3 house races.....Kansas....Georgia.....and Montana have gotten national attention

othershoe1030 wrote:To me the main issue or point that the Dems need to address is countering the notion articulated by Reagan that "government is the problem". In some cases that can be true but for the most part it looks to me as if Americans are getting the very short end of the stick when it comes to ways the general population could benefit from more of the useful type of government activity.

Other developed countries enjoy universal health care, free college educations and up to date infrastructure. They pay higher taxes than we do but the benefits far outweigh the costs and are actually less than what we end up paying in huge medical bills, enormous college debts, etc.

The public has been brainwashed into supporting policies that largely benefit the 1%, giving them profits to develop personal wealth while contributing little to the general good. The result can be seen in the skewed tax system and the growing wealth gap. Citizens United has given the wealthy few an even more effective means of influencing public opinion and elections to suit their needs.

The dems need to break the idea that government is the enemy. This may not be as gradual a movement in public opinion as once thought. Look at how relatively quickly public attitudes changed toward LGBTQ issues, for example. If the dems can start influencing public opinion around the idea that government can actually be their ally rather than their enemy they will start winning races and start moving the country forward and away from the wealth gap culture that is leading down a dangerous path.

Vikingwoman wrote:I disagree w/ your assessment of Hillary. She was the best candidate, the smartest and most experienced. Her downfall came when the Russians put out all those false stories and the Dilberts ate them up.

del.capslock wrote:

othershoe1030 wrote:To me the main issue or point that the Dems need to address is countering the notion articulated by Reagan that "government is the problem". In some cases that can be true but for the most part it looks to me as if Americans are getting the very short end of the stick when it comes to ways the general population could benefit from more of the useful type of government activity.

Other developed countries enjoy universal health care, free college educations and up to date infrastructure. They pay higher taxes than we do but the benefits far outweigh the costs and are actually less than what we end up paying in huge medical bills, enormous college debts, etc.

The public has been brainwashed into supporting policies that largely benefit the 1%, giving them profits to develop personal wealth while contributing little to the general good. The result can be seen in the skewed tax system and the growing wealth gap. Citizens United has given the wealthy few an even more effective means of influencing public opinion and elections to suit their needs.

The dems need to break the idea that government is the enemy. This may not be as gradual a movement in public opinion as once thought. Look at how relatively quickly public attitudes changed toward LGBTQ issues, for example. If the dems can start influencing public opinion around the idea that government can actually be their ally rather than their enemy they will start winning races and start moving the country forward and away from the wealth gap culture that is leading down a dangerous path.

This is good post, but I'm not sure I buy your "public has been brainwashed" thesis. The 2016 election was close, Trump only got 56% of the Electoral College vote whereas Obama got over 60% in both his elections.

The 2016 election was winnable but Hillary was a terrible candidate and her team botched it. Trump, sadly, just ran a better campaign, especially towards the end.

As long as the Clintons maintain their death-grip on the Democratic Party, there's going to be problems. THEY are the problem as far a Presidential elections.

If there's a serious economic downturn before 2020--and the likelihood is that there will be--the Dems will be fine.

The greater problem is the State houses. We redistrict again after the 2020 census and if the Rs still hold the majority of the State houses, it's not going to go well. The Dems have to pay more attention to the State houses, a number of them are flippable.

Sal wrote:Shorter ... it was Comey what did it.

2seaoat wrote:Shorter ... it was Comey what did it.


In a significant part, but when no democratic candidate has skipped Wisconsin while campaigning for President, and she was campaigning in Arizona, it was more than that.......it was hubris fed by MSNBC telling folks that Donald Trump would never be President.   I actually blame the same, and all the free media time provided by the left to President Trump blew up in their rating chasing faces......and the funny thing......they have left off right where they did before the election.....more free media for the President and not enough hard journalism.   Blowing up trivial issues, and completely ignoring the meat and potato issues.  The Russians and Comey were just part of the losing strategy.

Sal wrote:

2seaoat wrote:Shorter ... it was Comey what did it.


