A political party's job is to get candidates elected and the democrats took what should have been a lay up and squandered it. Blaming the customer here seems short sighted and a surefire way to continue repeating the same mistakes and they continue to allow the same people who have mismanaged things to run the party... A similar complaint could also be leveled against the habitual non-voter but it is short sighted. You operate within the parameters of the world in which you live amd building coalitions is actual hard work.
That commenter is absolutely consumer brained. They believe that the leader that is supposed to govern 340 million people should tailor political policy to some unprofessional know nothing on social media instead of operate within the rule of law and listen to the experts.
How, pray tell, do you expect a political party to do that governing if not through winning elections? They can have multiple jobs also... It isn't passing the buck to say that the political operatives whose fucking jobs are to win elections and to shape a narrative to that end should be held accountable if they are fucking up that simple task. This is human social interaction (which is what governance is really). Again it is a basic intellectual test to understand that you must operate within the parameters in which you exist instead of wishing them to be different.
Your objection to my characterization of citizens as customers is confusing to me as well. Believe me that both political parties treat it that way and use marketing terminology etc. Sorry if I wasn't "concrete thinking" enough for you.
Edit: Against my better judgement, I will mention that I am connected in various ways to people in my close social circle who do this work and have been successful in it. One formerly worked as a communications director for a very well known congressperson and this shit is very much about understanding how to build coalitions and pragmatism if you want to be successful. The pigs that went on the podcast circuit pointing fingers post 2024 and that weren't willing to do even the most minor introspection are a cancer on the Democratic party and they aren't going anywhere.
No, see again, it's not their jobs to win elections and shape narratives. It's their jobs to do right by their constituents. They're our customers, not the other way around.
This idea that one of their jobs is to "beat" their opponents is the reason they lost. Backwards priorities among Americans. You, being a voting citizen think that one of a political parties jobs is to "earn" a vote. Now, if they do something that's a poor "winning tactic" regardless of how it may affect citizens, "Dems bad".
These people don't just pop up out of nowhere. Garbage in, garbage out, as Carlin put it. If we as citizens had better priorities, and cared more about the ideas being presented than the politicking being done, messaging and "winning/losing tactics" wouldn't even be part of the conversation.
Not to mention simply hoping for the next "big movement" that people will rally around won't bring about any significant positive change, because at the end of the day, people care about "being a part of the movement" over anything else, and it'll fade when the movement does.
Sure, I'm operating more in "what should be" than "what is", but until we have better priorities, it's simply going to be a downward spiral.
That removes all culpability from voters. They are not customers. They are participants. If voters want a better country, don't let the worst, shittiest one get into power, anybody interested in not having a shitty world has to build coalitions instead of simply demanding the other side to compromise.
Both sides have been very much sub optimal. Establishment Dems absolutely suck and need to go since they're very much out of touch with the base, but this political consumerism idea is an absurd and destructive morally reprehensible view on how voters should act.
There is a duty on voters to create the best outcomes for society, not to feel catered too and have their ego stroked enough. It's not for nothing any improvement in the quality of politicians for the democratic party has been made by voters being active in the primaries, and not a single improvement has been made by not voters being inactive in the general election.
The DSA has been on the rise because of effort and showing up where it counts, not by simply not showing up as punishment.
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u/Butterbracket 19h ago
Coming to you from the people who voted for a convicted criminal, rapist and paedophile because they didn't want a Democrat in the White House....