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Was it a matter of popularity? From what I’ve seen, it was Russian psychological warfare, Musk interference, disinformation, and republican operatives and trump judges working together to have large swaths of democratic votes nullified, as well as voting tabulation anomalies.

I do feel better that people are actually talking sense about what needs to happen to Democratic Party relevant again. Now, will the party fire their consultants and actually do what needs to be done? I’m not optimistic. They’ll need another beat-down in ‘26 to come around in ‘28.

Before-the-vote coalitions work—in Canada, India, the UK, Kenya, even the anti-slavery bloc that birthed the GOP. Multiparty alliances in First-Past-the-Post (FPTP) systems can reflect real lives, not just binary labels. #CoalitionPolitics #ElectoralReform #MultipartyDemocracy #DemocracyForAll

Dems spent two years screaming about how the 2024 election was existential, a referendum on Democracy itself. They lose and then lay down like the feckless corporate shills, we knew they were. If someone tells you there won’t be anymore elections, then gets elected. You should probably believe them.

It’s a 47/47 country with 6% up for grabs. Biden smoked Trump in ‘20. DT had the smallest margin of victory over KH since Nixon in 1968. Harris had to run against inflation, Biden, Trump, misogyny & do it in 3 months. It’s not brand, it’s easier to be the opposition party. Always pissed.

Biden beat Trump with a 4.45% popular vote margin. Only 13 winners had less. The fact that Trump '24 was one of them is no consolation. In '64, LBJ won by 22.58%. Because of brand. How can you be an ad man and say that brand is irrelevant? Being unable to trounce an overt fascist is a crisis.

Have to look at why a significant number of young men have abandoned the Dems. There are no compelling Dem leaders for young men to look up to. Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer couldn’t inspire a wet sponge to dry in the sun on a hot day. Zero connection.

This young men demographic sure does like to play video games , treat women like shit, bitch about not getting laid , and lighting things on fire to watch it burn. We don't want to appeal to fucking incels. There are plenty of young men for whom we wouldn't need to cater and alter our message.

The Democratic party's brand is trash because they stand for nothing, other than enriching their corporate donors. They need to return to their roots and unabashedly support the middle-class and the poor and denounce corporate greed.

Yeah they'll be talking about the importance of saying merry Christmas and attending church , not having incomprehensible black rap people at the Superbowl halftime show. Look it up. That's the type of shit working class people want . I know. I work with them .I am them.

Yet more ridiculous navel gazing about D’s who lost one of the closest Presidential races in 2024 and is pretty much guaranteed to take over the House in 2026. But whatever.

Refusing to reckon with the Donkey Party's catastrophic brand crisis? Because they *almost just barely* lost to the mask-off bigotry and fascism candidate so "we'll gettem next time?" I guess I have to recognize you as an expert, nay a luminary, when it comes to ridiculous navel gazing.

If the dems stuck together we could have made it through! But the media was relentless about Biden age even after trump got “shot” ! They really forced him out! And if we stuck together we could have had a chance look at the 2022 midterms when everyone thought it would have been a bloodbath

Dem party currently has NO plan. It’s basically “Trump is bad, stop him”, which is no plan. They need a firm plan all can understand: Tax the ultra rich, UBI, a healthcare public option, WPA like job creation, eliminate gerrymandering, term limits for Congress and judges, etc.

Does the Dem Party need to change? Yes. Does it need to become the soft Vichy party of trickle down fascism that Ezra consistently advocates for? No. The American people does want a party that is not going to load the trains, and that isn't Ezra Klein.

Others put it better. But for me to begin, Klein reduces wicked and complex systems to an idea of problems that can be solved. His anti-wokeness abandons people's common dignity in a desire for common ground with bigots. He valorizes benevolent authoritarian leadership over consensus building.

I have a huge problem with any Democratic strategist or academic that doesn’t admit the PRIMARY issue for Democrats is that they don’t have control of the corporate media and several giant social media platforms to flood the zone with propaganda, bot armies and troll farms. Fix this first.

Of course the Dem party can change, but in the process they may alienate some voters, while picking up new voters. They can even adopt some republican policies around fiscal mgr. There i can think of many things that need to be fixed - it's not difficult.

