I had an epiphany on my frustration with the Democratic Party.

[Chasstev365]

It's not that they don't fight; it's their inability to effectively put the Republicans on the defensive about anything.

It's something the party really needs to work on!

[CMYK]

1. nearly impossible

Hard to shame the shameless

[Chasstev365]

6. A brilliant response

This is the problem

[dalton99a]

12. The only language they understand is POWER.

[CaptainTruth]

25. I think the only way is to spur public backlash against them.

I'm convinced the one thing Rethugs care about most is gaining & maintaining power, they want to keep their political positions at any cost, so when voters turn against them & they fear losing their next election, that's one of the few things that can get their attention & get them to (potentially) modify their behavior.

Of course their motivation isn't shame, it's desire for power.

[Skittles]

39. especially when their brain-dead base believes everything they say

yup

[Aristus]

42. I was going to say...

n/t

[no_hypocrisy]

2. Similar to #1: Republicans wholesale are unabashed narcissists.

And you'll never get a narcissist to admit s/he was wrong and to take responsibility. That requires a conscience and perhaps a side dish of shame and contrition.

Unless there is a leader in the Republican Party who can lead them out of the abyss in which they have fallen, this is who they are. Won't change.

[marble falls]

3. How do you intend to make the GOP "pay attention"?

[Chasstev365]

7. By effectively messaging

A good response to the $400 bribe (call it what is)

"See: Republicans let Trump break any law he wants when average people would be in jail for a crime like that."

Repeat over and over again...


Or a political ad where people who have served jail time for taking bribes ask why does Trump get a pass?

[JI7]

23. How is that effective ? People that support Trump don't care

as long as he keeps going after things like DEI and what he is doing with ICE they will excuse everything else.

[KPN]

43. Republicans aren't going to be bothered one iota by a statement like that. They know their voters; and their voters

are idiots who believe any and all bullshit that the orange asshole and his talking heads put out there -- it's usually projection. And that projection typically winds their minions up and they subsequently scream and bellow about Dems being criminals, pedophiles, against democracy and the constitution, and -- oh yeah -- great projectionists who need to be put in prison.

Let's be clear. We are dealing with a cult. No matter how good it is, our "messaging" is not going to fix that. Only when individual cult members begin to feel betrayed will the radical right's stronghold break down. It will happen eventually, but does, it it will be more about we are the alternative than our messaging.

[yardwork]

4. I would like to see a rapid response every hour by the DNC.

Every lie, every outrage by the Republicans could be tracked and amplified. Daily press conferences by Democratic politicians all over the country. State by state responses.

Online responses by young people who understand social media.

Instead... the DNC seems to counting on MSM to spread the word. Chuck Schumer reads ponderous statements of concern.

Get with it, Democratic leaders!

[yellow dahlia]

35. Agreed

[Voltaire2]

5. Most continue to refuse to acknowledge that

we no longer have a constitutional republic. They are stuck in ‘bipartisan normal mode’. They continue to believe that the best strategy is reaching out to (nonexistent) ‘moderate’ republican voters. No sense of crisis, no firm political beliefs.

[SocialDemocrat61]

8. That's because the corporate media

will ignore democrats and defend republicans while gleefully parrot lying GOP talking points about democrats.

[edhopper]

9. Part of the problem is

the media always takes the Republican narrative on things.
It's hard when you are always playing defense against the MSM and the Republicans have them as a sounding board.

[maxsolomon]

34. The "media" doesn't "take" the Republican narrative. They report what that narrative is.

That is the flaw of straight reporting - they can't/don't straight out call Repuke spin lies.

It's not "media's" job to prop up the Dems. We're in the wilderness; we've been outflanked by their aggression, their shameless lies, their money, and their comprehensive propaganda machine.

[edhopper]

37. Harris:

"I have a five point plan to help home buyers including loans to first timers."

Media:
"But what about trans operations in prisons?"

They decide what to "report on" and what they report on is the GOP narrative.

[maxsolomon]

38. I don't recall that exchange. Are those actual quotes?

Was it "The Media" that asked about Prison Trans operations, or some specific news organization you take issue with?

[edhopper]

40. illustration

of how it looked.

How much time did the media spend on any sign of Biden's mental slip, compared to the obvious dementia we see in Trump.
I have yet to see an article in the MSM about Trump's cognitive decline.

