...in a binary system of elections where one party dependably produces for the people, and the other is either trying to own or kill you.

This shouldn't be hard fo people.

they should get it, or they should know, or what they should be feeling and thinking . . . that doesn’t work. That much we do know.

...they have to actually experience the terror so many of us have been experiencing at the hands of armed and armored law enforcement for decades before they make the leap of logic that the binding they intend for the ones they have antipathies for are being fitted by their government for them, as well.

It's not just Democrats out there that are losing their country and the things they've likely relied on from their government all of their lives which are now being callously stripped away.

And this thing some people have about expecting Democrats to tell them is really something. When did they start listening? We've never stopped telling them the way things are.

They have to experience the bottom before they think about standing up.

we convince people not to vote for Trump -- but we don't necessarily convince them to vote for the Democrat.

...not that hard to fathom this.

That's not an option for me & probably not for you, but a lot of people need to be motivated or inspired to vote. Just cuz they vote against Trump doesn't mean they'll vote dem when he's gone, & without good dem majorities not much will change, which feeds the 'both parties are the same' narrative.

Trump lied to every group that would listen and they believed him the 2nd time. You must also break through the propaganda arm, mainstream media and billionaires. What do you want in a 2 party system?

Last edited Tue Jan 27, 2026, 06:06 PM - Edit history (1)

They tossed 30+million people off voter rolls between 2014-2018, legislated strict voter id laws, enacted criminal penalties for ballot box drives & civil liabilities for poll workers, tightened the time frame for ballot counting, restricted mail in voting, & closed polling locations. After years of voter disenfranchisement & gerrymandering many of these people affected by the gops Bs just gave up

3rd choice leads to the Same outcome. I’m not liking people being murdered by the federal government.

It literally took a world wide pandemic for us to win. Sure Trump won't be running again, but he's hardly the only far right nationalist. We will need to keep fighting that. We used to have FDR's New Deal, LBJ's Great Society, things that spoke through action of our political north stars. Even Obama had Yes We Can and The Audacity of Hope which while not as legislatively grounded as FDR or LBJ (for multiple reasons), spoke to our aspirations as a party.

...and this idea that I need to do something more to tell people or convince them of the danger they're experiencing right now.

They didn't listen when we warned them every way possible, and I'm not one to argue this crap to that we didn't say something or the other to make it clear enough for anyone to understand.

They didn't want to listen or understand. Now, maybe they do. But I'll not be told that we didn't say enough, or said the wrong thing to someone.

That's counter to the reality that I live everyday in my 65 years as a human being on this planet.

I literally explained a difference in how we've connected in the past, compared to now, and your response was effectively I won't listen to that.

It's always incumbent on someone making an argument to find a way to reach the audience. As someone who has coached multiple disciplines and been coached in multiple disciplines, you learn that there's not a single message that reaches everyone. Just because you understand something in one way, doesn't mean that works for everyone. And given our recent results of doom and gloom not working electorally, if we want to win, we need to adjust our messaging to sell our party.

Sticking with what hasn't worked just because that message resonates with you, not actually a plan that seems likely to work consistently. When I get donation requests that yell about how we're doomed if I don't chip in 3 dollars, those get deleted immediately. When the Red Cross cries about urgent need for blood, there's only so many times I can donate, they need to find a better way to get more people to donate.

If the only way we can beat Trump with the "he's a horrible person" approach when there's Covid, that's not a winning strategy because we only get that every 100 years. We did the George W Bush is going to kill democracy in 2004, didn't win, we did Trump's supporters are deplorable and he's a threat to democracy in 2016, didn't win. We did Trump's a threat to democracy in 2024, didn't win. When you're saying something people lived through is the sky is falling, and the sky didn't fall as much as claimed, it becomes increasingly ineffective. Is Trump worse than last time? Absolutely. But when we relied on that and ignored that our policies under Biden weren't addressing people's concerns, just saying Trump bad, people bought into Trump wasn't that bad last time, it won't be that bad this time.

...if people want to know what I believe then they need to read what I express to them.

I read and fully understood what you've written.

I just don't think any of it means a thing if people aren't prepared to listen. Maybe they are now.

There's a man in the WH, with a majority party that's trying to either own or kill you. That's not something new that Democrats haven't been relating.

The people who voted for Trump said they cared more about their groceries than their liberty.

Like the people who looked at black youth being gunned down in the streets, or watched school massacre after school massacre, but still voted for the party that refused to lift a finger to act and blocked the party that did.

They needed to care enough to listen. I'm not the person that can be convinced the party didn't do or say something the right way, and has some control over whether people are choosing self interest over the state of the nation.

I can, however, envision they will more compelled to our party's messaging the more they feel their own interests and condition are threatened. But this isn't something I agree the party hasn't already done.

I think the issue of messaging has been pushed forward by so many interests (not you) which have never supported the party and doesn't care to even look sometimes before bashing our leaders for things they either haven't said, or have already repeatedly promoted for anyone bothering to look beyond the teevee news.

I just don't buy it. No one is making a monosyllable appeal to voters just centered on Trump. No one is doing that.

But we are undeniably the anti-Trump party, and that should be enough - and if it isn't, why the fuck not?

Why are these people we're supposed to be appealing to putting all of our lives at risk, and why the hell should I need to mollycoddle them into understanding the danger?

