Thread by @timjacobwise

1/ Continuing with some more thoughts, growing out of the last 31 point thread on my timeline...

Dems like Biden seem to believe that most voters are "moderates" and therefore, we need "moderate" proposals to appeal to them. A few thoughts here....

2/ Yes, polling says most are moderate or at least claim that. Even people who are pretty strong in their beliefs (liberal or conservative) often say they're middle of the road, just like everyone says they're middle class even when they aren't...why? It sounds reasonable...

3/ And people like 2 seem reasonable. It's why when u ask survey questions & offer options like "somewhat agree" or "somewhat disagree" it almost always gets more replies than just "agree" or "disagree." Both bc people are moderate AND they like to present as such at very least..

4/ Anyway, granting that most people are a mix of more liberal and more conservative views, there are still problems with the Dem approach to elections...especially when it comes to fetishizing "independents" and "swing voters"

5/ Fact is, very few voters are truly independent. Most are pretty solidly given to voting for 1 party or the other. The voters being fought over tend 2b those who vote 4 a particular party or don't vote at all, rather than that sliver who sometimes vote D or other times R...

6/ And the problem w/chasing THESE voters is precisely their fickle nature. The fact that they often don't vote at all is a good indication they might not show up next time. But ya know who will? Those who are strongly partisan. Those w/strong beliefs in 1 direction or another...

7/ And if one side appeals to their partisans, driving turnout upward, while the other side tries to be blandly "reasonable" in the hopes of attracting unicorns, but in doing so throws a wet blanket on the excitement levels of their partisans, guess who wins?...

8/ That's not to say Democrats have to run a campaign filled with far-left themes and rhetoric. But it is to say that they cannot shy away from the themes of equity and fairness and inclusion and community that make the left the left...and distinguish it from the right

9/ They cannot run as technocratic managers who know how to "get things done" and expect to win. First, because not enough voters are enthused by that vision  (ask Michael Dukakis or John Kerry or even Hillary Clinton for that matter in those key states)...

10/ and 2nd, bc absent a Senate willing to help a Dem president get things done, such a president cannot do so.
Which means the Dems must be as hard-nosed in their drive for domination as the GOP...

11/ Only when they have taken over the entirety of the government and can force the Republicans to negotiate or die, politically, should any talk of bipartisanship emerge again...

12/ Crush their army and then at the political equivalent of a bayonet by all means sit down and have a talk. But not one minute earlier...