Democratic Party 2017 and beyond

[B-Fly]

What do you know, the Dems are mounting an attack against Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez! What a shock! What happened to the whole unity thing? Ocasio-Cortez went from close to zero to 700K twitter followers already, so hopefully her newfound celebrity can withstand this attack. So pathetic... cheating, and lying (saying it would be fraud to remove himself as the Working Families Party nominee when the WFP asked him to do it!)... I hope Crowley gets obliterated. I wonder how many of his corporate donors back him now after he was so thoroughly embarrassed once already. Will they throw good money after bad?

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/201...-to-split-vote

I guess I don't see this as "the Dems mounting an attack against Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez" unless there's something beyond what I'm reading on the Daily Kos. It sounds like "the Dems" are trying to convince Crowley to vacate the WFP line. And as for Crowley, it sounds like he is just very uncomfortable with the idea of being placed on the ballot for an election to a low-level seat in some far-flung upstate location, which is bizarrely the only way he can legally vacate the ballot. He's clearly not campaigning or trying to win back his seat, and he's clearly not going to cost Ocasio-Cortez the election by splitting Democratic votes. Few Democrats in NY-14 will vote for him since he's not campaigning or asking for votes. And no Republican has won more than 22% of the vote in that district in ages. So to phrase this as "the Dems are mounting an attack against Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez" or even as "Crowley is trying to screw Ocasio-Cortez" seems like a misreading of the situation here that only serves to exacerbate intra-party divisions. (Which of course probably means that Russian bots will soon be making this spin on the story viral.)

[Teenwolf]

I guess I don't see this as "the Dems mounting an attack against Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez" unless there's something beyond what I'm reading on the Daily Kos. It sounds like "the Dems" are trying to convince Crowley to vacate the WFP line. And as for Crowley, it sounds like he is just very uncomfortable with the idea of being placed on the ballot for an election to a low-level seat in some far-flung upstate location, which is bizarrely the only way he can legally vacate the ballot. He's clearly not campaigning or trying to win back his seat, and he's clearly not going to cost Ocasio-Cortez the election by splitting Democratic votes. Few Democrats in NY-14 will vote for him since he's not campaigning or asking for votes. And no Republican has won more than 22% of the vote in that district in ages. So to phrase this as "the Dems are mounting an attack against Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez" or even as "Crowley is trying to screw Ocasio-Cortez" seems like a misreading of the situation here that only serves to exacerbate intra-party divisions. (Which of course probably means that Russian bots will soon be making this spin on the story viral.)

So then why is Crowley making it easy for these Russian bots to put out this narrative, sowing the seeds of division by not dropping off the ballot in the first place? He's uncomfortable with the electoral process? Why has he refused to show up for 3 different concession meetings with her? Sure doesn't sound like party unity to me.

[B-Fly]

So then why is Crowley making it easy for these Russian bots to put out this narrative, sowing the seeds of division by not dropping off the ballot in the first place? He's uncomfortable with the electoral process? Why has he refused to show up for 3 different concession meetings with her? Sure doesn't sound like party unity to me.

Crowley's making a bad decision. I don't think he's a terrible person and I get why the legal options for vacating the line are distasteful to him, but I wish he would do it anyway. I just hate that you would assume that his bad decision is attributable to "the Dems". The Democratic Party leadership would love to have him off the Working Family Party line to better signify party unity. The Working Family Party would love to have him off the Working Family Party line so they can replace him with Ocasio-Cortez and encourage their folks to vote for her on their line to preserve their ballot status as a party. The law just makes it uncomfortable and embarrassing for Crowley, so he was hoping to just endorse Ocasio-Cortez and otherwise just quietly let her win without needing to change his residence or lose some race for dog-catcher in Oswego. Thankfully, this is about as safe a general election bet for Ocasio-Cortez as it could possibly be, so in my opinion, the best play for Ocasio-Cortez and the Democrats is to just shrug it off, win, and move forward.

[TranaGreg]

So I've been thinking about this lately as here in Ontario we just elected a premier who's a Trump wannabe in Doug Ford to lead the province; I've been thinking about what is the appeal, and what do people look for in a leader ... and I think that the Dem's will have to find a candidate that can balance two very different values.

The first is the traditional perspective of a Dem leader. I could list the qualities here, but everyone knows, it's someone smart & who understands the complexities of the modern world. They need that type of person to appeal to the traditional Dem voter. I suspect most candidates fit this fairly easily.

The second is the tougher one. It's the reason Trump got elected. It's someone who the guy with the pickup truck in Missoula or Peoria can relate to. Someone who has paid his or her dues, has come up through the ranks; who demonstrates that working hard & making an honest day's wage still matters. It doesn't matter if this is true or not - this is what they need to convey, and convey convincingly. Trump certainly conveys this - he makes those people feel that they are what the country depends on & where the future lies, not a bunch of slick silicon valley tattooed hipsters.

There's an awful lot of resentment of the "elites" out there (different areas define that term differently, it doesn't matter if there's a single image of what it represents); and those people aren't going to be convinced that there's a middle ground. Any potential leader has to appeal to those voters on their terms.

Got anyone that fits this bill? We sure didn't.

[B-Fly]

Biden has often been seen as a guy (the guy?) in the Democratic Party who connects well with blue collar/rust belt/working class Americans. But does his career government insider status strip him of that for people now? I don't know. Remember that Bill Clinton used to be that guy, and that Hillary Clinton actually stomped Obama in the 2008 primaries in states where the Democratic primary voters were mostly lower-income whites, before losing many of them to Trump eight years later.