[KPN]

44. Yes ... and their "cult".

[mountain grammy]

10. I want to see ads

Like maga is running for their awful congressmen. Call Congressman fill in the blank and thank him for his work for America. I see them in Colorado now more than a year and a half before the next election. Twice a day for maga moron and religious fanatic Gabe Evans. Where are you Democrats? Colorado is not a “safe” state.

[dreamland]

11. When you play by the rules, you are tied to the rules

GOP have been skirting the rules and testing the limits by bending rules for ages. That's why there is no outrage when they don't uphold the law. Democrats will call for resignations of it's own members at the slightest infraction. When you know how the enemy operates, you know how to silence your enemy. Democrats need to adopt a new way of governing in order to win. I'm not saying they have to break any rules but must they be so strict?

[Linda ladeewolf]

13. The problem isn't so much as can't, it's more like won't.

Then you’ve got the dem leaders saying in one breath they won’t do this and then capitulation in the next breath. I think some of the wealthier democrats are really hoping to make money off the rest of us, they are nearly as bad as the republicans. David Hogg knows how to reach younger people and they’ve tried to shut him up. They don’t want anyone primaried. And some democrats need to go.

[mountain grammy]

17. I watched a "debate" between Carville and Hogg

Carville did 75% of the talking with an attitude that he's older, experienced and is the loudest voice in the room. I've been listening to Carville for years. I wanted to listen to David Hogg, but he barely had a chance. Even as David sat silently while Carville blabbered on and on, he didn't interrupt, but when David got to speak Carvile interrupted incessantly.

This has to stop.When David did get the chance to talk, he had some good things to say.. He's dedicated and he's right!

[Linda ladeewolf]

22. I agree

I’ve heard Hogg talk from time to time, he does know what he’s taking about. Carville’s ideas are outdated and very passive. The world has moved on and we older ones must move with it, or get run over by it. I prefer to step aside and let the younger ones have a chance, they can’t do worse than we have and it’s their tomorrow’s that must be preserved, in the process, we will preserve what future we have left.

[Paladin]

14. trump's limitless corruption and stupidity are an absolute gift to Democrats.

trump is in the process of handing the nation back to us---but only if Democratic leadership takes advantage of the situation. So far, that hasn't happened---which is shameful. Way past time to get busy---while there's still a country to be saved.

[mdbl]

15. I have less faith in that theory since Dump was re-elected

too many stupid people in this country. How do you use laws to stop lawbreakers who are in power?

[Nasruddin]

19. If and only if

His stupidity results in a material loss for people. They will respond to that. Other than that, he's safe.
And Donny the Diver is obviously very smart / sensitive on this matter.

[Paladin]

26. You seem to have a lot higher opinion of trump than I do. (nt)

[murielm99]

16. I'll save my frustration for the republican party

and work to elect Democrats. This is the Democratic Underground.

[KPN]

45. Me too. But I will pick and choose which Democrats I support and work to elect.

[Nasruddin]

18. No shame

We keep relying on shame - applying it, & reacting to it.

There's no point to this. The people we have to convince don't care. It's in fact a HUGE social problem that our society has gone this way, but it is what it is.

The ones we can reach respond to material benefit and are sensitive to immigration issues.

It's also important to keep in mind one of the lessons of Kahneman and Tversky: people are often much more sensitive to loss than gain.

[bhikkhu]

20. I'd go back to Andrew Jackson

(though of course the monikers were different then). He held a violent contempt for Native Americans, especially any that were doing well, and a big part of his agenda was the Indian Relocation Act, to terminate all treaties east of the Mississippi, confiscate their property and ship them off to barren wastelands in the west. The Cherokee "Trail of Tears" was the most famous result of that, but a lot happened. The genocidal act was challenged, and the Supreme Court found it unconstitutional, but he went a head and did it anyway (that might be one of the reasons Trump admires Jackson so much).

What gets me is that there was strong opposition, and people campaigned on how heinous and wrong the act was and how much better they themselves were morally, but then even when they got back into power they did nothing. No land was returned, no people were made whole, there were no consequences for the genocidal act or for anyone involved in it, nothing was fixed.

Just saying, I wish things were different, but my expectations are low. If the next president just sits in the oval office and "isn't Trump", that's not sufficient; it's not even close.

