After string of defeats, Democrats rudderless in Trump era

Washington (AFP) - Frozen out of power in Washington and having lost a string of congressional races this year, Democrats are struggling to craft winning strategies to convert disillusionment with President Donald Trump into victory in 2018's midterm elections.

The party fielded a hodgepodge of candidates in four special elections in recent months, including a banjo-strumming cowboy poet in Montana. Most recently Democrats nominated a young novice in Georgia, where the party, judging it had its best pick-up opportunity, threw millions of dollars into the race.

Yet each time, Republicans beat back the advances. And Democratic lawmakers, strategists and party officials have been left scratching their heads about how to turn it around and launch a viable bid to reclaim Congress next year.

"They're definitely licking their wounds," Kerwin Swint, professor and chair of the political science department at Georgia's Kennesaw State University, told AFP.

Debate has swirled among Democrats about what strategy to deploy: going all in with a nationwide anti-Trump agenda, or tailoring individual races to local economic issues in a bid to repair fraying connections between the Democratic Party and the common voter.

The Georgia race showed "the effectiveness of Trump's staying power" despite the scandals rocking the White House, Swint said.

"Democrats should not focus their campaigns about him, they should be about jobs," he added. "They need a much more focused economic pitch."

https://www.yahoo.com/news/string-defeats-democrats-rudderless-trump-era-065313902.html

Dems continue on aloof, unable to reconcile their beliefs with reality.

Even their leaders are in disarray.

After so many defeats nationwide, its beginning to seem like the party of rage will not be able to rally any time soon.

Where did Dems go wrong?

 

Pelosi is captain of the vessel DNC Titanic.

 

Perhaps the pendulum is just swinging back and forth as it has been doing for a couple hundred years now. From my perspective the nation tends to get tired of the party in power after a term or two then elects the other team thus perpetuating the cycle. Do you think that republican rule will be permanent from now on?

 

Exactly right. But if the Dems are to make inroads, they have to begin to offer realistic solutions to the problems which Americans want addressed. Sorry but throwing money at climate change, allowing men to use the women's bathroom, and removing our country's borders are not high on the list of most people. Yes, the pendulum swings, but I don't think it will end up detaching itself in the name of furthering progressive ideals. I could be wrong. We'll see.

I would offer one bit of caution to those within the GOP. The special elections were all in fairly safe Republican areas. As such, I would not read too much into those victories, and I definitely wouldn't use them as the basis for getting too cocky during the runup to the 2018 midterms.

 

Numerous studies are showing that millions vote in our country illegally. If we take away those votes we may be a lot dominate than we ever expected.

 

What constitutes a "realistic solution", says who and by what authority? From my POV the answer to the question all depends upon whom you ask thus the subjectivity of "realistic solutions".

Unless you have source citation as to what most people think is important, the above is anecdotal. What most think is right or wrong is not an objective basis to decide what is right or wrong.

We are a progressive society. The millennials are less conservative than my generation (X) and my generation is less conservative than my parents generation... so on an so forth. In general the old scoff at the young and idealistic while the young and idealistic scoff at the old. Just human nature. The only way to stop progressive ideals is to adopt a totalitarian form of government.

I agree.

 

The nail in the coffin will be a couple more Supreme Court justices.

 

The pendulum always swings. I don't remember any other party in this much disarray.

 

That would mean a conservative SCOTUS for the rest of most baby boomers lifetime.

 

The DNC Titanic is nothing more that a rusty garbage scow.

 

Clinton party boat?

 

Source citation needed for the above claim.

 

Looks like a kenyan pirate boat.

 

A conservative seeing the left in disarray is about as surprising as a liberal seeing the right in disarray. As an independent I see both parties as experiencing some serious problems. The reason that I am an independent and moderate is that I do not want to be bound or biased by a political ideology or agenda.

 

It's actually a real garbage scow.

Formerly a Muslim Brotherhood garbage scow that was donated to the Democrats for supporting the Arab Spring.

 

Not surprised. The SS hope and change.

 

"Hope and change we can believe in."

And Obama was given a complete pass on that one.

 

Trump has already given us reason to vote him out. He is diminishing America's presence in the global market. The surefire examples of this are the sudden bailout from the TPP and the mindless withdrawal from the Paris Agreement. Both of which diminish America's place in the world. We already know what the slogan for the Democratic frontrunner should be: "Make America Credible Again." In the meantime, we are being shown more and more examples why not to trust Republicans, lately with this healthcare bill, which is Obamacare with frosting on top.

 

Looking at these districts Republicans have usually won them by large margins, now they are just scraping by with close victories. Is this how every election in solid Republican districts going to be, where Republicans will have to struggle to survive?

Democrats are doing better in most of these districts than they did in 2006 & 2008 where they swept Congress, now that is worrying. How are the republicans going to take democratic seats to get larger majorities to get more done? How are they going to do in swing districts?

Georgia 4th:
2017: 51.9 R, 48.1 D - 3.8% R
2016: 61.7 R, 38.3 D - 23.4% R
2014: 66.0 R, 34.0 D - 32% R
2012: 64.5 R, 35.5 D - 29% R
2008: 68.5 R, 31.5 D - 37% R
2006: 72.4 R, 27.6 D - 44.8% R

South Carolina 5th:
2017: 51.1 R, 47.9 D - 3.2% R
2016: 59.2 R, 38.7 D - 20.5% R
2014: 60.6 R, 39.3 D - 21.3% R
2012: 55.5 R, 44.4 D - 11.1% R
2010: 55.2 R, 44.8 D - 10.4% R
2008: 37.0 R, 61.6 D - 24.6% D
2006: 43.1 R, 56.9 D - 13.8% D

Kansas 4th:
2017: 52.5 R, 45.7 R - 6.8% R
2016: 60.7 R, 29.6 D - 31.1% R
2014: 67.0 R, 33.0 D - 34% R
2012: 62.2 R, 31.6 D - 30.6% R
2010: 58.8 R, 36.5 D - 22.3% R
2008: 63.4 R, 32.4 D - 31% R
2006: 63.5 R, 33.9 D - 29.6% R

Montana At Large:
2017: 49.9 R, 43.8 D - 6.1% R
2016: 56.2 R, 40.5 D - 15.7% R
2014: 55.4 R, 40.4 D - 15% R
2012: 53.3 R, 42.7 D - 10.6% R
2010: 60.4 R, 33.8 D - 26.6% R
2008: 64.1 R, 32.4 D - 31.7% R
2006: 58.9 R, 39.1 D - 19.8% R

 

Voters "believed" more republicans into office than any time since reconstruction as a result.

 

Go with that bro.

 

Yeah dems really have Trump against the ropes.

 

Needs a little 30mm from an A-10.

 

And what is hugely funny is the fact that after Obama was elected, democrats said the republican party was done for, and would NEVER again be able to put a person in the white house.

 

I remember. George Carville seemed particularly inclined. Now his President is Trump.