Does anyone here really think people bashing the president will vote for the GOP in 2014, 2016?

[beerandjesus]

102. Also bullshit.

I live in South Carolina. And while the narrative you're pushing there has helped the Democrats to rationalize not spending any money here in the Deep South, it's precisely progressive policies that energize the base here, not the lame-DLC-almost-as-conservative-but-just-a-hair-to-the-left crap we keep getting served.

Jim Clyburn--our only Democrat with national stature--isn't exactly the picture of left-wing purity, and moreover, I concede that the "triangulation" thing worked very well for Bill Clinton--one of the most skilled politicians this country has ever seen.

But I find it very easy to win over self-identified Republicans by talking about the sort of economic populism most of us lefties here are agitating for. The problem is precisely the opposite of what you claim: The country is moved to the right by DEMOCRATS conceding the economic argument before the debate even begins, retreating to the same old boring identity politics issues (abortion, gay rights, anti-racism, etc.), and getting killed in the election because that stuff doesn't resonate in Greenville.

Don't get me wrong, those issues are important, but the Democratic agenda is largely built around making liberals in New York and San Francisco feel good about how open-minded they are. I defy you to find someone more pro-gay rights than I am. But if you seriously want to change the direction of the country, you need a lot more than support for gay marriage. You need to tell ALL Americans how you will make their lives better.

We left-wing Democrats on here espouse that message--and we're tired of hearing about how huge swaths of the country are too stupid to go along with us, when we know the problem isn't that they're not on board, it's that they DON'T HAVE A REAL ALTERNATIVE.