I never realized how many people blindly disliked Democrats before the governor election this year here in OK. I knew OK always voted red to vote red, but I had no idea so many of them didn't even...
When your party does this, it is called empathy. When the other side tries, it is called identity politics. President Donald Trump’s hostility to immigrants who are not high-cheekboned Slovenian models suggests to a large number of white Americans that he cares about them and will put their interests ahead of other people’s. Democrats cannot do this kind of identity politics.
I never realized how many people blindly disliked Democrats before the governor election this year here in OK. I knew OK always voted red to vote red, but I had no idea so many of them didn't even know who was running until they went to vote and just filled in the box next to whatever Republican was on the ballot. It's sickening. People really hate democrats they know nothing about.
I wrote a comment yesterday about how we have Drew Edmondson running and he did amazing as our AG for 16 years, but people refuse to acknowledge or look at that. And that just boggles me. You can see his reputation, any time he answers a question the underlying message is consistent - he cares about OK and the people here. But that is the problem, people don't look. They see the word Democrat and think, "Nope. Don't like them." Then they build that up in their minds, and never stop to realize it is all based on nothing.
The whole party system is a mess. People don't look at the candidate, they look at the party. Kevin Stitt is in the Republican run-off. He was shut down over mortgage fraud, but that doesn't raise any red flags with anyone. Drew Edmondson was re-elected to office 4 times in a row... He won unopposed in 1998, but no one looks at him for who he is what he has done. They just see he is registered as a Dem and all of that stuff he achieved goes away..
In defense of Oklahoma (a phrase I thought I'd never say in my life, but I have an activist friend who lives there who keeps me up-to-date on some of the minutiae at the state level), voters there...
In defense of Oklahoma (a phrase I thought I'd never say in my life, but I have an activist friend who lives there who keeps me up-to-date on some of the minutiae at the state level), voters there are really angry with republicans right now. Oklahoma is one of the states that has seen the largest shift between "partisan lean" (calculated on prior performances in the district) and actual outcomes. And that's not over a small number of elections like some states, so there's less to be said for the qualities of the specific candidates.
So I think at least in Oklahoma, more people than you might expect understand exactly what state the local Republican party is in and they're exercising their voice to say what they think about that. And they're doing so in a massive way. I would bet hard money that you'll still get people with blind hate for democrats, but the awfulness of some of Oklahoma's recent Republicans has been hard to ignore even for many of them.
They are, but come November they will still vote one in. I hope for Drew. I really like him, and think he can fix this mess, or at least get us going in the right direction.
voters there are really angry with republicans right now
They are, but come November they will still vote one in. I hope for Drew. I really like him, and think he can fix this mess, or at least get us going in the right direction.
It is baffling because any time the Republicans say something it gets eaten up. Drew says something and it's, "He just wants elected." People are making a huge deal that the next gov support...
It is baffling because any time the Republicans say something it gets eaten up. Drew says something and it's, "He just wants elected." People are making a huge deal that the next gov support Trump. They all gave these kind of kiss uppy answers to please people.. Edmondson basically said, "I agree and disagree with Trump in areas. I look forward to working with him when it comes to making OK great."
And although that might not be good enough for a really liberal state like CA, NJ, MA, or CO, it should be more than good enough to satisfy people in Oklahoma.
And although that might not be good enough for a really liberal state like CA, NJ, MA, or CO, it should be more than good enough to satisfy people in Oklahoma.
Sounds like one party too many. Let's have a no-party system. No parties, lots of candidates, publicly-funded campaigns with a ban on private donations because they're nothing but legalized...
What do you think of a one party system?
Sounds like one party too many. Let's have a no-party system. No parties, lots of candidates, publicly-funded campaigns with a ban on private donations because they're nothing but legalized bribery, and instant-runoff voting.
I like it. Because people are too easily manipulated. We just need to have candidates / politicians. Then whatever is on the agenda is on the agenda. Politicians could be more flexible. They...
I like it. Because people are too easily manipulated. We just need to have candidates / politicians. Then whatever is on the agenda is on the agenda. Politicians could be more flexible. They wouldn't have to worry about playing a certain game as much, but they may also have less to lose. But at the same time there is more of a chance they will look bad if they do something shady. But it could also make a big silo. No party would be nice.
Pretty good article. I do think the whole demographic destiny idea has made the Democratic Party dangerously complacent, as they think that all they need to do to dominate the government is wait a...
Pretty good article. I do think the whole demographic destiny idea has made the Democratic Party dangerously complacent, as they think that all they need to do to dominate the government is wait a few years, during which the Republicans pull every dirty trick in the book to keep a party that's already distinctly in the minority firmly in power.
That's not even mentioning that in the event of a demographic victory, their entire coalition would depend on groups with no 'natural' political ties to the Democratic party aside from enmity with the racists and bigots that today operate under the Republican banner. Getting a cohesive platform for passing legislation would be difficult, and the entire basis of the coalition would dissolve if they actually achieved their goals of a more accepting America, since if the Republican party isn't opposed to his basic rights, there's no intrinsic reason for a gay man to be a Democrat. Ditto for the often socially conservative Muslim and Hispanic communities.
