Saw this comment on FB, which pretty well sums up yesterday . . .

[markpkessinger]

"You have to stand for something to get your voters out in a midterm. The Republicans stand for craziness, and the crazies turn out. Who can say what the Democratic Party stands for?"

[Esse Quam Videri]

1. Spot on

Wish it wasn't true, but it is.

[RKP5637]

2. Exactly! IMO Messaging is the key root cause problem. Democratic messaging is deplorable.

Democrats are all over the map. It's hard to tell WTF the united message is. Even for wins, the messaging sucks. Democrats need to send out one clear concise message, over and over and over again of just what are the democratic values, what are the goals. To me, it's alway a miss mash with conflicting messages.

[TheCowsCameHome]

18. See post 17.

[RKP5637]

22. Yep! Exactly!!! n/t

[Cary]

31. Republicans' only messages is hate "Liberal"

They don't have to sell that message it is embedded in their DNA.

[LondonReign2]

35. It is not in their DNA

It is pounded into them non-stop by the media, which is wholly owned by six mega-corporations.

[PatrynXX]

56. yep. that was way way off

Bruce Braley worst. Kept thinking he was this massive Military spender all year long. Sure I voted for him Joni's worse problem is I'm in Iowa. where there are Caucuses. I may go independent again though after this fuckup.

Course you do realize the main issue with the Gun nut Crazies don't you? They expected to win but they expect Obama to cancel 2016's election and keep going. X_X so they expect a civil war next year. I'm talking about the crazies. My dad is one of them. I accidentally got a send all email to one of his minions.

Joni Ernst is one angry lady but the media also sucks. Since they had declared 80 % chance of the Senate going republican how many stayed home let alone how many people were turned away in WI over a photo id that wasn't required... So hopefully we got rid of alot of fake Democrats as Al Franken easily won this time his seat and he's quite Liberal. and well get the Democrats back to their roots. Thats the only message I see here. Other than I guess money does buy elections. Wish theyd spend it on our deficit

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

3. Basically the last thing I heard from someone on DU I put on ignore recently

was (along with the continued insults and condescension that earned the ignore)

Yeah....but WE decide who WE run.....not Independents...
You can do whatever you want....but don't expect those that know this to be so accepting of your constant criticism of the party....kind of easy to throw stones while standing on a pile of hypocrisy.....

along with

Okay....so your an Independent...Right
then you just stepped OUT of the Party again. So you just get to vote for, who WE....the ACTUAL Democrats, decide we want to support with the Primary election..see...this is the point I keep trying to make with Independents...

and

I vote WITH my fellow Democrats...that is WHY we have a Primary election WE decide!!!!
I trust my fellow party members to make the best selection at the time.

and here's the heart of the matter

see that is the point...

what independents think of our candidates is not that important to us...its what WE think of the candidates that is...

And that's the arrogance that sums up the loss of the Senate. People who don't care what any other voter thinks of the people they choose to run other than the people they feel are 'Democratic enough'.

I am about as solidly a lefty voter as they come who doesn't simply vote the slate. I'm an "independent" who ends up voting Dem about 95% of the time - and did again last night. But when you don't care about what people like me think, and just run people who are what "Real Dems" want, you lose the Senate. And you lose badly.

It's time for 'Real Dems' to quit plugging their ears to the criticisms of "independents", and start putting up better candidates, who actually are willing to fight FOR something, not simply on the godawful 'We're not so bad' line.

Guess what? Most Americans don't give a crap about 'lesser evil'. They'll vote for people who stand up and tell you what they're FOR, even if that FOR isn't all that good for most of us, rather than people who say 'What the other guy wants to do is sucky for you'.

[7962]

24. Change left to right, and all that is exactly what the Tea Party/Right wing says about the GOP. nt

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

25. The tea party's problem is not that they don't correctly point out what I did here

but that they're simply wrong on their positions. They're FOR things that hurt themselves and others.

[7962]

64. My point is that they also view independents as inconsequential. And their opinions.

[A Simple Game]

30. And sadly many Americans see the Democrats as saying:

Vote for me, I'm almost as good as the Republican.

And people on DU accuse me of not supporting the President then make excuses while their candidates run away from President Obama.

Many on DU need to do some introspection.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

33. They're not making excuses now.

Now they're proclaiming that the losses were 'because' they ran away from the President.

I'd say that the problem was that they ran away from Democratic Party platform principles, especially in a midterm.

[A Simple Game]

65. Yes they tried to be what the Republican voters wanted instead of what the

Democratic voters wanted. Never works, never has, never will. Republicans will always vote for the real thing and many in the middle left without a choice will be too confused to vote. Democrats will hold their noses and vote.

