Find someone from the House caucus who endorses Ellison and maybe I'll consider him. Also how can anyone say Dean is old guard? We forget but Pelosi and Reid didn't originally want him as DNC chair. In fact most mainstream Democrats didn't want him. He left because the White House basically gains control after an election and he wasn't Obama's guy. Dean isn't a DLC guy and it is insane that anyone would suggest that. The DLC is officially dead now that Clinton lost. Lets stop using the DLC as a boogeyman. Just because Dean gets along with Hillary and some others in Congress doesn't mean he's an "insider" or some sort of dinosaur. And Ellison is awful. He's one of those candidates where I can agree with 95% of what he says and yet utterly despise him. The man uses Congress as a soap box instead of using it as an opportunity to actually advance causes. We have enough of those types as is. Give me legislators who do things as a profession.
Oh great. Trump winning now means apparently that Bernie supporters can go back to pretending that they were unfairly robbed in the primaries. She won fair and square, even without a single super delegate.
Hillary Clinton was destined to be the next democratic nominee the moment she lost to Obama in 2008. Many probably thought she earned and was owed this opportunity after her many years of service, and the DNC did their part for sure. There was no room for Bernie or anyone else to come in and take away her chance. Trump winning sucks, but now the party can start from scratch and focus on the ISSUES. There are no candidates that are considered favorites to run in 2020, meaning no one is going to be playing favorites anymore. We were all proven wrong on Tuesday, but I think it's safe to say there's very little chance Trump gets a 2nd term unless he completely changes policy he was suggesting in his campaign. And if he gets nothing done by 2018, Dems are going to regain a bunch seats in midterms.
How young is this Zach guy that climate change will kill him in his middle age? Lol. Trump was pretty dang old for a candidate. It wasn't much of an issue because he's opponent was up there too. Despite that thorough and very authentic letter from his doctor about his superhuman health, I won't be all that surprised if he pops off before the next election. A death calculator gives him a 7% chance of dying in 5 years, but only calculated on his public statements -- excellent health, no cancer, no tobacco or alcohol, etc. That also doesn't consider risk of disease like Alzheimer's.
I think the idea that the Democrats are a house divided is just not true. Trying to lead the Democrats has always been like trying to herd cats. I asked in another thread where someone was saying the Democrats are shattered and doomed - Does anybody think that if he could have run for a 3rd term that Barack Obama would have lost? IMO, the problem isn't the party, its the candidate. If we didn't spend the entire election cycle talking about Trump and all his baggage, the entire election cycle would have been about Hillary and her baggage. She sort of hid her problems in the shade that he was giving off. I know there are plenty of people who love her, but there are plenty of people who love Trump, too. For those who would like to defend her, I will say that quite a few of her issues are more perception than reality. Where does the Democratic Party go from here? They go any direction that leads them away from Hillary Clinton. That sounds more harsh that I would intend, but I believe it is fundamentally true. Beyond that, they should be fine. Move on and select a candidate on merit from a level playing field. Specifically, find the most charismatic guy you can, as that is what defined both the Obama and Bill Clinton juggernauts. Also, I hate to say this but Bernie Sanders is 75 years old. So, next election cycle he's going to be pushing 80. Trump is already the oldest candidate to have been elected at 70 years old. Setting a new record again in the next cycle with a 10 year jump seems like it might be problematic. In the next four years, Sanders is going to run into the same wall that John McCain did after he lost to GWB.
Well you might be right to a certain degree with Dean. Ellison, a guy to the left of the Clinton/Obama Wall Street Dems like Al Franken, who has been virtually been invisible to a national audience since his election, would be expected to be less liked by the status quo Dems.
One thing I'm happy about is responsibility for what happens next is totally and completely on the Republican party. All 3 branches of government, plus a majority of state governments -- it'll all be very clear who gets the credit for any success or failure.
If Republicans can lower taxes, cut deficits(federal and trade), bring back manufacturing or other high paying jobs, reduce global terrorism and reduce health care costs, I will join the Republican party because obviously they know to run the government better than the Democrats.
