The NYT picture of Trump standing next to my fellow Marines is repulsive. Marines are taught honor, respect, duty, allegiance to the flag and, at any time, are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for America. To the other extreme we have obese Trump who believes the country should serve HIM, that HE is the epicenter. His service is wasting millions on jet fuel so he can play golf in Florida. Marines sacrifice, Trump wallows in taxpayer provided opulence. Marines must deal with the haphazard VA, Trump has cadres of doctors who follow him around. The only man more despicable than Trump is McConnell and the senators that caused a kangaroo trial to acquit the felon.
The only time Trump should be pictured with Marines is when they are carting him off to the brig.
128
Trying to change the minds of the cultists is a waste of time. Getting Democrats who did not vote in the last elections to the polls is smart. Registering the unregistered who lean away from Trump is smart. Helping people with the paper work to vote absentee is smart. Identifying Nops and Independents who lean our way and getting them to the polls is smart. If we Democrats turn out our vote in big numbers Trump can not win. No matter who our candidate is.
136
Since I first commented, I have seen a number of comments saying that trying to change minds is a waste of time. Well, in Washington County it is either that or another win for Trump. I’ll keep trying, thank you.
6
Growing up in Fayette County - the county next door to Washington - most people I knew had JFK photos on their walls. But with the closing of mines and mills and the loss of jobs and homes and hope, people have moved to the the anger and frustration found in the Trump camp. I don’t know if they are there because they like him because he speaks to their needs and disaffection or if they are there because of Hillary’s declaration that coal jobs would be obsolete. But now that fracking has brought jobs, and some dignity, back to the region, I do know that any Democratic candidate who holds the position of immediately putting an end to fracking will lose in Fayette County. (looking at you Senators Warren and Sanders). When the in-your-face issues like jobs, kids and mortgages are on the line, climate change becomes a luxury that these folks can’t afford.
1
Politics isn’t about changing people’s minds. It’s about identifying, registering, and turning out like-minded voters. That’s all. Don’t waste one second on talking to a Trump supporter.
5
That’s not a viable option in this district.
2
I wish they stop at my house. I'll have chance to try to persuade them free everything,open borders, higher taxes, smothering big government and more fees/costs getting licenses and permits is lowering quality of life and discretionary spending money is a bad idea...and ask if they have a real job.
..
1
I live in Washington County. The most frustrating thing is trying to convince his supporters that he is conning them. They are worse off under almost everything he has done, yet they pay fealty under the misapprehension that he is their champion. And with Fox News as his mouthpiece, the facts are lost in the wind. It is upside down. But we continue the fight.
4
George Carlin was right when he said "think of how stupid the average person is, and realize that half of them are stupider than that." I'd substitute "American" for person with regard to this article.
3
It is a waste of time and resources to waste time on those proudly ignorant and cult-indoctrinated people, wherever they are located. His base (you know who) are mesmerized by the showman tactics and befuddled by listening to his speeches. Just leave them lazing in the glare of fool's gold (not pyrite) sprayed over the made-up accomplishments.
1
The problem here is like that of George Foreman in the "Rumble In The Jungle". Ali's "rope a dope" strategy allowed him to absorb Foreman's punches by letting the ring ropes take the force of the punch.
Trump talks about guaranteeing social security, while his minions work to reduce or eliminate it. He talks about medical care for all, while his congressional followers slowly dismantle Obama's ACA. Trump wails about Facebook while his lackeys are building the biggest misinformation machine since Hitler.
The only way to beat the guy is to "play dirty" or outspend him. Bloomberg can do the latter but is too much of a gentleman to engage in the former. The Democrats need a brawler who can out lie, out shout, and outspend Trump in the use of technology to campaign for office.
1
I want to hear from the news organizations about paying for porn stars with CAMPAIGN dollars. Hiring illegal immigrants at golf clubs cheating on your pregnant wife and trillion dollar DEFICITs till everyone's ears bleed.
I also want to thank each and everyone of these amazing women and men who knock on these doors. Please take a break but don't give up, we must all work together and support each other and honesty and America dignity.
5
This is a fool's errand. I don't know where the concept came from, that you could somehow enlighten Trump supporters and change their minds, This absolutely will not happen. Concentrate on getting Democrats registered and use all your persuasion to make sure they get out and vote. Nobody is going to change his/her mind about anything. Trump supporters must simply be outnumbered.
7
@John
They were in the last election, but then there's that archaic Electoral College that lets the minority win.
1
I live in a very conservative area with a few lonely Democratic voters. I get out quite a bit and have yet to meet one of those elusive fence-sitting voters who can be persuaded one way or another. The voters‘ minds are made up. Trump will win and by a lot more than he did last time, especially with all those Bernie Bros staying home in protest. Even if there were those who might have switched, they are now put off by the Democratic Party‘s total failure to campaign in such a way as to capture the attention of anyone other than the base.
4
To all the Democrat party workers and volunteers: Pl do not give up. Otherwise America is doomed.
No point in wasting time and effort on converting the diehard Trump faithful – however they only constitute less than 40% of the electorate, not enough for Trump to win. We need to focus on the swing voters to join the resistance, and make sure that the remaining 60% do get to the polls to vote him out.
3
It’s impossible to change their minds. In fact, it’s wasted energy. Focus on turning out every anti-Trump vote you know of and have identified, instead. A clear majority of voters find this president appalling and want him removed. As Douthat wrote in NYT oped Sunday, we can beat him. He’s not Caesar, yet.
1
I've volunteered in election campaigns in several Pennsylvania counties. Generally, the closer you get to Philly the better the prospects for the Democrats. In the more rural areas, the important thing is to set reasonable, attainable goals and not expect things to change too radically overnight.
For the 2020 election, each county organization needs to do their part to produce enough votes to beat Trump in Pennsylvania. For the majority of our 67 counties, it will mean that although Trump wins their county, that county's contribution to the total, when added to big wins in Philly, Pittsburgh and the Suburbs, results in Trump being defeated.
3
And, an election isn’t going to change the atmosphere. Even if Trump is flushed, the red hats will continue to swirl. The division has been festering for years. Bush allowed it to bubble to the surface by letting the teabaggers inside the tent. That simple act opened the stockyard gates to what we are trying to ignore today. “Us” and “them” didn’t appear overnight and wishing it weren’t so isn’t going to make it disappear.
2
Let’s just focus on getting trump out first .. and worry about the rest later. If
We manage to improve their livess
1
It's not the people, it's the issues. Trump campaigns on those and wins. Instead of trying to change peoples minds, these campaigners would do better by trying to change the direction of the Democratic party. You can't beat a centrist by being a liberal, not even if you call yourself progressive. You need to have progressive, not obstructive policies.
6
Trump lies to his base about health insurance and social security .. about trade deals etc. we don’t need to change Our stance. These republican need change - significant change - just like the rest of us.
4
Twenty percent of attendees at Trump rallies identify as Democrats. Ten percent of people who voted for Hillary in 2016 say they plan to vote for Trump this time around. Thirty percent of black voters say they like Trump. You do the math.
8
Thirty percent of which black voters? Where did you dig up these statistics?
2
As I've been saying for 4 years,the goal is to get him out of office. Not getting a Democrat elected, necessarily. This is all about race; these conservatives aren't going to vote for a black or a woman. Right or wrong, they have to field a white man if he's going to stand a chance of beating Trump. Unless the Republicans can unite and get a candidate who can beat him in the primaries and at the convention.
1
@Bill in S.Jersey You really should focus on getting the right person in office, not on just removing someone from office at all costs. This has been what the Democrats have been doing for 3+ years and you can see how well that is working... The person with the best policies and long term vision for the country will win.
1
Absent new and significant information (like his tax returns or financial statements being released) there is nothing that will budge his truly faithful. The battle will be won in the middle with independents and the same Republicans left in the party who have had enough. He won because of 110,000 votes in 3 states
1
Here in Iowa, there are good signs that Trump has lost much of his magic, but we're still a slightly red state. I don't believe the proverbial unwashed masses--esp rural people--realize that government can do good things for people, better than the status quo. Much of that has to do with what Republicans do when they are in power--as in the state legislature for the last decade--and what starry-eyed Dems propose to do, as if they have the confidence of a majority who want to see so much added "gummint" burdens with the proffered reforms.
If Dems can win the WH & both branches of Congress this time, and then show such a majority that government can actually do those good things, without the headaches and burdens, then many might break out of their chronic skepticism about the benefits of democracy. Doing both--winning federal dominance and exhibiting competence--is doubtful at this moment, esp while our state is botching its role as first-in-the-nation selector of presidents.
1
To calm myself I often think of these supporters, especially my mother & brother, as cognitively challenged, brain washed by insidious, expensive propaganda via fox/Brietbart/Sinclair. Oligarchs like Murdoch, Mercer and others exploit these low information voters for their own purposes. Once hooked, it’s a challenge to undo the brainwashing.
3
The US prohibits non profits (ie any church or religion) from promoting any specific candidate and yet this is in large part what has been propping up Trump. Imagine the moral decline of these institutions: lying, adultery, egomania, bullying, name-calling, and just about everything else labeled a sin is ok...as long as we stand for restricting women’s reproductive rights. Something never outlined in the Bible, but in Mussolini’s pact with the Pope in his “Battle for Births”. 95 years later the church is still pushing this fascist agenda at the expense of women, and overlooking an extreme moral deficiency in Trump.
2
Dems need to understand that winning in rural forgotten parts of America is about showing respect to those left out of the economic picture, and enacting policies that raise their income. There are currently 6-10 million skilled jobs in America that are unfilled. These jobs require months, not years of training and would bring many to a living wage rate in a short amount of time. If Dems endorsed a policy that would train qualified candidates for these open positions the costs would be only a few thousand dollars and the government would get all of that back from the taxes that those newly trained employees would pay. These jobs create additional jobs so the county could see 12 million or more new jobs created for the un and underemployed Americans whose talent and drive are presently sidelined. This policy is vastly better that endorsing a $15 min wage increase. Of course min wage should go up some, but Dems never ask who will pay for the increase or what a 1 dollar an hour hike in a standard work year wage rate would cost. If your reading this I bet you don't know either. It's two thousand dollars a year. Again keep in mind the millions of skilled jobs that mostly small businesses are seeking to fill, jobs where there would be no hardship in paying people a living wage, and in some cases with benefits, these jobs go unfilled? Ms. "I have a plan for everything" doesn't have a plan like this nor does Bernie, or most of the others but they need to or we all lose in Nov.
8
They do have a plan. It’s called income distribution. I own a small business and we had a profit of 150 K this year (that is not money I Pay myself, but what my profit and loss shows) I paid close to 60,000 in state and federal taxes. Yet companies that make billions in profit like apple and google pay literally nothing beyond payroll taxes. Tax the corporations equally and there will be plenty of money for training and subsidized health care. There is so much money in this country it is just in the hands of a very few.
2
I think that the pain of the lower classes who are also generally uneducated is so deep, the resentment so ingrained, that the only way to change the political landscape is thru more opportunity for these under-served people. Good jobs and better education as well as healthier lives. This would change the political landscape dramatically. We are yet to catch up to other first world countries in these ways. Supporting candidates who want to add services and quality to the lives of Americans, rather than encouraging hatred and divisiveness is how we will correct this blaring social malaise.
9
And free healthcare — we can improve people’s lives and finances across the board if we tax corporations equally and distribute the wealth by providing services that allow people to stop living month to month and actually gain some wealth. Being poor is hard and stressful and we can do a lot better if Democrats control congress and the White House.
2
Here is where the real problem is when discussing changing a followers mind: Studies have been made for some time now and it is well known that 81%, yes 81 out of 100, of people want to be part of some group which is based upon the survival instincts of the human animal. There is a real fear of being an individual even though it is now a few million years since our creation via evolution and the fact that today we are not forever being exposed to elimination by some other group of non-human animals. Now, can the human animal ever move on away from our instincts which, based upon studies of intellectual change, could take a few million more years when our then current knowledge has far more control over our decisions than our instincts. Think about this before trying to move the average American away from the same type of choices the German people made in the mid 1930's.
1
There is no way to convince the hard core Trumper which means the Dems must mobilize as many voters as possible. To do so the candidates need to stop going negative on the others' ideas. They all want to get to universal health coverage but instead of criticizing say something like:
We all want universal coverage, and we have a number of good ideas of how best to get there, but ultimately, no matter which of us becomes president, the plan we come up with will have to go through Congress before it is signed into law. The American people will help us decide on the best path to take. Now I happen to think my path is the best path.
7
Well stated. I agree with your approach.
The same thing can be done with immigration policy, which trump will use as a wedge issue.
“We all want safe, but controlled borders. We can work with Republicans on this...”
4
Comments that make no sense to me:
"Trump is shaking up the establishment."
He IS the establishment.. of his party..
and now leads the corporate establishment that is staunchly behind him.
--"Democrats need to work together with Republicans."
When was the last time Republicans offered to work with us.. outside of passing legislation that lines their pockets?
--"Only a moderate can defeat Trump."
Trump is no moderate. And you're afraid he'll win.
I would agree with exhaustion, though.
After impeachment, I can barely stand to tap out this comment.
6
@ Ed
We need you, man. Stay strong. Take a break for a few days.
We need you in this fight.
4
If the DNC uses intelligence rather than their predictable wishful thinking, they will understand that only 15 or so states are in play and will win or lose the election.
Pennsylvania is arguably the most critical. Here, 60 of the 67 counties will vote as Alabama and those margins will win or lose the elections.
The DNC needs a smart, nimble, and ruthless operator in charge of this do or die state who grew up in the Alabama counties, understands these demographics, grievances, contradictions, and possibilities, and takes no prisoners. If they choose an advanced degree in political science, the operation won't be successful, and the patient will die.
2
The thing we can't forget is that 63 million Americans have fallen into the Trump line. Thank goodness for those few who voted for Obama one election and Trump in the next. (As crazy as that sounds)
I have a thought for the Democrats. Have writers work with an actor to portray Trump in a debate with the candidates. Writers can work with the actor to come up with Trump responses, which shouldn't be hard. Let the voting public see how the candidates respond to his aggressive nonsense. This might give us the insight we need.
2
Sooner or later the people who feel disenfranchised by closing factories and other changes in this country are going to discover that it is up to them -- not anyone else -- to develop new means of enterprise. The success (I guess we can call it that) that may be seen elsewhere came from hard work, ingenuity, smart thinking, explorations, etc.
It it time for the part of America that has been whining to face the reality that we all face. [A] it is not the sole responsibility of the society to furnish our living, and [B] the despotic, criminal tyrant you've elected is precisely the least FDR and New Deal person in this country.
A third main point is a discussion of exactly how corporate (and very Republican) economic machinations are hugely responsible for economic downturns. The greed and short-term thinking are two [but not all] of the processes that wipe out some stable enterprise directions.
