I'm sick and fucking tired of the post-election "why Democrats lost" bullshit.

[GaYellowDawg]

If you knew so GOT DAMN MUCH, then why the fuck didn't you get off your ass and tell the Harris campaign so that we could win it? Nope, better to do jack shit and then try to pick apart the people who actually got out there and tried it.

[TwilightZone]

1. If we don't learn from it, we won't be able to adapt.

It may be annoying, but it's also necessary. What we did clearly didn't work.

Curiously, her largest SuperPAC contacted the campaign a couple weeks ago and said that they thought she was spending too much time focused on Trump. There's probably some truth to that. She was at her best when she was presenting her visions of the future and discussing issues.

As much as many on DU will disagree, ignoring Trump entirely might have been the best strategy. Contrary to claims, everyone knows who he is and beating them over the head with it for the 4,000th time may not have accomplished anything. Going heavily anti-Trump has never really worked - just ask his 2016/2024 primary opponents.

[Bettie]

6. The real lesson in this

is that there are terrible people in our country who are so infused with hate that they are willing to see all of us dead, if they can stick it to whoever they hate.

I'm done acting like they are somehow normal or decent.

[Zeitghost]

16. Yes, there are

But there are not enough of them to win nationwide elections.

Harris lost 5M-10M swing votes that Biden got. And unless we figure out why and do something to bring them back, we will continue to lose.

[LAS14]

28. If you add in the ignorant ones there are enough. And it's ignorance....

... that begins in pre-school. Very hard to address.

[Zeitghost]

29. We've managed to do it

consistently and recently.

[LAS14]

30. The times they are a changin' nt

[sarisataka]

8. It is almost always better to tell people

why they should vote for you rather than against the other guy. I read there was a lot of friction within the campaign between those who wanted to run the planned Biden path and those who wanted to alter it since Harris was now the candidate. It diluted the effort and slowed campaigning while a compromise was (sort of) worked out.

Another big failing, IMO, was Walz. I think he was a brilliant choice, with a down home, 'everyman' appeal. He could have really made a difference appealing to moderate Republicans. However in the last month of the campaign he was essentially invisible. I understand the campaign's concern that they didn't want him to overshadow Harris, but that is up to them to make sure he is amplifying her message without taking center stage.

[Demsrule86]

10. Learn fucking what? Trump said he wanted to kill multiple enemies and mainstream news

just fawned over him. No let's see how happy those who didn't turn out or who voted for f'ing Trump feel at the end of this nightmare. If they will elect Trump they will elect anyone no matter how vile.

[Ferryboat]

14. Many people will have buyers remorse...

in 2 years. Hopefully leading to Ds taking both Senate and House.

Hunker down, watch the administration of TSF where the infighting has already begun.

Those who voted for TSF will be surprised when they learn how Project 2025 affects them, or even sweeter hear them protest they are American Citizens when rounded up.

We are entering a dark time for this country.

[SoCalDavidS]

2. The Clear Reason The Democrats Lost

Half the people in this country are PIECES OF SHIT.

That is why I think this country is forever lost. I am done with attempting to get along with the other side. I do not want to know or associate with them, unless necessary. I do not want them as friends. I do not want to be close to them as family. I'm Fucking Done with the lot of them.

If they are willing to put someone like this in power, then the next one will be even worse. Fuck Them All.

[LiberalLoner]

3. Me too.

[MaeScott]

9. That, and

This vote was hacked. A narrative was set to justify the small% increases in minority and men votes. Other votes for Harris are disappeared, allowing the small rw shift to barely win the EC. We showed up, we voted, and those votes somehow aren’t there. Go figure.

[Elessar Zappa]

19. Where's the evidence that the vote was stolen?

I want a link to a real source. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.

[Dem4life1234]

11. Thank you!

Half the people in this country are fast food inhaling dumbasses.


People need to stop fucking blaming the Dems. Dems did what they could do, but you can't force lazy morons to vote.

I don't give a damn if these morons suffer. I don't.

How in the hell does someone lose in 2020 only to win again! Make that make sense. There was a reason he lost the first damn time. Stupid asses in this country, I am ashamed to share it with them.

[Jk23]

21. You can't win elections with just Rich educated whites and Black woman.

I am sorry at some point you are going to have to appeal to men and the working class

[Yavin4]

24. One would think that a person found liable of rape and convicted of 34 felonies would be disqualifying factors.

But that's not who we are as a nation.

[Duncan Grant]

42. I've been in this sticky trap of a realization since Tuesday.

The only way I can reconcile it is to accept that they really, really, hate us. Pathologically hate us. Especially, white woman. God, they hate our guts.

The last time I felt this was during the late 80s AIDS crisis. This hate matches that hate. Anecdotal, of course, but that’s my experience.

[Freethinker65]

34. I will have little sympathy for idiots that supported Trump because of inflation, immigration, Gaza

when they complain about high costs and longer lines the results of arbitrary higher tariffs and deportation of employees and families Americans have depended on.