Sorry, this is out of date the second it was posted. In 3 months, Trump has blown up all his political capital by out-extreming any “extreme” left position. Voters want justice now and freedom from tyranny, not concessions on wokeness. Keep up!

Think maybe we should be asking why so many americans are against clean air and water,living wages,collective bargaining ,safe work places,civil rights,voting rights, women's rights,healthcare,public schools and the influence that the wealthy have in this country.

You're absolutely correct. MAGA isn't all mouth breathers. Those people don't have the numbers. Smart Republicans and undecideds ,flummoxed I presume, by the price of eggs choose fascism(??). That's on them .

Policies are only one aspect of a political party. The GOP didn’t even have a policy platform they just sort of vaguely mentioned stuff and sometimes they are doing those things and often they are doing the opposite. Price of Eggs anyone? The Dem leadership looks old and out of touch. Change needed.

75 million people is no joke so why should the Democratic party change when it is GOP with the problem? GOP are the ones that don't like America. Voters merely need to vote for those that will back their words with action their voters require. Dem leaders must cease caving in any way to the GOP.

Liberals, as a cultural community, are doomed as long as they scoff at marketing. They address political audiences as though they were judges or professors and wrongly assume their sales problem is about policy content. They bring salads to a rock fight, because salad is healthier than rocks.

The Democrats got stuck in a culture war for niche groups and forgot about the rest of the country. The Dems are gonna have to bring broader economic policies that appeal to a larger base.

The hubris and passivity that "demographic destiny" engendered among liberals should teach us our lesson about what's "inevitable." I reject that view now. I can no longer agree with MLK about the moral arc of the universe bending toward justice. The hungrier dog is the one that gets to eat.

Yeah yeah yeah… The real lessons to winning elections in America are from Trump and the GOP: Gaslight voters Gerrymander districts Suppress voter turnout And use the Conservative Entertainment Complex to feed the country outrage and disinformation 24/7. There you go folks.

The Democratic Party can be just fine. It absolutely can NOT be led by Californians. NY, CA and TX leave a bad taste in the mouth of the rest of us. CA democrats support Kennedy anti vac thinking. At least that is the perception Prove me wrong that you are not anti science.

This argument - that the Democratic party "has to change" - is intellectual bullshit. D's are losing because of the sheer scale and effectivness of disinformation campaigns run by domestic & foreign oligarchs. Because they work. ... and comforting lies trump inconvenient truths all the time.

Scott, change is needed THIS WEEKEND. As Florida Dems spend big 💵 on consultants, literally no one is placarding anywhere in Josh Weil's Special Election District Race. THIS IS MADNESS. DEMS HAVE NO STREET PRESENCE. It makes me SO FRUSTRATED as a #BlueCrew Member!

This was a cogent and enjoyable conversation; thanks to all. You left the “union” question hanging. Many progressive Americans seem disdainful of unions. But in many of the most economically and socially advanced countries, they have a major presence (Scandinavia, Canada and here in Australia).

A key difference between the US and the other countries is the bargaining structure which disincentivises US unions from considering broader economic and social consequences (see OECD reports on benefits of “coordinated decentralisation”)

Agree with all points but my frustration is that we NEVER talk about the multi-billion-dollar disinformation campaigns waged by GOP state media, their grifting clown-car of "influencers" and conspiracy-theorists and let's not forget foreign adversaries. Americans are under a barrage of lies...

...lies, lies and doom and gloom misrepresentations. A strange world where Wall Street Journal economists give Biden such high marks, but average American's are conditioned to reflexively deem it a huge failure. Then we go off and self-flagellate about it for years while MAGA brazenly strangles us..

"Brazenly strangles us..." That's beautiful and succinct. Maybe that's the electorate's kink, being brazenly strangled. I mean they had access to real new about the issues of our times and preferred strong fingers on their throats.

Democrats run policy- driven campaigns when most people vote on culture issues (e.g., feelings). Unless their economic circumstances are poor, and even then sometimes. Republicans know this, and campaign with that populist wind in their sails. Ds need to learn how, to raise their floor. JMO

Before next election against Republicans Dems will need to settle disputes among themselves. A splintered Dem Party offers nothing to voters. Reactionary politics towards Republicans are not platforms voters are buying. Voters want genuine people who stand for something and it can’t be just rage.