2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: Food for thought; what if "the base" isn't what you think it is? [View all]MineralMan
(146,286 posts)who go to the polls every election and vote for Democrats. That has always been the base of the party. Those who only vote for Democrats when they strongly support a particular candidate are NOT the base of the party, and never have been.
Those who register as Independents or who won't declare a party affiliation are NOT the base of the Democratic Party, either, and never have been.
Those who threaten not to vote for the party's nominee are definitely NOT the base of the Democratic Party. They are something else altogether, and aren't a unified voting bloc at all.
The base of the party consists only of those who are reliable voters for Democratic candidates. The rest are not the base. They never have been the base.
That's my opinion, of course.