3
@Feldman It has never ceased to amaze me that the Congressional Democrats didn't make a very big deall about how the then-GOP led House and Senate failed to do anything at all to help the working class people who are the victims of the transition from a manufacturing economy to...whatever this economy is.
NAFTA is still blamed for many of the problems in these areas, even though China has proven to be a much bigger problem.
When proposals were made to transition coal miners and fossil-fuel workers to employment in renewable energy fields, the GOP fought mightily claiming that it was a "war against coal" and the Dems failed to respond strongly enough.
Now we have the right-wing media that manages to convince these same people to vote for representatives that have no policy to address the root causes (education & job training, employment opportunities that are NOT on one of the coasts) because of the lies that they propagate (Obama is a Muslim! Hilary is evil! {x} is socialism!)
2
@Sheri DH Good points all. It's baffling to many of us why anyone with even a sprinkling of awareness would buy -- hook/line/sinker the GOP party line.
See Krugman's recent opinion on the republican's zombie brain.
2
The steel curtain is the result of decades of central planning by a Republican Party that wants total control of America at any cost. The Party has hammered away at truth and facts 24/7/365 through its propaganda outlets such as Fox and Limbaugh. This propaganda campaign has been so successful that the Republican base is now immune to truth, decency, patriotism and morals. They show actual glee at the thought that, as they shoot the country and themselves in the foot, it might make a liberal cry. How do rational, moral, patriotic people fight such an army of berserkers?
2
Trying to change Trump fans' minds is a fools errand, so is getting a "moderate" to appeal to conservative Democrats/moderate Republicans. There's an old saying that "Between the Republican and the Republican, the actual Republican will always win." That's why I support Elizabeth Warren (with Bernie secondarily). The voters Democrats need to turn out aren't going to get excited over the same old policies of the gig economy. And you can't compromise with Mitch McConnell, so get over "working together." Think of how popular FDR was. Warren and Sanders are promoting the same type of policies that will sell to and work for the working class.
74
@M
Disagree. For one, I know you're wrong about moderate Republicans because I have Republican friends who want to vote for a moderate Democrat. It's pretty simple; they dislike Trump. Sanders and Warren are a step too far for them, but a moderate, they would support. Second, you (and Sanders and Warren) mistake the great crisis of this period. It isn't economic disaster, like FDR dealt with, or immigration like Trump scapegoats. It isn't even climate change. It is divisiveness. Americans across the spectrum complain about it and deplore it, but see no way out. I believe only a centrist candidate can bring both sides together in the healing process that we so sorely need. Then and only then we can get back to the business of fixing problems like economic inequality, immigration, and climate change.
22
@Mr. Adams A centrist candidate can bridge the divide? Are you joking? Obama was centrist and Republicans refused to work with him and thus created the divide. Today, Democrats still try and bridge the gap. But while Democrats seem to have an endless supply of olive branches, the GOP only seems to have a wood chipper to greet them with. If someone claims to be centrist they should want to vote for the extreme. Our politics have gone so far right that what we used to consider right wing is the Democrats party line. We need the pendulum to swing back to the center and the only way to do that is to reject it's far right motion.
24
@Bill G. Obama's politics were never even considered. There's a clear racist component to tRump's base. Repubs need it, want it, and won't do anything to combat it. That's why they concluded and committed early in his presidency not to cooperate w/ him on anything.
6
The ginned-up economy is fueled by tax cuts to the investor class and a stock market bubble. The debt is growing at the rate of a trillion dollars annually. All this debt is fueling an increasingly shrinking economic growth. If this bubble bursts before November, Trump will lose. If it doesn't Trump will win. The country was saved once when Bush's bubble burst in the summer of 2008 rather than the following January. It is absurd that the fate of the nation rests on the fiscal recklessness of the investor class and the Republican Party. But it does.
139
@highway
Don’t forget the Fed Rate cuts!
10
@highway - It's (R)eagonomics:
1. Steal the taxpayer's credit card,
2. Borrow it to the limit (while exploding the taxpayer's National Debt),
3. Give most of the borrowed $$ to the Pluto-Corporatocracy,
4. Throw enuf' orts to GoodBrain's base of "uneducated people" to make 'em think they're getting rich,
5. Hand the whole stinking mess to the next (D) prez, just before the whole Ponzi scheme implodes,
6. Bray endlessly about the horrors of indebtedness and the inefficiencies of the gub'mint,
7. Blame it on the (D)s.
39
@highway The fate of the nation rests on who gets elected in Nov 2020. A progressive Democrat like Sanders with a progressive Congress could really turn the tide for those forgotten Americans who thought, erroneously, that Obama, and then Trump, would bring change that was needed. (Obama might have brought change. He saved us from the 2008 banking disaster. But he foolishly thought he could "work across the aisle". He instead faced the world's greatest obstruction, the Republican Tea Party with Mitch McConnell as Senate leader.)
11
I suggest that convincing Republicans at this point is a waste of effort. The percentage of people identifying as Republican is already at historic lows, and Trump has almost complete fealty from those remaining , showing that the people who are persuadable have already been persuaded and left. Those remaining Republicans have to be defeated by persuading people to turn out to vote for Democrats. The Republicans know that turnout is all that’s left, and work tirelessly to suppress voting. One way, ironically, is to foster cynicism and feelings of helplessness by asserting that nothing will change or will ever change, so give up already. Give yourselves a break and stop letting those people waste your time.
331
It’s not the registered Republicans anyone should worry. It’s those without a party affiliation who will vote for him. They are buying the Democratic mantra of “we can make it better” without hosing up the good parts of the economy. If raising taxes on anyone is a plan then the unaffiliated will flip the switch for Trump. Unlike Democrats, Republicans from the bottom to the top of the income structure don’t believe in targeting someone else’s money to spend.
5
@JimH And yet republicans are the first to spend other people's money.
42
@JimH ~
So THAT'S why they've shifted from balancing the budget to a trillion dollar deficit.
I guarantee, they ARE getting the biggest slice of the pie of other people's money.
41
I read this week that “ticket splitting” doesn’t happen anymore, so it is essential that Trump is defeated in 2020 so down ballot candidates get the benefit.
Having said that, I think that National Democratic Party leadership is weak, ineffective, and needs to be replaced.
We always find out AFTER we lose a key election that we weren’t as organized or funded in a state or district as we needed to be.
Most importantly, the national communication strategy is a zero—either non-existent or ineffective. (I thought we were supposed to be the party with the creative types!)
I appreciate all the efforts of these local folks, but they need the support of effective national leadership to maximize their local efforts. We need new leadership now before 2020 is a lost opportunity.
5
@Patricia Brown Speaking from deep red rural Georgia, you are right (also the only minds that have changed are former democrats that never really grasped the power of democracy and diversity in the face of demagoguery and authoritarian plutocracy, i.e. it has always been about the racism). What the national party didnot learn from 2018 that applies in spades to 2020 is that regardless of what D is at the top of the ticket this year, it is going to be the people- up energy of possible Senate seats and additional House seats that will either drive turnout or doom us.
2
What is the percentage of registered voters in Washington County? How many of them vote? These are the questions the good people of Washington County should be asking themselves. Then ask - what am I doing to welcome all eligible voters into the electorate?
The League of Women Voters has been welcoming new voters to the electorate for 100 years. From registering voters to candidate forums to information about candidates and how to vote (VOTE411), the League offers tools for voters to cast an infored ballot, and encouragement to do so. That's democracy at work. Volunteers do this work.
Contact your local League and become one of the volunteers.
Don't talk with people about why they support Trump. Talk with people about why they should get informed and cast their ballot, and how to do it.
3
The only thing Democrats need to do to win is to actually vote.
However, I am a bit concerned about Sanders supporters. It seems that for them its either Sanders or no one. Sounds an awful lot like Trump voters.
4
Agreed. I certainly Hope that Bernie will do more - assuming he is not the winning candidate - to impress on his supporters that staying at home is NOT an option. He was not convincing in 2016, though I don’t fault him. And few if any expected it to matter the last time around
1
Just wait for Trump’s Medicaid cuts! Just wait for Food Stamp cuts! The economy might be strong, for which Trump erroneously takes credit, but it’s only strong for some. There are many people in our towns who are hungry and homeless and there’s only so much abuse they will take. That’s the way of history.
4
A homogenous group of people with authoritarian leanings will always be easier to corral and incite than a diverse, "big tent" group with multi-faceted priorities. The Democratic party is in some ways disadvantaged by its diversity because accommodating the competing priorities of its constituency is so difficult. By contrast, Republicans are pretty singleminded and have a charismatic demagogue at the helm.
The rise of the left wing of the Democrats has been really divisive and doesn't reflect the ideas of people in swing states. At the same time, the centrist candidates are uninspiring. I fear the divisions will mean four more years of Trump and that will signal the end of real democracy. This is a fight for the soul of the country and liberal democracy is losing.
2
The lackluster crew running in the Democrat primaries reflects Democrat ‘identity politics‘ at its best - and a gift to Republicans. Under the leadership of Speaker Pelosi, Dems are looking at a long and well-deserved exile in the political wilderness. No leadership and no message - the true Clinton/Obama legacy.
6
Democrats will fail the country in November if we don't give them a bright, vibrant, charismatic,l and hopeful antidote to Trump and the darkness of his mob. It's that simple. Regrettably, with a couple of possible exceptions, I don't yet see that Democratic candidate. I desperately hope he or she will emerge and be supported buy a strong, activist and excited Democratic election plan and electorate.
The Trump mob has charisma, organization, media, and the willingness to do anything in the service of their nefarious enterprise. We must fight them in the same way in the service of good - or we will lose.
Even in decidedly liberal Massachusetts there were large areas in the more rural central and south eastern parts of the state that went for Trump and that mind-set persists even in 2020. If it wasn't for the liberal areas of Boston and it's surrounding suburbs there's a chance the state could have gone red. I'm embarrassed to admit that even my town in central MA went for Trump
1
I think part of the problem is that there is a belief in Massachusetts that it ‘doesn’t matter’. It will go blue so I can vote based on my prejudice without thinking I am part of the problem. I have heard this explanations from several mass residents who voted for trump.
The *meltdown* of the Iowa caucuses was in part due to a campaign by trump cult followers to jam the phone lines. NBC just reported it. This is what we are fighting - those who see trump as their savior and will do whatever it takes to keep him and his toadies in power.
2
The problem is that BHO got the attention of people of faith when he said, "They get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."
August 25, 2016 Hillary made it clear that she had a completely condescending view of everyone that didn't agree with her National Socialist (DEF: someone that wants to disarm law abiding citizens claiming that will reduce crime, passes a mandatory participation health insurance law that they exempt themselves from having to participate in or even pay the Cadillac insurance tax to fund it, uses that health law to create and fund eugenics and euthanasia programs to improve humanity and identify the disabled and chronically ill and target them for elimination to save money.)
Oct 13, 2016 Hillary declared war on religion when she screamed. "RELIGION MUST BE FORCED TO CHANGE IT'S BELIEFS!"
And the anti-trumpers cannot understand why they cannot change any minds while the support people that are doubling down on what Hillary espoused??
5
@Blank Ballot Irreconcilable differences. Those who can will insulate themselves against the impact by people in power with whom they disagree. Those who can’t will be stuck.
The problem with this is the left is insane. Maybe if they dropped the woke jihadis from their ranks or stopped condoning them, the democrats might be a viable, worthy opposition party. But they’re crazy...they’ve refused to drop the craziness, and so we have to drop them.
7
@AQ see above. Firewall the way you choose to live against the impact of stupid decisions on either side of the aisle over whom you have no control.
1
An old adage says that lies don't have long legs, that eventually they are exposed and the liars pay dearly.
Trump and his movement is all about lies.
A day of reckoning is approaching. Even if Trump is re-elected, what will follow we can count on. Either Trump will end up indicted, convicted, and do jail time or his princess Ivanka and his sons will or his henchmen...
The reckoning is coming. Count on it.
@Nicholas
Wishcasting. You people have been saying that the walls are closing in on Trump for 4 years and everything just evaporates.
1
Just look at what is being done to Mitt Romney - GOP Presidential Candidate 8 years ago, son of a GOP candidate, man of faith, and integrity. The Republican Party is no more - it is the Trump Party, and it idolizes someone who is corrupt, petty, and vindictive.
This isn't even to mention that he is a liar, bigot, and hypocrite. And that the only interest he has is in himself. He is truly vile.
What, really, has he done for anyone outside the top 1%? The economy is just continuing as it was coming out of the Great Recession. But Trump's Great Tax Cut will add a Trillion (that's a T) dollars to the debt this year and going forward (how much is that per person?). His Tariffs have hurt, not helped (hmm, Trump = Tariffs & Trillions in debt). And he wants to take away Healthcare (and what else?).
True - the Dems have to get their act together. A space to watch...
2
The working class, collectively, are essentially locked into a cycle of grief over the fast moving business and political policies that drove manufacturing out of the country and to foreign nations with lower cost to produce.
Note: it was conservative business and political policy that actually drove the massive move in the 90s to globalize (which is a cute conservative term for kill US jobs in favor of cheaper labor overseas). Yes... the very politicians they support in their goal to exact some sort of revenge on "the establishment" ARE the cause of the grief to begin with.
It seems that we as a nation are now on some collective vendetta to destroy what some feel caused their grief. This will simply make matters worse though... and that is a real shame. It will eventually self resolve.. but the nation will be worse off for it... and the modern day robber barons, led by a robber baron as president.. will continue to get wealthy on the damage they cause the working class Americans.
7
It’s an uphill battle for the a Democratic Party when the economy is doing well, it’s going to be hard to convince swing voters let alone die hard Republicans that it’s in their own best interest to vote for a Democrat. I’m afraid that the disorganization of the Democratic Party on a national level and lack of resources at the local level will result not only in a Trump victory but wins down ballot for the Republicans.
There are too many candidates and the messaging is wrong.
I don’t think you can win on anyone but Trump. The Democrats need to focus on a few key issues that voters have a passion for, like healthcare costs, social security, Medicare, education including costs and student loan debt and present proposals that are realistic. Totally blowing up the system is not a viable option.
Unless the Senate can be turned blue and the House maintains a majority, even if we do have a Democratic President, nothing will be accomplished. My biggest fear is that Bernie wins and gets nothing accomplished legislatively and the electorate swings to a hard right.
2
Unfortunately many are focused only on the gains in their 401K. I certainly understand, however the average "Jane or Joe" are not reaping the benefits that the very wealthy Trump targets in every move he makes. The negatives far out way a bump in your 401K. If allowed to continue, our beautiful free country will become totally unrecognizable. In many ways it already has. Money "Trumps" all!
3
The Democrats should just pul all the names of the would-be nominees in a hat and ask a passer-by to draw one. And then unite behind this man or woman and go all out for as many electoral victories as they possibly can in November. They could do that today. Just focus on the one thing that needs to happen, delivering a crushing defeat to Trump.
