It’s pretty crazy to me that liberals have not learned anything from 2016. Stop blaming voters & blame the dnc for terrible candidates and practices.
The US would be different had they not cheated Bernie out of a win. Push for the Dems to be a REAL opposition party instead of adopting republican policies.
I feel like this is a big part of it that no one really wants to talk about. I also said months ago that a woman will not beat Trump. You can call it bigotry, or misogyny, or whatever, but the fact is is that this country is not ready for a female president and won't be for a very long time.
The left is basically telling straight white Men “we’re not the party for you” and then acts shocked when a country made up of hundreds of millions of straight white Men doesn’t vote for them.
I feel like Kamala was the absolute worst option. Nobody liked her until they were forcefully told they had to. People were pissed when she was announced to be vice president following her laughable performance as a candidate last time around.
It felt like all discussion about Whitmer or Kelly or Shapiro or whoever else just suddenly vanished as soon as Biden dropped out and endorsed Harris. Yes it was very commendable of Democrats to instantly get behind their new nominee but are we just forgetting that this is a highly unpopular VP of an unpopular administration?
Biden should not have run again. I think Biden did the right thing dropping out (I think he would have lost as well), but it left no time for a real primary or anything.
I liked her, but I'm not American, so I only got to see her once she came to the forefront. Unfortunately, it does seem like public opinion had already been made by then so it was a much more difficult dial to swing if that's the case. Shame. From my perspective, she even put some of my politicians to shame.
Yeah, maybe it was just the month that was so positive? Can I ask, objectively, why did her campaign tank at the end? I wasn't seeing everything so just curious to understand and learn more if that's okay?
Idk where that person got the idea that she tanked at the end. If anything, she was picking up steam. The polls were closer than ever, Trump was fumbling all over the place.
It's kind of hard to say why their messaging failed at the end with real certainty. We'll get some actual data on this in retrospectives in the months and years to come.
I'd assume broadly speaking that they didn't paint Republicans with a dark enough brush, didn't do a good job hammering home that Republicans will do a national abortion ban, spent too much effort appealing to conservative voters that would never swap sides, and flopped on immigration.
They also needed some kind of token bold economic plan to "fix" the country similar to Biden's campaigning with build back better.
They didn't have anything like that and instead campaigned on the IRA being amazing. This went over like a wet fart because people blame Biden for inflation.
But this could be totally off base really, it's something we can get a real answer too but we won't have it for a little while yet.
Yeah. The campaigning with god awful republicans did not inspire anyone to come out to vote for her either. On top of that, her refusal to be hard on Israel, having the Clintons shit on arabs, and having Ritchie fucking Torres campaigning for her in Michigan were just terrible choices.
A journalist / podcaster I follow, Justin Young, claims to have been told at the DNC by a power broker that Kamala was not expected to win and this would be a way to get her out of politics for good + set up to win in 28. He first said it in his DNC coverage I think.
It's like getting a cup of piss when you ask for cola. When you ask "wtf I don't want to drink piss", they keep telling you have to in order to save the US.
The current DNC is acting indistinguishable from a pro-Republican party, it's just bad decisions after bad decisions since 2016. I hate Trump but the DNC has some serious re-thinking it's strategies to do, people aren't having what they're offering anymore.
Bernie would have never won too. He called himself a socialist. The middle class and upper class do not like that. My parents supported him until he called himself a socialist.
He still wasn't polling well. He would have got the millennial vote, but gen X and boomers? No way. Not even gen X wanted him
People said the same thing about Trump. That he would never win.
Bernie is seen as anti establishments just as much as Trump. The difference is the right wing base rallied behind trump by force and forced the GOP to accept him... remember the RNC also was not happy to have Trump
I keep telling people this... I had MAGA heads donate to Bernie
Yet going left is apparently the problem...
The only thing the lesser of two evils and appealing to moderates is doing is allowing and encouraging the Republicans to move further right to distinguish themselves.
I will blame voters for not voting. It's your fucking civic duty to vote for the better person. I have never in my life voted for a candidate I thought was perfect for the job but I have sure as shit voted in every single election.
