Members DRW50 Posted June 21, 2017 Members Share Posted June 21, 2017 I think Ossoff was a passable candidate who did a decent job and probably did as well as ever would have happened in that type of district. I never thought he would win, and I think that the national party made a mistake in pushing so much money and time into this race. I think the shooting last week was one factor, but even without that, it was a huge uphill climb. Nationalizing this race was a terrible idea. It speaks volumes that a race that got far less attention and money was closer than this one. When big DC Democrats and their consultants start shoveling in, it doesn't end well, because they are tone deaf. There is no national message beyond "stop Trump." There's nothing to actually vote for. Instead you have a party that is out of ideas hoping that they can get through if people hate Trump enough. It didn't work in November and it's not working now. There are some reasons for this like gerrymandering and voter suppression, but there are also serious identity issues with the Democratic Party that aren't being addressed. The national leadership is tired and uninspired in general. I have a lot of respect for Nancy Pelosi and I don't believe that she costs that many votes, I don't believe there is some widespread hatred or fear of her, but she, Steny Hoyer and Chuck Schumer mostly seem listless and dated. There is no new blood to contrast to the usual Washington. There's a general condescending lack of interest in the makeup of a district in favor of some blanket idea that people in a district are supposed to "resist" and send a message, and if they don't, they are damning themselves to hell. This was a well-off district - jeering about how they won't get a living wage now and how they won't have health care now isn't going to make a lot of sense. It also dramatically overstates the likelihood of any of this happening if a Democrat is elected. Democrats need to learn how to manage expectations. The party ran headlong into this fantasy that these elections were going to lead to America rising up and sending a message. They did little to stop the media from blithely ignoring that these are all longtime Republican districts and there was no suggestion of this changing. As a result of poor expectations, an obvious and expected loss in a very Republican area has become a devastating blow that will drain media attention away from the health care repeal, away from so much else the Republicans are doing to ruin America and the world, and also cause less money and a poorer quality field of candidates for 2018. As long as things stay the way they are, there will no big wins in 2018. Democrats will be lucky to gain a few seats. And if they don't see this now I don't know if they ever will, especially if their bogeyman Trump leaves office and they are left with a milquetoast President who hates all the right people and who will have the daddy-issues media crawling over hot coals to help him win. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hsfolk Posted June 21, 2017 Members Share Posted June 21, 2017 i voted more for Pence and Trump getting to pick the SCOTUS than I did for him 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members NothinButAttitude Posted June 21, 2017 Members Share Posted June 21, 2017 I am at this point in my life. But those people can keep voting stupidly and against their own self-interest b/c they are not hurting us minorities at all. We (African Americans) have always been without since we were brought over here in slave ships. We'll always rise above during strife as it is instilled in us. We know how to make due with little or nothing. That won't change that. However, I am gonna sit here and smile gleefully when all these poor, White people who vote stupidly really start to suffer. Especially, when Trump/Pence cuts off food stamps, welfare, SSI, healthcare... Sometimes you gotta hit rock bottom to get a rude awakening. Maybe that time is now for them. Oh well... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Juliajms Posted June 21, 2017 Members Share Posted June 21, 2017 So you agree with someone using the word c*nt and then talk about sexism? Not sure how that works. Reducing a woman to her vag because you don't like her political stance is classic sexism. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hsfolk Posted June 21, 2017 Members Share Posted June 21, 2017 Please register in order to view this content 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members juppiter Posted June 21, 2017 Members Share Posted June 21, 2017 Dems must dump Pelosi ahead of 2018 elections. The fact is, Karen Handel was able to drive Republicans to turn out tonight by showing them a picture of Nancy Pelosi. As long as Republicans can do that, Dems have no chance at regaining the House. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DRW50 Posted June 21, 2017 Members Share Posted June 21, 2017 The other thing Democrats should face is that to many voters, Trump does not = GOP. The Republicans did a decent job throughout the campaign and since the campaign of working with him but also distancing themselves. There is no millstone to be hung around the neck of some random robot running in a red district. People may hate Trump, or fear him, but it is isolated to him. The Republican Party of 2017 is terrifying. It's not just Trump. Obama tried to point this out last year but it was mostly ignored and will continue to be ignored. The party is being whitewashed and shielded, intentionally and unintentionally, through Trump's presence in the Oval Office. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members NothinButAttitude Posted June 21, 2017 Members Share Posted June 21, 2017 Sorry but I have no respect for Karen Handel. She's a crook and a damn bigot. I like and respect your opinions, but she is trash. If she were a man, I'd the saying the same thing. Her gender has nothing to do with my "comment." 