What happens to the Democratic Party now? (6 Viewers)

[Heathen]

I’m sure much of us are having 2016 flashbacks this morning with a sick feeling to our stomachs..

2 of the last 3 elections Democrats have lost to a far right demagogue

Harris didn’t get close in many states to even Biden’s performance. We could very well lose the Presidency, Senate AND House depending on results the next few days…..

What went wrong?
What could’ve been done better?
What can we change in the future to ensure voters are motivated like they were when Obama was elected?

Democrats have no choice but to admit there’s a huge problem with some aspect of their platform— and to do a deep introspection of what’s going wrong..

 

[J-DONK]

Good point. Ultimately she is just not a great politician. She admittedly sucks at thinking on her feet, and even her campaign "highlights" are heavily scripted and almost robotic. It's not a great contrast with Trump, who is very authentic (in addition to being very stupid.)

You have to be a good bullshitter, and she's not. I wish it wasn't that way but it's reality.

The democratic party needs some of those old school slick Louisiana politicians now more than ever.

I don't think candidate quality had anything to do with her loss.

Trump was god awful this campaign.

I think Haley could have won by even bigger margins truthfully.

This is going to have a be a ground up rework. The Obama coalition is dead. Whatever comes next will need to be different.

Also, whatever the Trump campaign did to add voters to their 2020 totals in swing states will have to be copied. They had zero ground game, and still got that turnout.

 

[porculator]

I don't think candidate quality had anything to do with her loss.

Trump was god awful this campaign.

I think Haley could have won by even bigger margins truthfully.

This is going to have a be a ground up rework. The Obama coalition is dead. Whatever comes next will need to be different.

Also, whatever the Trump campaign did to add voters to their 2020 totals in swing states will have to be copied. They had zero ground game, and still got that turnout.

Candidate quality didn't lose it alone but it didn't help. And it relates to your bolded point. Trump didn't add voters, the democrats lost them. Voter turnout was down. Honestly I think this has more to do with 2020 being an aberration in terms of voting options, but it also has to do with democratic leaning voters just being uninspired to go stand in line for hours to vote.

 

[J-DONK]

Candidate quality didn't lose it alone but it didn't help. And it relates to your bolded point. Trump didn't add voters, the democrats lost them. Voter turnout was down. Honestly I think this has more to do with 2020 being an aberration in terms of voting options, but it also has to do with democratic leaning voters just being uninspired to go stand in line for hours to vote.

The numbers disagree.

 

[cuddlemonkey]

The postmortem for this election is going to be eye-opening. I still don't see how Harris can get beaten so soundly when voter registration was up so high, early voting so heavily favored the Democratic ticket, public rallies and enthusiasm were evident for Harris and nonexistent for Trump, and other Democratic candidates and initiatives fared as well as they did. Something does not compute here for me.

 

[B4YOU]

The postmortem for this election is going to be eye-opening. I still don't see how Harris can get beaten so soundly when voter registration was up so high, early voting so heavily favored the Democratic ticket, public rallies and enthusiasm were evident for Harris and nonexistent for Trump, and other Democratic candidates and initiatives fared as well as they did. Something does not compute here for me.

Republicans spent 4 years driving voter registration. PA is an example of a national trend. Harris enthusiasm was overblown due to celebrity and Trump voters were locked in so they didn't need to be excited.

 

[B4YOU]

The numbers disagree.

Wisconsin population increased by about 100k over those 4 years. I think she effectively matched Biden's numbers in 2020. What she didn't do is win Wisconsin. Nor did she win the national popular vote unlike 7/8 Dems in previous elections.

 

[MT15]

This guy is head of the WI Democratic Party and a very smart man. Here are some of his takes. There’s more if anyone wants to take a look.

 

[DaveXA]

The postmortem for this election is going to be eye-opening. I still don't see how Harris can get beaten so soundly when voter registration was up so high, early voting so heavily favored the Democratic ticket, public rallies and enthusiasm were evident for Harris and nonexistent for Trump, and other Democratic candidates and initiatives fared as well as they did. Something does not compute here for me.

I think we ate the cheese and overestimated the perceived momentum that was gained during the last midterms. I think that momentum was real, largely because of Roe, but this was a different election cycle and different set of circumstances.

I'm still convinced changing candidates so late in the race hurt, but it seems a lot of the global issues have bled into our political landscape and incumbents are having a tough time holding power.

Also, some self reflection is also in order. It might well be that we have our own information bubbles and starting to believe our own press a little too much.

I really wasn't counting on a Trump win, but objectively, if you look at the data leading up to the election, it was pointing in that direction. And it wasn't just Harris, it was in Congressional elections as well.

I don't know how this gets turned around, but the DNC needs new leadership, a new broader coalition needs to be established and a clear game plan needs to be developed for 2026. The status quo will get status quo results.

 

[J-DONK]

This guy is head of the WI Democratic Party and a very smart man. Here are some of his takes. There’s more if anyone wants to take a look.

I've personally settled on the point. Dems probably got lucky Trump ran, and not someone like Nikki Haley. Trump won despite being -20 favorability rating vs Harris. God knows how bad this could have been with someone with better numbers.

 

[barbar]

Same here.....


Nobody is saying it's a strategy, it's just the reality, and it's frightening to me that so many folks think an obvious mentally deranged, narcissistic, wannabe tinpot dictator is the right person to run this country.....don't know how else to put it....I hope we still have a democratic republic in 4 years....

It's like they don't remember what it was like when he was president. Total chaos all the time. It was exhausting. Does anyone really want that again?

I also think people got addicted to the drama.....they certainly got addicted to the emotional high Trump gives them. Dopamine hit just like when your phone dings a notification at you.