[LondonReign2]

37. Ah yes, Vanilla Rhapsody

Her belligerent, divisive harangues are identifiable even without the signature

[rhett o rick]

66. Ignore is your friend. nm

[truth2power]

53. Erich - You don't know how gratifying it is to read what you posted..

You have stated clearly what, in my view, is the crux of the problem. But don't expect much understanding or appreciation of it here on DU (as you've already noted).

Democrats have, almost entirely, themselves to blame for this state of affairs. To put this in the context of family dynamics: If you are abusive to those who care about you, i.e., your spouse or your children, then you have only yourself to blame if you end up living on the street, homeless.

I'm a registered Democrat. Like you, I voted mostly for Democrats yesterday. But there were two judges running for reelection, one for the Court of Appeals and the other for a county judgeship. I have known both of these individuals for many years. Yes, the office of judge is non-partisan, but I know both candidates' party affiliation is Republican.

Even so, I was proud to bubble-in their names (although they both were running unopposed and would have won, in any case). Both of these people are, in my view, moral, honest and intelligent individuals. And this is important to me. Undying loyalty to any one party is a dead end road, IMO. Especially if that party knows you have nowhere else to go. Why should they NOT abuse you if that's the case.

Much more I'd like to say, but I'll save it for later; I have to get ready for work.

BTW, I'm the person who asked about your ironically creative username (a nurse named "bloodaxe"? Yikes! ). I hope you've been able to find useful employment.

[mdbl]

4. ..and the march to Idiocracy continues

[oberliner]

5. You think 50+ percent of the electorate is crazy?

I don't think that is a helpful way to assess the situation.

[morningfog]

6. Here is a slighty edited version.

"You have to stand for something to get your voters out in a midterm. The Republicans stand for craziness, and craziness gets voters out. Who can say what the Democratic Party stands for?"

The point is an important one. But, I agree that calling repub voters crazy distracts from the point, which is: Republican messaging works, Democrats don't do messaging.

[oberliner]

9. I like that better

I think that message makes the point much more effectively. A subtle change, but a significant one.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

27. I disagree. It STARTS with messaging, but it doesn't end there.

You then have to go on to actually work for the things you say you do.

I would say more that Dems ignore optics, not just messaging. You have to get the message right in the beginning, but then you need to continue to be seen to be fighting for that message.

[Vinca]

8. Then how else do you explain the way they vote against their own self interest?

By the time Sam Brownback is through there won't be a school left in the state. Maybe they should turn them into psychiatric facilities.

[oberliner]

11. Deceptive messaging

Playing into fears, appealing to "family values", that sort of thing.

[7962]

26. Well, there are different ways to look at it.

For example, I support a national sales tax even though it would make me pay MORE in taxes. I believe it would raise more money for the govt and actually make the rich pay MORE taxes. It would also tax the billions or even trillions of untaxed cash income.
So in a way, voting FOR that would be against MY personal self interest, but I think its best for the country

[freebrew]

40. Not psychiatric facilities,...

prisons. There's way more profit in that and they'll need them if the schools keep failing.

[BubbaFett]

14. More than 50%

[bvf]

32. Not crazy.

Think how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.

- George Carlin

There's all kinds of stupid.

The kind that results in people voting against their interests.

The kind that makes people respond to manipulative appeals to religion and racism--dog whistle or not.

The kind that makes people think not bothering to vote is acceptable.

There's some overlap, especially between the first two.

[Alittleliberal]

48. It might not be helpful

But it sure is fucking accurate.

[m-lekktor]

59. I pretty much think that.

A huge chunk of Americans believe in the rapture and don't believe in evolution!

[Octoberfurst]

7. Democrats lose because they stand for nothing.

I watched some of the campaign ads by Democrats in the swing States and they were horrible! To sum them up they basically said---"I'm a Democrat and I don't agree with Obama on a lot of things but I love guns and Jesus so vote for me!" So insipid. Is it any wonder they lost? Look at how Elizabeth Warren gets the base all excited. She tells it likes it is and explains how the GOP is screwing the little guy over and that Republicans are just Koch whores. That gets people fired up and wanting to vote the GOP out. Not this lame, "I don't like Obama either" crap. Until the Democrats can come up with a solid progressive message and stick to it they are going to continue to lose.

[Ilsa]

10. The message has to be tailored to the target audience.

If constituents in Dumbfuck, TX are all about guns, jeezus, white, and staying ignorant, then you tailor the message to the dumbfucks. But yes, you still tell them what you are gonna do in office.

