Dear Democrats: It Would Be Nice If You Could Lead, And Not Off A Cliff

at best the democrats don't understand the assignment. at worst they understand this to be the assignment
i fear for the core of the party, it's the latter, and that the majority is following that core because they don't know the assignment
- The dem party needs to be burned to the ground, I don't think it is reformable at this point.
  
  Yes, let's pick a party and burn it to the ground. Wait, what?
- The last guy in charge was a corporate lobbyist so..
  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaime_Harrison
- so you would take out Bernie and AOC over a law to remove SA content?
  trump is already suing media companies openly so he doesn't even need this.

At this point a total collapse of the USA's 2-party-system seems the best of all realistic alternatives.
Because the Dems getting their shit together in less than 4 years certainly isn't realistic.
- The two party system can't collapse without taking the whole government down with it. It's baked into the constitution. Not in words as such, but in mathematical reality. I just want to be real about "realistic outcomes." Fix the parties or rewrite the whole fucking shebang.
  And that second option—there is a lot unsaid there about how that comes about, but it's not by everyone embracing universal brotherhood and sisterhood and mutually agreeing on a better way.
  
  The US government is like a beat up old car we try to keep on the road with Lucasoil and duct tape. We’ve needed to fix it a long time ago but we didn’t.
  The car will eventually stop working and leave us stranded if we do nothing, but we also can’t afford to leave it at the mechanic for a week because we need to get to work in the morning.
  The government will fall, people will be hurt by it, and we will have to make something new - note I didn’t say better - and it will happen at the least opportune time.
  
  The two party system can collapse. It has several times before. What needs to happen is for the Democratic Party to go the way of the Whigs.
- Unfortunately, the two party system right now can probably only collapse into a one party system.
  
  Always has been.
- It's all a racket. The parties work together
- The path to that would have been through Dems taking power and doing something with it though.
- We don’t have a two party system. Jesus fucking Christ. Anyone who thinks this doesn’t understand the system well enough to be making suggestions.
  
  You're totally right. We don't have a two party system, we have a system where only two parties are large enough to win any kind of influence.

The fact that Democrats should be raising their voices as loudly as possible against this admin’s moves but instead a sizable 10 of them voted to censure the 1 Democrat who tried to in fact do that, tells you everything about the Democrats’ plans.
At this point, there are only a handful of them who are rallying their constituents and speaking out about this admin’s atrocities, but the majority is completely MIA. Then they wonder why their voters are MIA during the elections.
- 10 in the house, out of 215 or 214 depending on the exact time of death of Sylvester Turner, not really sizable imo. Also, since there were 0 Republican Nays, it would have passed regardless.
  Give those 10 a piece of your mind, yes, but it's not sizable or impactful at all.
  
  It should have been zero. Stop making excuses.

Liberalism isn't going to save us. Way I see it, if we want a better country, we have three options:
Violent revolution. This should be a last resort, and I don't think we are quite there yet.
Wait for Fascism to collapse. It will. Problem is, A FUCKING LOT of people will suffer and die in the mean time.
Mobilize a viable third party. No, not the Greens. They are just as corrupt as the rest, and they pal around with Fascist traitors. I'm talking about a real grass roots Leftist movement, starting from the ground up. Basically, use the exact same playbook that MAGA used. They spent the past decade taking over social media with their Manosphere bullshit, and suddenly Gen Z shifted hard to the Right, which younger generations almost never do. We need to take back that online space. Take over town hall meetings, take over school boards, take over city councils, show up in huge numbers to vote for actual good (or as good as we can get) judges and DA's. This also means volunteering, phone banking, door knocking, and most importantly of all, some of you need to run for office. Even something local can make a difference in your community. That's how MAGA won. They didn't even have the numbers. They just had the right strategy, and in their hubris, Democrats ignored it.
The third option is obviously what I prefer to happen. It'll take a few years, and we may not even win the White House in 2028. But this isn't about you or me. It's about the future of civilization. If they did it, so can we. Let's not be outsmarted by a bunch of people who worship a man who can't fucking read.
- Not saying it can't be done, obviously it can but to many people saying "run for office" is like saying "build a car".
  Are there primers on how to start with a campaign for people that have the desire but not the knowledge?
  What is all involved in starting and running a successful campaign?
  How much time do you need to dedicate to the campaign?
  What would be the personal cost for running for office?
  Who do you need to hire to help you (manager, donation specialist, volunteer coordinator, etc)?
  My guess to this is that the higher the office the more people and money you will need.
  I'm not writing this to be contrary but to really get answers - I think more people would be more open to the idea if they could see what a campaign needs to be successful.
  