That's been my experience, for anyone new to appealing to Americans for their very lives.

"They didn't listen when we warned them every way possible, and I'm not one to argue this crap to that we didn't say something or the other to make it clear enough for anyone to understand. "

You already made up your mind that we told them everything they needed to hear and you aren't going to listen to any argument that we could have made it more clear. Sorry but that's what you're clearly expressing, and not all of us believe that's the case.

...I'm who I described to you.

I can accept that you have an opinion on this. I read it.

But I don't have a complaint with the party messaging at all.

That's someone elses concern, not mine.

And I'll say again, since you got my attention. I have actual experience in making political appeals to both parties to heed LIFE AND DEATH ISSUES, and some people associating themselves with the party counseled me and others that talking about that was a diversion from whatever they wanted to express.

It's a wonder anyone can listen to me relate that and not just take heed of my experience, but here we are.

IYO. In your opinion we certainly have a lot of work ahead of us.
Which of these camera-hungry national Leaders flew into frigid MSP to participate in the protests?
Mayor Frey was out there. Governor Tim Walz visited Renee Good’s Memorial Murder Site.
Local Community Leaders were out there bundled up marching, singing, praying & being assaulted.
But where were the National politicians who now will be asking for our vote?
Kamala Harris? Chuck Schumer? Hakeem? AOC? Ken Martin?

And under no obligation to do anything. She warned everyone and they still refused to vote for her.

Anti billionaires and their job stealing robots. This should be a really easy message.

They said DT reflected their values. You can’t fight crazy or brainwashing.

is good enough for me at the moment.

THE ANTI-FASCISM PARTY. Because Shady McMaybelline and all the rest of them are still FASCISTS!

This is about the 6th iteration of this "message" from various and sundry "experts." It's a cheap hit on Democrats, IMO.

Remember how after the 2024 election, pundits declared that Harris lost because all she campaigned on was anti-Trump. BS then, BS now.

BTW, these were the same pundits who, on Election Day, declared that Harris had run a flawless campaign.

Same old lie for ten years. "Democrats can't just be the anti-Trump party" being used by one already, I just saw, who I guess is probably going to run or backing someone running because why else say things you know aren't true. Very very disappointing.

Address inflation, address the Government debt issue. Anti Trump is not a party platform.

fighting inflation (groceries, housing, prescription drugs) child tax credit cutting taxes for the middle class and raising taxes on the wealthy and corporations. She talked about economic issues all the time, "sandwich generation" Medicare help, growing the middle class, etc.

If anyone didn't know that, they never heard Harris speak. Biden talked about his accomplishments all the time, job creation, low unemployment, infrastructure, etc. Guess people never heard Biden either.

...a false projection.

Economics IS what Democrats are known for. Dem administrations, blue states -- economy is always better. No bubble economies when burst plunging the country into recession, horrible deficit spending, wars, tax cuts for wealthy and corporations. Everybody does know this and yet it's some sort of mass denial.

Projection.

seems to have worked to achieve unchecked political power for the Retrumplicans. Hell, the fucking media describes it as "political genius"

Why are Democrats the ONLY fucking voters required to have morals, empathy and adhere to the norms of humanity?

BTW - while I was typing, I accidentally spelled media as "mefia". It autocorrected, but I am not sure.

"M-E-F-I-A" is close to MAFIA, and since the networks seem to be nothing but organized crime enterprises, Mefia might be an accurate spelling.

We can -- or at least should... -- unite and know who to """vote against."""

We can't all agree on what to """vote for.""" We are all for universal healthcare, student loan reform, higher taxes in the wealthy, etc. but there is no consensus on the many ways to get there. And that leads to disunity.

We've literally seen this borne out by recent electoral history. We can unite to vote Trump and his MAGA Republicans out of office, but we let them back in rather than vote to keep in office what had been the most progressive administration in our lives.

Trump promised this and promised that, and if Democrats promised THE SAME THINGS---lower prices for eggs and gasoline; reduced inflation, e.g.---WHO WILL TELL THE TRUTH ABOUT THE LIAR?

WHO WILL TELL THE FACTS ABOUT REPUBLICAN LARCENY, MURDERS, TREASON, ETC.?

…to be anti-TSF that it would really cover all the bases. Not to mention he and hiso administration represent an existential threat.

They fought to keep people’s healthcare affordable and the republican’s pushed through their bs make billionaires richer bill. Joe Biden had a jobs and infrastructure plan and he was pushing for more energy efficient jobs. Stop buying republican bull.

...into something like concern for groceries.

'What about the groceries, then? I'm begging you,' isn't the appeal anyone should expect from our leaders representing people under actual armed siege by their government.

than Trump himself.

Will make us lose again. The gop always manages to distill their messaging in simple to understand terms. Yes, its usually dumb slogans but it works.

Trump and his party have gone full fascist. Pretending otherwise and trying to bring the debate to "policy differences" and let's work together in a bipartisan way is a sure way to lose.

Our electorate is out for blood and want the country back. Proposing a milquetoast approach will lose us the momentum.

Every elected R is a PEDOPHILE PROTECTOR, people don't like child molesters. We need to hit them hard
with the facts so all voters understand why they should vote for no Rs during the midterms. We should
also be lining up worthwhile candidates to run against them.