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Dems Don't Need To 'Moderate,' They Need To Stop Focus Grouping Themselves Into Oblivion
(Wonkette)
https://www.wonkette.com/p/dems-dont-need-to-moderate-they-need
This is a fairly clear-eyed diagnosis of the condition of the national dem party. I think the Dems have been using the finger hygrometer to set policy for decades, with the exception of the Biden White House, who seemed unable to build a movement on their enormous liberal accomplishments.
Ever since the first moment I laid eyes on him, I have not been able to stand Gavin Newsom. This was not for lack of trying. I really did try to see the Golden Boy everyone but me seemed to see. I tried it every time I heard some know-it-all on social media or pundit talk about how he was the perfect Democratic presidential candidate due to his good looks and suave demeanor. And when he started his little war on the unhoused, I thought to myself, “Yes, sir, I knew your ass all along.”
SNIP
At this moment, Democrats and some Never Trump conservatives are doing the thing they always do, which is to hem and haw about how to win over voters in more purple and even red areas. Oh, it is the neverending conundrum! Which group of people do we roll over on? And how hard? How many focus groups can we do? How do we hit that sweet spot of “just bland enough so people who aren’t 100 percent fascist will consider voting for us instead of Republicans?”
I am going to be incredibly honest, here. What really hurt Kamala Harris wasn’t the “they/them” ad. The first thing, the most important thing, was that she didn’t win the primary. That is not her fault, mind you, it’s Joe Biden’s for not stepping down earlier as many of us were dying for him to do. People already hated the tendency of the Democratic party to always do everything possible to ensure that the person whose “turn” it is gets to be the nominee. They hated it even more when someone was just appointed as the nominee. People feel that kind of “wrongness” or unfairness in their bones and it’s hard to shake.
The other thing is that the woman was focus-grouped to death. Go back and look, she said nothing even marginally spicy throughout the entire campaign, and when she and Tim Walz had an offense move that actually hit — calling Republicans, rightfully, weird — they were told by the consultants to knock it off and they did. Part of that reluctance to take any particularly strong stance on anything is what resulted in the decision to not let the Uncommitted group of pro-Palestinian delegates give a very lovely planned speech at the DNC. That alone would have done so much to heal a very serious divide on the Left and made a lot of people feel more comfortable voting for her. A lot of people who happen to live in Michigan and Pennsylvania, to boot.
SNIP
At this moment, Democrats and some Never Trump conservatives are doing the thing they always do, which is to hem and haw about how to win over voters in more purple and even red areas. Oh, it is the neverending conundrum! Which group of people do we roll over on? And how hard? How many focus groups can we do? How do we hit that sweet spot of “just bland enough so people who aren’t 100 percent fascist will consider voting for us instead of Republicans?”
I am going to be incredibly honest, here. What really hurt Kamala Harris wasn’t the “they/them” ad. The first thing, the most important thing, was that she didn’t win the primary. That is not her fault, mind you, it’s Joe Biden’s for not stepping down earlier as many of us were dying for him to do. People already hated the tendency of the Democratic party to always do everything possible to ensure that the person whose “turn” it is gets to be the nominee. They hated it even more when someone was just appointed as the nominee. People feel that kind of “wrongness” or unfairness in their bones and it’s hard to shake.
The other thing is that the woman was focus-grouped to death. Go back and look, she said nothing even marginally spicy throughout the entire campaign, and when she and Tim Walz had an offense move that actually hit — calling Republicans, rightfully, weird — they were told by the consultants to knock it off and they did. Part of that reluctance to take any particularly strong stance on anything is what resulted in the decision to not let the Uncommitted group of pro-Palestinian delegates give a very lovely planned speech at the DNC. That alone would have done so much to heal a very serious divide on the Left and made a lot of people feel more comfortable voting for her. A lot of people who happen to live in Michigan and Pennsylvania, to boot.
21 replies
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And people are fucking navel gazing and reminiscing while we descend into darkness.