Well here is Bernie Sanders on Where the Democrats Go ++++++++++++ Bernie Sanders: Where the Democrats Go From Here By BERNIE SANDERSNOV. 11, 2016 NYT Millions of Americans registered a protest vote on Tuesday, expressing their fierce opposition to an economic and political system that puts wealthy and corporate interests over their own. I strongly supported Hillary Clinton, campaigned hard on her behalf, and believed she was the right choice on Election Day. But Donald J. Trump won the White House because his campaign rhetoric successfully tapped into a very real and justified anger, an anger that many traditional Democrats feel. I am saddened, but not surprised, by the outcome. It is no shock to me that millions of people who voted for Mr. Trump did so because they are sick and tired of the economic, political and media status quo. Working families watch as politicians get campaign financial support from billionaires and corporate interests — and then ignore the needs of ordinary Americans. Over the last 30 years, too many Americans were sold out by their corporate bosses. They work longer hours for lower wages as they see decent paying jobs go to China, Mexico or some other low-wage country. They are tired of having chief executives make 300 times what they do, while 52 percent of all new income goes to the top 1 percent. Many of their once beautiful rural towns have depopulated, their downtown stores are shuttered, and their kids are leaving home because there are no jobs — all while corporations suck the wealth out of their communities and stuff them into offshore accounts. Working Americans can’t afford decent, quality child care for their children. They can’t send their kids to college, and they have nothing in the bank as they head into retirement. In many parts of the country they can’t find affordable housing, and they find the cost of health insurance much too high. Too many families exist in despair as drugs, alcohol and suicide cut life short for a growing number of people. President-elect Trump is right: The American people want change. But what kind of change will he be offering them? Will he have the courage to stand up to the most powerful people in this country who are responsible for the economic pain that so many working families feel, or will he turn the anger of the majority against minorities, immigrants, the poor and the helpless? Will he have the courage to stand up to Wall Street, work to break up the “too big to fail” financial institutions and demand that big banks invest in small businesses and create jobs in rural America and inner cities? Or, will he appoint another Wall Street banker to run the Treasury Department and continue business as usual? Will he, as he promised during the campaign, really take on the pharmaceutical industry and lower the price of prescription drugs? I am deeply distressed to hear stories of Americans being intimidated and harassed in the wake of Mr. Trump’s victory, and I hear the cries of families who are living in fear of being torn apart. We have come too far as a country in combating discrimination. We are not going back. Rest assured, there is no compromise on racism, bigotry, xenophobia and sexism. We will fight it in all its forms, whenever and wherever it re-emerges. I will keep an open mind to see what ideas Mr. Trump offers and when and how we can work together. Having lost the nationwide popular vote, however, he would do well to heed the views of progressives. If the president-elect is serious about pursuing policies that improve the lives of working families, I’m going to present some very real opportunities for him to earn my support. Let’s rebuild our crumbling infrastructure and create millions of well-paying jobs. Let’s raise the minimum wage to a living wage, help students afford to go to college, provide paid family and medical leave and expand Social Security. Let’s reform an economic system that enables billionaires like Mr. Trump not to pay a nickel in federal income taxes. And most important, let’s end the ability of wealthy campaign contributors to buy elections. In the coming days, I will also provide a series of reforms to reinvigorate the Democratic Party. I believe strongly that the party must break loose from its corporate establishment ties and, once again, become a grass-roots party of working people, the elderly and the poor. We must open the doors of the party to welcome in the idealism and energy of young people and all Americans who are fighting for economic, social, racial and environmental justice. We must have the courage to take on the greed and power of Wall Street, the drug companies, the insurance companies and the fossil fuel industry. When my presidential campaign came to an end, I pledged to my supporters that the political revolution would continue. And now, more than ever, that must happen. We are the wealthiest nation in the history of the world. When we stand together and don’t let demagogues divide us up by race, gender or national origin, there is nothing we cannot accomplish. We must go forward, not backward.
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As it stands, 33 states will have Republican governors in 2017. In contention is the gubernatorial election in North Carolina where, barring a miracle, they will likely have a new (Democrat) governor. So, it could be 34. This election, overall, was bad for Democrats. This wasn't just a loss at home, where they were favored - they were blown out. They lost the White House. They lost the Supreme Court. They lost the Senate. They lost the House. They lost the governors.
Back in 1980, carter won the 18-29 year Olds 45 to 44. those people are now 54 to 65, and they are solidly Republican. Democrats would have won every election for the last century if 18 to 29 year Olds were all that voted.
Does that mean conservatives have nothing left to be outraged and angry about? That's your thing on the radio and breitbart
Conservatives/Republicans/etc love to battle each other and will always have something to b**** about. There was the Tea Party, now there is the Trump-culture, and the Trump-culture has the ability to pull the Republican party apart at the seems. However, they did win. They needed a candidate who could win, so they relied on pure unadulterated democracy. What did the Democrats rely on? A Xanax-smiling corporate sell-out who helped railroad the party's lone populist candidate? When it comes to the current state of the Democratic party, I'm reminded of a mid-1990's rock song: And you just don't get it You keep it copacetic And you learn to accept it You know it's so pathetic I wish them the best in their recovery.
So this anger is an attempt to unite in common libtard hated...hmm. Y'all got hard work ahead. Bless your hearts on the heavy lifting. Might be out of shape after stool those years of doing nothing. Things are a bit grungy right now. It's going to veer between pure anger and outright indifference just like the forgettable 2000s.
Dems should control congress and let a Republican be prez - why? Because Dems are the party of compromise and Republicans are the party of absolutes. It's much easier to get one man to compromise than an entire congress. Dems have usually worked with Republicans, not the other way around.
If Dems triangulate again and vote in another neo-liberal dipshit, we'll pretty much repeat the cycle for another 8-16 years. Hai Bush twins, you like wars and tax cuts? How about one of you running for president? The people will forget and give you 2-4 years of Congressional control to boot.
That's what I am saying though. They should just keep putting forward neo-liberal dipshits so that Republicans win the presidency but Dems keep the congress. Party out of the white house gets congress eventually and won't lose it. Dems had Congress for a long long time until Clinton came along, and got it back in the Bush years. The can get it back in 2020.