[Bernie Brewer]

So I've been thinking about this lately as here in Ontario we just elected a premier who's a Trump wannabe in Doug Ford to lead the province; I've been thinking about what is the appeal, and what do people look for in a leader ... and I think that the Dem's will have to find a candidate that can balance two very different values.

The first is the traditional perspective of a Dem leader. I could list the qualities here, but everyone knows, it's someone smart & who understands the complexities of the modern world. They need that type of person to appeal to the traditional Dem voter. I suspect most candidates fit this fairly easily.

The second is the tougher one. It's the reason Trump got elected. It's someone who the guy with the pickup truck in Missoula or Peoria can relate to. Someone who has paid his or her dues, has come up through the ranks; who demonstrates that working hard & making an honest day's wage still matters. It doesn't matter if this is true or not - this is what they need to convey, and convey convincingly. Trump certainly conveys this - he makes those people feel that they are what the country depends on & where the future lies, not a bunch of slick silicon valley tattooed hipsters.

There's an awful lot of resentment of the "elites" out there (different areas define that term differently, it doesn't matter if there's a single image of what it represents); and those people aren't going to be convinced that there's a middle ground. Any potential leader has to appeal to those voters on their terms.

Got anyone that fits this bill? We sure didn't.

This is a great post. I would think that if the Dems could find someone like that, they might even be able to attract a percentage of the disenfranchised Republicans. That’s why I was kind of excited by the notion of Bloomberg running as a Dem. But, when you use “elites”, and I know you qualified it, understand that many in the GOP see the Dems as the elites. Yes, they understand the party includes union households, blue collar, minority, and lower income voters, but when Hollywood celebrities, those in the music industry, or others in high profile consumer media prositions of influence, and some super wealthy people (Bloomberg, Buffet (Warren not Jimmy), Soros, etc.) stand on soap boxes howling at the moon, well... They are clearly not GOPers. When Sacha Baron Cohen poses as a disabled veteran for an I gotcha interview, this should be universally condoned, but sadly, I suspect, it won’t be called out by those on the left. But, I digress.

A unifying person, as you discribe, although a less traditional Dem, could be what heals the rift in the country.

Didn’t I say something about not posting for a while? Ugh.

[baldgriff]

And in California, well they just keep moving further left....... Dianne Feinstein it was good knowing you.
http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-p...714-story.html

[B-Fly]

And in California, well they just keep moving further left....... Dianne Feinstein it was good knowing you.
http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-p...714-story.html

Very strange, particularly given that Feinstein was leading Leon by over 20 points in the latest poll of likely voters. That's a huge gap and I can't imagine this party-insider endorsement coup will necessarily close that. I still think Feinstein has a very good chance of winning.

[cardboardbox]

And in California, well they just keep moving further left[/URL]

they must be halfway to Hawaii by now!

[Sour Masher]

they must be halfway to Hawaii by now!

That's a good one.

Not sure about this strategy of responding to the right going further right with the left going further left. Seems to leave the middle open for the creation of a new party or two.

[hacko]

This is a great post. I would think that if the Dems could find someone like that, they might even be able to attract a percentage of the disenfranchised Republicans. That’s why I was kind of excited by the notion of Bloomberg running as a Dem. But, when you use “elites”, and I know you qualified it, understand that many in the GOP see the Dems as the elites. Yes, they understand the party includes union households, blue collar, minority, and lower income voters, but when Hollywood celebrities, those in the music industry, or others in high profile consumer media prositions of influence, and some super wealthy people (Bloomberg, Buffet (Warren not Jimmy), Soros, etc.) stand on soap boxes howling at the moon, well... They are clearly not GOPers. When Sacha Baron Cohen poses as a disabled veteran for an I gotcha interview, this should be universally condoned, but sadly, I suspect, it won’t be called out by those on the left. But, I digress.

A unifying person, as you discribe, although a less traditional Dem, could be what heals the rift in the country.

Didn’t I say something about not posting for a while? Ugh.

We need a third part for us middle of the road people. Repubocrat Party - You would think someone could start that party.

I will start the platform:
*****Legalize Pot - and use the money to do Universal healthcare.
..... please add to the platform of our third party.

Then we will discuss a candidate.

And Bernie keep Posting just don't use the T word.

[Sour Masher]

We need a third part for us middle of the road people. Repubocrat Party - You would think someone could start that party.

I will start the platform:
*****Legalize Pot - and use the money to do Universal healthcare.
..... please add to the platform of our third party.

Then we will discuss a candidate.

And Bernie keep Posting just don't use the T word.

I don't think it would ever happen, but I actually think 3-4 parties would be good for the country. It would force consensus building, or at least the two left parties would have to debate and agree on policy, or the two right parties, or the far right or far left, if they are in the majority, would have to court the middle party. It would probably lead to better results than the binary we have now.

[DMT]

Drastically reduce the military budget, divert those funds to help pay for universal health care and infrastructure.

[Sour Masher]

I'm digging this third party so far! Here is the Sports bar, America's political future will be born!

[baldgriff]

Lets see.....

Legalize Pot
Downsize military spending
Infrastructure Improvement

all parts of the Libertarian platform

Universal Healthcare is not there. Which would be typical for a group of people that dont believe in government over-regulations but rather freer markets and competition.