

[smirkymonkey]

43. +1000

This, exactly!

[brush]

24. And agressively combat repug vote suppression, voting machine hacking and gerrymandering

Why is this always ignored when talking about how to win elections?

That is the only way repugs win elections.

They cheat.

[TheFrenchRazor]

42. yep; anyone who thinks they won't do it again is seriously fooling themselves. nt

[diva77]

45. Exactly. All those pontificators who fail to take this into account when explaining why dems are

losing elections cannot be considered "experts."

The only way we have a chance of winning elections with the current situation is if we have a landslide turnout. I'm not sure what the tipping point-spread would have to be -- but it seems to be getting larger as repugs become more brazen at stealing elections.

[brush]

63. Yes. The harder we do GOTV the harder the repugs try to suppress those votes...

so it becomes a wash if we don't roadblock their suppression efforts.

We have to do both — get out our votes and at the same time stop there vote suppression or we're just spinning our wheels.

[rpannier]

26. Both

[Ccarmona]

27. Ridiculous Premise

As I posted before on another thread:

Issues that are important to Progressives, are all winners and the polling proves it.

$15 minimum wage
Federal Funding of All elections
All women have the right to choose the best course for themselves
Medicare-for-All
Free College for All
Immediate end to the wars in Afghanistan and the Middle East
The Final End to the failed War on Drugs
Police Forces must be responsible for their actions
A renewal of aggressive anti-trust enforcement
Break up Wall St & the too-big-to-fail banks.
And more issues that the majority of Americans say they are for especially on the environment

Run on these issues, and it will be the right path to taking over control of D.C. as well as State, & Local governments.

[Garrett78]

29. In other words, you think Dems can do both?

I agree with your list. I think they represent a way to increase Dem turnout, but I don't think those things will convert Trump voters.

[Awsi Dooger]

28. Preference is everything

Obviously you have to prioritize turnout just in case, but the notion that a ground game is worth 2% or whatever is monumentally laughable.

I'll take inferior turnout every time if the message resonates which means that independents will tilt our way.

The reason that big picture foundational variables are so effective in predicting outcomes long in advance is that they hint toward which side will receive the benefit of a doubt in preference. Then during election year itself that stuff is lost in favor of the day to day hysteria, which often amounts to nothing.

[Garrett78]

31. "Independents" of today are more strongly partisan than partisans from decades past.

Sure, there are some actual swing voters (lord only knows what makes them tick), but they are few in number and widely dispersed.

A message that resonates with young people, women and POC seems like the best bet.

[Lotusflower70]

30. Try for both

But focus on turnout. Have voting parties. Help others vote. Take others to vote. Do whatever you can to excite and/or motivate people. Get the vote out and take nothing for granted.

[Gabi Hayes]

32. Ever try to reprogram a cult member?

That's all these unthinking, selfish, deplorables are, and that's being charitable

Save the lectures on my attitude toward these fascist enablers

They fit the classic authoritarian mindset, as well as the psychological type that becomes even more Entrenched when confronted with facts that challenge their tightly held beliefs

Complete waste of time

Gotv is the only hope

If the non voters can't see we are on the brink, we're screwed

[Lotusflower70]

33. Yes

It's extremely difficult. That's why I said try for both but focus on turnout.

[Gabi Hayes]

36. Interesting.....impressed you were able to do

that.....no more patience left, as a result of dealing with an assortment of loons for 40 yrs

Wish I could change

Can you deprogram me???

[Lotusflower70]

38. Hmmm

Well in my line of work, I deal with people that have undergone severe trauma. It is challenging but meaningful me to be able to help in any way that I can. I am very sorry for your pain and suffering. Change is a difficult thing. I hope you continue to seek out help. I wish I could offer more than that.

[LeftInTX]

89. You can persuade people to vote!!

Think of mid-terms. Think of how many people sit these out! Think of the mid-term primaries. Think of mid-term primary run-offs. Think of local elections.

If people vote in presidential elections, they can be convinced to vote in mid-terms. Some people just don't understand how important down ballot races are. Simply explaining the process to them can create motivation. Voters need to understand that government works from the bottom up.

In 2016 60% of Texas voters turned out.

In 2014 only 33% of Texas voters turned out. Now we're stuck with SB 4, bathroom bills, draconian bills against women's rights, destruction of public education etc.

[onecaliberal]

34. We won by 3 million votes. How about we stop the suppression and the hacked machines.

Go back to paper. 23 states machines were hacked.

[diva77]

44. That would be ideal - would require pressuring elections officials to decertify the machines

and so far they haven't been pressured enough to do so...

[bettyellen]

35. Increase turnout- fight the apathy and disinformation at every turn

[Generic Other]

37. How many actual flesh and blood supporters does he actually have?

I no longer just believe tweets, quotes from blogs, vlogs, TV news, newspapers, the chairmen of the GOP, Trump's shills, the Russian bots Putin hired, the hackers from Wikileaks, etc etc.

I need to see the flecks of stupid in their eyes firsthand.

[kentuck]

46. How big of a tent do we need anyway?

We control no branches of government anymore. Not even state legislatures. Nothing. Nada.

[LBM20]

48. Because the party left the 50 state strategy, didn't party-build, and ran weak campaigns.

[Nay]

60. Yep. And AFAIK, they have done little or nothing to address the gerrymandering,

voter suppression, and other shenanigans the Republicans engage in.

