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The retconning is wild. Anything to avoid an introspective look at why the Party failed.

NickC25 2y ago
Can't it be both? The GOP won, but not by as much as Donald Trump claims they did. The opposition party, the Democrats, failed spectacularly. They have for my entire lifetime become the de-facto experts in snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Both are true.
- ThrowawayR2 2y ago
  That the Democrats lost by a slim margin would not be a landslide if the opposing candidate were an ordinary career politician. That the Democrats lost by a slim margin against one of the most openly unstable and corrupt individuals, never mind his political views, ever to hold high office is what makes it a landslide repudiation of the Democrats. The Democratic Party's constituency ought to be protesting and doing sit-ins at the offices of the Democratic Party leadership demanding change and accountability with the same fervor they've had in the past protests. Instead, what I expect is impotent mumbling about "voting against their best interests" and accusations about various -isms (lots of luck getting the public to vote when you're calling them nasty names all the time) as they march onward to another loss in 2028.
  - jfengel 2y ago
    Unfortunately, I've come to agree with you. Democrats generally run on a platform of competent, centrist government. And they generally lose. They won when they ran a remarkable orator with a short track record, and they were disappointed when he also gave them competent, centrist government. They won when they ran against a man who was in the process of screwing up a crisis, but now that the crisis has been handled, he's back. The American left wants what the American right gets: a flamboyant demagogue who makes absurd promises that he cannot deliver. They demand change, so we might as well give it to them. * End all American support for Israel * Immediately cancel all student loans * Halve the US military, and put the money into a Universal Basic Income * Tax billionaires at 50%, and multi-billionaires at 90% * Bans on fossil fuels and plastics These all seem like bad ideas to me, but I've got a choice: these bad ideas, or the active harassment of the Republicans. So my best option would be to vote for these candidates, then hope that none of these policies can actually be implemented, or in dramatically reduced form. At this point that may not actually be necessary. Right now there is a very good chance that Democrats will win in 2028 for the same reason they won in 2008: a failing economy and an obvious incompetent in office. And it's possible that by 2032, demographics will have shifted substantially. Still, I think that this is the route they need to take. Might as well pander to the left and hope that the result is somehow a sensible policy. Because the idea of offering reasonable government just doesn't get people excited.
blackeyeblitzar 2y ago
It’s the Guardian. Doubling down is expected, although not advised.

Can't it be both? The GOP won, but not by as much as Donald Trump claims they did. The opposition party, the Democrats, failed spectacularly. They have for my entire lifetime become the de-facto experts in snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Both are true.

ThrowawayR2 2y ago
That the Democrats lost by a slim margin would not be a landslide if the opposing candidate were an ordinary career politician. That the Democrats lost by a slim margin against one of the most openly unstable and corrupt individuals, never mind his political views, ever to hold high office is what makes it a landslide repudiation of the Democrats. The Democratic Party's constituency ought to be protesting and doing sit-ins at the offices of the Democratic Party leadership demanding change and accountability with the same fervor they've had in the past protests. Instead, what I expect is impotent mumbling about "voting against their best interests" and accusations about various -isms (lots of luck getting the public to vote when you're calling them nasty names all the time) as they march onward to another loss in 2028.
- jfengel 2y ago
  Unfortunately, I've come to agree with you. Democrats generally run on a platform of competent, centrist government. And they generally lose. They won when they ran a remarkable orator with a short track record, and they were disappointed when he also gave them competent, centrist government. They won when they ran against a man who was in the process of screwing up a crisis, but now that the crisis has been handled, he's back. The American left wants what the American right gets: a flamboyant demagogue who makes absurd promises that he cannot deliver. They demand change, so we might as well give it to them. * End all American support for Israel * Immediately cancel all student loans * Halve the US military, and put the money into a Universal Basic Income * Tax billionaires at 50%, and multi-billionaires at 90% * Bans on fossil fuels and plastics These all seem like bad ideas to me, but I've got a choice: these bad ideas, or the active harassment of the Republicans. So my best option would be to vote for these candidates, then hope that none of these policies can actually be implemented, or in dramatically reduced form. At this point that may not actually be necessary. Right now there is a very good chance that Democrats will win in 2028 for the same reason they won in 2008: a failing economy and an obvious incompetent in office. And it's possible that by 2032, demographics will have shifted substantially. Still, I think that this is the route they need to take. Might as well pander to the left and hope that the result is somehow a sensible policy. Because the idea of offering reasonable government just doesn't get people excited.

blackeyeblitzar 2y ago

It’s the Guardian. Doubling down is expected, although not advised.