Democratic strategist calls for ‘new generation of leaders’ as party plots response to Trump’s victory
Democratic strategist calls for ‘new generation of leaders’ as party plots response to Trump’s victory
Strategist who aided resurgence after Reagan says party should focus on ‘fundamentals’ – but cautions against leftward drift
From remains an unabashed centrist who believes that economic growth, not the economic populism of Sanders or Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, is the answer. “It’s important the critical mass in the Democratic party show that it’s the party of opportunity, responsibility and community but not the party of the left,” he insists.
He also argues that the party should not be afraid to talk about law enforcement and developing a system of community policing rather than urging “defund the police”. Likewise it should embrace the idea of legal immigration and a border that is under control. From applauds governors who have made jobs available to people without college degrees.
This is the exact kind of fucker that just helped get Trump elected.
Yes, and now they are proudly declaring they aren't going to put down the shovel. They want to keep digging this hole we're in.
There is no bottom by the way, they will just keep digging until enough people learn the lessons. If we wait to see how bad it can get it will only get worse.
In an era where people, right and left, are loudly cheering on a guy that allegedly murdered a CEO, this idiot advisor thinks the direction we need to go is defunding Medicare and further privatization of government functions.
This jackass wants Democrats to be a conservative party to respond to the existing conservative party. He literally wants to do the southern strategy again.
Ffs. Get rid of the dinosaurs and start over. If the Dems can't do it, maybe it's time for a new party.
Yeah. I'm done with the dems. After seeing pelosi win from her hospital bed I knew there was no future for this party. Their only identity now is the "not trump" party, which doesnt work when half the country views him favourably.
The Democrats and Republicans being the only game in town is a consequence of our first-past-the-post voting system. We are stuck with the Dems until we change the system. To refuse to use the Democratic Party, our only to effective political tool, is to refuse to engage meaningfully in politics.
The issue with that is the US's first-past-the-post system which results in our two party system. We need to change the system or else a new party will only act as a spoiler.
Yes, I am unfortunately aware of this.
It can probably still be done if it’s truly grass roots. From the bottom up and not straight up aiming for seats in the senate and for the Oval Office. A third party should start winning seats in small elections in small towns where Democrats rule. Like even a school board election matters. Basically every small election where Democrats win uncontested. They need to push incumbent Democrats out first before trying to flip a red seat.
Once the third party has pushed enough Democrats out of their seats the Democrats have no choice than to form an alliance with the new third party. Which would push the Democratic Party to the left.
That’s basically how the Tea Party and later Maga co-opted the GOP.
CGP Grey rocks
This is exactly what they HAVE been doing for DECADES! What a crock of shit!
Yes but now there's a fresh dose of "but not like Bernie" to placate the blue donors.
Oh my fucking God WHY THE EVER LOVING FUCK IS THERE ANOTHER FUCKING INTERVIEW WITH AL FUCKING FROM?!?!?! For fuck's sake, the last time I heard from this fucking dinosaur was after Hillary Clinton lost in 2016, and they were dragging his old ass out of retirement to explain why actually, despite losing to Donald Trump, moderate centrism was a good strategy. Almost ten years later, and they're dragging his even-older ass out here to do the same fucking thing? This dipshit's centrist strategy won one election 32 years ago, and now we've got to listen to him prattle on about how Democrats need to be more moderate forever? I mean, Jesus Fucking Christ, its bad enough we have to listen to a Democratic fuckwad explain why this, "win suburban moderates," strategy is good (even though it has lost to Donald Trump twice now). But for fuck's sake, is it too much to ask that that they at least find a fuckwad who hasn't been politically irrelevant for 20 years? Is their really no one else beside this fucking 80 year-old ghoul that can champion this stupid, obviously ineffective strategy? I mean, fucking hell, what the fuck are we even doing here?
Dems picked a throat cancer ridden geriatric instead of a young woman.
They have a fetish for old farts
To be fair, it was Jerry Connolly's turn. There's nothing more important than that.
I feel u
I read the article and it doesn't really seem that bad. What he says is this:
“Basically what the party needs is some sort of a force – whoever it is – of people who are perceived as future leaders going out and saying: this is what we want this party to stand for. I did it in the 80s and 90s. They can decide what’s appropriate for the 20s and 30s.”
He's not telling us how he wants the party changed, he's just calling for a big visible change in the party that will help us win elections again.
Except you're glossing over the parts where he insists that being centrist and courting moderates, AKA the strategy Democrats have been losing with since 2000, was the path forward:
From remains an unabashed centrist who believes that economic growth, not the economic populism of Sanders or Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, is the answer. “It’s important the critical mass in the Democratic party show that it’s the party of opportunity, responsibility and community but not the party of the left,” he insists.
“The Democratic base alone is not enough to win elections, he warns. The party needs to reach moderate voters in the suburbs who “love the compassion” of the Democrats but question whether they have the “toughness to govern” as well.
Every pundit is saying the same stuff he's saying about working on the party’s communication, finding fresh faces for leadership, winning back the working class, etc., but he's being dragged back out to push centrism and remind everyone of the one time this strategy payed off in the 90s. I mean, he's literally saying they should, "not [be] the party of the left," after Harris got her ass handed to her with a centrist campaign. It's absurd.
The democratic party is always going to shun leftism because they get a buttload of money every year to turn a blind eye to good reform policies. Money and leftism dont mix, so the money makes sure leftism doesnt stick.