 

[barbar]

But what did the border bill say?

The Dems could've gone on all media platforms and say they were shutting down the border, and imposing heavy restrictions on who gets in, even if, in the end, don't do it. Of course, that would've made the left lose their minds.

But every time Dems talk about immigration, they express more care for the people coming in, not the people already here.

You missed the greater point getting caught up in the details. It was just one example of 100. Pick any other bill you like if you don't like the border bill.

 

[SystemShock]

You missed the greater point getting caught up in the details. It was just one example of 100. Pick any other bill you like if you don't like the border bill.

Well, the devil is in the details, ain't it?

 

[Saint by the Bay]

I've personally settled on the point. Dems probably got lucky Trump ran, and not someone like Nikki Haley. Trump won despite being -20 favorability rating vs Harris. God knows how bad this could have been with someone with better numbers.

I actually don't agree with this although logically it’s sound. I think any Republican wins, but I don't think the cult shows up like they did for Trump. He's a unique figure. I think Haley would have a tougher time breaking the blue wall because there's a huge chunk of those people voting for Trump, not voting Republican or against Kamala.

I have a sneaky suspicion the poles will shift back in a post Trump World. The working class will return to the Dems and College educated voters shift back to Republican. Sometimes I think we forget what the world looked like before Trump. The white wor, ing class sees themselves in Trump for a variety of reasons. They won’t see themselves in Haley, DeSantis, or Vance.

 

[Optimus Prime]

She’s says a million times she’s not running and has no interest in doing so

The theory (wishful thinking) now is that after seeing Trump win and with her kids being grown she’ll change her mind
===================
It hasn’t even been a week since Donald Trumpwon the election, but politicos are already dreaming about who should run in 2028, and former First Lady Michelle Obama’s name keeps cropping up.

When the Obamas issued their statement on the election results, social media users deluged them with comments calling for the former first lady to run.

Oddsmakers already have her as the number two choice next cycle, behind Vice President-elect JD Vance. Even Joe Rogan, the Trump-supporting apostle of male opinion this election, said this week Obama would win “in a landslide“ if she ran.

While Obama has never expressed public interest in running for president, it’s easy to see why so many want her to: she remains extremely popular.…..

Michelle Obama already facing calls to run in 2028 - here’s why she never tried

Former First Lady remains extremely popular and campaigned for Kamala Harris during failed 2024 run

www.independent.co.uk

 

[Saint by the Bay]

Michelle Obama was the keynote speaker at my companies user conference in September and she addressed this during a Q&A with my CEO (who was fangirling hard)

She's not a politician. She has no desire to be a politician. She enjoys the humanitarian work she does and being readily accesible to her girls. She moved her mother into the White House to support her during Baracks presidency and she wants to be that available to her girls in that type of fashion. Her relationship with them is really close and she doesn't have the time to be President.

I also think people want her because she's a blank canvas. Everyone is painting what they want her to be but she would be severely to the left of Barack and would have zero hope of winning the white working class. She also doesn't have any experience in politics. Hillary was first lady, but she was also a Senator and Sec. of State. Michelle has zero political experience outside of being First Lady. If she had political aspirations [she doesn't) she can't start with the biggest job. It would be like hiring a housewife as the CEO of a major multinational firm.

 

[DaveXA]

Michelle Obama was the keynote speaker at my companies user conference in September and she addressed this during a Q&A with my CEO (who was fangirling hard)

She's not a politician. She has no desire to be a politician. She enjoys the humanitarian work she does and being readily accesible to her girls. She moved her mother into the White House to support her during Baracks presidency and she wants to be that available to her girls in that type of fashion. Her relationship with them is really close and she doesn't have the time to be President.

I also think people want her because she's a blank canvas. Everyone is painting what they want her to be but she would be severely to the left of Barack and would have zero hope of winning the white working class. She also doesn't have any experience in politics. Hillary was first lady, but she was also a Senator and Sec. of State. Michelle has zero political experience outside of being First Lady. If she had political aspirations [she doesn't) she can't start with the biggest job. It would be like hiring a housewife as the CEO of a major multinational firm.

Yeah, I tend to agree. And although it's shallow reasoning, I don't want any more political families/dynasties or retreads. Although Michelle doesn't neatly fit into a typical political type, she's still the wife of a former President. Not really fair, but I prefer to get away from the same political families, Bushs, Clintons, Trumps etc.

That said, I'm a fan of Michelle. Would vote for her over probably 9 out of 10 Republicans/conservatives. I just think it's a lot of baggage to run in the shadow of someone else. And people do get tired of the status quo. The Democrats need to start with a clean slate and build what a winning candidate would look like and vigorously pursue that. Recruit and vet those candidates hard and put them through the wringer so they prove they can handle the pressure of a Presidential campaign.

I will say though, I can see the case for not overreacting because there really isn't anyone else like Trump out there. Maybe his kids, but I don't see that same charisma and ability to work a crowd as he does. That said, you know Republicans are gonna trot out some other MAGA type like MTG, Hawley, Cotton, etc.

All that said, the Democrats didn't just lose the WH. They lost ground in Congress. There's more work to do than fielding a winning Presidential candidate. We'll see what happens, but I'm not at all optimistic about 2026 prospects. Might eventually feel differently about 2028, we'll see.

 

[brandon]

Michelle has zero political experience outside of being First Lady. If she had political aspirations [she doesn't) she can't start with the biggest job. It would be like hiring a housewife as the CEO of a major multinational firm.

Yea, no way can someone with no political experience win the presidency.

 

[MT15]

Yea, no way can someone with no political experience win the presidency.

They shouldn’t win. Not can’t.