  I'm specifically barred from holding any public office, political or not until I exit the military. I have about a year left before I can launch any kind of campaign legally. Assuming we survive that long, I plan to. That all said I have no idea what I'm doing and would love to have the answers to the questions you pose here.
  
  Definitely good questions. I couldn't find any "Beginners Guide to Running for Office", so I sat up for a while chugging coffee and reading a whole bunch of local election board websites and other related sources, and this is what I came up with. This is by no means a comprehensive list or plan, but I tried to break down the main components of running for a local office in the most general terms possible, so it could be applied more broadly.
  Preparation
  Figure out which office you want to run for, where you think you can make the most difference with your skill-set in your community.
  Research the responsibilities of the office you’re seeking. Attend school board or city council (or whatever) meetings to see how they operate. Take lots of notes or record it if allowed.
  Identify key issues in your community, your potential opponents, and the demographics of your district.
  Clearly articulate why you’re running and what you hope to achieve. This will be the foundation of your campaign.
  Check your local election board for eligibility requirements like residency, age, filing deadlines, and paperwork.
  Here's a portal to all state and local election offices - https://www.usa.gov/state-election-office
  Leon County, Florida Supervisor of Elections has a great breakdown that should give you a general idea of the necessary requirements, deadlines, and paperwork - https://www.leonvotes.gov/Candidates-Elected-Officials-and-Campaign-Finance/How-to-Run-for-Local-Office
  Campaign Team
  Campaign Manager: Appoint someone to oversee operations. Preferably someone with some political savvy and/or managerial experience.
  Treasurer: Appoint someone to manage finances and ensure compliance with campaign finance laws.
  Volunteers: Recruit a team of dedicated volunteers for canvassing, phone banking, and event support. The number of volunteers will vary, depending on the size of your campaign, but there's no such thing as too many.
  Advisors: Network with local community leaders and activists who share your vision, and listen to them. They have their ears to the ground, and can offer critical advice on what your community needs.
  Campaign Strategy
  Set a budget and determine how much money you’ll need for materials, advertising, and events. Focus on grassroots fundraising. This seems to be the most difficult part with no clear answer, so look into the campaign financing of previous candidates running for the same office to get an idea of how much it'll likely cost.
  Develop a clear, concise message that resonates with voters.
  Identify your base and tailor your outreach to their concerns.
  Map out key milestones like filing deadlines, debates, voter registration deadlines, and Election Day. Set realistic goals to accomplish by those dates.
  Build Your Brand
  Create a professional logo and a memorable slogan that reflects your values. Say what you want about Trump, but "Make America Great Again" and "MAGA" are a great slogan/logo combo. It's simple, clear, and easy to remember.
  Build a simple website with your bio, platform, and contact info. Use social media to engage voters and share updates.
  Print flyers, yard signs, and business cards to distribute in the community.
  Community Engagement
  Knock on doors to introduce yourself and listen to voters concerns.
  Show up at community gatherings, fairs, and town halls to build visibility.
  Organize meet-and-greets, town halls, or fundraisers to connect with voters.
  Seek support from local leaders, organizations, and activists to boost your credibility and visibility.
  Volunteer at homeless shelters, food banks, and other places. Even just a day here and there can make all the difference. Engage with employees, customers, and residents about your campaign. Listen to their concerns, and offer viable solutions.
  Fundraising
  Focus on grassroots fundraising by asking friends, family, and community members for small contributions.
  Set up a donation portal on your website and promote it on social media.
  Keep detailed records of all donations and expenses to comply with campaign finance laws.
  Messaging
  Send press releases to local newspapers, radio stations, and TV stations to announce your candidacy and major events.
  Participate in candidate debates and forums to showcase your platform.
  Post regularly about your platform, events, and endorsements. Engage with people in the comments.
  Send postcards or letters to targeted voters highlighting your key issues.
  Get People to Vote
  Help eligible voters register before the deadline.
  Encourage supporters to vote early or by mail if available.
  Organize volunteers to remind voters to cast their ballots and offer rides to the polls if needed.
  Again, this is by no means a comprehensive, foolproof plan. I didn't include many resources, because requirements, deadlines, and paperwork all vary by state and county. These just seemed to be the most common points I picked up from a number of sources, and should at least give you an idea of how and what to research further.
  Personally, I have no ambition to run for office because I'm already 50 and don't want to add to the pool of geriatrics running this country. We need to hand the torch to young people. That said, I will help any way I can if someone younger wants to run. Speech writing, phone banking, logo design, or pretty much anything else, I will gladly offer my services for free.
- Honestly I'm attempting option 3 any way I can currently. I keep telling my partner if I lose my job I oughta become one of those youtube/twitch talking heads but for actual leftist views and maybe I can help the shift back.
- The 3rd option is still playing with liberal electoralism which got you here in the first place. you could get results faster with mutual aid and strong unions, this is how you guys got worker rights before, in the times of FDR.
  A better presence in social media is a good direction though, especially in federated communities that don't need to fear corporate censorship.
  