But they won't. They'll keep arguing and backstabbing and hinting and accusing... Completely oblivious to the impression this gives the not-so-rabidly-committed. I mean, if the eleven or how many is it keep believing that the differences among themselves are soooo vast that they warrant their current behavior, they might as well hand the election to Trump.
3
Democrats have not felt the need to stand united for over a half a century. Republicans have always had an advantage where lies don't really matter. Sure dems do it too but reps simply do it much better.
Divide and conquer is the name of the game. Republicans stand firmly united Democrats knit-pick each other to death.
2
Yes, of course there's resistance to change and we have a difficult - nearly impossible- road to flipping districts. But please stop writing articles about how hopeless this is, the only thing it does is discourage already exhausted advocates from fighting for what they believe in. So many districts flipped in the last election and the president is still fighting to get to a 50% approval rate. Let's keep on knocking on doors and sending postcards - and please stop telling us we're tired!
5
Pelosi tearing up the speech and Romney’s speech made the entire impeachment effort worth while.
3
@Horatio If that’s the yardstick, then it’s no wonder that the Democrats seem unorganized, and wandering in the desert.
Meanwhile the long game continues.
Deregulation
Federal judicial appointments
SCOTUS
Crush early 20th century progressivism and force the federal government back towards enumerated powers as specified in the constitution.
Personally I would like more precision in President Trump’s language. The “deconstruction of the administrative state” would likely be proceeding at an even greater pace.
An earlier commenter derided the deconstruction of the administrative state as ill advised given the complexities of administrative law. Experts have their place, but they should not have executive (enforcement) and judicial Power under their own roof. Ultimately, the legislature must legislate and take the heat from the public over unpopular decisions even as that legislation is informed by expert opinion. Agency bureaucrats are insulated from this, and this failure is in part related to Congress abdicating the responsibility to legislate, particularly the messy tough issues.
We are not a European social democracy, nor are we a parliamentary democracy. The nascent beginnings of our republic were founded in essence on finding a balance to promote the maximum personal liberty attainable while still holding together a civil society.
We seem to have lost our way on the civil society part. Some seem incapable of separating emotions from logical argument.
1
“ And veterans of the four-year-old resistance, particularly in places where they remain outnumbered, are facing up to an unwelcome truth: This is going to be even harder than it once looked.”
Imagine the hue and cry that would be raised if there were people openly advocating “resistance” to President Obama.
4
When turnout is so low, why not forget about changing Trump voters and look to engage new ones.
2
Why are these people trying to change republicans minds about Trump? Lost cause and wasted energy. Focus on the under 40 crowd and getting out the vote, register young people get them excited to vote for the Democratic ticket no matter who the nominee is. Young voters don’t show up, they don’t vote period.
2
The simplest way they can do this, ie turn Trump voters is to tell them they promise they will not nominate another identity/social engineering obsessed neo con, elect me present because I am an entitled woman and my time has come candidate like Hillary.
Can't get any simpler than that.
3
I hope the media will headline our enormous deficit, thank to Trump and the Republicans, on a frequent basis.
So much for a historic economy.
5
Not to mention skyrocketing personal debt as the Trump base borrows heavily to buy the lifestyle they believe they deserve but can’t actually afford.
The large donors of the Democratic Party will not fund rural and smaller-town candidates whose views do not 100% align with their personal views. Gun rights are a key example -- it is a litmus test for the big donors, and so there are no funds for the state and local level Democratic candidates who could win local offices and provide a ground-game support for national Democrats.
Abortion is another issue in which rural Democrats need to be allowed to support abortion rights without being cheerleaders for abortion. Bill Clinton's "safe, legal and rare" would not be accepted by big donors today, as "rare" would be interpreted to stigmatize abortion. Indeed, supporting abortion rights while seeking to limit the need for it is a position that needs to be taken in rural areas. And yet it seems that celebrating abortion can be required of modern Democratic candidates, and that makes many normal supporters of abortion rights queasy.
There are other issues on social order in which old-timey labor voters are not happy with excuse-making for bad behavior (e.g., some of the homeless are people better dealt with via vagrancy laws and a work-camp). Again, no Democrat could support these views and not be punished by the politically correct urban elite donors.
In short, Hillary lost to a barbarian because, in the end, the Democratic big donors cannot tell a "good deplorable" from a "bad deplorable," and don't care to.
3
You should be more complete with your reporting. In southwest PA all of the politicians are corrupt. From the US representative to the local township. They all are working for the wealthy and allow industry to pollute and basically spit on the people. So it's difficult for democrats to be different when in fact they are not, at least in SW PA. You have to understand that this part of the country is proud of there criminality, it is part of their history. From the Pittsburgh Pirates to the cheats on the Cheat River in WV. Those people are still here.
If you visit either SW PA or WV I suggest you wear pick pocket proof clothing because that is what they do.
2
It is the responsibility of Christian preachers and priests to teach their congregations that our constitution is Providential, that truth matters, that idolatry is wicked, that bearing false witness against one's neighbor (e.g. Trump's attacks on Fiona Hill and Mitt Romney) transgresses God's command, and that "what we do to the least among us, that we do to Christ." Christians must loudly commit to the rule of law and stand up against he GOP's hideous cover-up and embrace of totalitarianism. Where is their conscience?
9
I also live in the heart of Trump country and the idea of a steel curtain is apt. I don't see a single 2016 Trump voter changing their vote. I realize it is still very early and nearly ten months to November, but, unfortunately, I don't see Trump doing anything, no matter how outrageous, that will change their minds. There is always the possibility that Trump will cross some line, but who knows what that is. Rather than focus on changing minds, it would be far better to focus on turnout.
10
Democrats need more of a message than “Get Trump.”
7
If you listened to any real news, you would know Democrats actually are talking about ideas and policies to help America, but that would be too much like work. Easier to sit in front of the boob tube and watch the Fox channel.
1
It is way too early to be so worried. Think where the Republicans were at this time in 2016. Dems need to take a deep breath and take some time off. Wait till we know who the candidate is. Nobody will remember Iowa or the impeachment trial in September.
It's too early to think about knocking on doors for support of a candidate, as we do not yet know who it will be. Also seems like the NYT is drumming up worry unnecessarily in this story.
4
Let's review the Democrat's agenda: open borders to take jobs away from Americans; welfare for all illegals to burden the US taxpayer even more; higher taxes on middle class; green agenda to kill millions of jobs; transform society to a "safe zone" for every subclass imaginable; etc, etc.
Democrats don't stand a chance to beat Trump. He will win the popular and electoral college. Get over it.
10
@JGaltTX
Nobody is proposing open borders, not even Bernie Sanders.
2
It appears as though their fear based propaganda is working...
None of those repeated “GOP talking points” is remotely accurate. (Where do people get this stuff? Oh, yeah.)
Just last night on CNN’s townhall, Warren’s answers to her stance on open borders were laughably evasive and pie in the sky. The only conclusion could be that she’s for open borders.
5
One thing that constantly confounds the political discussion now a days is that people tend to surround themselves only with people (and with media) that tends to confirm their personal biases.
Without a diverse group around you, you're really never going to have a good insight into what other folks think. When you look at Gallup's approval ratings, Trump today has an approval rating of 49%. What was Obama's? I wouldn't be surprised if some people think it was in the sixties or even higher. It was 46%.
So you're talking about a group of people that are more supportive of their president today than democrats were of Obama in 2012. You don't really get that impression from the media, unless you actively seek out more conservative leaning media. But then by doing that you end up with an equal but opposite bias where you'd think his approval rating would be in the sixties or even higher.
The point of this is imagine trying to get an Obama voter from 2008 to vote for Romney in 2012. That would, at least based on approval rating, be a rather easier task than 'flipping' a Trump voter in 2020.
4
The focus of the national Democratic strategy should be on getting the under-40 vote out and mobilized to vote. That block already outnumbers the older cohorts that are expected to vote R and they skew heavily in the opposite direction on almost every important issue.
If they are ignored and don't show up, then in 2024 they are going to be the under-45 vote. Then the under-50.
Well you get the idea. The establishment side of the party can't keep ignoring this. Look at the Iowa results.
10
@Allen
There aren't any Iowa results. Yet.
1
As I learned in my public relations class in college, there are three opinion groups on every issue. The first group agrees with your position, while the second group disagrees.
It's the third group you need to focus on - the undecided. I suspect the Dems in Washington County are mostly encountering the second group.
The third group of voters is largely made up of Independents and moderates. This is the group that needs convincing They may feel that, since the economy is strong, they can overlook Trump's transgressions. Or, they may be appalled at his lack of ethics and his administration's repeal of popular regulations, like the Clean Water Act, and his bungling of foreign policy.
The Washington County Dems should also keep in mind that Eastern PA counties are slowly turning blue. For every Democratic row office lost in Washington County, there is a Republican row office lost in Bucks County. (In fact, all but one of them in the last few elections.)
Trump has an uphill battle in Pennsylvania this fall, based on local election results in 2017 and 2019, along with the court-ordered redistricting before the 2018 election that favors Democrats.
3
@hdtvpete
Every president loses seats in the House in their first midterm election. Trump lost 44.
Obama lost 63 and was still reelected.
1
@Ian, the electoral demographic in Pennsylvania is swinging Democratic in the counties bordering Philadelphia, Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton, and Pittsburgh. Some of it is an influx of residents from New Jersey and New York, looking to get away from higher taxes.
And now, the 18 congressional districts are evenly apportioned between Democrats and Republicans. PA districts were severely gerrymandered before the state Supreme Court ordered a more representative district map. New voter registrations favor Democrats presently.
Obama had a 52% approval rating the week before the 2012 presidential election. Trump has yet to break 50% approval in any month since he took office.
You're only just realizing this? I've been saying the same thing since July 2017 at least. 2020 is a turnout election. Can Democrats turnout enough voters to overwhelm Trump's 40-odd percent? We're targeting new or inactive voters mostly. Persuading Trump apologists is a lost cost.
That was the first lesson I learned canvassing. Never waste time engaging people who disagree with you. There are only so many hours in a day and there are too many doors to knock on. Your job is to encourage and enable people who agree with you. End of story. There's no point in debating someone who is just going to turn around and vote Trump anyway. Waste of time. Next door.
For all the time you spend "persuading" each individual swing voter, you could have registered 30 or 40 college students. Which approach do you think is more effective? Step two is organizing bus services to get those same college students to the polls on election day. My college had a free van every 15 minutes.
To which, Democrats should seriously consider a Bernie ticket with a carefully chosen VP. Bernie carries the youth vote and the Obama-to-Trump working class crossover. I think Stacey Abrams balances the ticket as a younger, more moderate Democrat who also happens to be black and female. Between the two, we've checked a lot of boxes.
Democrats don't need much if they can turn part of the Midwest and the Mid-to-South Atlantic. I see a path to victory. Just saying.
8
For Democrats, unity and energy on our side is the task. There are more of us than of them. We’re not going to convince Trumpians or Republicans to change their minds.
Don’t give up - donate, volunteer, organize and vote!
5
Appears that around here Trump’s base has eroded a bit around the edges but there is still a core of Trump deniers who see him as some sort of angry old man hero.
Remember more eligible voters did not turn out in 2016 than those who voted for either Clinton or Trump. And, it seems that a measurable number of the apathetic have been stirred by the national embarrassment named Trump.
So, if the Democratic Party can bring themselves to present a reasonable candidate with a sensible platform it is entirely possible that Trump can be made a private citizen again. Then he can go on trial for tax fraud in front of an impartial jury. There isn’t much chance his tailor can make his rotundity look good in stripes.
1
I grew up on a dairy farm in rural Minnesota. Almost everyone in my hometown was Republican (except our teachers, who were all Democrats). My mom gives me hope for the 2020 election.
My dad is a lifelong Republican. He watches Fox. He doesn't understand what's so bad about Trump, no matter how many times we discuss it. (He does believe in climate change, though.)
My mom never talked about politics growing up, so I didn't really know what she thought. Since Trump got elected, I have never seen her so fired up about politics. Trump disgusts her. She's not buying any of his impeachment defense. She will vote for any Democrat over Trump. I think rural women just might save us.
5
It's not about changing minds, it's about turnout. Many people didn't bother to vote in 2016, or wrote in flouncy protest votes. It seems like a slog but it's worth it.
3
I grew up in, iirc, Rick Santorum's home town near Pittsburgh. It was as racist a place as any other I have lived, and people my age and older grew up in the destabilizing trauma of recent de-industrialization. Not everyone will have moved past these things with Rush Limbaugh reinforcing them with two thumbs up every workday.
For voters with long memories or tribal beliefs, there will be a "steel curtain". The good news is a candidate like Mayor Pete or Amy Klobuchar or Joe Biden will be able to speak to some of those voters, not as pawns in a class war or pieces in a policy jigsaw puzzle, but as someone they can relate to personally far better than a constantly lying New York scammer.
Hillary Clinton was a horrible candidate and she almost beat Trump across the Rust Belt. Converting even one percent of Trump voters could be pivotal and should not be that hard. After all, two percent of Republican Senators just voted him out.
If Democrats do manage to retake the Senate, hold the House, and take the Executive, they need to hold these criminals accountable. Pelosi and Obama made a huge mistake in not prosecuting Bush and Cheney for their war crimes. It set a precedent. Pelosi made another mistake in not moving to impeach based on the Muller report. She made another mistake in picking only two articles of impeachment when there we’re actually dozens.
3
Based on studies...30% of any population are willing pawns for dictators.
3
There are a lot of bad people in the US. What other conclusion can one reach? It is truly a civil war.
3
Democrats need to focus on one thing: getting Democrats out to vote.
4
If you're Republican and you try to question anything along the party line (and the quality of the line itself is immaterial; right now it's just Trump) you are instantly branded a RINO, unAmerican, etc. There's nothing worse than being excommunicated from your church.
I think this might be the crux of it. People see the world changing quickly in complex ways. They're isolated and feel threatened, and find security in groupthink. Safety in numbers. It's the political equivalent of opioid addiction - numb the pain.
This is what Trump massages on a daily basis. It doesn't matter what the Party does as long as he makes people feel like they're part of the in crowd.
1
It is always amazing that red state people cant look at their financial situation and figure out that Trump and the GOP dont like them because they look and act differently. Their GOP politicians dont care if they have Medicaid, dental care, or can live in a real house instead of a mobile home. These red state politicians spend millions on stupid abortion bills to feed their ideology. Democrats arent doing their jobs. Take it to the people about the GOP plan to cut SSI, Medicare, and other govt subsidies, most for the poor in red states. Dont back down.
2
The MSM news cartel in this country will never give Bernie a chance just like last time,
The closer Bernie gets to the nomination the worse he will be treated, just like last time.
For me it’s either Bernie or Trump, just like last time.
Don’t mess with Bernie this time.
1
first of all there were no setbacks.The republicans didn't do what their oath to God said they should.They lied to God.I personally don't care about their relationship with god but they sure do like to act like they do and they just lied .
3
Don't bother knocking on my door, and if you nominate Bernie my best advice is not to waste time in my County.