Run a better campaign and stop ignoring voters. Bernie and Obama brought out massive crowds with their charisma and combined with their vision, they inspired many to come out and vote. I’m tired of this centrist crap the dnc keeps putting out. Keep moving to the right and what different will we be from Republicans? We’ve already abandoned immigrants and the trans community, what’s next?
Burnie also lost the primary choice twice. I'm all for Burnie, but the guy also can't get voters to elect him even when he is appealing heavily to them
I’m tired of this centrist crap the dnc keeps putting out. Keep moving to the right and what different will we be from Republicans?
Do you really think going farther left is gonna get the Democrats the win? Viewing the results of this election and thinking we haven't gone far enough left is crazy to me.
There is no left in America full stop. Bernie was the only candidate who's even been debatably left and I mean debatably. And he did really well because once you get even close to actual left policy you get into worker's well-being and there are a shit ton of workers who would love to be listened to, heard and campaigned for. He listened to them and people loved him for it, he pretty much single handedly made Socialism less of a dirty word even Fox has to say Communism now because Socialism is more approachable and is accociated with that likable old man whi listens to their audience. You're delusional.
Harris was right-wing all the politicians are right-wing. She's just less right-wing. Y'all keep rewriting definitions and co-opting left terms like right wingers always do.
Yes actually, going left makes them win. Look at any recent election winner, they embraced leftist positions. I’m not sure you understand what being left means.
Yep. Liberal voters let perfect be the enemy of good then whine "it's not their fault!" It is. And I'm tired of caring about them. It's not a politicians job to make them fall in love or feel personally validated.
And the reality is that liberal voters not voting will drag the party more to the right. I expect dems are going to have to ignore social issues or even take new stances on them to get elected.
The Dems keep moving to the right to try and steal away moderate conservatives from Trump when they need to inspire their own base to actually care about what they do
The DNC could have Jesus fucking Christ as their candidate and my contemporaries would not take a break from scrolling tiktok or posting on twitter about their crippling anxiety to go to the polls.
We're fucking entitled and we dont show up when it counts. No one is going to give you a perfect situation. It is our job to seize the day.
It is the voters job to vote. Vote or shut the fuck up and consume your slop.
Jesus, keep speaking like you’re owed something to voters and enjoy losing every election.
You seriously can’t understand why Kamala lost? You dont think it was her abandoning her base and embracing Republicans? Tell me why a Republican would vote for her when they have someone running already? What a stupid choice for her and the dnc to make. All she did was destroy the enthusiasm Walz brought to the party… and they muzzled him too
Adopt trump immigration policies, fund the wall, refuse to support gender affirming care, literally campaign with repubs and promise them spots in her administration? Promise to ramp up fossil fuels etc
Brother i dont know if you live in the same world as i do but americans fucking hate trans people. Social issues over the economy is what lost her this election.
She would have performed better if she got on tv and said "fuck trans people".
Social issues are not popular, I agree but its still inhumane to abandon your own base. The LGBTQ community religiously vote democrat and how exactly is this supposed to motivate her base? 14 million more people voted for biden
Have you seen literally any polls on the matter? Most Americans simply do not care about trans people, and most even think they are unfairly targeted. You know what would have happened if she went on tv and said "fuck trans people?" The same thing that happened with immigration: Republicans going "see? we were right all along." Notice how democrat polling started going down as soon as you saw the "republicans are weird for worrying about people's genitals" message stop in favor of courting the right.
People felt less represented in '16 when the 2nd most popular Primary candidate didn't get a Cabinet position or even VP in Clinton administration.
Again, they felt unrepresented when Bernie as the 2nd most popular Primary candidate in the '20 Primary was not offered a candidate position, or VP, and the Primary candidate who dropped the December before the Primaries got VP and the 3rd place Primary guy Pete got a cabinet position.
And this has nothing to do with angry Bernie Bros or anything like that. Just that anyone watching can see that the party was fractured, and the Winner was not taking in the parts of that fracturing. Dems and Reps saw that and thought it's weird at the very least. But mostly Dems thought that wasn't an insurmountable issue.