When they see Netanyahu, with Trump's blessing continue his ethnic cleansing war and grab the coast of Gaza for real estate development as a bonus.

[ProfessorPlum]

4. Because we aren't in the high-paid group of consultants

who advised the Harris campaign to appeal to anti-Trump Republicans.

Instead of embracing economic populism and firing up our own huge base.

[H2O Man]

33. Well said.

[dalton99a]

44. +1

[DoBW]

5. i know ...

at this point the more useful question seems to be ... why do they win? what is it that works in favor?

[Bettie]

7. Hate

it is their primary driver. They all hate something or someone more than they love anything.

[Dem4life1234]

12. They win

They win due to voter suppression and idiots not voting.

[DoBW]

15. i actually was referring to Dem wins. ...

we all know the maga crap playbook. I think Dems win when voters throw up the poison or wake up and end see through the lies. We started to see examples of this in the Villages in FLA.

[Blue Owl]

13. Especially when it excludes the topic of Russian interference

tRump has been a Russian asset all along, with his "Natasha" (Melania) and Putin-worshipping cronies, and seems like nobody is concerned about their role in this whole mess except for Keith Olbermann and a select few others.

[Initech]

17. How are we supposed to compete with the GOP's nonstop barrage of propaganda?

They have thousands of streams all saying the exact same message. We have... maybe a few. I knew something was fucked up when the LA Times and WaPo both failed to endorse Kamala. But we have to work on fixing this, or we may be under permanent GOP rule for the next few decades.

[Elessar Zappa]

20. NYT did actually endorse Harris.

[Initech]

25. Well, guess they will be gone in January.

Fuck!!

[Orrex]

18. Please tell me how I might have influenced the Harris campaign

Bear in mind that I don’t have seven figures of liquid disposable funds to make myself more persuasive.

[Jk23]

22. Have you tried being a celebrity.

She seemed to love having celebrities around.

[Orrex]

35. I have encyclopedic knowledge of 2nd ed. Dungeons & Dragons trivia

Is that celebrity enough?

[Wingus Dingus]

36. So does Trump--but they can only scrape up Ted Nugent and Kid Rock and

other talentless assclowns.

[Jk23]

37. But that's really the point nobody cares about Beyonce

Seriously there's nothing more useless than having Beyonce or Any other celebrity Speak with the candidate or open for the candidate Trump literally won with Kid Rock and carrot Top or whatever.

We get all the best celebrities and it did us absolutely no good It's time to just kick them off the trail.

I hate to say it but they just don't work.

[Wingus Dingus]

38. That's to engage younger voters. She wasn't proposing making Beyonce the next Secretary of State.

Politicians use the talent that is at their disposal to create as much interest in campaigns as possible.

[Jk23]

41. I think a little goes a long way

I'll be blunt I think the Harris campaign really overplayed the celebrity card as a shortcut.

I think celebrity endorsements are a little like newspaper endorsements they're nice to have but they just simply do nothing for the needle.

But I think Harris is overuse of celebrities particularly created a false narrative that her campaign was doing better than it was.

[Wingus Dingus]

45. She had three months to cobble together a campaign.

She needed shortcuts. No campaign is going to say no to popular, non-controversial celebrities who can help with reaching certain groups of voters, but especially not a campaign who had to make every single event count. No one decided to vote for Trump, or against Harris/Walz, because of Beyonce being at a rally.

[Yavin4]

23. She ran against someone found liable of rape and convicted of 34 felonies.

That should've been more than enough to win. The fact that she lost is a dark reflection on the people who voted for Trump not her, not the Democrats.

[Initech]

26. And don't forget he also tried to overthrow the government.

That should have been the end. Period. We should have done what Brazil did to Bolsonaro and banned him from running for life.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

27. We lost because the incumbent president had a 41% approval rating in exit polls.

He deserved so much better but my opinion isn't controlling. No incumbent American political party's presidential nominee
has ever been re-elected with those numbers. Harris won 15% of the 60% of voters who disapproved of Joe Biden. That's incredible in itself.

[rainy]

31. It's the corporate media, end of discussion!

The election would have never been close if FOX was not allowed to lie under the guise of news. All lies should be cause to lose news license. We need integrity in reporting.
Too much money controlling all aspects of what information is allowed to go mainstream!

[Doodley]

43. That offers no hope for future elections. Better to ask how we overcome the propaganda machine.

[Doodley]

32. Trump is a machine of lies and grievance. Hard to overcome that.

[Ilsa]

39. Me too. Save the postmortum for private gatherings or writings. nt

[Ms. Toad]

40. Sorry, but I did a whole lot more than "Jack shit"

Both proactively to get her elected, and to point out issues in advance. I've had right 5 hours of sleep since Monday, largely due to my election-related activity this week, alone. And the issues I'm pointing out now are the same ones I pointed out before the election.

Those who refuse to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.