Democratic Party Platform: How to win?

[Gori the Grey]

Hey, is this crazy?

While running, say you're going to add two justices to the court, bring it to 11: Merrick Garland, and someone else who can get sixty votes in the Senate. (I don't know if you as President can insist on that last point; after you've nominated, the Senate probably just plays by its (now broken) rules). (But you see what I'm driving at, right? Undo the stolen court seat. And as far as possible undo the abandoned requirement for sixty votes.) (Depends on your getting the Senate, of course, which you can't know that you will while running.) (But just say, "If my party also takes the Senate . . .").

 

[Gori the Grey]

Do not talk about him at all

I hope the forum members will take this up as its own issue in this imaginary campaign we're constructing. I'm of two minds. I see the value of your approach, and I'm attracted to it. But I just think there are times on a campaign trail where one has to talk about one's opponent. So it would be better to have a deliberate strategy for how you mean to go about it in the times when it does prove necessary.

Now to some of your other points. I think anything focused on student loan debt needs to be handled very carefully, because there is at present a resentment, that Trump tapped, of the non-college educated for the college educated. And to do something that simply benefits one group will only increase the resentment of the other.

Maybe not "Restore Democracy," but I think there's room for a ton of "Restore Responsible Governance")

(Hey Silurian, you and I joined on the same day, one year apart. (And two days from now.))

 

[Gori the Grey]

Well, for myself, I would totally support any candidate who chose to do that and manages to pull it off. There might be places, though, where a rigorous application of that method would come off as strained, a stunt. And then you end up effectively giving Trump publicity anyway.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

I think we just need someone that can go to to toe with him without flinching. So many times in the debates I wanted to scream at the screen as Hillary failed to land easy jabs and ripostes during the debates. She said afterward she had trouble responding appropriately to his audacity and bombastic attacks. It cost her, it cost everyone.

We need a scrapper.

 

[Kaitzilla]

Nobody gets a tax refund while the government is shut down.

So the consumer driven USA will collapse near the end of February.

As you were gentlemen.

 

[Kyriakos]

How to lose:
1) choose another establishment person as your candidate
2) repeat that trump is worse, and dont bother having attractive policies for the non rich
3) ?
4) trump profit

 

[Sommerswerd]

I think we just need someone that can go to to toe with him without flinching. So many times in the debates I wanted to scream at the screen as Hillary failed to land easy jabs and ripostes during the debates. She said afterward she had trouble responding appropriately to his audacity and bombastic attacks. It cost her, it cost everyone.

We need a scrapper.

Elizabeth Warren has proven herself to be the most capable in that regard... she is constantly going at it with Trump and actually succeeds in out-trolling him occasionally.

As far as platforms go... everyone here seems to be ignoring Climate Change, which seems to be emerging as a major plank in the Democrats' platform. I'm not sure I agree with them focusing on this but they seem determined to do so.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

Elizabeth Warren has proven herself to be the most capable in that regard... she is constantly going at it with Trump and actually succeeds in out-trolling him occasionally.

Yup, I keep pointing that out about her. Like I said before, regardless of whether or not you think she won the tussle over her ancestry, she took the fight to him. And she has a history of doing that. We need more fighters who can simultaneously fight him on his terms without really sinking to his vulgar level. It's a very small needle to thread.

I feel like Climate Change is great actually. It energizes the young crowd of liberals and doesn't really turn anyone off except those that already think it's a Chinese hoax or whatever.

 

[rah]

I would like to see a woman face him because it's more likely that he'll slip when insulting her and alienate more of those white females that sill support his fat butt.

 

[Ironsided]

I think that is a dangerous platform, not because the political system doesn't need fixing, but because it is next to impossible to do in 4 years. To really fix the system at the federal level you would probably need constitutional changes and I don't think those are going to happen.

Fair enough. I don’t think you will work out a “fix” for healthcare, immigration, infrastructure, taxes, foreign policy budget, etc, etc… in four years either. Maybe the “Trump is evil” meme. Maybe. These are really not issues you tick of your list and be done with, are they? These are issues you work with constantly and forever. Election after election. What’s important is that the ideological vision your party represent is clear. Where do the democrats want to go?

Restoring democracy is not only done in an amendment to the constitution. It’s not only rolling back Citizens United and ending super PACs. It’s much more. You could instantly start by discussing the lack of funding and attraction for public service media. You can promote unions to have a stronger hand and more direct role in policies affecting their members and their colleagues. You can raise issues with home schooling and private vs. public schools. You can shackle the damned corporate bull to not instinctively go on destroy-all-competition-mode as if it was a virtue. You could make people who want to try run their own business - if only for themselves - to have some universal basic support and security to take that risk. If you want to have a competitive society – at least make it a more fair fight. Make it more democratically sound.

That’s why I think restoring the values of democracy is most urgent and of even more importance in western liberal market economies. If made fair and democratic - I believe liberal economies can progress and evolve society into something better. Flip and flop, slip and slide and you get Trumped.