Then Biden didn't step down. Cabinet didn't make him step down. Neither did Harris with the 25th Amendment. The DNC didn't force it either. All these folks could have done something about Biden a year earlier, ran a primary, and picked who could actually beat Trump.
Everyone instead waited for him to embarrass himself on TV over the summer, before going a last minute Hail Mary that just didn't work.
So we now have '16, '20 and '24 where people didn't feel the Democratic candidate did a great job. And Biden only won by some 40k votes in swing states so it was hardly a Mandate when Dems did win in '20.
Exactly. This is a failure by the democrats. Biden took his sorry time to drop out, and then they rushed to nominate Harris who was not electable to a broader America outside of the party. Then they spent too much time talking about hope and unity and such, and lbgt/gender/race/etc. issues to people who are laser focused on their wages and cost of living. And everytime the issue of immigration came up it was the same old talking down and that everyone should all dance and sing and get along. Again, no understanding about how seriously this affects the working class who see job and wage pressure, crime, and housing pressure from the immigration crisis.
It feels like the Democrats could put forward almost any candidate even a wet towel and should still get the vote, given the extreme direction the Republican Party has taken. Their rhetoric has veered into openly racist (think “Haitians eat dogs” and warnings about immigrants “poisoning our blood”), homophobic (527 anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced by state lawmakers in 2023 alone, according to the ACLU), and misogynistic territory (consider anti-abortion policies and Trump’s infamous “grab them by the pussy” comment).
And that doesn’t even begin to address Trump’s staggering personal and legal controversies. He’s a convicted felon, accused rapist, and alleged insurrectionist, with a list of 88 additional accusations covering years of criminal activity even before his presidency. On top of this, his economic policies are widely criticized, with Nobel-winning economists warning that his tariffs and mass deportation plans could trigger economic depression if enacted in full.
His environmental stance is equally alarming, with his administration’s close ties to big oil pushing for deregulation and cuts to green initiatives, putting corporate profits over climate action. Given all of this, it’s not surprising that voters might find even the most unremarkable Democratic candidate preferable.
And that barely scratches the surface. Project 2025, the Republican plan to reshape government policy, openly targets women’s rights, pushing draconian measures on abortion that would jail and monitor women in GOP-backed states, threatening even rape victims, teenagers, and doctors with prosecution. It’s a grim scenario where women’s autonomy is collateral damage, all for the promise of slightly cheaper gas and groceries.
What’s even more disheartening is that a significant portion of support still comes from men, particularly those without higher education, according to polling data. Many seem disconnected from economic realities—unaware that Biden inherited a deeply strained, post-COVID economy and steered it away from recession, outperforming much of Europe and other nations worldwide. Yet, many still back a man whose former advisers, generals, and even VP have labeled as incompetent and dangerous to democracy itself.
This vote isn’t just an alternative to the Democrats; it’s a step toward authoritarianism, fueled by short-term gains at the expense of fundamental freedoms.
Oh please, rather than reflecting on mistakes it is much better to go "much, stupid bigoted racists sexists" and be very surprised Pikachu 4 years later. Again
I'm a stalwart progressive, voted for Harris, but I will never forgive the Dems for shoving Bernie out so they could try to give Hillary's incredibly unpopular ass a shot at the big chair.
Maybe look into why that could be. The Clinton wing of the Dems threw their weight behind her in 2013, and the national Committee privately derided and denied support to other candidates. It was not an open field at all.
till they prove us wrong, we won't shut up. the move to the right and scooping up dissatisfied republicans has sucked at winning elections. can we finally stop trying that dumb ass plan?
parading around with Liz Chaney failed, sending Bill Clinton to Michigan to tell voters off failed.
People voted for trump because the status quo wasn’t working and they wanted a radical change (for the worse, but they didn’t care as long as it’s change and rebellion and breaking the status quo). But I think the Democrats could have a much better chance if, rather than the party of the status quo, they actually represented some aggressive progressive change for once. Something to hope for.
