Tom Perez is the new DNC Chair

[Xyonai]

Lookin like it's gonna be a long conservative reign lol.

Even if Trump himself gets voted out, redistricting might keep them hanging on like a weed if they can Gerrymander any harder than they already are.

[Wells]

The mob is fickle.

Yeah, Presidents rarely do better on their 2nd election and Trump barely won against an unpopular candidate.

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Democrats' best bet is to focus on Governor's offices in 2018 where there's a lot of room for gains. Would give them power to resist 2020 gerrymandering.

[Theodarzna]

Even if Trump himself gets voted out, redistricting might keep them hanging on like a weed if they can Gerrymander any harder than they already are.

I think Democrats are far to wedded to the mythology that simply time will hand them power. That sort of lazy passive outlook / belief in inevitability is probably not a healthy thing to have.

[God Save The King]

2020 Trump vs Korey Bucker Trump wins 60% to 40% despite 80% of country hating him

I see your thread got shut down.

[Theodarzna]

2020 Trump vs Korey Bucker Trump wins 60% to 40% despite 80% of country hating him

I would not be shocked if they rolled out Hillary again.

[Slybak]

So revolting by saying angry things online from the comfort of your own home turned out to not be a viable strategy to effect political change. I never would have seen that coming.

"That does it! I'm leaving the Democratic Party!" Shouts individual who was never a member of the Democratic Party.

There's little if any daylight between Perez and Ellison on policy grounds, and zero daylight between the two on administrative goals and party strategy. The function of the DNC Chair is entirely the latter. People who were trying to make this a campaign about the soul of the party are idiots.

[Wells]

I would not be shocked if they rolled out Hillary again.

*rolls eyes*

More than that, I seem to recall a ton of gloating about how the Republicans were dooming themselves to obsolescence when they nearly forced us to default and many other "cute stunts" during Obama's administration that people were outraged over. By 2016, they had long since evaporated from public memory.

"Democrats have to play nice and the Republicans get to do whatever they want" is such an annoying meme in this country.

[Mihalik]

So it has happened, Tom Perez is now the DNC chair. It appears the party will be radically shifting course from the Clintonite Consensus to a continuation of the Clintonite Consensus.

Thoughts?

At this point the DNC might as well just commit collective ritual suicide.

[Xyonai]

I think Democrats are far to wedded to the mythology that simply time will hand them power. That sort of lazy passive outlook / belief in inevitability is probably not a healthy thing to have.

I'd say you're right when it comes to the establishment Democrats (currently). Clinton's whole 2016 presidential bid was an exercise of entitlement with how the DNC handled her nomination, and how little she actually bothered to talk/pander to the working class and it bit them in the ass hard. There's still room to change, and despite this I'm hoping that losing to fuckin' Trump of all people will give them enough of a kick in the ass to be a bit more introspective on how they handle their policies in the future.

[CostinR]

There's still room to change, and despite this I'm hoping that losing to fuckin' Trump of all people will give them enough of a kick in the ass to be a bit more introspective on how they handle their policies in the future.

They reelected Nancy Pelosi as House Chair. They won't change a damned thing.

[Wells]

They reelected Nancy Pelosi as House Chair. They won't change a damned thing.

I'm not sure how she's the problem.

[alexw]

They reelected Nancy Pelosi as House Chair. They won't change a damned thing.

2018 will be an anti-Trump election for democrats. Internal party politics won't matter a jot. 2020 will depend on who democrats put as their candidate.

In neither case is Pelosi relevant.

[Healing Rain]

I'm not sure how she's the problem.

She helped Obama cram Obamacare down our throats when it should have been thrown into the trashcan.

[Auxora]

Tom Perez is pushing for getting the Democrats to communicate more with suburban and rural voters, which is good. But...

