The Polling Numbers Democrats Keep Ignoring
I was reading a Frank Rich essay in New York magazine about Trump voters and how their “movement” existed before him and will continue once he’s gone. In passing, he points out that Democrats still have no coherent message to counter with, and cites these numbers, which ought to scare Democrats into change but probably won’t:
An early November Washington Post–ABC News poll clocking Trump with the lowest approval rating (37 percent) of any president at this point in his term in 70 years also found that he would tie Clinton (40-40) if a rematch were held now. That poll was followed by a CNN survey showing that the Democratic Party’s own approval rating is at its “lowest mark in more than a quarter century of polling.” A Morning Consult–Politico poll marking the anniversary of Trump’s election found that 82 percent of his voters would vote for him again while only 78 percent of Clinton’s would vote for her.
How can anyone from the money-grubbers’ camp see that and claim they are on the right course?
D’s and R’s get their news from different sources. R’s from propaganda and D’s from legit news sources.
Is it any wonder, then, that both D’s and R’s think the national Democratic Party sucks? Regardless of which reality one subscribes to, the Democratic Party stands for nothing beyond its corporate base, the only base it has left.
Reminding people Bernie would’ve won isn’t re-litigating the 2016 primaries. It’s a way of trying to demonstrate that if you actually stand for something & are not a mindless neoliberal thief & party hack, you may do alight next time round.
People are going to need to come to terms with this or we going to go from very bad to catastrophic pretty quickly.
I’m going to sign off now. In case there’s a “we just elected a racist, neo confederate, kiddie-diddler to the Senate” trending on the internet, I’d rather be stoned and lying in a warm bath.
Maybe you guys can get some policy wonks on here to break it all down.
RE… OUT.
After months of reflection, I think the problem for Clinton Democrats is that they were running against one party, while Trump and Bernie were running against both (at least rhetorically).
When people want to move, the question is only “which direction?” Standing still is not an option, and Clinton ran on preserving the status quo.
That is actually helpful now that the status quo is fucking freefall.
The Democrats have a very inspiring message. We’re not Trump, vote for us lol. I’m sure that will pull everyone off the couch at election time
@Ben: They haven’t gotten nauseous yet.
@mouse: It’s worked most places so far, but Alabama probably is a bridge too far. I think it’s in Selma.
“After months of reflection, I think the problem for Clinton Democrats is that they were running against one party, while Trump and Bernie were running against both (at least rhetorically).”
“When people want to move, the question is only “which direction?” Standing still is not an option, and Clinton ran on preserving the status quo.”
Bingo! Perfectly said.
Bernie would have still lost for the same reason that Hillary lost. Neither motivated minority voters. Trump would have still won that demographic. In a race for angry white people, the guy who dislikes minorities, gays, and jews the most will always win in this country. Bernie’s Wall Street message didn’t speak to them anymore than Hillary’s return to the 90s motivated them. Hillary’s support from minority voters was enough to win her the primary, but the lack of enthusiasm was the reason she lost the general. States like Pennsylvania and Ohio were lost for this exact reason. Trump didn’t win more of the White vote from Democrats than Mit Romney did, Hillary just brought fewer minority voters out. Democrats will never win trying to craft a message that the 30% of Trump loyalist will appreciate without disengaging minorities with dog whistles like “tough on crime” or “traditional american values”. If there’s anything worth learning from Republicans, its that you never win races by alienating your most loyal voting block until that voting block ceases to exist.