(Personally, I’d prefer if a strong social democracy style socialist agenda to hit the US like a truck – but I don’t think enough Americans do and it's your country even if the rest of us are somewhat co-dependent)

 

[Sommerswerd]

Yup, I keep pointing that out about her. Like I said before, regardless of whether or not you think she won the tussle over her ancestry, she took the fight to him. And she has a history of doing that. We need more fighters who can simultaneously fight him on his terms without really sinking to his vulgar level. It's a very small needle to thread.

This makes her an ideal VP right? The traditional role of the VP is the "attack dog"... someone who can constantly do all the dirty-work/mudslinging/brawling while the POTUS stays above the belt, focused and on message. I know that we haven't reached the VP stage, but I think that was another missed opportunity for the Democrats in 2016... nominating Warren for VP. I acknowledged the aesthetic/demographic overlap at the time but I think she would have been a far better choice than Kaine. I don't know how well Trump-troller-extraordinaire translates into POTUS candidate though.

I feel like Climate Change is great actually. It energizes the young crowd of liberals and doesn't really turn anyone off except those that already think it's a Chinese hoax or whatever.

My concern about climate change is that inasmuch as it may energize younger voters, it might also be equally alienating and/or eye-roll inducing for the older ones. I see older voters kind of glazing over and disengaging in response to a platform that places climate change at the center of the agenda.

The problem with climate change, as an issue for government to resolve, is that its a little like plumbing, right? Its like the global plumbing. So Americans attitude about it is... "yeah whatever, just fix it, don't care how, don't want to hear about it, its boring and we don't understand it, just fix whatever is broken so we can go on with our business."

 

[uppi]

Fair enough. I don’t think you will work out a “fix” for healthcare, immigration, infrastructure, taxes, foreign policy budget, etc, etc… in four years either. Maybe the “Trump is evil” meme. Maybe. These are really not issues you tick of your list and be done with, are they? These are issues you work with constantly and forever. Election after election. What’s important is that the ideological vision your party represent is clear. Where do the democrats want to go?

True point. I do think that some of these issues are more easily "fixable" in a 4 year period (if you have that long, but that is another point for fixing democracy). For example, if you manage to pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill, you could solve most of the major problems in that area. That does not mean you never have to look at it again, but you could let the issue rest for a while and it doesn't have to be that much of an issue in the next election. other things like foreign policy, take a much longer time to turn around, because it is usually desasterous to make instant changes here.

I think the need for vision is especially true for progressive politics, because if you want to progress, you need to know where to. Conservatives have it much easier in that regard, because not as much vision is expected from them and they can go "this is fine" for quite some time, even if the world around them is burning. Reactionaries have it even easier, because their vision is a glorified version of the past that tends to arise more or less automatically.

 

[Lexicus]

This should not be a campaign issue. Trump will say it is taking taxes from hard workers to give to the urban elite.

To me "fix student debt" is more-or-less synonymous with "cancel student debt" though.

actually succeeds in out-trolling him occasionally.

Can you give an example?

 

[hobbsyoyo]

Why spend energy persuading people who are going to vote for you to vote for you

Because if you don't the party doesn't show up to vote a la 2016.

 

[rah]

Yeah, and if you cap it to like 2% of your gross salary, it might even end a being a bigger incentive for colleges to help you find a good paying job and screw over "fake" schools.

 

[Silurian]

I think Trumps going to get a second term

 

[civvver]

Most people care about their bottom line- health care premiums and costs, student debt, taxes, wages. Run on that stuff and you can win, as long as your message is broad enough. I don't think class warfare vs just the 1% or the deplorables works any more as it's too hyper specific. Trump won by appealing to a large base of people who have been kind of left behind in all that stuff, even if his policies aren't really going to benefit them.

 

[danjuno]

Stuff like the Green New Deal and Medicare for all seem pretty popular, so I see no reason to back away from them.

 

[adcarrymaokai]

Elizabeth Warren has proven herself to be the most capable in that regard... she is constantly going at it with Trump and actually succeeds in out-trolling him occasionally.

You mean the DNA test she took to prove she has Native American ancestry? I would say it's a win for Trump because he low key made her a joke with that. If she can't brush aside all of the bs he throws at her, she won't be able to succeed.

American politics is reality TV, and the reason why Obama won so convincingly was because he is a great showman whose speeches make people cry. Hell, even Bernie was good entertainment content. Elizabeth Warren will need to take classes on how to be relatable, cool, likable, and put a good show if she wants to win. It's not enough to be a sensible politician with good goals — you have to razzle-dazzle the electorate to make them want to pokemon-go to the polls. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Lexicus]

So? Reduce the debt, Cancel the debt, Do not start paying until earning such and such.
I can not see how it is going to get out the non graduate vote, I assume that more graduates are going to vote Democrat anyway.

Why spend energy persuading people who are going to vote for you to vote for you.

That is correct, but it's not really hitting taxpayers for anything.