3
Get more people to vote for what they believe in. Ask people what they think. Ask them about their choices. The ones who are not herd or tribal like will do so and we will have the laws we want.
The civil right movement was 50 years ago and we still have racists. The EPA was also that long ago but we still have pollution so bad that it is killing the planet. Etc. Etc. There is only policy in government- not culture or morality
2
What exactly is the resistance resisting? More jobs? Better trade agreements? Low minority unemployment?
24
Rampant dishonesty. Demagoguery. Autocracy. Misogyny. Xenophobia. Attacks on voting rights to preserve rule by a minority of voters. Religion-based justification of various forms of bigotry. Environmental degradation. Anti-science policies in all areas of federal regulation, not to mention education. Exclusion of millions from healthcare insurance and the stripping of coverage, including for pre-existing medical conditions, from tens of millions of the healthcare insurance policies that remain. An exploding federal deficit, to be followed shortly by cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. And, oh yes, rampant dishonesty.
That’s probably a sufficient list of reasons to resist Trump and the GOP.
11
@Conservative Democrat
The long slow slide into authoritarianism?
6
@Conservative Democrat What are the actual signs you see of a flourishing country? What are our innovations? Stories of sales of things people are buying up with this supposed windfall, thriving and newly appealing and redeveloped communities in Red Sates, or all these jobs that aren't really two or three jobs to get by or like my 73-year-old mothers, work she shouldn't have to do to pay mostly medical expenses. Parroting talking points without support is for Trump and his rallies, not convincing for people who see retail districts that look like jack o lanterns with shuttered shops and feel the prices of homes dropping where they live.
6
Not worth the time and effort. Sure, welcome any defectors but there will be few to none now.
What would make sense would be going after the tens of millions who don't vote, who have given up. They want neither Democratic centrism nor Trumpian fascism.
But the problem is that the one candidate who can do that is Sanders. As everyone knows. And we can't have that, or so the Adults in the Room who have covered themselves and all non-rightwingers with such glory and success, lo, these many years.
I think we should keep listening to them. They surely have our best interests, and not their own power, status, and money, at heart.
13
@Doug Tarnopol
I am sure each of us knows people who just wont bother to vote. their thinking is what difference will my vote mean. I just had someone doing fixing say this. if the candidates don't emphasize jobs,medicare cuts,medicaid cuts,rising drug prices it will be hard to win. they need to push trump's corruption.
2
Exactly! It’s a waste of money, time and manpower to try and change these minds. If people haven’t come to their own conclusion or you haven’t, yet, convinced or shamed them into realizing that “character trumps (sorry) all,” you won’t now. There are few, if any to target, and if you’re still, “on the fence,” what planet is that fence on?!
I actually, face to face, told this to PA’s Democratic senator, Bob Casey, who was ready to unleash and waste his volunteers into the middle of our Commonwealth, affectionately known as “Pennsyltucky.”
Much, much better to identify those who WOULD vote Democratic, IF they voted and GET THEM registered and to the poll TO vote!
3
Can we get some perspective here? The horror that has happened has been in a very short time- three years. We had a Democratic President for 8 years before that, cleanly elected and still massively popular. Democrats took back the House in 2018, many governorships, two Senate seats and some state legislatures. Yes, all this is a shock but why do we assume it’s permanent? Even Russian State TV- the government station- said, a few weeks ago, “Sooner or later, Democrats will return to power.” We don’t know exactly when or how it will happen, but there is no way America will permanently be ruled by a minority. So let’s keep fighting, there are more of us against than pro.
28
@Reva Cooper
AGREED! George W looked unassailable too, back in the day. and for that matter, not so very long ago liberal pundits were gleefully talking up the permanent ascendancy of democrats riding a wave of Hispanic support while conservative pundits were urging the GOP to reach out to the Hispanic community if it wanted to survive.
We talk a lot about polarization but independent voters outnumber both dyed in the wool republicans and dyed in the wool republicans. My current assumption is that those independent voters (and a fair number of republicans) are recoiling in horror from Trump.
Its not time to pack your bags for Canada (assuming Canada would have you)
1
@Reva Cooper
I'm still fighting, but Trump has no intention of leaving office, until he can crown Ivanka Queen.
Yesterday the Republicans in the Senate told the country that Trump can do whatever he wants. The moment that Trump leaves office he will probably be indicted on state and federal felonies.
If we do not remove Trump from office by February of 2021, there may never be another Democrat in the Whitehouse
@Mike
Trump is not W. Trump is not even Nixon. Nixon had enough respect for the Constitution to resign once caught. Trump attacks the Constitution on TV because that is how the dictators he emulates made themselves "president for life."
Trump is the wannabe King the Constitution was designed to impeach, and both parties have failed to follow it's clear instructions.
Mueller accused Trump of Federal Felonies and referred them to Congress when he said, "the Constitution has a process other than the criminal justice system to formally accuse a sitting president."
Democracy should have impeached Trump the moment they took cool if the House and they should have impeached him for all of his attacks on the Constitution, not one secret phone call. (The secret phone call would have been the last straw in the middle of Impeachment.)
Republicans should have impeached Trump a week into his presidency.
1
Native Pennsylvanian here. A non-profit Executive Director job from 198 to 1992 took me all over the state.
The steel mills were closing or closed back then.
Main streets were curling up thanks to the likes of Walmart and the pivot to China.
Many promises later, the jobs are still leaving.
The current president talks the talk but the evidence is scant.
My closest friends are working hard for Bernie Sanders.
Let's give him a try, I say.
16
@EB Excellent. Bernie is the opposite of everything that the vile Trump stands for.
2
Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when we happen to be a NYT article trying to fit the facts into a pre-determined narrative.
It isn't the Trump loyalists who need to be persuaded to get off their duffs, it's the traditional Democrats and their local apparatus, and this is as true of Western PA as it is here in Europe.
A glance at the statistics from the Iowa caucus will show you that the drop-off in primary voters (or the failure to increase) affected Biden and Klobuchar, not Sanders, or even Warren who is the hands-on favorite of centrist-to-progressive women. Indeed, what is happening is exactly what Theda Skocpol described two years ago: the Democratic Establishment would rather die off than to allow itself to be rejuvenated by more progressive, more gender-balanced forces.
9
One reads your comment and could believe we are in the 1970s with Democrats still running political machine establishments where voters are determined by political bosses and the Teamsters Union. Sorry to disagree with you but we are in the middle of the 21st century and Democrats have to stop thinking they have to fix a political machine and instead have to focus in more on winning the election in Facebook and WhatsApp. They must fight the deluge of russian implanted false news and memes.
1
@KingDavid Friend, I was there in the 70s and I'm here now, with fifty years of experience with the Machine. Dinosaurs never learn. That's why they become extinct.
1
The demographics favor Trump. The really only rational choice is to cut the losses in the hinterlands and hope for an enthusiastic turn out in the metro areas.
Trump country is decreasing in population, losing young people, and aging. Those who are left are resentful, frightened of change, religious and White.
This is writtnen by someone who lives in Trump Country.
8
You can't simply wipe a century's worth of heavy propaganda and indoctrination from the minds and hearts of most Americans. For them (Even the majority of Democrats) the word Socialism is pure evil. We have invaded countless countries because of it. Tens of thousands of American soldiers have lost their lives fighting against it.
Face it, the average American can't distinguish the difference between Democratic Socialism (Western European style) and Communism (Circa 1950 Soviet Union and China).
Republicans have a powerful propaganda machine, and any Democratic candidate that can be equated with Socialism, will be targeted (As the Emperor did during the State of the Union).
Be realistic. Not only as what candidate you will put up against Trump but as of who you are trying to convert.
10
@Warcraft Very good point. We need a billionaire who cannot be easily categorized as a socialist, who has governed before, is advocating for policies that look like Democratic Socialism and who wants to dramatically increase taxes on the wealthy. Mike Bloomberg is looking more and more like a serious option.
7
@Warcraft
You've confused socialism with communism, a distinction without a difference to many Americans but the propaganda was and remains powerful.
1
How about Argentinian and South American socialism? That’s what we are being sold now.
3
@Revel8r. Let’s not forget that the shuttering of plants and shift of manufacturing from here to Asia and Mexico began during the Reagan era. It was not some government plot. It was capitalism just doing what capitalism, when unregulated, does: enriching the haves at the expense of the have-nots. The Republicans have been the enablers of this for the past 40 years. The anger of Trump supporters is misdirected.
12
Used to support Blue Dog Democrats until they became extinct. Spent a dozen years as a registered Republican mainly to support moderates in primary elections. Proudly voted for Obama twice. Now back in the Democratic Party and will not vote for another Republican.
Trump is destroying what’s left of our once great country. The legacy of a myopic Federal Judiciary picked from the Federalist Society honor roll will haunt this country for 30 years.
19
I am concerned about the rise of the Progressive wing only because polling shows that they are unwilling to vote for anyone besides their chosen candidate, which is highly problematic. I feel like I’m a hostage; if Bernie loses the nomination, his fans will say it’s a DNC/ Press hit job and stay home like they did in 2016. If he wins the nomination and doesn’t significantly broaden his message he will lose the general. And this is ignoring the fact that he is a 78 year-old heart attack survivor. Is AOC going to be his VP?!?!?
Definitely feeling the (heart)Bern!
Fire away!
11
@Dudesworth
If Bernie doesn't get the nomination, the party splits and Trump wins. If Bernie gets the nomination his program is so radical he loses independent moderates and Trump wins.
1
Sanders looks like he will get the nomination. And the democrat establishment hates that. Clinton went out and said nobody likes him. How do you fix that? The democrats will not rally around Sanders. He has a solid base of socialists but that is it. Many democrats will not vote socialist. If it is hard to convince union workers in Western Peen to vote democrat, try asking them to vote socialism and see what happens.
9
Many of those who support Trump agree that this election, like the last one, is a life and death matter. Every day in America there are about 2,000 abortions and 10% of them occur on or after the 1st trimester, when the almost 3 inch long baby has a beating heart, a developing brain, fingers and fingernails. Saving the lives of these 200 babies, most of whom are aborted as a matter of convenience rather than medical necessity, is why 50% of Americans are supporting a President who is committed—as his his judicial appointments show, to saving lives. So yes, this election is a life and death matter.
6
@ehillesum : Consider this 'life or death' matter. The right IS going to eliminate your social security check and your medicare and any possibility of health insurance - your preconditions WILL be the used again to give you NO health insurance. That is the right's plan for you, for me, for your neighbors. These draconian measures will push an enormous number of citizens into poverty or just barely making it. And the DO NOT CARE. Masses of impoverished are opportune for such authoritarian regimes - leaves people too weak to fight, and totally focused on just surviving. There's your 'life and death' situation. Not to mention the already precipitous pace of climate change and its consequences - which will probably kill all of us first before we ever have to start begging on corners for a scrap of food. But heh - if this is the future you look forward to - congratulations - your wish is come true.
5
Bloomberg 2020! He's the only potential opponent that Trump fears..... and with good reason. Democrats need to wake up before it's too late and realize that Mike represents their best chance for sending the megalomaniac-in-chief back to his D-list reality tv show.
In November, it's not about who you like the best; it's all about who can win. I like Mike!
11
Here's a very radical idea for Democrats to win back the senate and presidency: MOVE to red states, in particular, their most gerrymandered districts, and then VOTE!
7
@American Abroad
I agree, but has anyone done an analysis to see what kinds of numbers are needed? I propose that Steyer and Bloomberg spend their money to support people’s moves to red domains. The risk I suppose is that once they move to the red states their views might align more with those communities.
2
Ah, yes, the reliable "Dems in disarray" piece. Thank you, NYT! May I remind you of the GOP primaries in 2016? "Reps in disarray"? Don't recall it ...
25
@CarolSon
Corporate media is not "liberal." Corporate media is corporate. That is their point of view. Promoting corporate power is their mission. The same shareholders own media as own military contractors and global banks.
Billionaires own controling shares in all mass news and only hire people that believe billionaires are the "Wealth Creators" and the Job Creators." That is how they control what most people think. It's effective because it is subtle. They don't so much lie, as leave out inconvenient truths (like global warming for one obvious example. Corporate media didn't HAVE to give as much credibility to deniers as real scientists. They wanted to because the shareholders wanted to.)
Follow the money and read between the lines
@CarolSon
But they are in disarray. They just failed on an impeachment effort and can't even seem to successfully hold a caucus in Iowa.
There is not one word in this article describing the arguments used to persuade Trump supporters to vote Democratic. If no evaluation is made regarding the relative merits of various approaches to issues and policies, how can we judge which methods will be successful in future dialogue?
15
To inhale the Trump story and believe is akin to Shirley Jackson's, "The Lottery". Trump acolytes are lining up to stone Senator Romney in an Gaslighting act with millions of rabid, hypnotic supporters. Trump is the Russian equivalent of Rasputin and the next 12 month will the strangest in human history.
14
Trumpies don't listen because they don't want liberal democracy. They don't want a nation in which an African-American can be a great president and in which they don't enjoy automatic racial privilege. They want an unequal society in which they are on top. Barack's fantastic performance freaked them out to no end, and the possibility of a strong female leader too was just too much for them to handle. That's it, racism and sexism - that's what's driving them and why an egalitarian knocking at their door can't get through. They don't want facts. They want pre-1960's, unthinking white privilege and a stable, predictable fantasyland with manicured lawns, and TV without black people, and women who don't work and who make beautiful dinners after staying home all day with the kids, and men who bring home the bacon pretty easily, without economic hardships. Otherwise, they'll blow everything up and turn to substance abuse, darn it!
38
There was unbridled hope among the resistance that he Special Counsel investigation led by Mueller would take down Trump.
First line of defense failed.
The Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court nomination debacle.
The Impeachment debacle with the lack of witnesses.
Second line of defense failed.
2020 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
Third line of defense.
Three strikes and your out...or third time's a charm?
I'm counting on Trump to pull a more daring bonehead move than UKRAINEGATE just before the election. (He never disappoints.)
Hopefully, the RESISTANCE will RERALLY and get over the top.
13
@Howard Levine
What "lack of witnesses"? There were 18 witnesses and 28,000 pages of documents in evidence.
1
Anti-Trump forces (ATF) consisting of members of both parties will fail for several reasons.
1) Trump has nerves of steel and his supporters are indeed a steel curtain.
2) It is the economy stupid.
3) The utter fiasco of the Dems Iowa caucus is a rude awakening of things to come if Dems gain power back, while the GOP caucus was conducted so smoothly that it was not even noticed. I had no idea that there was a GOP caucus occurring on the same day.
4) The Hyper partisanship and continuous persecution of a duly elected president currently in the congress is sickening to US independents. I met a guy who was very irate yesterday for the tax payer money wasted over the hyper partisan impeachment process over nothing more than a power struggle over a policy about Ukraine that many Americans trying to deal with their own problems cared little .
