Future of the Democratic Party
they have a rough go in 2018, from what i've read. hope that they manage to get their **** together and at least win the senate, though. i don't like one party rule, and i don't agree much with the agenda of the party that's in charge.
their problem remains the same, and i've posted about it before. if you ask the average person on the street what the message of the Republican party is, he or she will at least say "to stop Obama" or "to cut government," even if that's entirely an oversimplification and is less than accurate. ask them the same thing about the Democratic party, and you'll get some partisan regurgitation about socialism (or their mangled understanding of what socialism actually is,) or you'll get no answer at all. why? their messaging is terrible. no easily remembered motto, no unifying message, nor anything substantive in most cases. here is what the Democratic party needs to take away from this election :
1. jobs. jobs, jobs, jobs. even if you can't do it, jobs. after that, jobs. good paying jobs. "we'll rebuild your town" jobs. jobs.
i told them, but they didn't believe me.
2. shut the **** up about guns. the battle at the federal level is lost. yes, many people are too stupid and violent to be trusted with a weapon as deadly as modern guns, but the issue is killing you. put it on the back burner, and climb out of the ditch before looking at it again.
3. use the ****ing bully pulpit to explain to people WHY you want to fix healthcare. you got drowned out by the right, and now the ACA is toast. there should have been interview after interview with average Canadians and Europeans saying "well, it isn't perfect, but there's no way i would trade places with you poor blokes. 12K for a broken arm, and you lose your insurance when you lose your job? that's daft."
4. jobs.
5. there's about to be another huge attempt at trickle down. map that **** out, and watch it like a hawk. when it fails like all of the other attempts over the past thirty years, have data, graphs, and a plan to fix it at the ready when the bubbles start bursting. hopefully, Charlie Brown will eventually figure out who's holding the football.
6. package policy priorities into something like the New Deal, and then find someone who can sell it.
that's a good start. get to work.