[Oneironaut]

21. You might appreciate this video:

?si=-mfZaTQZXiP4n3Ci

[KPN]

46. Yep, and we are on defense big time right now. Even if it is by necessity rather than by choice.

Personally, I'm beginning to think that the only real remedy will be that they eventually blow themselves and their cult up. I'm sure it will happen -- hopefully sooner than later. Hopefully without too many lost lives. Hopefully while the earth humans still has a chance. Sigh.

[betsuni]

24. Why don't Democrats stop Republicans from being bad? It's easy! It is frustrating they allow this!

Just tell Republicans they are being very mean and really should be ashamed of themselves and they will cry and apologize and be nice. It's something the party really needs to work on!

From the anthology "My Frustration with the Democratic Party" volume seventy-five

[wcollar]

27. Democrats are like dogs

Republicans are like cats.
Just look hard at your dog and he’ll cringe and go ‘Oh no! What did I do? I’m sorry, I’m so so sorry’.
Catch your cat in the middle of your dinner table eating your roast and he’ll be like, ‘What?? This mine you freeloader! Get your own food. Cats are incapable of shame.

[JT45242]

28. They could have killed the filibuster and got work done -- period. They did not. Not for Obama or Biden

When we had all three levers (Senate, House, and WH) we did not kill the filibuster.

When they are in power, we do not use it to kill EVERY SINGLE PIECE OF LEGISLATION that comes through. They did it to us. Paralyze them.

How much better off would we be --

[Doodley]

30. Correct. They held TEN inquiries into Benghazi when four people died. How many inquiries did we hold to

examine how Trump handled Covid resulting in over a million deaths? We let Trump get away with everything. They hammer away and keep a negative story about Democrats going for months.

[SheltieLover]

29. Difficult to put someone on the defensive who (collectively) lacks the ability to tell the truth or feel shame

They just "blame Biden," or "Obama's tan suit" or "her emails" or "that's fake news" and to them it's like waving a magic wand that makes it all go away.

Sick fucks.

[Doodley]

32. You just described the problem. They elevate even non-stories into long-lasting election-winning headlines. We don't.

Look how much positive publicity Trump got over his UK "trade deal?" Trump turned it into a major media event. I bet a majority of Republicans know about that and have a positive view. Who remembers anything about Biden trade deals?

[dlilafae]

31. They seem to lack backbone

Fighting fire with a squirt 🔫 gun.

[yellow dahlia]

33. Agreed. They need to use counter narrative to all the BS.

They need to fact check more. They need to get in front of a microphone/podium and explain to people what is going on. They need to use specifics not talking points and the same old rhetoric.

They need war room tactics. Sheldon Whitehouse wanted to form war room years ago.

They need to put Chuck Schumer in the background...not as the face of the party. He is not a good messager or a war time consiglieie.

[Blue Full Moon]

36. Then there is the 3rd way helping the republicans

[pat_k]

41. I recommend emailing a link to this to every elected Dem...

.... that represents you, state, local, and federal.

The Freedom Over Fascism Toolkit
https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/d/1s0JbXhND7-1iqABNcUNL031NQLxkLfr-USkCKGZTidI/mobilebasic
------
From an earlier post:

How to stop the MAGA Murder Budget
Call it what it is: The MAGA Murder Budget, because people will die.

How to ignite the opposition on everything else: Simple messages in the same frame, over and over and over. Anat Shenker-Osorio is the clearest voice I have heard on this.

Language matters. If we, and our electeds, don't start saying fewer things; if we don't use language effectively to describe what is actually happening, we are not digging out of this.

She was on the That Trippi Show April 18th,
"If you want to touch a nerve, you have to touch a nerve"

Please listen, wherever you get your podcasts.

This is so important.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/if-you-want-to-touch-a-nerve-you-have-to-touch/id1523896927

Anat's Freedom Over Fascism Toolkit sets out a simple way to stop running after the latest horror and talk about the horrors within the same narrative frame -- over and over and over.

I think she is spot on on about everything. And on parts I question, I am likely to defer to her take because it is grounded in research and experience. YMMV, but if you agree please pass along in whatever social media networks you frequent. And most of all, if the people who represent you oppose the regime of bullies for billionaires, call on them to simplify their language, say fewer things, and repeat them 'til they are sick of repeating them -- and then repeat them some more. Pass the toolkit onto them.