5) Many facts are on Trump's's side and the only 1 on the side of the ATF is that his call with Zelinsky from Ukraine with a history of being on the list of the top 3 most corrupt countries in the world was perceived as being improper because it was seen as being a favor to investigate a crooked American but instead assumed as an investigation of a formidable political rival Quid pro quo JB and his son. Considering that the real rival has yet to emerge and JB is not even in the top 3 of the Dems that could ultimately be nominated, the accusation is totally absurd. May be the Dem persecution of Trump actually exposed JB as a rotten apple.
14
@Girish Kotwal Funny, those of us who understand that this "president" is an amoral, crooked fraud, are often accused of living in a "bubble". I am increasingly seeing how Trump supporters are the ones living in the bubble. I could refute every single thing you say with facts, but it wouldn't make a difference. So you ran into a guy who was "very irate" at the money spent on the impeachment process? I wonder if Benghazi rings a bell, and that is so much worse because no wrongdoing was found. The "president" is guilty and every senator knows it. BTW, his Super Bowl party cost tax payers about $3.5 million.
14
@Maureen from Boston. Benghazi still rings a loud bell. It made a horrible difference, 4 brave Americans in our embassy died and the embassy itself burned down, a total humiliation for the Obama and Hillary illegal regime change Libya war. How many Americans died due to Trump asking a favor to investigate a crooked and corrupt American citizen?? Zero.
As far as living in a "bubble" ,who was living in a bubble thinking that Hillary Clinton was going to be the president elect for sure in 2016? Those who fail to feel the pulse of the country, the entire country and nothing but each and every individual voter in the country.
4
So here we are with a variation on the Times' favorite theme for flyover country "Trump supporters support Trump." Today's chapter, "Democrats just dither along, how pathetic is that."
9
This battle is being lost. People like a winner. Democrats don't look like winners. The possible ultimate candidate, Sanders, is an embryonic autocrat, unlikely to be elected, but likely to promote strife and disunity among Democrats, sure to sink their chances. Could learn a lesson from GOP, operating like a machine, well-focused, knowing how to mold public opinion. When staging 25 candidates, most with differing ideas and in conflict, shouting over each other, the Dems' message is lost, the strength of messaging is lost. It's a beauty contest, "Oh, I like that one," rather than preparation for a serious fight with Republicans. And they never found a star. Diversity, unless well-managed, is a weakness, not a strength. Dems don't take ownership for their weakness, building for years, and now too late for this election, to fix.
8
@blgreenie Diversity is a weakness? This is a diverse country, whether you like it or not.
9
The angst for democrats about the next election is understandable. The alternative to winning is unthinkable. However, Trump is likely least liked candidate to ever run for president. Let’s be optimistic, and let the dust of our own primaries settle. Someone will be our candidate. We just have to support that person. And get others to do the same.
18
@hddvt
According to Gallup, Trump is more popular now (49%) than Obama was (46%) at this point in his presidency
1
I have faith the right Dem will prevail. My very GOP 45* voting husband on inaugural day, while trump was crying about crowd size turned to me and said,"There's something wrong with him". He still thinks so.
21
To paraphrase Neil deGrasse Tyson, the good thing about the Information Age is it's true whether you want to believe it or not. I completely agree with the articles premise.The problem is that these are people who instead of changing their world view to conform with the realities simply deny the realities. It doesn't take an Einstein to figure out how that's going to end.
9
@Bill Langeman
What you may not see is that they also think the exact same thing. For instance the one thing both sides can agree on is that the impeachment process has been plagued by partisan politics.
The only thing they disagree on is whether it was when the president was being impeached on a party line vote or when he was being acquitted on a party line vote.
'The impeachment was deserved, the acquittal was partisan.'
'The impeachment was partisan, the acquittal was deserved.'
And it's this way on most issues. Twitter is such an appropriate microcosm of our society today: everybody ranting yet few people listening, unless it's something they already agree with.
3
While it certainly true that there are those on the left who have been passed by, It's not true that the two sides of the political spectrum are dealing with the information age in the same way. The left is changing the right simply says that they are going to build a castle on the beach and wait for the tide to come in.
So here's an example. Trump says that NAFTA moved factories overseas define cheap labor. That's irrelevant. The fact of the matter is in the future there aren't going to be factory jobs simply robots run by artificial intelligence.So those people looking to obtain new factory jobs so that they can have health care are bound to be sadly disappointed. This is a product of not realizing that the world is changing rapidly and refusing to recognize that it is. Which is exactly why we need universal health care among other things.
The problem with the right is not that they're partisan. The problem with the right is that they're delusional.
1
Not everything is about politics and should not be about politics. Americans ought to look around the world, read more to understand what gives birth to dictatorship. If only American schools would make every student learn World History and Geography , we would have a better informed society. As a parent of a high school sophomore, it disturbs me to see that World History , Geography, Algebra is an option in high school. You reap what you sow America. Teach your children to broaden their horizon.
12
I think there is no converting Trump voters in the short term. The long game should focus on education, marginalizing Fox news and other toxic propaganda outlets, healthy lifestyles, entrepreneurship, the environment, and local elections. The anger is real, but supporting Trump, though perhaps short-term cathartic for its schadenfreude "winning" braggadocio, will not create sustainable beneficial outcomes.
9
@PTNYC So the answer is Yang? He is getting former Trump voters on his side and is presenting a bold and positive vision for the future. He is the one who could really beat Trump because he doesn't play his game.
1
@Laurie That's a good suggestion. I like Yang and could definitely vote for him. But I was talking about longterm strategy beyond this election. I don't think there will be any conversions before November unless incontrovertibly shocking evidence of Trump's malfeasance is revealed. Democrats just have to make sure there is huge voter turnout and reach out to moderate, educated Republicans who may be interested in more than a tax cut and a bleak future.
1
Sometimes it is useful to look at what has happened over the years to other countries who embraced an autocratic and dishonest political regime.
The new GOP is sporting red hats and red ties and praising the kleptocracy of Russia under Putin. So, Russia is perhaps a good place to start. Prior to 1917 Russia was run by a royal elite, the Tsars, who kept most of the wealth to themselves. The people rebelled, supporting an idealistic democracy with a dramatically lowered income inequality. Unfortunately, this revolution was very quickly taken over by the authoritarian Communist Party. This new set of rulers did allow a slightly reduced income disparity, but again mostly kept the power and wealth to themselves and kept the public under rigid control. For decades, the truly monstrous Joseph Stalin was dictator. Look up holodomor and Ukraine.
After the death of Stalin, the Russian dictators were weaker and less "competent". Many ordinary Russians were nostalgic for Stalin. After the Soviet Union collapsed, the corrupt Communist Party was replaced by a network of newly-ultra-wealthy oligarchs, plus a sham democracy.
The GOP immediately rejoiced, saying that Russia was all fixed now. The ordinary Russian people kept yearning for the stability of a new dictator, which they got in Vladimir Putin. He seems to be popular enough to not have to totally rig his reelections.
1
Democrats lose if the conversation is about Trump, no mention here of the bleak future for working class people on PA, or impact of immigration and globalism on jobs. The leading Democratic candidates get this, sounds like the rank and file don’t.
2
What’s the definition of political insanity ? Trying to change the mind of a Trump fan. STOP wasting time, energy and Money on these people. They’re a lost cause, and it literally fuels their HATE.
It’s ALL about Voter turn-out. That’s numbers one thru ten in
“ How To Win “.
Seriously.
18
I just read this article in Politico entitled "An Unsettling New Theory: There is no Swing Voter" https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/02/06/rachel-bitecofer-profile-election-forecasting-new-theory-108944 . The premise, convincing the other side to vote for you is self defeating. For Republicans and Trump, they need to gin up their base. For Democrats, they need to convince their like minded citizens to vote Democratic not for the Green party. For these women in Western PA, please get out every vote for the Dems you can.
8
I will not expend any effort trying to shift hard Trump supporters to more reasonable candidates or positions on issues. They are a different culture and see the world in a completely different way. I'll concentrate my efforts on connecting with Democrats and independents who see things clearly, and I'll try to convince them to get to the polls- every election, every issue.
72
and register young voters!
10
"Yet somehow the old discredited values and longings persist. We still have tender feelings for such outmoded notions as truth, respect for others, personal honor, justice, equitable sharing. We still hope for a happy ending. We still believe that we can save ourselves and our damaged earth—an indescribably difficult task as we discover that the web of life is far more mysteriously complex than we thought and subtly entangled with factors that we cannot even recognize. But we keep on trying, because there’s nothing else to do."
Yesterday, my aunt sent me this quote from the novelist, Annie Prouix. Ms. Prouix, I believe, is right.
23
@NicePerson
And I will keep doing it as long as I can.
@McGloin Yay!
This will all shift once Dems have our nominee. But as time passes and we continue to fight within, the window of opportunity to unite against Trump shrinks. And our need to heal internal wounds on the way to uniting grows. I am astonished to see deep, intense divisions among friends who are Buttigieg, Warren or Sanders supporters. Really?? Support who you want, but stop demonizing everyone else. I think any Dem can beat Trump - but we have to have time to make the case for whomever. You can't go door to door on an idea of a candidate. (And please let the people decide - manipulating the primary outcome serves no one.)
28
Great reminder. This mission has always been tied to keeping the rage. Personally, I keep a listing of YouTube’s to help remind & motivate me to why Trump, his administration, & enablers need to go.
6
I don't feel this article helps us in our attempt to save our Democracy. Notice the Republicans NEVER publish anything except positives. We,Democrats ,need to start taking a page out of their playbook. I feel the same way about the polls that are published everyday. Did we not learn anything from 2016. I have no idea where the pollsters get their numbers because I find it unusual that no one I know has been polled. STOP feeding negative press about the Democrats and the coming election.
13
When their health care and Social Security get cut, maybe that will change their minds.
But by then it will be too late.
12
Jacinder Arden, New Zealand Prime Minister, was right when she said "I don't understand the Americans."
Who can understand a people who seemed divided over a pathological despot wanna be! The citizens of " the greatest nation in the world" elected a representative that made a mockery of common sense and age old wisdom and a party held hostage by an incoherent bankrupt!
25
There was a piece in the NYT yesterday where people from around the country visiting the National Mall were asked about there opinions about the impeachment. The ones that identified as republican were all against but none gave a good reason why. Most of their answers were, I just don't think he did anything wrong. Why didn't the interviewers ask each person what their primary news source was? Dollars to donuts, I'll bet every republican would have answered Fox News. If Trump wins again, they are the most responsible.
14
When Trump was elected, I really doubted that most of the 63 million who voted for him could be swayed otherwise this year.
But I KNOW there are a lot of Democrats who just didn't vote because they didn't "like" Hillary.
The Democrats have learned our lessons. The Trump supporters? Ignorance is bliss.
13
Republican voters stick with Trump for three reasons.
1) Barack Obama is black.
2) They think immigrants are taking their jobs.
3) Somewhere, right now, two guys are kissing and it freaks them out.
That's it. Everything else that Republicans stand for are demonstrably bad for them so the reasons can only be irrational.
92
You omitted one key factor, he feeds their anger, which blinds them to the truth.
14
@Hugh CC what about lower taxes for the wealthy?
6
Hmm, I don’t suppose the 187 new federal judges have anything to do with it? Half of all federal district court judges are now Trump appointees with life tenures. Mitch M. just teed up 5 more federal judicial nominees yesterday directly after the acquittal.
Then there are the 2 conservative SCOTUS justices. There’s also the removal of endless economy and freedom constraining regulations like Waters of the U.S. The economy is on fire. The President is a huge supporter of the 2d Amendment. Moreover, Trump is vocally pro-life.
You don’t appear to be aware of or able to deal with any of the above reasons for supporters of Trump to support Trump. Instead, you focus on identity politics-something which seems to turn at least as many voters off as on. See you at the second Trump inauguration.
13
What are the Democrats even offering at this point? Besides smug, condescending moral superiority?
27
@Greg Try expanding healthcare rather than working to make as many Americans uninsured as possible, protecting the environment rather than turning the clock back on all the progress we have made, a living minimum wage, an equitable tax code, and just generally not lying day-in and day-out about almost everything.
11
@Greg
Evidence based policy making and respect for the constitution spring to mind.
9
@Greg You've given us eight years of Bush and Cheney, Sarah Palin and the Tea Party and now a President who thinks Rush Limbaugh is one of the most honorable Americans. Can you really blame us?
3
More identity and Green Machine politics is sure to win over the heartland.
More telling old white men and women they are worthless and should just die.
More telling families of victims of illegal alien criminals that their loved ones didn’t matter and we need more illegal aliens.
More telling seniors we need to provide Medicare to all illegal aliens and that seniors should pay for it.
More telling hunters their guns should be taken away. Don’t just rip up speeches on national TV, rip up the Second Amendment on national TV.
More telling Christian bakers how they must decorate erotic cakes on demand or have their lives and businesses destroyed.
More having entitled students from the local liberal arts college shoplift from local stores and then telling the store owners that complaining about shoplifting is racist.
More telling religious folk that religion is a crutch and they are ignorant.
More telling the working class that globalism is good for them and that illegal border crossing must be decriminalized and more trade deals passed for big business.
More opposing fracking and natural gas. Especially in Pennsylvania.
In other words, just keep on being yourselves, progressives.
26
@Frank - it’s all about resentment, being a victim and more resentment isn’t it. There is no single positive, optimistic thing in this world view is there. I hope the Democrats put forward someone who can challenge this.
9
@Michael There is someone different, Andrew Yang. Frank, please go read his site or watch any one of his interviews on YouTube. Let's move forward from all of this division and negativity - there is always another answer.
1
@Laurie, I agree with you!
Andrew Yang is utterly different and in a good way. I have watched his interactions with small-group town halls in New Hampshire and he is an amazing, thoughtful, compassionate guy, who is thinking deeply about the core problems and how to empower ordinary people to deal with their practical challenges. A real breath of fresh air. And yes, I have donated to him.
2
As long as Republicans employ dirty tricks to win elections, like making it very hard for minorities to vote (they usually vote Democratic - imagine that), any talk about how Trump "won" the election and the rest of us need to get over it is total bull.
Trump did not "win" the 2016 election. He scraped by on a technicality. He was not the choice of the majority of the country. He did not win the popular vote. He is a minority president.
And the last time that happened when George W. Bush "won" over Al Gore the nation also suffered setbacks, although those appear to be minor compared to the damage Donald Trump has done.
He should never have been elected. And now we have 43% of the country holding the rest of us hostage. Hardly democracy in action.
26
@Len The electoral college is not a "technicality" but the constitutional method for electing a president. I get that people don't care for it, and there's an argument to be made. But it's not going anywhere anytime soon so Dems best learn how to win with the rules as written or remain in the minority.
14
@StuAtl
You are absolutely right. It's just so frustrating. The presidential election is the only contest in the country that does not use the "one person, one vote" metric. Twice in our lifetimes the EC has robbed the will of a majority of the nation.
I can understand how important it was in the 18th century to ensure candidates would campaign in rural and smaller states. But in today's world? With IT so prevalent? It is archaic and needs to go.
