if you'll allow me to ask: is it upsetting - or rather, disappointing for you that the democratic party has carried themselves this way?
in your mind, why do you reckon the democratic party would try to cater more towards Annoying Orange haters rather than the majority? was this also in the name of donors?
This turned out longer than expected.
Disappointing? Yes. Upsetting? Maybe, but I shouldn't have held out any hope after 2016. The reason they're geared towards moderate republicans is that, barring maybe gun rights and abortion, there is
very little difference between what the establishment Democrats want and what moderate Republicans want. Pelosi and Schumer, for example, are center-right Democrats who've been able to rise to the top of the party because their positions are palatable to top Democratic donors.
Joe Biden is the same. Hell, he was the conservative balance to Obama's ticket in 2008 (
before Obama proved he was also much less progressive than he let on.) Obama picked Joe Biden after a hard fought DNC (
don't forget, before there were "bernie bros" there were "obama boys") to hint to the establishment that, don't worry, I won't get too out of hand. Joe Biden's position is essentially that everything should go back to the way things were when Obama left office--ignoring the fact that "the way things were" in 2016 was terrible for a lot of people and is directly and explicitly what led to Annoying Orange. If they wanted to market to progressives and independents and non-voters, they would endorse wildly popular legislation like Medicare for All or legalized marijuana--I mean, honestly, can you imagine how many people legalized marijuana would flip instantly? How much good freeing everyone who's in jail for non-violent drug offenses would do? They won't because they don't want to. The policy they're suggesting is the policy they want. Joe Biden's policy is the status quo and they're marketing to moderate Republicans because they don't
want to change a single piece of their policy.
This isn't a new phenomenon. In 1968 they nominated Hubert Humphrey instead of Eugene McCarthy. They nominated Mondale then Dukakis instead of Jesse Jackson. Kerry instead of Dean. Clinton, and now Biden instead of Sanders. Carter, Clinton, and Obama are the only three Democrats we've had in office in the last fifty years. The Democratic Party's policy of "maybe if we were more conservative we'd get elected" worked for Bill Clinton--against a weak candidate--and never worked again. Obama and Carter won because they had progressive optics that appealed to young voters. (Obama's going to close Guantanamo, fight the banks, make America green, end the war on drugs, and give us healthcare, right?) Biden does not have progressive optics and he
obviously does not appeal to young voters. He's not even trying to. He's not the candidate for Hispanic voters. He's not the candidate for women. That's why he will not win. Clearly since the Democratic Party is still chugging along, this is a winning position for them.
When they lose, they're going to blame progressives and third party voters for not wanting yet another status quo conservative Democrat. If they win, Annoying Orange or someone just like him is going to be running for the GOP in 2024. I'm not disappointed so much that the Democratic Party has carried themselves this way as I am disappointed that the party of FDR has been co-opted by very rich and powerful people and no longer even tries to help working-class people. Frankly, I hope reality proves me wrong. Maybe Joe Biden will get elected and do some good. But, as far as I can tell, this is the state of the party and the fate of the country.
https://twitter.com/KamalaHarris/status/1267555018128965643
From the horse's mouth.
tweeting a bail fund for protestors against police brutality is not the same as their campaign financing rioters
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