I've really come to the conclusion over the past 6 months or so that by far the highest priority for voters seems to be the economy and money in their pocket. That seems to trump (no pun intended) literally every other issue. I am betting the Demos partially picked Perez to appeal to Hispanic voters, but I'm not sure that will help in itself. Small sample size, but Hispanics I know almost entirely voted for Trump despite all of the wall/deportation policy talk just because they thought he'd be better for the economy. In normal times people would lose their minds over restricting press, bashing the mainstream press, the Russia scandal, any one of dozens of obnoxious/sexist/racist things Trump has said, backtracking on transgender protections, evicting the Native Americans protesting the DAPL and going ahead with it, being anti-environment, etc...and it all seems to not matter. I don't know what that says about Americans and our values today, and I'm not saying more money is a bad thing, but I am surprised how much the economy is so far and away #1 that all other issues seem to be irrelevant when people are pushed to make a stance. There are people that don't follow that philosophy and they are vocal, but from everything I've seen they are the minority.

So Perez and the DNC will have their hands full and to a large degree their future will be dealt to them imo. I don't see the makeup of Congress or even the White House changing in 2018/2020 if the economy and jobs are going well. On the flip side, if Trump's diplomatic flubs and protectionism slow the economy, Democrats should have some easy wins.

[Wells]

She helped Obama cram Obamacare down our throats when it should have been thrown into the trashcan.

lol ok.

2018 will be an anti-Trump election for democrats. Internal party politics won't matter a jot. 2020 will depend on who democrats put as their candidate.

Trump certainly isn't going to be leaving them wanting for ammo

[Theodarzna]

I'd say you're right when it comes to the establishment Democrats (currently). Clinton's whole 2016 presidential bid was an exercise of entitlement with how the DNC handled her nomination, and how little she actually bothered to talk/pander to the working class and it bit them in the ass hard. There's still room to change, and despite this I'm hoping that losing to fuckin' Trump of all people will give them enough of a kick in the ass to be a bit more introspective on how they handle their policies in the future.

I think they are in full denial mode. They cannot accept what just happened and refuse to believe its even possible it happened, even though it plainly did.

[Wells]

I think they are in full denial mode. They cannot accept what just happened and refuse to believe its even possible it happened, even though it plainly did.

Yes, the Democrats are clearly in some kind of schizophrenic break from reality

*mimes jerk off motion*

[Theodarzna]

At this point the DNC might as well just commit collective ritual suicide.

This collective Seppuku is interesting considering 6+ months ago everyone predicted the GOP to be at deaths door. What a reversal of fates the world has brought.

[Xyonai]

I think they are in full denial mode. They cannot accept what just happened and refuse to believe its even possible it happened, even though it plainly did.

You, sadly, might be correct on this. It would be incredibly foolish, but this election season has shown me that people will very gladly do foolish things.

[Skroe]

Some of you folks are out of your fucking mind. It's like you haven't learned the lesson of Trump or the Tea Party.

Let's be very clear the sequence of events of how Trump won.

(1) John McCain runs for President in 2008. John McCain loses. John McCain gets blamed for not being conservative enough.
(2) Tea Party rises in 2010. Republicans sweep control over the house. Party Purity tests become a more normalized thing. Doctrinaire adherence to the ideas is expected.
(3) Mitt Romney overcomes a very conservative field in 2012. Loses still. Gets blamed for not being conservative enough. Republicans say "the only way we can win is if we mobilize the base".
(4) Trump runs for President against the Party Purity All-Star team. And beats them handily despite straying wildly off party doctrine.
(5) Trump wins against Hillary by flipping Obama voters and getting first time independents.
(Endpoint) President Trump says, a week ago at his Press conference, the policy of his administration is "fair trade, not free trade", which is anti-Conservative.

So Democrats... liberals... are you paying the hell attention? Party purity does not work in a country where independents and centrist voters hugely out number liberals and conservatives. Our politics may be polarized but the bulk of the nation is politically flexible.

This shift-left crap some of you are pushing: let's be clear what it is that you're doing. You're trying to opportunistically shove an agenda down the throat of a party not because you think it can win, but because you want your ideals reflected. That is now how coalitions work at all. And it certainly won't work in a country that, as you can see above, just gave a very straightforward example of how doctrinaire politics fails in the face of third-way flexibility.

It's quite academic. If you want to win, find a way to get people with pick-up trucks to vote for you. A hard lefty won't be the ticket. You can have Bernie work the youth crowd like a champ in Boston. But in Central PA, you need a Bill Clinton figure.