A Look in The Mirror For The Democratic Party

Why America isn't Buying What the Party is Selling

A common critique (or compliment?) of the Republican Party is usually some version of “They’re really good at convincing stupid people to vote for them.” Here’s an idea: If over half of the country is too “stupid” to buy what you’re selling, then maybe what you’re trying to sell them is stupid. There are a million articles out there about how bad Donald Trump is, and I probably agree with every one of them. Who cares? This is the real world, not a Disney movie. The villain wins when the hero is utterly incompetent or doesn’t understand the rules to the game. Back here away from the silver screen, Donald Trump just won another election, and the winners write the history books. It doesn’t matter who’s right, it matters who wins. The Democrats are the party of the way things should be instead of the way that things are.

A lede to an article about the 2024 election might read something like this: “Democrats unable to uphold blue wall in the midwest and lose big among working class voters. Additionally, minorities and young people shifted toward Donald Trump.” A lede to an article about the 2016 election might read…..the same fucking way.

2016 or 2024? Guess right and win a free ticket to listen to a Clinton speak for the 900th time.

We should all be fed up with an utter lack of imagination within the Democratic Party. The Party of working people and change has become the party of holier than thou (which I wrote about extensively here) and “trust us, we know what’s good for you.” “We know you are about to lose your factory job, but you’re great grandchildren will thank you for the Green New Deal!” Can’t believe that messaging didn’t work. The American people don’t trust the party. They don’t feel heard or seen by the grandstanding from the Ivory Tower.

Young men, and particularly struggling young men don’t feel that there is a place for them here. In the same way a significant other sometimes just wants to vent as opposed to “find a solution”, people who are struggling sometimes just want someone to acknowledge them. Trump told them how bad it is. Whether it’s actually “bad” or not is beside the point. The Dems gave them the “well actually.” The struggling dad who doesn’t know how the electricity bill is going to get paid doesn’t care about GDP growth or the stock market.

The Dems have a massive branding problem. This election was not a “landslide”, but it was 100% a mandate that the people are buying what Trump is selling. It trickled down through the Senate and House, where the Republicans have also now gained control. 2016 could have been fairly written off as a fluke. People didn’t know what they were voting for. In 2024 there is no confusion. America knew what it wanted and they are getting it.

Most of the Democratic rallies as well as the convention included a long list of sleepy politicians who most of the country can’t recognize. They are all share the common traits of being very eloquent, having fancy degrees and no one knowing who the fuck they are. Very relatable. But trust them! They’re smarter than you and will figure it out! The final Republican rally at Madison Square Garden featured names like Elon Musk, Hulk Hogan and UFC President Dana White. It was offensive and generally repugnant…..and it worked. It makes me sad that this is what our country is now. But do you want to be sad or do you want to win? This is the way the world works. Name recognition and rallying cries trump (no pun intended) think pieces and carefully laid out policy. As the great Shooter Mcgavin said, “Play the ball as it lies.” The Dems are searching for the ball on the 9th Green at 9PM (if you got that reference, we can be friends).

The last thing you see before blowing another winnable election.

Additionally, Joe Biden was supposed to be the hired gun who was brought in to stop Donald Trump, do his 4 years as President and then meander aimlessly (sorry, I had to) off into the sunset….or Delaware, or whatever. Instead, the party kept rolling him out there until late July like some geriatric Frankenstein version of El Cid shot up on on adderrall and uppers. This is partly the fault of Joe Biden’s ego, but should we be shocked that an 81 year old senile man isn’t in a place to make big picture decisions about the future of a party?

I put more blame on the overall party and the liberal media. They fed us these fairytales about “Joe just had a bad night” or “he deserves to leave on his terms.” This is the most important job on earth, and we’re acting like he messed up a customers drink order. From there, (hindsight is 20/20) it should have been seen as inevitable that Kamala would be seen as nothing more than an extension of the Biden administration after being force fed to us. I don’t know if it is fair or unfair that this is the way people saw her, but fair has nothing to do with it. It just is. It’s one way and we wish it was the other. There’s no way to know for sure, but I truly believe an open primary that produced a new and exciting candidate would have resulted in Democratic victory. Instead? Let’s run it back! Any Clintons available?

New York Times Reporter Astead Herndon, referred to the party as “lowercase R racist” on The Daily podcast on Wednesday. Not racist in the sense of Jim Crow or George Wallace, but racist in the presumption that “all the minorities will vote for us.” He’s right. How arrogant and out of touch. It showed up in the numbers. Trump jumped an absurd 13% among Latin voters vs 2020 while the Dems dropped 12%. He also lost zero ground among black voters while the Dems dropped 1% among blacks, which is noteworthy considering the Democratic candidate was African-American. It’s the same old smugness. “We know what’s best for minorities, of COURSE they will vote for us.”

Make no mistake, the Republicans won this. But more than that, the Democrats lost it. It’s not easy to lose to a candidate with 34 felonies and a well documented history of sexual assault, racism and putting himself ahead of the country, but the Dems sure as hell found a way. Frankly, given the level of discontent in America at the moment, the Dems were handed a gift as the incumbent party. A functioning Republican candidate probably wins this one in a landslide. No matter, the Dems got a juicy fastball down the middle and sent an 82 year old pinch hitter to the plate to try to knock it out the park. No wonder we’re walking back to the dugout with our tail between our legs for four more years.