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@s_r_stone @RadioFreeTom @jehorowitz Yes, the Ds literally did it to themselves by leaving Obama at the alter in 2010. He, and Pelosi, did the impossible (in the middle of an economic collapse no less) and passed a profound reform to the health insurance system, which as bad as it seems today, was 1000% worse then
@s_r_stone @RadioFreeTom @jehorowitz and Democratic voters thanked them by completely tanking their turnout in the 2010 and then the 2014 midterms. But esp those 2010 midterms. That was before the gerrymandering, before the 1000+ seat gain and the governor's sweeps. And it was completely avoidable. That said, Ds
@s_r_stone @RadioFreeTom @jehorowitz only have themselves to blame. The turnout tanked bc their electoral strategy sucked. The Rs message in 2010 was, don't vote for Obama he's too liberal and (generic member of Congress) is a pawn of Obama and Pelosi. And the Ds response to this was, "I'm not THAT kind of D!"
@s_r_stone @RadioFreeTom @jehorowitz This was messaging malpractice. 1st it concedes the point to your opponents that there is something inherently wrong with your party and your party's programs. At that point, you're already losing. And even after this strategy leaves them shellacked in 2010, they run the exact
@s_r_stone @RadioFreeTom @jehorowitz strategy in 2014. Shocker, every single one of them loses bc not only is it a shitty message to woo Indies, it depresses your own party's turnout, which is the critical factor in the polarized era. And to some extent, some Ds STILL advocate this strategy as the moderation
@s_r_stone @RadioFreeTom @jehorowitz strategy. Instead of going out there and trying to make an affirmative case for why liberal economic policies are better for the working class, or attacking conservatism, some moderate Ds still use this "apologetic Democrat" strategy. And it is still a terrible strategy. When it
@s_r_stone @RadioFreeTom @jehorowitz worked in 2018, it is bc the turnout surge from the Trump Bump was going to happen anyway. And that will be the case in 2020 too. But the fallacy of this strategy will be revealed again in 2022, when House candidates that ran on this strategy in '18 and '20 lose on it in '22 when
@s_r_stone @RadioFreeTom @jehorowitz D turnout wanes again. Ds would be far better off presenting an affirmative, positive case for their ideology than apologizing for it. The few Pure Indies out there are not swayed by people who are embarrassed by themselves. McCaskill is a good example of this.