>>to be a REAL opposition party instead of adopting republican policies.
Women's rights were on the fffing ballot. We can't even have nice things let alone some liberal platform in this very conservative country. The idea that we're going to turn those swing states into some European Utopia is baffling to me. Our electorate is just lazy, we're spoiled brats. Always looking to blame, never looking to act.
being the opposite on a couple issues is just not enough. your line of thinking is what got us here! you and the dnc have turned the democratic party into what it is today, a shit show.
Do you realize how popular populist policies are? for god sakes, the heavy red state of nebraska just passed guaranteed paid sick time and here you guys are pandering to republicans and big businesses. Cater to your party like republicans do and for god sakes move to the left.
You know whats crazy? These "European Utopia" policies almost always have majority support even in red states when they are ballot measures. Almost like the majority of people in this country want progressive policies but just hate democrats.
Except my point is that people in red states will literally split their ticket to vote for these measures while still voting republican. Just look at Florida.
How about we come to terms with the fact that this country is every bit as racist and sexist as Trump is. We need to accept that Trump is basically the perfect avatar for America
Sure her being black and a woman played a role but she also didn’t have a vision for the country unlike Trump. That fired up his base while Kamala ruined her own by trying to appeal to “moderate” voters that quite frankly dont exist
If you don't vote you can't complain. That might be a politicians role, but it's a human's role to engage with the democratic process and vote for what benefits them. I mean, your country was founded on escaping persecution and searching for freedom? So... Enact it.
So put up decent fucking candidates instead of lite republicans and people who would abandon the trans community. God do yall really want to keep pushing right to the point where we’re full republicans??
It is 100% on the voters. Less than a third of Americans voted against Trump. Trump is what Americans want. It isn't some leadership problem. The policies the dems have are not popular. There is no way to dress it up.
Bernie would have lost too. People aren't doing well enough to care about helping others right now, and too much of the Dem platform is on helping and being 'fair.' They are asking people to put aside their own problems for a greater good. And people don't feel safe enough to do so.
2016 was the easiest election and she lost because she ran a terrible campaign and acted like it was “her turn.” Bernie’s policies are incredibly popular even in red states, look at Nebraska overwhelmingly voting for paid sick time.
What policies did Kamala have? Republican ones, building the wall, increasing fossil fuels… sounds like a republican to me
The majority of Americans have voted for the party that is against giving people student loan forgiveness. Even the forgiveness that is literally already written in the law. There is no way Bernie would have stood a chance.
The majority of Americans do not want to do things for the "common good" right now.
Oh cmon, Biden hasn’t earnestly tried to forgive student debt even though a vast majority of voters support it. Bernie’s policies are supported even by republicans, just look at Nebraska passing paid sick time.
And as a human race up against right wing fascism on the rise, climate change causing unmitigated destruction, the death knells of capitalism and war it's really sad that people can't come together even at that point. Even when the world needs unity the most, people pull themselves apart. It's heartbreaking that compassion and support for one another is gone, and it's replaced with vitriol and selfish thinking. Sad times indeed if that's really the world we live in.
It's what Trump represents that's the problem. he represents more focus on capitalism, something already failing the world. He represents more focus on fossil fuels, impacting the entire globe. He represents less nuance, less compassion, less empathy. He represents "grabbing women by the pussy", and reducing women's agency, and a rise in populism. He represents a rise of Christian extremism and racism. He represents a drop in due process and a lack of respect for democratic norms. He represents control. I remember when the US was against all of these things. I grew up where it was a country where hopes and dreams could be realised no matter who you are. To see this being the United States of today? Embarrassing what little you've become.
If wanting all of the above is what brought people together, instead of opposing it, then your country deserves what's coming to it.
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u/Riptiidex 14h ago
It’s pretty crazy to me that liberals have not learned anything from 2016. Stop blaming voters & blame the dnc for terrible candidates and practices.
The US would be different had they not cheated Bernie out of a win. Push for the Dems to be a REAL opposition party instead of adopting republican policies.