Warren's message is smart and comprehensive. It's brilliant, but can be limiting.

[LondonReign2]

42. No, that's exactly why we lost

We AREN'T going to get the vote of constituents in Dumbfuck, TX -- EVER. And it is stupid to try. We can't out Republican the Republicans, no matter how much our resident conservadems want us to try.

Those ignorant, white, gun and jesus loving voters will vote for the Republicans, every time. By trying to be like them in the forlorn hope of peeling off a few votes all we do is demotivate the Democratic voters.

We have to stand for our principles, not try to be Republican Lite.

[brutus smith]

47. Correct

I agree 100% with you. Running Repub lite does not win elections. People think why vote for Repub lite when I can have the real Repub.

[northoftheborder]

52. #42 - I agree with your statements. wholeheartedly.

[noiretextatique]

58. bingo! stop trying to get the votes

Of people who have not and will not vote for you. It is a recipe for failure.

[BrotherIvan]

60. Hell yes

"I've seen it happen time after time. When the Democratic candidate allows himself to be put on the defensive and starts apologizing for the New Deal and the fair Deal, and says he really doesn't believe in them, he is sure to lose. The people don't want a phony Democrat. If it's a choice between a genuine Republican, and a Republican in Democratic clothing, the people will choose the genuine article, every time; that is, they will take a Republican before they will a phony Democrat, and I don't want any phony Democratic candidates in this campaign."

Harry S. Truman

[renate]

63. i agree with you a trillion percent

I hope what you're saying is taken to heart by Democrats in 2016 and forever afterwards.

[stillwaiting]

13. Those are the ads that Republicans ran, and they won with them.

Truly a sad indictment on the American electorate.

Dems CAN NOT expect to win when they run like Republicans. It's just not going to happen very often, and if they do somehow win, their chances of losing the next go round are quite high.

[Recursion]

15. It's really not difficult. We lost because we were defending Senate seats won in a Presidential year

on a mid-term. Democrats don't vote in mid-terms like we vote in Presidential elections. We should fix that.

Happens every 4 years or so.

[Fred Sanders]

49. Welcome to DU, I like the cut of your lederhosen.

[stillwaiting]

12. The Democratic Party stands for multinational corporate interests. nt

[TNNurse]

16. Crazy, ignorant, hateful, bigoted liars....

You left out a few.

[TheCowsCameHome]

17. Herding cats.

Try it, and you'll get the idea.

[The Wizard]

19. Thoughts

There will be no meaningful changes. The system is designed to remain static for the most part, no matter who is elected.
The fact that America voted for perpetual war, lower wages and higher living expenses is disheartening, but the powers that be will not foment violent revolution once they understand the government overthrow they've been subliminally suggesting is now the government of themselves.
The Democrats do not have a media/propaganda machine to match the Republicans. It's not just Pox. Pox's blatant propaganda provides cover for the other media outlets to influence the electorate on a more sophisticated level, and therefore more effective.
Those who stand for nothing will fall for anything.
Carlin was right, we have owners.

[noiretextatique]

20. this is a victory designed by SCOTUS

Corporations are people, but people cannot vote. Those fuckers are responsible for this.

[adigal]

21. Democrats are generally intelligent and speak in words of more than one syllable

so the masses don't understand what they are saying. NPR interviewed a Republican voter this morning, and he was, "I don't like Obama, nope, never did, never will, nope, nope." Typical Republican voter, just with a drawl.

[Fred Sanders]

23. Science, Dignity and Facts. Is there anything fucking else? Is that so fucking hard? Is it too much

to unite around saying you voted for your twice elected Preisdent? Of your own fucking party?

Running from your own fucking President and his many successes got fucking noticed...really inspiring shit.

[bvf]

34. Agreed.

Can't see how doing the right thing could have resulted in a worse outcome. Yeah, the dynamics and the electoral map undoubtedly played a big part, but still. . .

[feeshbitZ]

36. Every election I vote in hopes they'll see our support and grow backbones...then disappointment.

Hear hear, Fred Sanders! Its not like its so hard. There are plenty of reasonable, rational people in this country who would vote if they thought it meant anything. Right now democrats are either uninspired (thanks to unfulfilled promises) or disenfranchised (thanks to gerrymandering, election laws, etc). This will not change until democrats stand up for what we all believe in and take on guns (70-90% polling), education, infrastructure, science/R&D (NASA anyone?), UNIVERSAL health care, living wages, gay marriage, marijuana legalization, etc.

