Vincent Oriedo, a biotechnology scientist, had just such a question. What lessons have been learned, he asked, from Harris’s defeat in this vital swing county in a crucial battleground state that voted for Joe Biden four years ago, and how are the Democrats applying them?

“They did not answer the question,” he said.

“It tells me that they haven’t learned the lessons and they have their inner state of denial. I’ve been paying careful attention to the influencers within the Democratic party. Their discussions have centred around, ‘If only we messaged better, if only we had a better candidate, if only we did all these superficial things.’ There is really a lack of understanding that they are losing their base, losing constituencies they are taking for granted.”

“We have set ourselves up for generational loss because we keep promoting from within leaders that that do not criticise the moneyed interests. They refuse to take a hard look at what Americans actually believe and meet those needs.”

  • FaceDeer@fedia.io
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    9 hours ago

    You’re missing the lesson too, ironically.

    The voters didn’t like what the Democrats were offering them, they wanted change, and they wanted it badly enough that they went ahead and ate that dog-turd-and-glass-sandwich.

    You’re saying “they shouldn’t have eaten that, the sandwich the Democrats were offering was better.” Okay, well, they did it anyway. So you’re wrong. The Democrats were wrong. They’ve been wrong multiple times now. They’re doing the “Am I so out of touch? No. It’s the voters who are wrong.” Meme.

    America’s a democracy. The voters aren’t wrong, as much as you might personally disagree with their choice. If you want a different government you have to offer them one that they’ll vote for. That may require some compromises, but that’s part of democracy.

    I hope that they get it this time. This is the second time in recent memory that they’ve made this mistake. Even Biden’s election was closer than it should have been. I really hope that the DNC gets its head out of its ass and cleans house, but articles like this are disheartening.

    • Majorllama@lemmy.world
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      9 hours ago

      I live in a deep blue state. Family is all very blue. They have learned absolutely nothing. They all think what the Democrats did was perfect. Kamala was flawless. She didn’t get elected because America is racist AND sexist.

      They genuinely believe that there was nothing they could have done to improve.

      I think they are gonna have to learn this lesson a few more times before they pull their heads outta their ass finally. I hope.

      • BadmanDan@lemmy.world
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        1 hour ago

        Your family is correct. America is racist and sexist. Asl yourself, after that debate and the several Trump fumbles on the campaign trail. Would you vote for him or Harris? Regardless if you thought she was perfect or not.

        If you voted for Trump, you obviously didnt care about policy when every indication points to his being objectively worse. And I’m ready to argue that all day.

      • Ensign_Crab@lemmy.world
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        4 hours ago

        She didn’t get elected because America is racist AND sexist.

        This talking point is just so Democrats have an excuse to keep AOC out of the 2028 race in favor of some centrist turd barge.

      • Maiq@lemy.lol
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        6 hours ago

        The blue bubble is as heard to burst as the red bubble. My mom lives on msnbc. There is not a moment that its not on just like my dad lives on fox. They are completely in their own different worlds made of fiction. Dad thought there was no way Trump could loose to Biden just as my mom thought there was no way Hillary/Harris could loose to Trump. Both had no moment of realisation, no moment of reflection just disbelief that they live in a bubble. Its always someone else’s fault. Dad blamed the Democrats and mom blames the left.

        To me it’s obvious that Chomsky was right about manufacturing consent.

        • Eugene V. Debs' Ghost@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          5 hours ago

          MSNBC is liberal Fox News. They both are the circuses while the public is clamoring for breadcrumbs.

          To me it’s obvious that Chomsky was right about manufacturing consent.

          Always has been.

      • alcoholicorn@lemmy.ml
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        9 hours ago

        It won’t happen. Every election in the last 25 years, including midterms, where the democrats tried to play to “moderate republicans”, they got wiped out.

        • BadmanDan@lemmy.world
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          1 hour ago

          So if Dems are never left enough for you. Wouldn’t that mean they’re moderate. Which means they won in 06, 08, 12, 18, 20 and 22 being “moderate”.

          • alcoholicorn@lemmy.ml
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            56 minutes ago

            They won in 2020 on the wake of protests and low-information voters who thought they’d be freeing the immigrant camps, defunding the police, codifying roe, and getting free healthcare.