3
@Len There should be better ways. I would prefer allocating electoral votes by congressional district, which would eliminate unfair "winner take all" state votes and force candidates to spread their message beyond a few battleground states. It would lessen the influence of rural states while not allowing urban areas to hold all the power. But again, we might as well be arguing to change gravity because it's not likely in our lifetimes. Peace, brother.
1
Western PA born and bred here. There is a resentment and anger there that gained impetus from closed plants, closed mines, lost industries and a youth migration to other states where economic opportunities are better. My own hometown has empty storefronts, incessant drug use and a cemetery with a higher population than the town.
These people are not lazy, stupid or anarchists. They are mad as hell and they are not going to take it anymore. They know Trump is a bad hombre. But he rattles the establishment, the people they see as their oppressors.
They know they are being led but they don't see an alternative.
101
Trump is going to get re elected by a wide margin, but the local races are where the changes are possible because the need to get things done is more immediate than what takes place in Washington. If the grass roots works against the President they are wasting their time, especially given who the democrats are running.
5
If they know they are being led then why are they parroting what comes out Trumps mouth and believing it? From what I see they have truly bought into the “fake news” conspiracy. Therefore in reality we are truly divided by a towering wall so those of us that still value the importance of good news sources and still have not given up humanity need to come out in full force in November.
16
The alternative is to relocate. I also was born and bred in Western Pennsylvania. So grateful our mother (a WWII WAC) had the courage my brother and I to a healthy area of the country. Florida’s not great these days but still miles better than Mercer County.
12
You can't knock on someone's door, and attack them, and expect them to be convinced.
You also can't just attack the choice to which they committed, an ego-commitment that they own.
You can however sell them on a new idea, on something better. "Hey, that is new, and even better," is not an attack on them or on the past choice they've identified with.
That is why campaigning as "not-Trump" does not work. It is an attack on the voter and past choice that is needed to change.
That is why a positive different idea is needed, be it Bernie or Warren or Buttigieg or someone else offering another way. The Biden approach can't reach the critical voters who chose Trump before, and are now identified in their own minds with the choice they made.
Face it, "I was wrong" is not an easy sell. Even if the seller thinks it obvious, it is not the best approach.
25
The Progressives--Bernie, AOC, and the like--with their inability to compromise and their cries for revolution, are contributing to the weakening of the Democratic Party just when it needs to be most unified. Now is the time to unseat Trump and Trumpism--it is a time for evolution not revolution. Bernie and his enthusiastic foot soldiers fail to understand this. The critical voting sectors needed to oust Trump will never go for their message--nor their relentless harping on identity (words are easy--the social justice warriors should take a look at Bloomberg's Greenwood Initiative). The message of the Dem's Left wing is a humane one, unlike the messages of the Republicans right wing (or all of the Republicans these days, with a few principled exceptions like Romney) but it remains nonetheless a take no prisoners kinds of politics.
12
Focus on getting out the Democratic vote in record numbers, and on influencing swing voters, who are largely women. What are the issues women particularly care about? And how can Democrats present issues to women so they resonate? The environment, for example, is a huge issue. Women, who are natural caretakers, should be reminded that their children will be affected in the not very distant future. Make it personal. Remind voters very specifically what Trump has done to destroy our environment in just three years. Democrats are the clear choice if you care about clean water, clean air, and a safe environment.
4
Y’all remember when Michael Cohen literally went to prison because of payments to cover up an affair to an adult film star... payments Trump was on tape discussing? And it didn’t change Trump’s poll numbers.
The only reason Trump (aka Individual 1) wasn’t indicted on multiple felonies is because of an OLC memo that was written by Nixon loyalists who were trying to protect Nixon from being indicted on criminal charges after the break in at the Watergate Office Building states an opinion that a president cannot be indicted.
And that’s the only reason. After that, I knew no Trump supporter would ever change their mind. Ever. Trump was not kidding when he said he could shoot someone and not lose any support. And that is terrifying.
13
@Austin Ouellette
No, the OLC report/DOJ policy is not "the only reason." That's not what the Mueller Report says, and it is not what Mueller said in his testimony to Congress. You are spreading false information.
3
@Austin Ouellette
This really is misinformation. Mueller was specifically asked in his testimony if he didn't indict Trump because of the OLC memo and he replied no.
1
This is an important article. The dependence on fossil fuels in the region discussed is surely a big reason for Trump's unwavering support. But there are three other factors at play:
1. Fox News. The impact Fox has had on our nation's politics has been staggering. There are many who watch Fox several hours daily.
2. The Democratic party turning left with its emphasis on social liberalism. Sanders and Warren cannot compete nationally, much less win. If either is nominated--especially Bernie--the result will be a 1972 or 1964 victory for Trump with major Republican gains in Congress.
3. The economy and relative stability. Trump has been president for three years, and the world has not ended. The stock market keeps going up. Were Trump a normal president, his popularity rating would be 60 percent plus.
4. Cynicism. Too many believe that all politicians lie, cheat and use office for personal gain. Trump has almost reached the point where he is scandal-proof.
13
@Richard - "…social liberalism…"
Aka, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all (people) are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
2
It's amazing how the media treats The lack of dissent in the Republican Party as normal and good, while treating the actual democratic processes of disagreement, discussion, and slow unification in the Democratic Party as evidence of some kind of corruption.
The fact that the Republicans march in lock step, all repeating the same phases, means that they are listening to their donors, not their constituents. That is corruption.
17
@McGloin
"actual democratic processes of disagreement, discussion, and slow unification in the Democratic Party as evidence of some kind of corruption."
The hack of the DNC emails in 2016 showed plenty of corruption in the party. Officials working in concert with corrupt press members, people conspiring to keep the nomination from Bernie, people leaking debate questions to a candidate.
It was so bad the head of the DNC had to resign. Remember?
1
Hopefully the Democrats will learn the lesson now, instead of November, that the extravagant promises of free college education, government health care, and student loan forgiveness may work well in front of a primary audience but not a national election. Like it or not the middle road is what people want. They actually do want the parties to work together.
16
It must be super hard to try and persuade blue collar and rural voters anywhere to abandon Trump if they already support him. These voters are not moved by Trump's blunders in diplomacy, or his cold policies towards immigrants, his climate change denial or his anti-liberal social policies. In fact, many or most agree with him. Further, his foul mouth and his assault on national institutions doesn't register with them. What does register is a strong economy and availability of jobs. If their 401Ks are growing robustly and the country is not at war they just aren't going to support a Democrat with a dozen public policy priorities that they are largely indifferent or even opposed to.
Without an economic argument, other than the standard idea that millionaires and billionaires are getting richer and richer, there isn't a compelling reason for the white working class to gravitate towards someone challenging Trump for the nomination. The fact that he is everything the press says he is just isn't enough.
6
I've been telling blue state folks for awhile that Trump's backers are dug in hard here in Flyover Land. And while you may comfort yourselves thinking they are a minority, they still have electoral power in states Dems have to win back. Winning by wider margins in New York and Cali does nothing but pad the inconsequential popular vote total. You can shake your fist at the sky and rail against the system or you can get to work and nominate a candidate who can beat Trump under the rules as written. Otherwise, we get four more years of nonsense. One party may have sold its soul but is all about winning and knows how to stay in power. Will the opposition learn its lessons or keep stumbling along in the same direction? The people get the government we choose and deserve.
8
I'll bet at least 90% of the immovable Trump supporters watch Fox News only. I don't believe it's any more complicated than that.
8
@Scott Kurant
Hillary didn't think it was complicated either. How'd that work out?
4
@Scott Kurant
So what? Even if you are exactly correct, what difference does it make?
How are you going to change those people's TV-watching habits? There's little or no chance of getting Fox News off the air.
No canvassing about idealogical ideas will move any needle in Western PA or elsewhere. Unless
the Democrat Party can offer up a clear cohesive “better life plan” to massively improve infrastructure (rebuilding schools, energy farms) and health care, we will have “Gritty” in the House another 4.
1
The whole “resistance” idea seemed childish from the start and certainly would have no impact on Trump
13
@Dish
But they looked great in all those pink hats
As a liberal in Texas, I can totally relate to the weary exhaustion here. Sometimes, it’s a victory just existing in the desert, proving there’s an alternative, particularly to young people. Practice some self care, pace yourselves, lift each other up and soldier on. It is a long slog, but we can do this!
5
'Trump people' have fallen religiously and piously on 'the economy', as a consequence of our constant social doping.
Telling Tp's it 'ain't so life/death as all that' is a fool's errand. They have what they think is a way to support the tyrant and that's it. They say 'look at the numbers'!
However, it is effective to point out it is not true. Show the Tp's the facts -- starting with Obama's role in saving our system in 2008, and from 2008-2016 building, carefully, our fairly rock-solid economic foundation. And that Trump is mainly living off that and the trillion dollar loan he foisted onto our national debt via tax cuts undermining that foundation.
6
What kind of a moral coward would obey a person as corrupt as Trump? And if a GOP senator is “afraid” of Trump, what does that say about their own fitness for office? This is another argument for strict term limits. If a senator were only elected for a maximum of six years, they wouldn’t be thinking about their next election and could show some integrity.
3
The clear winner here is that RBG shirt, which I’ve now purchased.
6
Reading some of the comments here, calling Trump supporters every name in the book, it's no wonder Democrats keep losing.
Like CNN's recent mocking of Trump supporters (many who voted for Obama, but whatever...), or Secretary Clinton's "Deplorables" comment, it's hard to hope to win the vote of folks you despise.
And by your words here-- you despise them.
20
@profwilliams
It is rather odd that Democrats don't realize that people they repeatedly insult won't vote for them
1
Stop wasting time trying to convince Trump voters. Anyone who can stand by him after 3 years of corruption, pettiness, idiocy, hatred and greed is complicit at this point. We don’t want them back anymore. They’re too far gone.
Take a break. Take a beat. Take a breath and then come back roaring in late spring and summer. Let’s turn out more votes than ever before. Let’s register more people than ever before. And let’s, above all, remind the GOP and the Trump accomplices that WE ARE THE MAJORITY.
42
@Max Agreed. I have family in the Deep South, and the folks of a certain age are not budging. For reasons that are often ridiculous. Guns being a major one. Plus the racism that they will always refuse to acknowledge.
You’re never going to change their views on race. My father and stepmother actually changed churches because their minister was apparently too welcoming of the needy from Mexico and Central America. But when Democrats propose even modest changes to gun laws, the Republicans counter with “they want to take your guns!”, and it sticks.
The sign of hope is the young. Most of the children of my siblings and stepsisters are liberal. To them, Trump is about as cool as Lawrence Welk. So to me, trying to “change minds” of Trump supporters is wasted time. The focus has to be on reaching and registering young people and disaffected non-voters. That is the mother lode.
8
What these people don't talk about is the source of the unity of the Right: religion - a religion that thinks God is an old white guy, with a son whose job includes flitting around making snap (and pretty arbitrary) decisions on who is going to make a touchdown at the high school football game. (Must be very busy on Friday nights.)
These same people watch Fox for news (the rest of you guys are all "fake," after all!) and "reality" TV for entertainment, think that anybody who goes to college, or even dares to learn how to spell or speak their own language correctly is an "elite," that environmental degradation is a hoax, and have little to do with anyone who is not white, straight and Protestant (and not all of them.)
My advice is to quit trying to change their minds. Work instead on rooting out and ending voter suppression and the gerrymandering of voting districts. Bright lights and public attention on these corrupt practices are the only things that will change voting results.
The Religious Right has been at this game for 40 years, and our current predicament is the result, but we can turn it around. Do what they did: start at the local level—school boards and mayoral races, for instance. Taking back the power from this Cult is going to take time and perseverance.
And don't forget about the Youth movement—those kids who are sick of being afraid of being shot at school. They will be a force for the gun-loving, so-called Christian Right to reckon with.
45
@LJMerr
I think young people can go both ways. Tired of taking care of their parents because pensions have been shut down by companies declaring bankruptcies, paying for additional medicine or driving them to hospital. Cant be on call 24 hrs with there family, work and try to go to school. Tired of their neighbor's shooting up their fellow citizens whether they be in church, supermarket .concert etc.
They have been most affected by Trumps policies. Young people dont have a life full of promise but a life full of family obligations . Only a heartless soul would leave their parents to fend for themselves.
Young people deserve a chance at life just like Trump's worthless selfish children.
@Tony Thanks for your comment. My niece takes care of her mother, 24-7, since a debilitating stroke. It's hard on both of them, and tho my niece is way past college age, both of her children have just started college in the last couple of years. They both had to keep their grades high, to get scholarships, and find somewhere to go in-state, as they couldn't afford to do otherwise. And I'm not really sure what kind of hope they have for their own futures.
I'm sure you're right about how young people will go, politically, and I feel for anyone that has to face today's challenges. I guess we'll be seeing what will happen over the next several years. I believe it's very important that Trump has a 1-term presidency, if we, as a country, can begin to dig ourselves out of the pit we're in, before it's too late to deal with environmental issues, massive debt and other things.
1
It is not true that “nobody cares about municipal elections”!!! My borough is 45min north of Washington, PA, past downtown Pittsburgh and closer again to the farms of rural Butler County and the hyper-republican Beaver County.
With hard work and canvassing we flipped 3 seats blue on our 7 member town council. Granted, the Republicans still have a one-person majority, but that margin was super-tight. This board was republican-only for at least the last ten years that we’ve lived in this area.
You can do it, Washington!
14
The Democrats are becoming the party of shrill anti-white and anti-male grievance, not to mention coastal elitism. Good luck getting a majority of these small town white people to vote for a party that harbors contempt for them.
16
A vain exercise - You're talking about people that vote on one issue - abortion. It matters not that Trump was a left leaning pro-choice playboy the majority of his life.
Additionally you're trying to argue with a huge chunk of people that think the earth is 10000 years old and Adam and Eve literally existed. There's no way the're going to switch to a baby killing socialist "librelll".
10
Fight the good fight, Democrats. You're on the side of the angels. We believe you can do it.
9
Thank you to all the organizers who go deep into trump country and put up with ignorance, hatred, and bullying. Unfortunately at the end of the day you can’t fix stupid, and if people want to vote against their own self-interest, well, we get what we deserve for our lack of education—especially civics—and for our decaying morals as a society.
8
Trump country....
There was a reason Trump gave that medal to Rush, it was a stunningly loud dogwhistle to Trump Country's racists...they have a champion in the White House, who is building an empire on white supremacy and the rich getting richer.
Blowing that dogwhistle gave Trump many, many votes that he didn't have to campaign for, and that will serve him well in the Electoral College.
Hugh
11
What you anti-Rush zealots, who never actually listen to his show, don’t realize is that the show is mostly brilliant political analysis.