  Liberal electoralism isn't going anywhere any time soon, unfortunately. We still have to operate within that system if we want to affect any change for the better at the political level. Things like mutual aid and strengthening unions can and should happen right alongside it, just as they did before. But that's a good addition, and I should have mentioned it.

Nope, sorry, I just saw a politico article about Newsom agreeing with Charlie Kirk on trans people in sports that basically boiled down to "FINALLY! SOMEONE understands that this is the most critical topic in America today, and for Democrats to win, they need to become republicans!"
The democrats aren't leading us anywhere. They're not going to save us. They have no vision besides being dollar store republicans and wondering why Republican voters keep choosing Republicans over them.
- They have no vision besides being dollar store republicans and wondering why Republican voters keep choosing Republicans over them.
  While screaming at anyone to their left for not being enthusiastic to vote for dollar store republicans.
- There is a reason the main Democratic leadership is not pushing a more left leaning agenda, they would lose. If the left got a foothold on the national conversation like maga did then the middle of the road Democrats fear they will go the way of the middle of the road Republicans and that is out of power.
  
  There is a reason the main Democratic leadership is not pushing a more left leaning agenda, they would lose.
  Well, they just lost by moving right.

The Democrats feel like they are more concerned about how the utencils are arranged beside the plate than making sure people have food on it.
- The Republics run the kitchen because a bunch of absent voters refused to help the Dems help us all.
  
  The Dems weren't all that helpful when they had power...

Progressive ideals? Democrats can’t even spell it, let alone legislate it without corporate strings attached. Incisive critique of bipartisan failure and urgent call for accountability.
🐱🐱🐱🐱🐱

- We need the Democrats. We need 60 in the senate. That's the only way out which doesn't result in things only getting worse.
  
  We don't need 60, we need 51 Democrats willing to get rid of the filibuster.
  
  We need 60 in the senate.
  And if they ever get 60, they'll need 70 to do anything. They're useless on purpose and you're making excuses for them.

The democrats and thier party have been bought and paid for. They aren't going to save us from the billionaires.

Ah, but they don't work too serve us. They work to serve corporations and billionaires. We can fix that, but it will take a lot of relentless work and vigilance, before, during and after fixing it.
- A core democrat stance is removing Citizens United, so it really doesn't align with your alternative facts.
  
  A core democrat stance is removing Citizens United
  And what have they done toward making that happen?
  Now let's hear how there is never any such thing as a Democratic majority.

I'll keep saying this: it's precious that people still believe The Constitution has any sway and that we are a country of laws. That ship has sailed over the horizon.
- I agree, Republicans and Democrats keep taking turns swinging their axe at the tree every four to eight years. The tree hasn't fallen over yet, but it was dead a long time ago.

Then Why did you vote them out and give Republicans complete control over the government?
- This is the new whataboutism strategy. This is the new "both sides".
  
  This isn't whataboutism, the reason things are the way that they are is a direct result of voters choosing this outcome. Not because blue ties aren't screaming on the house and senate floor, not because attorney generals aren't attorney generalling hard enough, but because of how people voted in 2024.
- There was never any reality in which incumbent president Joe Biden would lose the 2024 primary. Never ever. It wasn't going to happen. Give up with your bullshit and realize that blame is squarely on those critical of the DNC and Biden in the face of Trump 2.0.
- Dear non voters, it would've been nice if you turned out and gave us any power.
  -Democratic party
  
  Dear democratic party, it would've been nice if you ever actually used any power to do things for the people beyond token gestures.
  -the people

- They didn’t promise much of anything, only that “well, we’re not Trump so vote for us!”.
  Is that not enough? You prefer Trump to not-Trump?
  