            They got wiped out in 22 by being moderate and getting fuckall done by trying to compromise with republicans for 2 years.

            In 06 and 08, they were finally coming about against the Iraq war and promising things, unlike in 2004 where they simply said they would do the war more competently.

        • floofloof@lemmy.ca
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          7 hours ago

          You have to conclude that they’d rather chase after “moderate Republicans” and lose than chase after the left and win.

        • The Quuuuuill@slrpnk.net
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          8 hours ago

          and they keep trying to dislodge “sane” republicans because they’d rather maintain centralized power than risk a grass roots movement distributing power to the masses. dyed in the wool democrats prefer fascism to meaningful reform

          • Zaktor@sopuli.xyz
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            8 hours ago

            Obama was amazingly effective at the ballot box, but to the established Democratic power structure he was dangerous. Luckily for them he merged himself into their structure rather than maintaining his separate power base and taking on individual in-party resistors like Trump has, but it was a warning about what could happen and they took that lesson to heart. They do not want anything resembling another Obama.

            • Snot Flickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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              8 hours ago

              Yep, that’s why Hillary was basically in control of the party via Debbie Wasserman-Shultz and how much the DNC effectively owed Clinton at that point.

              People want to memory hole that aspect of it but it was 100% a response to the Obama presidency an attempt to grab a stranglehold on the party which she used to shut down Sanders and force her nomination. People often forget this is the same year the Republicans rejected Jeb Bush. America didn’t want Bush v. Clinton again, and Trump and Sanders were the only voices offering anything different. Democrats shut down their nascent progressive wing, and Trump just steamrolled the Republicans because he’s a fucking bully and those guys bend over and take it for bullies.

      • YtA4QCam2A9j7EfTgHrH@infosec.pub
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        8 hours ago

        Her fascist border plan, embrace of genocide, and her running mate Liz Cheney were all great in their opinion? Wow. I need to talk to some Dems sometime.

    • Cris@lemmy.world
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      8 hours ago

      Well they don’t even have to decide they wanna eat a shit sandwich- they just have to not be motivated enough to go to the polls and say “I’d like the snot sandwich instead of the shit sandwich, please”. Which is what seems to have happened this election as best I’m aware

      A lot of democratic voters weren’t motivated, and didn’t show up. And I agree with the statement made by the person quoted in the post, a huge part of that feels like it’s the democratic party’s complete unwillingness to criticize moneyed interests and figure out how to actually appeal to their constituency, and so they’re loosing people. And now we’re all stuck with that shit sandwich.

    • Alteon@lemmy.world
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      7 hours ago

      My concern with statements like this is that I don’t think your considering the impact that misinformation had on this election.

      There were massive disinformation campaigns that had sizable effects on the dialogue that people had with their friends and neighbors. I’m worried that we could have actually put someone like Bernie as our nominee and that we still would have lost because of exactly this misinformation.

      The Democrat message wasn’t making it to people and I think that it really shows…

      • Rekorse@sh.itjust.works
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        1 hour ago

        Disagreeing with something doesnt make it disinformation. What were the big lies being spread about Kamala that affected the voter base? I’m not on social media, the only thing I watched was the live interview she did on fox, and she was rude and deceptive. Is an uncut interview disinformation?

    • pimento64@sopuli.xyz
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      8 hours ago

      Don’t deny voters their agency by saying they can’t make wrong choices. They can and did. They made a stupid choice for idiotic reasons, and will get nothing but suffering for it. There are situations in life where feeling deeply and unconditionally ashamed of your own idiocy is the correct course of action, and this is one of them.

      • Rekorse@sh.itjust.works
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        1 hour ago

        Votes can’t be wrong by definition, they are opinions. But if you accepted that you would have to get off your pedestal wouldnt you, and thats no fun. Go ahead and puff up your chest and brag about how obviously stupid so many people are.

      • Ensign_Crab@lemmy.world
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        4 hours ago

        Voters have agency. Let’s tell them how they will be voting and do nothing to appeal to them.

        If they were too insignificant to listen to, they are too insignificant to blame. Your party lost because your party is shit on purpose.

        I voted for Harris and of course Trump is worse, so spare me the only talking point any of you have.