1
With so many of the electorate only marginally engaged in the realities of Washington politics, the propaganda of Hannity, Pirro, Ingraham, Carlson, Limbaugh, et al is tremendously powerful. Those pundits will paint Democrats as Satan incarnate, and their viewers fail to tune into anyone or anything else. "Democracy dies in darkness."
13
The cult like Republican voters who are all in for Trump's policies, but think he is a jerk, need to pay a little more attention to the realities of those policies. Rescinding some of the Clean Water Act provisions, sure as heck are not going to be helping those voters. Stripping out pre existing disease provisions will not help them, it may bankrupt some of them. Denying global warming is not going to help them.
What help's Trump supporters is the false sense of importance they feel and the support for their righteous indignation they feel against the "others". The others may be immigrants or they may be people who live in cosmopolitan sections of their state. Followers need a leader and Trump has his, this has been the case since history has been recorded. Much to our dismay.
9
You're all wasting your time. We don't need to convert Trumper's. We need to convince people who voted for Obama in 2008 and 2012, but who wouldn't vote for Hillary in 2016, to vote for the Democratic nominee if Bernie doesn't win the nomination we need to make sure his supporters don't begrudge the winner because they think somehow Bernie has been scammed if Bernie does win, he needs to pick a VP from the Midwest, like Buttigieg or Klobachar. See, Bernie's a hard head, and if he wins the nomination he may load up his ticket with somebody equally left. He doesn't sense his weakness in the general election. He's a firebrand, not a political genius.
14
Mitt Romney: the last Republican in Congress. Power, not the law, the facts, morality, nor civic norms, matter to Mr. Emoluments & his Trumpublican grifters. Trumpublicans dishonor the Constitution, the rule of law, & have abandoned republican principles. Gaslighting & thuggery are all part of Trumpublicans tools of the trade.
An historic Blue Wave that retakes Congress is our civic & moral responsibility.
Until then investigate thoroughly, & impeach repeatedly.
2
What you call “infighting” I’d prefer to call argument and debate. Republicans seem to me quite similar to Chinese communists-don’t speak until you know what the leaders want you to say, always be looking over your shoulder in case you’ve gotten out of line and someone has noticed, ignore the evidence of your own eyes and ears if it conflicts with what the leaders are telling you, etc. communism demands total allegiance to a group mentality, as does the contemporary GOP. Democrats argue about issues that are profoundly important, with nuance, passion, urgency, and it is messy, sometimes contradictory, infuriating. That’s what free societies look like.
75
@MH All true, but your approach describes the choice Democrats face: They can win the argument nobly or they can win the election. If you don't win, it's all talk. Republicans right now don't care about how history will view them, only about vote totals. You can't beat a street fighter with lofty ideas.
3
@StuAtl True in a way, though it depends what kind of a country you prefer to live in.
1
@MH I prefer the one you describe, my friend, but there are many others who think differently and they currently have the floor in the Senate and White House. You can work to persuade others to your side and rise above them or sit and sulk as they rule the day. You have to win.
I think they might be wiser registering their own voters .
8
When one steps back it is clear that the current democrat party is the swamp and now considered dinosaurs on the political landscape. They have been trying to stay relevant with the Russia collusion game and then the impeachment game. Their time is up. The real question is whether in 2024 the people of the United States will vote for a career politician for President. I do not think so. The people want promises delivered and results.
13
Promises, promises...Did you see the picture of the Wall blowing over?
@Realist personally, I find the revelation that the wall requires massive floodgates that must remain open for months at a time to be more amusing.
I empathize with the workers for Democratic candidates in Pennsylvania and in other places; it certainly has to feel like an unending uphill slog.
But keep cheerful, and reflect on this: Trump and his cronies can't help themselves. He and they are certain to be revealed doing more ridiculous and disgusting things in the run up to November 2020. (The information from Bolton is sure to come out even if there are attempts to repress his book, and I am sure there will be other revelations--it's just what these people do.)
Those people dazzled by the cult of Trump aren't changing their minds even if he does shoot someone on Fifth Avenue--they want that person who says and does what they feel they would be disparaged for saying and doing, mostly about "those people". But there are persuadables out there--they just have to be persuaded to vote Blue, and those who generally already vote Blue have to wise up and do it no matter who the Blue candidate is--pouting over petty differences is what got us here in the first place. Focus on that.
23
@Glenn Ribotsky
I agree with all that, unless Democrats nominate Bloomberg. If they do, I will never vote for a major party candidate again.
I know it seems like I didn't hear a word you said, but Bloomberg is a special case. I cannot vote for Bloomberg anymore than Romney could clear Trump. We all have our limits.
Why in the world would Republicans flip and go against Trump? What do the Democrats offer them?
Rampant and pervasive reverse discrimination against whites and Christianity, hostility to marriage and traditional family structure, hostility to their suburban and rural schools.
Hostility to energy, to construction, to mining, to farming, to banking and finance, to insurance. Hostility to the cars and trucks that are absolutely essential in their thinly developed suburbs and rural areas. Hostility to hunters and carnivores, hostility to recreational boaters and people who use the land, not just look at it.
Only a fool would vote so clearly against their own interests.
20
I love their dedication and willingness to fight, but I think it’s mostly a waste. Trumpists’ minds are gone. Trump has them hypnotized. Our only hope is to get sane people to the polls in sufficient number that the Trump zombies are overwhelmed.
39
I don't think those who support Trump realize the damage he is doing. Their lives continue to remain largely unchanged and they think that despite all the crazy stuff he does and the lies he tells, we're all still here and everything is fine. And some people just want to be told what to do and want to be ruled.
25
@LV
The Right base of this country is against political equality for all citizens. If you don't believe me, go ask some of them about it.
The Constitutional requires political equality for all citizens. (It was a necessary ingredient of democracy, but the the Right tried to get rid of political equality with the civil war, so the rest of us of us ratified the 14th Amendment to make it clear.)
This means that the Right is against the Constitution.
They know what Trump is doing. They are helping him.
You haven’t defeated your enemy until you’ve broken their will to fight. Trump is a fighter who doesn’t give up on his people, and we will not give up on him.
13
@Greg
Trump is most certainly a fighter and he never gives up. I agree.
But he fights ONLY for himself. If your name is not Trump, you’re delusional if you think he’s fighting for you.
8
And what exactly is that Trust fund baby “fighting” for? More deficit spending? More cruelty? More government corruption? Or is it you, the little guy? Yep, that rich game show host really understands the little guy - and how to pull the wool over their eyes
7
I get that rural conservative voters will vote for Trump. But how do they reconcile with his very likely demolition of ObamaCare with no reasonable alternative if gets a second term?
8
@JJ
Believe it or not, polls show that 85% of Americans are happy with their private insurance.
Where do you get that Trump voters are all dependent on Obamacare?
1
the NYTimes and its readership are certainly religious in their avoidance of an obvious truth about the 2018 Democrat "Blue Wave". That "wave" was only possible because Trump voters sat out that election, and the supra-majority of winning Democrats were moderates who won in Trump districts.
No one should expect a repeat of that. Nancy Pelosi's unforgivable years of useless theater climaxed with her shockingly lame, pre-calculated gesture of tearing up President Trump's SOTU speech. Did she really think the cameras would miss catching her applying preliminary tears to each page over the course of his speech? the praise she has received for that juvenile calculation reveals how low Democrats have yet to sink in their intensifying civil war.
what was clear within the first week of Trump's election is even clearer now: until Democrats can purge their Socialist fever entirely, they won't win the Presidency before 2024 at the very earliest.
America prefers that the Democratic Party complete its own civil war before America has to confront the horror of another, actual Civil War.
THAT would put a few large cities against a vast countryside, ultimately. no one would win, but the cities would be the bigger losers by far.
far better to head that off with some Democratic infighting, and Socialist Defeat.
10
Dems look angry. Consider inspire as alternative. Just place Romney’s impeachment video clip in front of a room and the entire room will be inspired. This is what changes hearts. Stop trying to change minds with Colbert style cynical statements (anger)
2
@Davidr I suppose Fox News would be a good place for the Dems to learn about not being angry and changing hearts.
2
If there are people like Romney, then there is hope.
Party sellouts over principles and truth will fail us all. There is no sustainable pathway with lockstep blind ambition. We have seen that behaviour before and it leads to nowhere good. If we are to grow as a healthy and productive society for all, we can only look forward and make the necessary plans to improve lives and society with a shared commitment to the truth.
There is no GOP anymore. We must expose them for what they have become...demagogues seeking to manipulate voters for power. Even Limbaugh, who will eventually die as we all will someday, may want to reconcile his use of bigotry, hatred and misogyny to propel his career with a come to Jesus moment by stating that it was all glitzy, fakey schtick and that he never meant any harm or hurt. We'll see.
51
@Leslie Duval
Romney made up his mind in October. Please don’t lionize him.
3
@Conservative Democrat
I think giving credit where credit is due need not be categorized as lionizing. That is some shade of overreaction that appears to permeate so much of our conversations today. At least he, finally, did the right thing when required.
6
@Leslie Duval
There are not enough of them. And THAT is a problem.
3
After listening to that ridiculous State of the Union speech in which he exaggerated everything in his favor I see a reckoning coming. He bragged about the stock market but in the investment news they talk about when is the inevitable collapse coming. It seems that the markets are up because the tax cut money, which has exploded the deficit, has been used by companies to buy back their own stock. It's a classic bubble. He bragged about low unemployment yet I know a lot of people who although they can get a job can't get one in the career that they studied and worked so hard for. Student debt is at absurd levels. He bragged about fracking making us oil independent yet when I read deeper into it I find that it is going to be short lived and the consequences of all the unregulated waste will be haunting us for centuries. Seems that a lot of that waste is radioactive and is just being dumped all over the place without any regard for the harm it is causing. It's raining money on the very top but the rest of the people aren't doing so well. More people have moderate wage jobs than ever before. Auto workers for example are now working for less than half what they used to make. I fear a sudden economic crisis just before the election as happened in 2008 and the Democrats were left to pick up the pieces. History may be repeating itself or at least running a variation on a theme.
47
Did you talk to any Bernie Sanders supporters? Because that's where the enthusiasm is. I wish centrists and media like the NYTimes would stop trying to crush that enthusiasm, but we can all clearly see that is not going to happen. They will carry water for Trump by vilifying Sanders and his supporters, then they will blame Sanders (again) if Trump wins.
29
@Glassyeyed
Exactly. It's time for moderates to choose a side.
1
long way to go - the game is 4 Q - 60 min - if youre down by a TD at the half it doesnt mean youve lost.
5
My heart goes out to the resistance trying to bring rational thinking to Trump supporters. But it's pretty hard, if not impossible to change minds constantly bathed in a toxic stew of Fox News propaganda and the angry raging conspiracy theories from talk radio. I gave up trying to understand neighbors' support for Trump when I got demoralized hearing them repeat one right wing media talking point or Trump lie after another, over and over ("what about Hilary's emails? She should be in jail!"). It's hard talking to people who have willfully adopted an entirely irrational party line and are apparently not willing to take a step back and consider whether any of it makes sense. It really is a cult-like phenomenon I did not think could catch on in my own formerly rational-minded country.
296
@CEC
Yes, exactly. Trump supporters wake up every morning and memorize the new lie. They are not interested in facts, logic, math, or science. They are against Reason, against the Enlightenment, and against the Constitution.
They are not interested in your compromise. They can only be outnumbered.
Moderates need to choose a side
7
@CEC
It helped when they intentionally destroyed our public education system and are willing to pay taxpayer's money to private schools, many of which are "religious" in their orientation.
3
I live in Morris County, a suburban country with little in the way of deep poverty. The Democratic Party can barely make a dent here and we are not at all like the distressed parts of western PA where manufacturing disappeared. As a former Republican, I see the Democratic message as a mixed one. They have great ideas about funding day care and the like, but then they get sidetracked by social justice issues.
The issue of gay marriage may be winnable, but expecting average citizens to accept the party line in matters like the status of transgender folks is a hard sell. It is like imposing a catechism on folks who simply don't know nor have reason to know much about the issue. (And remember, most folks have enough to do just to live their lives.)
Even black lives matters becomes problematical. Yes, it is essential but.. in towns in NJ, after the issue first arose, towns painted blue lines in the middle of yellow lines.
Democrats need to be realistic about the limits to what they should speak about.
28
@Terry McKenna "Gay" marriage is the law of the land.
It was won years ago.
1
@profwilliams no one is saying it is not - I clearly separated it from other issues. But.. this is not about my personal views but about the reality on the ground. gay marriage has won, just like desegregation won in 1954, but folks are not fully won over. so what do you do? i would prefer to knock off Trump and win the senate.
2
Following his election in 2008, the former President Obama stated to Senator McCain "Elections have consequences".
Well, the 2016 election had consequences.
If people want things to go "their way", they just have to win elections. Simple.
This requires convincing voters - not merely going around in a snit of self-righteousness.
The main focus for the "resistance" (more accurately: non-believers in voting as a means of determining policy) should be on the 2020 election - and the elections after that.
Regrettably, the point of the spear for the "resistance" movement since 2016 has been the NY Times, with its weighted opinion columns that represent only one end of the spectrum of opinion.
23
@Sunny 4 Life
“If people want things to go ‘their way’ they just have to win elections. Simple.”
Except when one side has the advantage of using the full weight and resources of the Federal government in pursuit of winning.
Except when one side has the advantage of de facto state propaganda TV to distort facts, outright lie, and energize a fearful base with fear of “the other “.
Except when one side has the informal power of unleashing violence by tweeted dog whistles to whatever deranged devotees may be out there, encouraging physical attacks on his opponents and critics.
The democratic process you suggest is no longer available in this country. That is what the betrayal of the Republicans has cost us.
15
@Sunny 4 Life
And the 2018 election had consequences. Or does it only count when Republicans win?
Both 2016 & 2018 national election results appear to contradict your point. In each case, existing federal power was defeated at the polls.
If Democrats spend less time chasing the latest foolish Trumpism and focus on what we are in favor of, the pattern will hold in 2020.
Leadership is more than opposing Trump. A strong platform and a big tent will win in 2020.
1
True conservative values are not political or social.
They're economic. The conservative uses other people's money to gain wealth, they conserve their wealth.
You're in debt and you lose money while you sleep.
The rich use that capital for investments that make them money while THEY sleep.
Gun rights, abortion, racial issues, are all distractions while the rich suppress votes, insure reelections of politicians and the seating the judges who will pass favorable regulations and tax law to make the rich richer and feed the beast.
They own their side of the political aisle.
62
Unfortunately, a democratic door to door canvasser in a rural republican area is up against the biased torrent of Fox News.
If that’s not the very definition of taking a water pistol to a gun fight, I don’t know what is.
I really hope they don’t give up though.
53
@Allan B
Feet on the ground can be more persuasive than pundits on TV.
Democrats keep losing because they keep attacking their own activists instead of the Republican "activists" that commit or call for literal violence in the streets
Money only wins elections if actual citizens don't try to convince others of the truth.
Obama sent his movement home after the election and negotiated with corporations in secret. He got nothing done.
