legendary_zell posted...
A positive vision that inspires hope works pretty well actually. Democrats just refuse to present one and seem to prefer "the other guy is terrible" as their only strategy.
Fear doesn't have the effect of making people think in the exact way you'd hope or expect. It often simply paralyzes and embitters. That's why you need hope.
I've tried to explain it to you countless times: people do not vote or participate in politics based on the mindset you present in these topics. Even someone like Humble Novice who is constantly pushing the "save democracy" button thinks Biden is actually good, not just that we're choosing between slow ruin and fast ruin. People check out if they think that's the case.
I actually see it the opposite way around. Hope and inspiration is great when it happens, but it is fickle and it's a rare talent for candidates to actually be good at campaigning on it (and delivering on hope and change is even more difficult, given the reality of the Republican menace).
What is it going to take to peacefully defeat the GOP and get back to something resembling normal politics in the US? The only answer I can see is the GOP consistently losing in national elections, to the point where it really does have to reform or die.
Which is the easier sales job?
A) running on hope and change for 12+ years with little/no actual progress to show for it because the GOP is still strong enough to block progress at least that long, or
B) trying to grow a solid D base for 12+ years that understands that the highest priority is opposing the GOP menace every November, in every election, at every level, and that all hope of future progress is contingent on first dealing with the Republican menace? Sure, it looks like running only on "Republicans are awful", but that is the truth. It is also true that Republicans have a lot of power, and it's going to take a long, hard campaign to do something about that.