It doesn't matter how many people we get out to vote if they can jigger the vote count by 1% to make themselves win the electoral college every time!

[LBM20]

47. Both. Too many Trump supporters were registered Dems and Indies. CRAZY to write off people!!!!

[JustAnotherGen]

51. Neither

Increase non voters and Independent turn out for Democratic candidates. In tandem - ensure that a very specific Democratic voting block is allowed to vote/does not have their registration thrown out.

For every 45/140 voter one could potentially flip - 9 others will double down. So 1% of one's time on them and 99% on decent human beings.

[LeftInTX]

93. My son got married and moved from San Antonio to Houston

At the last minute, we asked him if he had updated his voter registration. He hadn't. Fortunately, he got his information updated in time and was able to vote.

My son and his wife are 24.

All sorts of ways for voters to get disenfranchised.

[GaryCnf]

52. How about repairing the intentional

splitting of Democratic Party constituencies?

How about admitting that, other than we in the black community and to a lesser extent other people of color, the Democratic Party has no "base" that can be identified by any immutable demographic criteria?

[GulfCoast66]

79. Carefully

You might upset some upper middle class white socialist who feel strongly they are the party base.

White southern guy here. I agree with you.

[GaryCnf]

83. I doubt you do

Seeing as how I am a black socialist - okay, I am actually a Marxist but that's beside the point - who supports that upper middle class white socialist who you apparently feel has no place in the Party.

[GulfCoast66]

85. Regardless of our personal beliefs

And I consider myself a social democrat, there is no doubt that in a large part of the country African Americans are the base of the party. And most are definitely not socialist.

And do not take my comment as a dig on socialist. They are welcome and have a valued place in the party. But they are hardly the base. That was my point.

And a legit question as I have nothad much interaction with an avowed Marxist since college and they were kind of standoffish. Why are you in the Democratic Party? I assume you had rather be in the most leftist party that actually has a chance to win an election and you are working to move affect change in the party. Buy I truly am curious.

Have a nice day.

[GaryCnf]

86. Great questions

Let me start with a couple of revelations. One of which should come as no surprise. The other which might.

I have never voted for anyone other than the Democrat in any race. Even in non-partisan races I will find out which candidate is a Democrat and they get my vote. As a black man, who I vote for is literally a matter of life and death, not just a matter of whether some of privilege might be infringed. Any vote that might put a Republican in office is a vote to put a bullet in my head.

Along those same lines, the last time I participated in 3rd Party politics was 1972. Like I said just now, I don't get the privilege of voting my conscience.

Here is what you might not expect. I will not vote or support any candidate even in the primary who I do not believe has a chance to win the nomination or move the Party to the left. If I believed that Sanders never had a chance, I would not have supported him even in the primary despite his views being closer to mine.

People who proclaim black folks as pragmatists or incrementalists just because we are by far and away the most loyal Democratic Party constituency should remember that we don't have the same freedoms as white voters because the consequences we suffer are a thousand times worse. That's not a dig at what you said, it is just pointing out that the fact that I, or any other black person, got out and worked hard for Secretary Clinton in the GE doesn't mean we are behind where the party is going. When I am at precinct meetings, I am not the only person talking about reparations - a quintessentially socialist idea - or about an organized war on blacks by the criminal justice system, or any of a hundred other issues that are not even whispered by 99% of our national spokespeople.

One last thing, I hope this does not come off as obsequious, but thank you for the respectful questions.

[GulfCoast66]

87. Thank you. I totally get it

Actually as a white Man I guess I can never totally get it. But your decisions make total sense to me.

Thank you for taking the time to type that. It was enlightening.

Have a nice afternoon.

[Squinch]

53. Trump(R) voters voted for Trump(R) because they want control over women and people of

color and feel they are not getting enough reverence for the fact that they are white and male (or women who vapidly smile and nod whenever white men say anything.) If we court them, we lose our soul.

GET OUT THE VOTE.

[Chemisse]

58. Both. The Obama voters who went for Trump can swing back.

And if we cut back on the fractious infighting within the party, more Dem voters will get out to vote.

[MineralMan]

64. GOTV, including registering voters and

making sure that all voters who will vote for Democrats get to the polling place and vote, or vote in other ways, as allowed in their states.

Screw Trump supporters!

[Binkie The Clown]

76. What about the non-affiliated, non-voters who don't care or don't think their vote matters?

Seems like that group might be the biggest pool of potential voters for Dem candidates.

[mvd]

80. Too many Trump voters never were with us on some big issues

We should focus on turning out the base and hope that our progressive message, when given well, resonates with both groups.

[yardwork]

84. It's not either/or.

This argument is a waste of time, frankly, and will only divide us.

Instead, let's move forward by making strong liberal promises to the American people. That will motivate millions of non-voters to vote for us. And we'll get some Trump voters too.

The worst approach would be for Democrats to get mushier and and more conservative in an effort to win bigots. That won't work and will just alienate even more voters.

[loyalsister]

94. I don't think it has to be either - or

But I think it is a losing strategy to continue dehumaninzing and demonizing Trump voters.

[krispos42]

95. I'm equally happy with Trumpsters not voting

Hey, if getting to the polling place in 2018 and 2020 is too depressing, that works too.