Trump keeps his activists motivated and active.
The Democratic Party leadership is more afraid of their own base than they are of Republicans as that is why they keep losing.
The values of the Left base are aligned with the Constitution. The values of the Right base are opposed to the Constitution. Democrats who would rather compromise with the Right base than the Left base made Trump president.
We need a Democrat that understands that movements force Congress to do the right thing, so you have to keep your movement motivated.
Don't scold your base. Encourage them. We need everyone who is willing to go communicate in public to do that.
Republicans understand that you move the middle of pubic opinion by pushing at the extremes. They call it the Overton Window.
Democrats need to stop letting them control the conversation.
3
I was born in Pennsylvania and lived there most of my life. I started out registering as a Republican in '68, but that only lasted until Nixon was impeached in '74 and I suddenly realized how far Republicans were willing to go to obtain power over others.
Thank goodness I wised up and moved to California twelve years ago so that I could actually enjoy life in my later years. Funny that I don't miss either the racism or the hate...
80
They don't have to change the minds of any trump voters. Just get the democratic base out. We far outnumber the republicans.
And stop fretting over every obstacle and every disagreement of the democratic candidates. Just spread the mantra of unification when the nomination emerges.
We can do this!!!
239
@richard g About Democrats "far outnumbering the republicans", that is wishful thinking at best.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_party_strength_in_U.S._states
The 2 parties are evenly split. You will have to persuade Independents to vote for Democrats, but instead you often insult them.
And Democrats are anything but unified- look at the Kabuki theater masquerading as the primaries. There is still hope, but not by using phony cheerleading.
3
@mcbold
The Dem primary is Kabuki theater?
Get out of town. Apart from Ohio's tech faceplant this is exactly how things are supposed to work.
2
@richard g
Look at the history of Amendments to the US Constitution. Almost all of the Amendments have been left leaning amendments that made citizens more equal and gave them more influence over government.
Amendments require super-majorities to pass, and the Left has passed dozens of them.
The problem is that the Democratic Leadership refuses to activate the Left base, but instead attacks them while trying to compromise with Republicans.
The amendment history of the USA, including the recent ratification of the ERA by Virginia openness the USA is a Left of center nation.
You and the Democratic "leadership" need to stop saying the opposite.
The Left base is aligned with the Constitution.
The Right base attacks the Constitution.
Moderates need to choose a side.
Democratic Centrists need to compromise with their own base.
Hillary Clinton is actively hurting the party at this point. So are calls for things most people reject, like abolishing ICE.
The efforts of these good people in Pennsylvania are being undermined by people and proposals in their own party.
It is probably easier to convert some Trump supporters than it is to get Clinton to be quiet, or to get some politicians to stop calling for decriminalizing illegal border crossings.
And when we can't sort ourselves out, how do we convince others?
34
It’s depressing but until we have a Dem nominee it’s hard to make predictions about the election. If Dems can unite and generate genuine enthusiasm, at least in their own ranks, about the candidate they may well beat Trump. November is far away, a lot of things like Iowa and impeachment will have lost their emotional impact by then.
9
Show your prescription medication (e.g. an insulin pen) and explain the cost in the US ($70) vs Canada ($9).
Focusing on Trump is a losing proposition.
102
@Erik
We need to both promise to help people with the things they need, and attack Trump.
Trump attacks the Constitution and that is a motivating factor for many people. Don't tie one hand behind your back
I am greatly encouraged by the work of these earnest Democrats. I understand the despair of some of them about the hardening of political loyalties, but think it’s good to focus on the way that Ben Bright looks at this situation: cease trying to reach Trump supporters and place the energy on working with existing passionate Democrats and moderate-left independents to go to the polls next November. The job of trying to convince people who currently vote Republican to consider alternatives will only become possible after Trump has left office; only then will their organizing principle be taken from them.
The Democratic Party has a challenge unlike the monolithic Republicans, who have the “advantage” of appealing those with ethnically-centered white fears of loss of power. It must define a common core of principles that unites many disparate constituencies. We as Democrats may need to operate internally like a parliamentary system, with “parties” being constituencies (the Democratic socialist “party”, the Third Way “party”, etc.). Maybe this is the way to generate a coherent political machine in the future.
13
Scientists have done many psychological studies showing that it is extremely difficult to a person's minds once it is made up. Our brains are hard-wired this way; once we have fabricated a "coherent" structure in our heads about something, it becomes our reality. (Good books on this subject are "Influence" by Robert Chaldini, and "Thinking, Fast and Slow" by Nobel Laureate Daniel Kahnemann.) Apparently the very best way to ensure that a person doesn't change his/her mind is to get that person to state a position in public, and then sign a document in public setting forth that position. Grover Norquists's "No New Taxes" pledge, which works precisely this way, has guaranteed for years and years to keep Republican signers from ever agreeing to increase taxes.
So, what does this all mean for the Democrats?
It means Democrats shouldn't bother knocking on doors to try to talk people into switching sides. Instead, they need to spend their time getting Democratic voters registered, making sure they know where their polling places are, and getting them to the polls.
Registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans by 18 million people, and represent 40% of the registered voter population, versus 28% for Republicans. So despite the obstacles the Republicans have put in place to create a non-level playing field, Democrats CAN win back the Senate and the White House by turning out the Democratic vote.
191
Good points, but keep in mind that the Republicans are working tirelessly at voter suppression in order to counteract or even override the Democrats’ ability to register new voters and get them to the polls.
24
@ALB
Yes and also understand that Independents are not halfway between Republicans and Democrats but are actually independent.
Many Independents like me, are to the left of the Democratic Party. We need to give them a reason to vote. Moving right keeps many people home that want to vote for good policy, not compromise with a party full of traitors.
And if the Democratic Party offers me Bloomberg against Trump, I'm going to apply for political asylum in another country before the election.
1
@Socrates . . . I was about to make that point, but you already have. Nonetheless, ALB's point is true.
The industrial heartland used to be solid, Union-strong Democratic territory. But the party has lost those once-reliable districts by systematically, and as a function of actual policy, alienating the voters on the issues they value most: jobs and establishment culture. A moderate Democrat can win; we’ve seen this already. But the party is barely able to keep its progressive forces in check, and among the likely Democrat voters in western Pennsylvania (and Ohio and Michigan, etc), the quickest way to turn a former Obama voter into a Trump supporter - perhaps grudgingly but that doesn’t matter - is another reminder that the urban progressive political agenda defines the Democrats. Oh we can say the progressives are about jobs and unions and health care, but the message is muddied by progressive cultural priorities and the relentless attacks on corporations, especially fossil fuel industries - a big source a jobs in western Pennsylvania and Ohio, among other states. You will say, so what, we need to save the planet, or we need to rein in corporate greed. That message is effective in the big cities but simply falls flat in the heartland because we are asking those voters to make the real sacrifices while we urban dwellers are unaffected. Do you think the once Dem blue collar voters in Ohio don’t know that?
20
@MWR Amen. And padding the vote totals in progressive strongholds does nothing to move the electoral needle. The problem with the primary system is Dems have to appeal to the ideological purists to get votes, but that doesn't play well outside of deep blue areas. For those who don't believe that, I point to the scoreboard. And to the Oval Office and who's in there now. You get results by winning.
5
@MWR
Centrists are the ones that compromised with Republicans to create the bad policies that created the Rust Belt.
Now the Centrists are trying to protect these bad policies even though both bases have now rejected them. Trump is running to the left of these Centrists and blaming Democrats for these policies, because he knows that the results of forty years of Republican policy has decimated the middle class.
The Republican Party spent forty years demanding "unfeterred free trade" with China, while the Left opposed it. Instead of admitting the Left was correct the whole time, Trump blames it on the Democrats. And the Democrats, nstead of saying the Left was correct the whole time, and finally embracing their own base, are protecting these unpopular policies that created the Rust Belt.
The Left was correct about free trade. Fair trade is the solution.
The Left was correct about Iraq, and other forever wars based on lies.
The Left was correct that deregulating global banks would lead to economic disaster.
The Left was correct that the drug war was was a political exercise designed to put minorites and Left activists in prison.
The Left was correct that tax cuts for the rich never raise revenue and never creates more than a short bubble.
The Right was wrong and the center keeps helping them destroy the economy, the Constitution, and the Earth.
The Left is correct. Stop believing greedy, violent, liars.
Left to win.
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@McGloin How's that working out so far? I repeat, you get result by winning. Being right gets you mild satisfaction and little else.
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Millions of Americans live vicariously through Mr. Trump. The same most certainly cannot be said for Mr. Biden, Ms. Warren, or any of the Democratic candidates for president.
Politics is -- and always has been -- about the accretion and maintenance of power. More than any of his predecessors, Mr. Trump understands this.
And, most importantly, unlike any of his predecessors, Mr. Trump does not care one iota about what his opponents think of him. And this, I would submit, is the secret of both his appeal and of his strength.
Ultimately this, I believe, is why he will be unbeatable in November.
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@David H - every factor you mention here — building personal loyalty, accretion of power, and a tough hide — are not only operating principles in politics in a democratic republic, but in authoritarian, oligarchic, and totalitarian regimes. The one factor you left out — principles— is what distinguishes our system from the others. Not having principles or breaking claimed ones predisposes our system of government into slouching toward state control without accountability.
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@Robin Underhill
Whether principles have indeed been broken is in the perception of the beholder.
As I have stated on these pages dozens of times, I am no fan of Mr. Trump, but being hated and despised for being coarse, vulgar and for pushing the envelope because one has no sense of presidential decorum is NOT the same as being hated and despised for demonstrably committing a criminal offense that rises to the level of impeachable acts.
I believe that if and when Mr. Trump does something that is manifestly illegal, a strong Senate majority will vote to oust him from office.
Until then, the sham impeachment that we just witnessed will do nothing but continue to weaken the Democratic party.
(I should hasten to add that on a personal note, if Pete B. is the democratic nominee, I will be the first to vote for him.)
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@David H - Putting aside my disagreement with you about the manifestness of Trump’s offense, I would certainly hope that the Senate would convict him in future for an impeachable offense. But my statement of the necessity of principles in our political system comes to the fore - I think the Republican Senators would put party over country again. And I don’t adhere to the relativistic notion of principles (telling the truth, eg) — if we don’t have a core set that no one would dispute, we are nothing but a collection of ideas, not a country.
I’ll add that I like Pete too— though am concerned that he doesn’t have the broadness of support at this point. Though I prefer Bernie, I would vote for Pete if he were the nominee.
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It’s good to see that the Democrats are starting to realize where their failures are. Their Tea Party wing is driving voters to the GOP in droves.
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@Captain Nemo "Their Tea Party wing" No such thing.
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@Captain Nemo
You mean their "wing" that wants health care for all, lower education costs, and higher wages?
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@CarolSon
No. He means the wing that wants to nationalize healthcare, and have it administered by the same geniuses who ran the Iowa caucus. He means the wing that wants to forgive student loan debt without a means test. The wing that wants open boarders and to abolish ICE. The wing that doesn't understand, but still wants to break up hi-tech. That wing.
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They don't have to change the mind of every Trump voter, just enough to help remove him from office on November 3rd.
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@Tom
You are absolutely right.
I have long stated that it is a complete waste of time to try and change the minds of Trumpsters.
Like their leader, they will not change.
Efforts need to spend on turning out Democratic voters, and registering Democrats.
Trumpsters are immovable bricks.
Step over and around them carefully.
Don't get tripped up!
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@Tom
Correct; elections these days are won and lost at the margins. But there's another thing: Michael Moore often points out that the biggest party is not the Democratic or Republican Party but the stay-at-home party. Give its members something to vote for; getting even 5% of them to the polls means you don't have to waste your resources trying to convert the hopeless cases.
10:10 EST, 2/06
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Folks in rural MN and WI, where I live and travel extensively for work, dislike Trump, his Twitter rants, and the Republicans who fall in line behind him but they like his policies. They’ll vote for him but it’s likely they will vote out their Republican representatives because they see he needs to be checked.
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@Karin Kingstad
What policies do they like? Very frightening that people in mass can’t see what is happening to our country.
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Advertising is wasted when you don’t have a compelling product.
That’s the situation the Democrats are in: no national leader to rally around, no plank in their platform that resonates with GOP voters, and a brand diminished by the Muller report, an impeachment debacle, and now Iowa.
Worse yet: the competition is selling snake oil and that people in places that matter (like non-urban PA) can’t get enough of it.
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I disagree a bit. Bloomberg’s ads have been running locally for months in the suburbs of Pittsburgh. I literally have not seen another ad for any other candidate. While not tempted to vote for him yet, it’s a constant reminder of the instability of our current leadership. That constant reminder is possibly enough to flip those few extra votes for a democratic win.
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@PGHplayball
BLOOMBERG is the answer. His policies are largely progressive but he understands how economics work and also what it takes to make something happen. The Progressives, with all their railing and ranting, flailing arms, handwringing and righteous indignation, not to mention their pie-in-the-sky visions, haven't a clue what it takes to actually implement solutions. Can someone tell me what Sanders has actually DONE besides rail and agitate? Sure, he and his supporters have capably pointed out the flaws on the sinking ship of our union, but that is all they can do. Implementing realistic solutions is beyond their ability. The Democrats need to get real. It's time for Bloomberg. Unfortunately, the cultish mentality of the Bernie "bros and sisters" is no more flexible than Trump's base. They will sit out the election if its not their candidate--and once again, hand the election to Trump.
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@RDA: No plank in their platform? What about health care, the climate crisis, and others?
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In all of my efforts online to persuade old friends and acquaintances that Trump is an immoral affront to American values, I have seen only rigid lockstep support of the man. Nobody has changed their minds. This must be what it is like to see a country slide into support for a strongman dictator such as Putin.
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@Lee Rentz
Here in North GA we are seeing many of the retired folks that voted for trump changing their minds. Most watch all of the hearings and felt he should have been removed from office. There are still some that will not change their minds and most of them are scared of the changing demographics here in GA.
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Democrats have to get over their false Russia fixation. Trump @ Pelosi haven’t talked since October, since Nancy accused him of being in cahoots with Russia whilst she was meeting with Trump in the White House. And Hillary Clinton defamed Tulsi Gabardine, a 17-year veteran of the National Guard, of being a Russian agent. The Dems are coming across as just plain nutty and unreasonable and the average person can at least understand that. It’s creepy.
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@Lee Rentz
Online communication is the problem; personal relationships covering many topics, hobbies, and openly caring about each other is the only solution for our country.
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Let's hope that the it's the Resistance that learns that politicians making promises about utopia don't cut it against bedrock issues of family, church, and jobs.
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@Grace
Well that pretty much leaves the republicans out of luck on all three counts.
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Perfectly stated.
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@Grace
Republicans keep promising their version of Utopia, and they keep winning.
Democrats keep promising to compromise with Republicans and they keep losing.
Search the internet for the Overton Window to find out how Republicans keep moving normal, while Democrats watch.
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