The Democrats are going to follow the people who vote. They get money from corporate donors to be neoliberals. We need a socialist and progressive movement to co-opt the Democratic party. But in the mean time, as long as we still have elections, we can kick fascists out of power and get the Democrats to cater to leftists incrementally.
This isn't enough to solve climate change or wealth inequality, but until the Democratic party is co-opted the way the Republican party was by MAGA we need to exercise power by voting for the candidates the furthest to the left in elections. Between elections we need grassroots movements to get better candidates.
for the candidates the furthest to the left in elections
I agree, I just wish that wasn't "senile corporate centrist" every single damn time
Hilarious. Why do a less committed version of the same shitty politics as the other party? Who the fuck is this going to win over? Did you miss what happened in November?
I would ask if they were high but that would encourage creativity and awaken any remaining embers of idealism so it can't be the case.
Just leaving this here for no particular reason https://youtu.be/3cdqQ2BdgOA?si=eDv9_1tiy_bvlFCJ
His name being "From" makes this difficult to parse.
We're all here to hear it all from Al From here.
SHIVERS [Medium: Success]
Democrat strategist boardroom, 2AM. Three men are pacing around a conference table, their polished leather shoes staining the papers scattered across the dimly lit room. They look stumped, sweat dripping from their reddened foreheads. One of the men stammers half words and stops himself, discarding another idea. The man to his left lights a cigarette.
After an uncomfortable silence, glimmer returns to his eyes, he snaps his fingers and promptly says: "What if we sucked even worse?"
Literally "you know who was a great president? Ronald Reagan".
I want to get off of Mr. Jazz Asphodel's wild ride :(
Disco shitposts are the absolute pinnacle of the art.
The Democratic strategists predictably have both learned nothing from this losing this election and are planning on shifting the party to the right. Accelerationism is useless. There was no leverage over the Democrats, instead they are going to chase after moderates and conservatives who voted. If we are lucky enough to have another election, please vote and encourage other people to vote.
the lack of votes is because the democrats suck; telling them to vote wo addressing the reasons why they don't vote is a waste of time.
There can be more than one lesson from an election. Democrats need a populist socialist and progressive narrative. Socialists, progressives, and leftists in general need to push the Democrats to the left by voting for them during elections. Between elections we need grassroots movements to get better candidates.
If leftists cling to accelerationism in 2026 and 2028 we will see the rightward trend of the Democrat party continue. Accelerationism makes it harder to fix things by allowing them to get worse while learning nothing.
Vote for who? The democrats were unelectable this election and will remain unelectable until they ditch their corporate status quo nonsense. This isn't to say Trump is a better option, but the GOP and DNC were never competing on the same level and thinking they are will only lead to more Trump or Trump wannabes because no matter how much you (or anyone else) tell people to vote people won't vote for the current DNC.
Democrats of course because they are the furthest left, by virtue of being the least conservative, viable party we have. They are the only political tool available because of our first-past-the-post system.
Democrats cannot be leveraged by not voting for them. They have to be pushed to the left by voting for them. If they see there is a large block of socialist and progressive voters in the electorate they will move to capture these voters.
Until leftists learn to see their vote as a routine utility based decision they will not have any political power. To not vote is to give up power. Getting better candidates comes from grassroots movements between elections.
If we don't want to live under fascist rule then as long as we still have elections we need to vote for the Democrats. We need to tell people to vote for the Democrats and explain why. If anyone has the energy to argue on the internet then they can argue for the most useful approach we have.
No one thinks the Democrats are a great political party. But voting is the means of liberating ourselves from Republican rule in a two-party system. If people won't vote for Democrats then they will be ruled by fascists.
People will vote in their own self-interest. The amount of energy that goes into trying to make the most useful things people could do during elections, vote for Democrats, seem useless is of course to the benefit of the owner class and Republicans.
lolwut, maybe read your own post it's contradictory.
What USA needs is more political parties.
The US has more political parties. What we need is a voting system where third parties are not spoiler candidates.
We need progressives, not neoliberals
We need STAR voting, not First Past The Post voting.
Can't do that without electing radicals.
And socialists too! =)
AOC should be the next head of the party. If not they will fail. No one else in the party now is good enough except Bernie but he's too old now. Nancy needs to go
the DNC needs to be completely overhauled or thrown out. Bernie would’ve definitely beat Trump but they actively conspired against him, and then when sued for fraud, claimed they never said they’re actually democratic, in spite of the name… and won in court.
the GOP tried to stop Trump as well, and in spite of being complete pieces of shit, they actually are democratic and couldn’t stop him.
but, as they say, the entire system is stupid and designed to fuck us over.
i see this continuing until the collapse of the usa, and probably the entire planet’s ecosystemAOC voted to keep the rail corporation safe from a union strike. We deserve better representation.
Okay. Do you have a better name in mind? I don't agree with everything AOC has done, but she has been a needed change to the party.
Also, a great out of context quote that somehow works better out of context at showing how bad these ideas are.
“You’d think the Democrats would do better. I look at it from that perspective and so are we in as deep trouble as we were in 1984, 1988? Probably not. But there are trends like what’s happening among working-class voters of all colours and ethnic groups that are concerning. If they aren’t arrested, they could lead us into the wilderness again.”
Cheryl, it sounds like grandpa is off his meds again. Can you get him into the living room and in front of the TV so he doesn't scare the kids?
Grandpa wants to arrest everyone again!
"wE don't NeEd aN extRemiSt."
Never gonna happen :(
We need Ben Wikler as the new DNC head or we're all doomed (again)
We need people with better ideas. Progressive and socialist ideas specifically.