Yesterday my colleague Kate Riga noted a trap Senate Democrats keep falling into: in an effort to court Republican defectors they temper their criticism of the various Trump nominees. But since there are and will be no defectors they lose on both sides of the equation, gaining no defectors and making their critiques tepid and forgettable. This is unquestionably true. But we can go a step further still. Far from courting potential defectors, they should be attacking them.
If trying to court Republican defectors is a futile effort, who should the Democrats be trying to court? This article seems deliberately vague on that point. The article implies that the Democrats should make less tepid, less forgettable critiques of Trump nominees, that they should attack them, even, but for what reason? Seemingly, it’s to court people other than Republican defectors, but who would that be? Relatively moderate, neoliberal technocrats? Do any still exist?
I think you’re targeting people that have become apathetic and disengaged from the political process because they don’t see anyone actually fighting for them. Someone willing to attack the existing power structure on your behalf is a very appealing proposition to most people in our political climate.
Well we know Democrats aren’t up to the task
Silence, nonvoter
Hey what’s it feel like seeing Trump come down on Israel and end the genocide you spent the last year telling folks like me to shut up and accept?
Get back to me in a few months
In a few months, Joe Biden will still be complicit in Israel’s child-killing operation and we’ll all still be mocking the people who defended or ignored it for the cowards they are.
This happened sooner than I expected: https://x.com/disclosetv/status/1883347960421118348
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The fuck good is low hanging fruit if their rhetoric doesn’t have any teeth?
They don’t have the votes in either house of Congress to actually stop anything. Rhetoric is all they’ve got; what they can do is to make it super-clear how awful Trump’s decision-making is, so that there’s a chance voters will turn out and give them the power to act in the future.
They don’t have the votes in either house of Congress to actually stop anything.
Can’t do anything when they have a majority. Can’t stop anything when they have a minority. They’re useless under all conditions.
They did stuff under Obama and Biden. I couldn’t find a perfect source but here is a source https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/fact-sheet-the-biden-harris-administration-record
Then why did I spend the past four years hearing “They don’t have the voooooooooootes”?
Because people were actively trying to discourage trust in, and voting for, Democrats…
Everyone who isn’t happy is just out to get them.
That’s part of why Harris polled so low. They had so many angles of attack that they tried to go with all of them instead of focusing on one or two serious differences and biting into it. The campaign looked unfocused and superficial.
Affordability is what Dems need to focus on in 28’ and they need to start that messaging now. Drop the IdPol talk, it’s not working. Things are going to get worse for people’s pocketbook, MAGA is going to say it’s from the Dems in Congress/Govorners/etc. and the Democratic Party needs a counter to that.
Harris didn’t poll low though. And polls are meaningless anyway.
I mean the election polling. Where she underperformed worse than most people thought, which exit polls showed her biggest criticisms came from being confused by her policies.