These things all poll well and we the people have shown time and time again that we'll turn out as soon as someone gives us some hope that they'll actually stand for what we believe in. And then they get elected and submit to what is effectively a years-long tantrum by the other side. Instead of calling them out on it and carrying on without their help, our officials concede to their shitty demands and try to negotiate against our own interests.

THIS is why people don't turn out. THIS is why we're where we are. Democratic politicians take note - we elect you to stand up for us and fight for what we believe in. If you won't, how do you expect us to throw our support behind you? The Repugnicans may be lying whores for corporations, but at least they STAND FOR SOMETHING.

[Fred Sanders]

41. We all stand for these things but will not stand with our President openly and passionately...bring

back the passion of Howard Dean and fuck the media when they attack him, who the fuck are the fucking media to say?

So we win on all the issues, all of the, but lose election after election because.....no fucking idea, right?

Well, I have a fucking idea why, and maybe it is fucking wrong, but at least it ducking makes sense.

I see Democratics abandoning passion and the passionate President, it is idiotic and just a little bit racist.

And the the fucking corporate media has a fucking feast on the obvious lack of unity and passion, a fucking field day.

Get Obama's back, everywhere, anytime, anyhow, do it.

Why not, because it could have fucking gone SO much fucking worse than it just did?....?......?

[mazzarro]

45. I have never understood why Obama replaced him in the first place

The effort he started had not been completed yet and was jettisoned as soon as he was let go. Now Democrats only contest elections in a handful of places. Go figure.

[Fred Sanders]

46. In this day and age of total loss of personal privacy, who knows what some deep digging dug up.

Still, the message Dean was delivering can be delivered again...stand united, everywhere.

[freebrew]

44. But, he was such an 'unpopular president'...

I kept hearing that over and over. I don't get cable anymore, but the airwaves were full of that, all the time.

At 47% approval, or something like that, it sure as hell beats the 11% congress has or * with 18% .

It would also help if the Democratic Party would run an ad once in a while or a candidate.

[Ed Suspicious]

28. We stand for being sort of like republicans without the rousing dose of crazy.

[lame54]

29. they stand for running away...

The party of Sir Robbin

[humbled_opinion]

38. and it doesn't help when you

lose the squishy middle and that's what happened...

[lonestarnot]

39. Hosed.

And bus eater is having his ass kiss by charlie rose.

[madmom]

43. Yep, I did a lot of thinking and decided even before I read this

this morning, I am changing my party affiliation to Independent. When the Dem party gets their shit together I may come back. Until then ... good luck!

[brutus smith]

50. Choice

People want a clear choice between a Dem and a Repub.

[noiretextatique]

57. switched to green when clinton

Was president, but still vote for the 'we are not as bad as them party.' I need to review the definition of insanity.

[sammy750]

51. Pres. Obama made the greatest recovery

from the G. Bush destruction of the nation, yet the Democrats were silent on the best Economy in decade, recovery of jobs, the AHC bill, and many others. Democrats were a failure and it showed. But the Republicans won on a fraud election, suppression of millions of voters. That will be much worst in 2016.

[DesertDiamond]

54. They certainly don't stand for the right of all citizens to vote and have our votes be counted...

If they did, our leaders and our grassroots members would have been fighting Diebold machines en masse since 2000, and voter suppression now.

[vlyons]

55. We got hosed, creamed, smacked, whupped, repudiated, humiliated, defeated

Did I leave any self-put-down out? Which just shows that fear-mongering and racist hate-mongering are effective strategies.

Shame on Harry Reid for running AGAINST the Koch Bros, rather than running FOR something. Most people don't even know who they are. Shame on Grimes for refusing to say that she voted for Obama. Shame on all those loser Sen and Gov candidates who refused to stand beside Obama on the campaign trail. Shame on all the ones, who refused to laud Obamacare. Shame on all the Hispanics, who didn't vote.

That Jodi Ernst will be a senator makes me want to puuuuke! Well at least the good news is that she will give us 6 years of a barrel of laughs at her stupidity.

BTW: I'm not a Dem. I'm an Independent, who votes for progessives -- if I can find one that is.

[JEB]

61. Triangulation, waffling and searching for nonexistent middle.

With a few exceptions.

[Corruption Inc]

62. The dems stand for letting war criminals and banker crooks go free

along with for-profit insurance, perma-war and trade agreements that outsource jobs.

Guess what repukes stand for? The same f-ing things plus destroying every social safety net ever enacted.

America is corrupt and until we start putting criminals on trial nothing will improve.