Nobody cares about the fiscal responsibility in either party these days. Seems like times are a changing.. What happened to the Tea Party?
So the solution is voting for Trump or not voting at all? So if you get this corporate McDemocrat is 4 more years of Trump better?
This. I think we constantly overestimate how progressive this country really is with a bunch of polls with flowery language. I think progressive ideals polls well in surveys but doesn’t live up to it come voting time.
They put a GOP into White House so deficits don’t matter again... unless it’s for investing in the public well being.
Well I think the Tea Partiers are mostly Trumpers now. But anyway, the socialism boogeyman isn't about fiscal responsibility, I don't think. It's the religious belief that capitalism will deliver better, more efficient outcomes (a belief I share btw) and that socialist programs prevent market forces from doing their work. That's different from being worried about how do we pay for all this stuff; the worry is that we will end up with a bloated, inefficient system with poor services, wasteful bureaucrats, free riders, welfare queens, and lazy workers that will let China drink all our milkshake.
I like your use of the word religious, because apparently capitalism in US has religious roots per Webber. Then again religion is eroding too these days.. Inefficient government contributes to deficits so the two are interconnected I would think. Although maybe you are right in as far as the public perception of this interconnectedness goes. My examples of Obamacare popularity and erosion of middle class (the backbone of the religious believe in capitalism that you mentioned) still stand, I feel.
Well, we won't know who is right until it happens. My guess is that red scare tactics will work again and the Democrats should be wary. If Bernie or similar is the next president, obviously I'll have been wrong. (Or maybe I'll still have been right but Trump is such a loathsome candidate that he's actually the bigger bogeyman.)
The Democrats aren't win trying to Republicans - they need to win independents. Voters throwing a pity party over a centrist and staying home is a net loss of 1 vote. Independent voters switching from GOP to Dem is a net gain of 2 votes. Trump didn't win by winning over Democrats - he won by winning over independents that were suspicious of Hillary. Now Dems need to win those people back that are tired of Trump. Those people are not nearly as ideological as the far left/right.
Turnout was the same in 2016 as 2012. It was higher in 2008 due to record turnout. In terms of vote totals, he also lost by 3 million votes in 2016.
It comes down to this. Do votes in Michigan, PA, and Wisconsin believe Trump has improved their lives or do they feel they are still in the same mess.
We tried that already and it didn't work. Clinton tried it in 2016. Kerry tried it in 2004. Hell, even Gore tried it to some extent in 2000. You can't win an election as a Democrat by just being "not a Republican". Democrats are too fickle, independents even moreso. You have to give them something to vote for not just a protest vote. How many times must liberals be taught this lesson in elections before it actually sticks?
This is all true -- but we saw independents break for Trump. Mainly because he wasn't pushing 'status quo'. I don't know how you can see 2016 play out the way it did and think that the lesson there is the Democrats need to nominate a 90s/00s "status-quo" candidate. I would not bank on winning these independents back by simply being "Not Trump".
Democrats need to stop taking the bait and focus on the issues that Trump keeps distracting everyone away from; healthcare, the negative affects of the tax cuts, and infrastructure. Figure out a sensible immigration platform for godsakes instead of taking the bait; be bold and propose amnesty + guest worker overall + massive border security spending. The Democrats should be reminding the American public how the "deficits dont matter GOP is back so soon" instead of engaging in culture wars issues, some that are regrettably still a generation away. It sounds callous but this is politics, stick to mar1juana if you want to go that route. Even more callous put the opiod crisis on the GOP's draconian mar1juana policy.
Run on the issues that won in 2018. Run a candidate that’s articulate on the issues and can effectively attack trump, which should be easy. Attack his record. To say his record sucks is a vast understatement and a 9,000,000 majority of Americans found the GOP record something worth voting against in 2018. All this angst is ridiculous, in my opinion. Democrats need to attack trump’s record and the Republican record in Congress, and not spend their time attacking each other. Given time, the obvious candidate will win a consensus during the primaries. In my opinion. Let the system work.
It's still around. But instead of being a group of unorganized voices, they've now turned their anger into action. See: Convention of States for example.
Or they're simply a group that cares about small government and fiscal responsibility only when it's politically convenient.
P much. Republicans starting endless wars and giving the top 1% and corporations giant handouts? No problem. Democrats giving people Healthcare and education? WUT IN TARNATION