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Roman Posted June 21, 2017 Members Share Posted June 21, 2017 Trump getting in is happening for a reason. we as a nation need to go through THE FIRE to come out the other side. and my opinion. period. I've been calling her out and wishing dhe would just go away fro over a decade now. she did nothing to help the party or Obama when he was in office. and her arrogance.....she's a member of the 1% and she's helping to keep the party in the crapper. well, IMPO, alot of our white sisters and brothers not only helped put Obama in office, they helped keep him there. I personally can't lump an entire group of people into the same cup because of the idiotic actions of a segment of them. I don't like it done to me, so I'm not doing it to anyone else. I understand how you feel.....but for me, it now goes deeper than race, gender, preference or religion. it's now for the very survival of the nation. as long as we stay divided the 1% will stay on top. The Rs and Ds are just for public consumption IMPO.....because I believe that the majority of both parties get behind closed doors and just divy up our money among themselves. because all we do is boil politics down to "We won!!! they lost!!!" and it comes back around full circle....to the idiots who don;t even realized they are being owned by a group of millionaires and billionaires who wouldn't piss on them if they were on fire. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ponds Posted June 21, 2017 Members Share Posted June 21, 2017 I have voted in every election since I was 21 (the legal age then) and have to say that Democrats are so fu*king lousy at getting out to vote, especially in off term elections. Apathy is killing the liberals!!!!!! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Wendy Posted June 21, 2017 Members Share Posted June 21, 2017 Ever so thankful for the ignore feature. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members NothinButAttitude Posted June 21, 2017 Members Share Posted June 21, 2017 Does anyone else think that Dems need to start getting ruthless with the GOP? Apparently, it works for them. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DRW50 Posted June 21, 2017 Members Share Posted June 21, 2017 I think they need to start pushing new faces more and need clear plans they can push forward, and I think they need to move on from Trump in their messaging. I think they need to remind people of how disastrous the GOP is with or without Trump. I also think they need to spend much more time and money on building up local and state parties. It's time to stop things like cold-calling districts 500 times a day and angering voters. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GMac Posted June 21, 2017 Members Share Posted June 21, 2017 IA with all y'all on this. The existing Dem leadership in Congress AND at the DNC need to go. They're 0-4. Granted, in very red districts but one of them should have fallen our way. It needs to happen NOW to prepare for the midterms. If a pro sports team was starting out like this, the GM would have some questions to answer! We need leadership that will communicate our platform, plan very clearly and IMO never.stop.talking.about.healthcare. If the Senate pushes through this bill, it's going to impact a whole buncha people that voted for Trump. We need a leadership team that will craft the plan and keep on message. Hammer that shyt home. Every chance you get. FRESH BLOOD. I have a childhood friend who is Republican and voted for Trump. She owns a winery that isn't profitable and therefore is on Obamacare for a very reasonable, affordable payment. I asked her what she was going to do when this healthcare bill passes. She doesn't know. She's worried. But she won't ever vote Democrat. She also regularly partakes in lighting up a blunt. Regularly, y'all. I asked her about Sessions' plan to roll back some allowances for smoking, but she didn't have an answer. She called him an [!@#$%^&*]. Prior to the election, she told me that refer wasn't a partisan issue but hopefully now she sees that it is. Again, I don't think she'll ever vote Democrat. It's infuriating. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JaneAusten Posted June 21, 2017 Members Share Posted June 21, 2017 (edited) This is the key. I am not that concerned right now with these races(although it is interesting that the races the party paid the least attention to in Kansas and SC performed IMO the best). But what's needed is the build up of the lower infrastructure. Having people outside the area to help might be fine in some instances but it doesn't replace local support. I live in Cook County and have been working in DuPage County in the Chicago area, a county that is fairly red. While Cook County has an abundance of Dem support, DuPage needed democratic committee people and precinct captains. They have had empty seats across the county - that's changing as more people have stepped forward since Nov. That's what you need in place for the long haul and those are the people who GOTV - they work the communities and neighborhood and rally people in those areas to help. They help build from the ground up.Working local races and getting people elected in state legislatures are things that are easier with ground support. Illinois is a disaster yes, but our elections in April were a big success for democrats in areas that have been red for years. That matters in building the local infrastructure needed. I've been saying that the national messaging sucks. But honestly I have followed Thompson in Kansas, Ossoff, Parnell, and Qust - none of them have talked about it in their races or very little. It's the national leadership and that perception across the country doesn't help much. They should be able to leverage this disaster of a healthcare bill and be hammering it home, and they talk about it but they also need better messaging on what they would do. The GOP have sabotaged O-Care for years. People should know this but they don't. I blame the democratic messaging and media obsession Edited June 21, 2017 by JaneAusten 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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