  Clearly it isn't enough, because they lost to him twice.
  
  Is that not enough? You prefer Trump to not-Trump?
  People are tired of this shit. Democrats have been running on this for 20 years at this point. We're at the point where people would rather see Trump dismantle the entire federal government than vote for one more Democrat promising, that this time, they actually will make meaningful change.
  People are just done with this. Democrats have repeatedly failed to make government work for people. If government won't work for people, why would people care if Trump's going to come in and tear everything down?
  
  That's like presenting only the options of slavery or indentured servitude and asking "you prefer slavery to indentured servitude?" Neither are acceptable. Before you say "well those are the options we've got" think about who are making these the only options.
  
  That is a dismally low bar which Biden tripped over and Kamala could hardly clear. It obviously wasn’t enough.
  
  Democrats fall in love. Republicans fall in line.
  In other words: Republicans will consistently vote for anyone with an R. Democrats need to be convinced to vote for their candidate.
- Kamala Harris tax plan was to never raise taxes for those who make 400k, to tax unrealized gains over 1M, to remove the pointless social security upper limit of taxable income, and to start taxing corporations fair effective rates.
  Instead we all collectively decided to fuck ourselves with another pro-rich GOP tax plan. That's what was on the table in 2024. The effects of this election will reverberate for decades at the least.

We need a 3rd party thats not completely bought off.

Stop voting for establishment politicians.
If they're part of the Obama/Clinton crew, they need to go.
- That's part of the problem. In some states there are basically only establishment dems on the ballot. The popular dems at the moment are AOC and Bernie who are from NYC (Bronx) and Vermont respectively. Both of those areas are solid blue.
  I'm out on the west coast, another very blue area, and the vibe is to primary out a few dems who are bending the knee
  
  Good. Change is slow, but this is moving in the right (left?) direction.

This has a better chance at working if it's addressed to Santa Clause.
As long as we keep asking democrats to solve problems we deserve what we get. They have proved incompetence regularly since the Obamacare public option blunder (and longer than that) when the opportunity was there to make radical change.
When they hold office, they have no power. When they are out of office they cry about the power the other side has magically found. They always vote resoundingly in favor of war, lowering taxes on the rich/corporations, and their own salary increases while giving us all the parliamentarian middle finger.
And no you are not taking over or changing the party as it's owned by the people who don't want to help you.
Time to start fresh.

Oh they've been wasted in the back of this party bus for a while telling everyone to calm down and stop being so frantic and everything's fine.

Stand up and sign up.

Blaming Democrats for... Not being shit compared to Republicans and MAGA? This is some next level stupidity. The fact is, propaganda is everywhere and most Americans are stupid. It's the perfect combination. GTFO of here.
- We can absolutely blame Democrats. They were the incumbent party, typically an enormous advantage, and squandered it. The lesser of two evils wasn't lesser enough. They didn't even run primaries when they dropped their incumbent president, so I can't even pretend the shame is on me.
  
  Stop pretending there are rules. They didn't do this thing or the other and lost because of it. No, they lost because the rules no longer apply and, again, Americans are stupid. Stupid people soak up Fox news lies without a second thought, and that's all it takes.
- Bingo. They're victim blaming to be divisive. The real problem has nothing to do with Democrats.

The Dems fielded a candidate with potential, in a binary race against the absolute worst candidate ever.
Voters chose a felon with a pattern of grifting and lies.
Those are facts.
Here's the opinion: stop blaming the party for the people's mistake. Just secede and be done with it.
- Uh, you missed a few steps. Like the people voicing concerns over Biden's mental health and being told to shove it while the party hid him from public view as much as possible. And then when they couldn't hide it anymore they still tried to gaslight us that we didn't see what we just saw.
  And then finally they succumbed to that public pressure when it was far too late to have an actual primary and rally as a party, instead being told to vote for someone who was candidate-by-default.
  The Dems constantly try to pander to the right which only fuels their real enemy in elections: voter apathy. If they actually governed and gave more than lip service, they'd never lose another election.
  
