ivysnow posted...
my (biggest) issue with the dems is that they seem dead set on giving up nearly as soon as they meet right-wing resistance on anything
I think it depends. You can't Try Harder when it comes to votes. That's a resistance that is insurmountable until they win more elections. Unless you just ignore the laws like some GOP politicians have successfully done in certain places, but Democratic voters (and the media) probably wouldn't let Dem politicians get away with that.
Messaging, yes. I would very much like to see Democrats get angry about the GOPs' fuckery. They do it more often but not enough. They aren't as passionate about progress as the GOP is about dismantling the country...or even if they are passionate, they're clinging to notions of political politeness that no longer exist, so their passion doesn't come out.
Even with all that, there have been some good change that they've managed to push through in the past few years. Chris' student loan example is one.