In a significant part, but when no democratic candidate has skipped Wisconsin while campaigning for President, and she was campaigning in Arizona, it was more than that.......it was hubris fed by MSNBC telling folks that Donald Trump would never be President.   I actually blame the same, and all the free media time provided by the left to President Trump blew up in their rating chasing faces......and the funny thing......they have left off right where they did before the election.....more free media for the President and not enough hard journalism.   Blowing up trivial issues, and completely ignoring the meat and potato issues.  The Russians and Comey were just part of the losing strategy.

Vikingwoman wrote:Hillary lost because partly of her personality and Trump won because of his? Nah, the votes were close in those states. Hillary would have won if not for the false stories about her. Sounds like you believed them too.

Sal wrote:

2seaoat wrote:Shorter ... it was Comey what did it.


In a significant part, but when no democratic candidate has skipped Wisconsin while campaigning for President, and she was campaigning in Arizona, it was more than that.......it was hubris fed by MSNBC telling folks that Donald Trump would never be President.   I actually blame the same, and all the free media time provided by the left to President Trump blew up in their rating chasing faces......and the funny thing......they have left off right where they did before the election.....more free media for the President and not enough hard journalism.   Blowing up trivial issues, and completely ignoring the meat and potato issues.  The Russians and Comey were just part of the losing strategy.

[url=https://servimg.com/view/17590168/703[/url]

The campaign in one graphic. Ugh, tells the story. Thanks

2seaoat wrote:Where has the message changed after the election?  I believe I am closer to the Democratic platform now than I was to the Republican Platform, but the far left continues to take over the party and make huge miscalculations about what most Americans perceive as needs.   They sense the Democratic party is too narrow in its leadership and that issues like trade which mean something to them were only communicated by Bernie who does not have consistent issues which could make him electable.  There are no leaders stressing where the democratic party is going and pouring money into congressional districts, or doing an ill advised strategy to stop Gorsuch sends a clear message these folks are still clueless.  Where is Joe Biden type democrats.

2seaoat wrote:The fake news and propaganda machine which Markle spammed this site and every blog in America, attempted to create a factual basis that Hillary was a criminal.   She was not.  It was an absurd proposition as people misquoted criminal statutes, court cases, and facts, but when the FBI opened a closed investigation where they said she did nothing wrong, and associated the same with Anthony Weiner.......the election was lost for midwestern traditional democratic voters who did not trust her trade promises.  It should have never have happened in America where a foreign nation can pull off what Russia did, but the truth is Hillary Clinton was stabbed in the back by her own husband meeting the AG on a runway......that hubris and arrogance could never be overcome even though nothing was done wrong, it once again added to the narrative and propaganda.

Vikingwoman wrote:

2seaoat wrote:The fake news and propaganda machine which Markle spammed this site and every blog in America, attempted to create a factual basis that Hillary was a criminal.   She was not.  It was an absurd proposition as people misquoted criminal statutes, court cases, and facts, but when the FBI opened a closed investigation where they said she did nothing wrong, and associated the same with Anthony Weiner.......the election was lost for midwestern traditional democratic voters who did not trust her trade promises.  It should have never have happened in America where a foreign nation can pull off what Russia did, but the truth is Hillary Clinton was stabbed in the back by her own husband meeting the AG on a runway......that hubris and arrogance could never be overcome even though nothing was done wrong, it once again added to the narrative and propaganda.

Ahh, I don't really think that was significant at all to anyone other than the repugs who were looking for anything. Loretta Lynch was an old friend of Bill Clinton and he appointed her to her job. I don't think he had any intention other than saying hello at a chance meeting.

2seaoat wrote:A great deal of Bill's Hillary's and Donald's behavior seemed like very old people who had lost capacity.  I think we need an age limit on Presidents.  When they first take office they must be 65 or younger.  How do you travel to Arizona the last week of the campaign and not visit Wisconsin.   That type of miscalculation indicated distorted perceptions.  President Trump's tweets are often incoherent.