  Biden could have gone comatose at the stand and I'd still support him with every fiber of my being. Voters fucked up. The left is splintered into pointless divisions and petty ideals. Take the L.
- The first job of a political party is to win elections, because that predicates action on any issues they care about.
  Saying we shouldn't blame the party for losing is like saying we shouldn't blame a mechanic for not knowing how to open the hood of a car.
- The Dems fielded a candidate with potential, in a binary race against the absolute worst candidate ever.
  I am sorry but this is nonsense. Kamala Harris’s best point was that she wasn’t Trump.
  Kamala Harris toned down her attacks on big business, she made no plans to improve America’s health care system other than vague promises to cancel debt, touted the endorsement of war criminal Dick Cheney who wanted to invade seven countries in five years and whom was partially responsible for the deaths of a million, spent half as much time focusing on the most important issues during her campaign compared to Trump, and touted a Fortune 500 investment banking company‘s endorsement for her economic plans which made her look like an out of touch elitist.
  All Harris brought to the table was “freedom” meanwhile Trump came out with right wing populist rhetoric and people seemed to like Trump’s rhetoric more considering that they have long since become disillusioned with the Status Quo.
  
  Her Tax Plan was to tax the rich, if anything was watered down it was the media you were spoonfed without an ounce of skepticism.
- Centrists would rather lose to trump than win with a progressive. You got exactly what you wanted.

It would have been nice if Democrats were in a position but we're in a death spiral of articles like this being critical of them so fat fuck chance of ever winning another election.
- fat fuck chance of ever ~~winning~~ another election
  The democratic party joined the oligarchs a long time ago, what they did to Bernie was evidence. Now they’re the part of the system that failed. If there is another election, the opposition candidate will need to be a grassroots candidate working to fix the failures that this election demonstrated. Every state senator and house rep will need to support that candidate or the system is lost. And this is if there is another another election. I doubt there will be. And sadly, if there is, I feel that due to Russia and the oligarch’s influence, it will be a sham election to keep fascism in power.
  
  Yeah how dare they
  *checks notes
  Allow an independent on their party ticket who lost the primary by double the amount of votes, by 10 million dnc primary votes...
- If your shitty party wants less criticism, they should earn less criticism.

Looking for leadership from the current elected officials is probably a waste of time. We need to take a tip from Republicans and find leaders outside of the government. Like Rush and Tuckers of the left.
- Do we even have any of those? Notwithstanding the thought makes me sick. Rush was a lying, pompous, bloviating pedophile. Tucker is no better, and a Russian asset. These are not examples I'd like us to follow, even if they would be on "our side" whatever that would mean in context.
  
  To be honest, HasanAbi is the only one I know of who is sort of a Rush replacement.
  I'm not suggesting we support bad people at all, if that's what you are thinking.

Politicians aren't leaders. Stop expecting them to be. They exist to serve the people. If they don't, then give them the boot.
- We can't give them the boot for a good while. In the meantime, what would you have us do?
  
  Nom nom.
- They exist to serve the people.
  They don't do that either.
  If they don’t, then give them the boot.
  We can't because the money-packed system self-selects for greedy assholes.
  
  Just because they don't, that doesn't mean it isnt their purpose. And yes you can, you just won't.
- This comment is cringe...
  
  Thinking politicians are meant to lead you is cringe. I'm not a sheep, I don't need to be lead. Their only job is to represent us. Unfortunately, they've been corrupted and only represent the ultra-wealthy.

I think the democrats are applying the age old adage: "Never interrupt your enemy when they are making a mistake."
Or they could be in the minority in both house, senate, SCOTUS, and white house and they can't do shit besides filibuster and sue.
- What democrats really do is "never interrupt your enemy ever because decorum", though this adage would be assuming they actually consider republicans as enemies. They'll point and scream about trump and then promote other republicans like dick cheney who largely have the same policies as trump but who act according to decorum better.

We really should have two major parties committed to upholding the Constitution
ZZzzzzzZZzzzz... Not interested in worshiping your holy fashy scriptures.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_religion

How dare you say that on Lemmy, or Reddit for that matter! Democrats and liberal ideology can do NO WRONG in these parts!
- Right? Look at how downvoted OP is as well as all the replies that are also critical of Democrats...
  ... Oh wait, it looks like you're full of shit.
  
  Lol... you call these comments "critical of Democrats?" Have you even READ what they say about Republicans around these parts?