What they need to do to build a lasting future for the party is reconnect with the working class, and own up to their wildly popular economic policies. Rebuild the New Deal Coalition, but switching out southern racists for urban progressives. While it is starting to swing that way with the ascendance of the DSA, it still seems like a lot of the old party leadership sort of pussyfoots around stuff like welfare, food stamps, medicare, under the mistaken impression that they're widely disliked programs. Instead, they should be trumpeting that shit from the high hills, imagine ads like: You like your social security? Democratic program. Medicare? Food stamps? Minimum wage? Unemployment benefits? All of them crafted by Democrats, and if you vote for us in November, we can make sure programs like those are still around for future generations to enjoy.
I never realized how many people blindly disliked Democrats before the governor election this year here in OK. I knew OK always voted red to vote red, but I had no idea so many of them didn't even know who was running until they went to vote and just filled in the box next to whatever Republican was on the ballot. It's sickening. People really hate democrats they know nothing about.
I wrote a comment yesterday about how we have Drew Edmondson running and he did amazing as our AG for 16 years, but people refuse to acknowledge or look at that. And that just boggles me. You can see his reputation, any time he answers a question the underlying message is consistent - he cares about OK and the people here. But that is the problem, people don't look. They see the word Democrat and think, "Nope. Don't like them." Then they build that up in their minds, and never stop to realize it is all based on nothing.
The whole party system is a mess. People don't look at the candidate, they look at the party. Kevin Stitt is in the Republican run-off. He was shut down over mortgage fraud, but that doesn't raise any red flags with anyone. Drew Edmondson was re-elected to office 4 times in a row... He won unopposed in 1998, but no one looks at him for who he is what he has done. They just see he is registered as a Dem and all of that stuff he achieved goes away..
In defense of Oklahoma (a phrase I thought I'd never say in my life, but I have an activist friend who lives there who keeps me up-to-date on some of the minutiae at the state level), voters there are really angry with republicans right now. Oklahoma is one of the states that has seen the largest shift between "partisan lean" (calculated on prior performances in the district) and actual outcomes. And that's not over a small number of elections like some states, so there's less to be said for the qualities of the specific candidates.
So I think at least in Oklahoma, more people than you might expect understand exactly what state the local Republican party is in and they're exercising their voice to say what they think about that. And they're doing so in a massive way. I would bet hard money that you'll still get people with blind hate for democrats, but the awfulness of some of Oklahoma's recent Republicans has been hard to ignore even for many of them.
They are, but come November they will still vote one in. I hope for Drew. I really like him, and think he can fix this mess, or at least get us going in the right direction.
I saw that comment yesterday. It was baffling. I'll just reiterate that it takes people like you to make change
It is baffling because any time the Republicans say something it gets eaten up. Drew says something and it's, "He just wants elected." People are making a huge deal that the next gov support Trump. They all gave these kind of kiss uppy answers to please people.. Edmondson basically said, "I agree and disagree with Trump in areas. I look forward to working with him when it comes to making OK great."
And although that might not be good enough for a really liberal state like CA, NJ, MA, or CO, it should be more than good enough to satisfy people in Oklahoma.
Sounds like one party too many. Let's have a no-party system. No parties, lots of candidates, publicly-funded campaigns with a ban on private donations because they're nothing but legalized bribery, and instant-runoff voting.
Is this a serious question?
I like it. Because people are too easily manipulated. We just need to have candidates / politicians. Then whatever is on the agenda is on the agenda. Politicians could be more flexible. They wouldn't have to worry about playing a certain game as much, but they may also have less to lose. But at the same time there is more of a chance they will look bad if they do something shady. But it could also make a big silo. No party would be nice.
Pretty good article. I do think the whole demographic destiny idea has made the Democratic Party dangerously complacent, as they think that all they need to do to dominate the government is wait a few years, during which the Republicans pull every dirty trick in the book to keep a party that's already distinctly in the minority firmly in power.
That's not even mentioning that in the event of a demographic victory, their entire coalition would depend on groups with no 'natural' political ties to the Democratic party aside from enmity with the racists and bigots that today operate under the Republican banner. Getting a cohesive platform for passing legislation would be difficult, and the entire basis of the coalition would dissolve if they actually achieved their goals of a more accepting America, since if the Republican party isn't opposed to his basic rights, there's no intrinsic reason for a gay man to be a Democrat. Ditto for the often socially conservative Muslim and Hispanic communities.
What they need to do to build a lasting future for the party is reconnect with the working class, and own up to their wildly popular economic policies. Rebuild the New Deal Coalition, but switching out southern racists for urban progressives. While it is starting to swing that way with the ascendance of the DSA, it still seems like a lot of the old party leadership sort of pussyfoots around stuff like welfare, food stamps, medicare, under the mistaken impression that they're widely disliked programs. Instead, they should be trumpeting that shit from the high hills, imagine ads like: You like your social security? Democratic program. Medicare? Food stamps? Minimum wage? Unemployment benefits? All of them crafted by Democrats, and if you vote for us in November, we can make sure programs like those are still around for future generations to enjoy.