Contrary to what left-wing optimists had hoped, Democratic nonvoters in 2024 appear to have been less progressive than Democrats who voted. For instance, Democratic nonvoters were 14 points less likely to support banning assault rifles, 20 points less likely to support sending aid to Gaza, 17 points less likely to report believing that slavery and discrimination make it hard for Black Americans, 17 points more likely to support building a border wall with Mexico, 20 points more likely to support the expansion of fossil fuel production, and, sadly for economic populists, 16 points less likely to support corporate tax hikes (though this group still favored corporate tax hikes by a three to one margin). Overall, nonvoting Democrats were 18 points less likely to self-identify as “liberal” or “very liberal.” Here is a point for the centrists.
After spending months blaming actual leftists, it turns out it was just regular Democrats that were okay with giving Trump the presidency.
I have also come to the conclusion that the US is a center right country and running progressives just lets the far right win.
Because people are, by and large, spectacularly awful.
2008: Run a progressive platform and focusing on motivating Democrats with policies they want. Win.
2012: Run a progressive platform and focusing on motivating Democrats with policies they want. Win.
2016: Run a centrist/ RW platform and focusing on trying to capture Republican voters. Lose.
2020: Run a progressive platform and focusing on motivating Democrats with policies they want. Win.
2024: Run a centrist/ RW platform and focusing on trying to capture Republican voters. Lose.
If you/ yours wins the ideological fight for what Democrats need to do differently to be competitive, they’ll never win another election.
Its toxic, its wrong, its strategically idiotic. It loses elections. You should keep this opinion to yourself or just go be a Republican. Democrats can’t win with you in the party.
2008: run someone pretending to be father left than he was. Win
2012: that guy who won on a left leaning platform ended up governing further right than was promised, proceed to lose thousands of seats to the opposition across the country at all levels of government, setting the stage for this crisis we are now in with rampant right wing gerrymandering and election manipulation.
None of those were progressive. Socially left and economically right != progressive
lol I’m no centrist
Also you forgot midterm and state elections, where they lose way more often.
Expresses explicitly centrist talking points:
Man, I don’t even think countries are real. I’m just being realistic about how shitty everyone is.
What you say matters more than what you say you say. Your “realism” is just the same ol’ disgusting centrist cynicism that continuously loses Democrats elections.
I get it. Its the big tent party. We’re forced to share an umbrella with centrists. But centrists SUCK at winning elections. They’re FUCKING bad at it, and they’re the ones who share your views. You have to decide between winning elections, or repeating this ideology.
It’s been damn near 40 years of this bullshit and I’m tired of pretending people actually want things to get better.
If they did they wouldn’t end up nominating centrists in the first place.
This is who the average Democrat is.
DNC hasn’t held a non-tilted primary since 2008. There will be voters next year who have never seen a legit Democratic primary happen
👆
No, this is fresh, new progressive cynicism.
I remember thinking that given the choice Democrats would nominate progressives. After all, people are kind and reasonable and want to do the right thing, right?
But they were given the choice and they didn’t.
And they lost. Repeatedly.
And they won’t change.
“Because people are, by and large, spectacularly awful” is a terrible message for getting people to vote for you, and you can tell a lot of actually awful people in the Democratic party believe it based on the stupid shit they campaign on (for example - nobody is going to buy it when you say you want a lethal military, your party likes treaties and peace and UN hearings, you’re just pretending to be a Republican because you think we’re all stupid).
Maybe if we run on what we actually believe and stopped trying to bullshit people they’d stop being so spectacularly cynical about their country.
They won’t vote for me anyway because I’m a progressive.
I don’t think it used to be that way, but it has always struggled with class disparity to different degrees. When the financial security and physical health of people are compromised, they’re less likely to be progressive.