Are the Democrats' problems tactical, strategic or systemic?

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Ostensibly, the Democrats' platform has a lot to appeal to a broad coalition of large and growing groups in the US: Women, minorities, the disabled, city dwellers, the elderly, the young, parents, the working and middle class.

The problem with a "broad coalition" is that appealing to it becomes a balancing act. These aren't eight different groups who all agree with 100% of the Democratic platform; they're several different factions who may have nothing more in common politically than a desire to defeat Republicans. A policy aimed to appeal to the disabled may draw the ire of the working class, or a policy attempting to court younger voters may make older voters feel resentful.

Broadly speaking, you can never go wrong appealing to people's fears and prejudices. For the last forty years, the modern GOP has been doing little else. It's all a big backlash against social progress made in the 60s and 70s for backs and women. That's when republicans turned against the government because it had, in their eyes, betrayed them. Henceforth they have been against any and every policy that might materially benefit the average American. The NRA became a second amendment lobbying group. Evangelicals suddenly developed feelings about abortion rights. All one big backlash.

It's easy to appeal to peoples fears. It's harder to appeal to their intellect or better impulses.

It’s kind of crazy to suggest they have a problem honestly. They’ve won most of their elections over the last few years, they’ve won the popular presidential vote almost every election since 1992. I think their messaging could be vastly improved but, by and large, the Democratic Party represents the views of the majority of Americans.

I'll take the ineffective communication box. Not so much that the dems are incapable of communicating. Moreso Republicans have dogma on their side.

Did you know that in 2024 Republican administrations are better for the economy? Actual experience unequivocally says no. But dogma generally accepts that Republicans are better for the economy. Then there is jingoism: they are better because Reagan said so. They are superior morally because my preacher says so. Jesus loves me, this I know, 'cause the Bible tells me so. History and experience pale next to jingoism.

People are not immune from dogma and jingoism, be they R or D. Dems were once in the grip of one of the worst examples of Jingoism and dogma: "white" people are superior to "colored" people. We've been working at that a long time, but those who break from dogma are automatically "outsiders" And not to be trusted by the "insiders". SEE: Galileo.

The Democratic coalition requires a level of voter dissonance that is very fragile. Black voters that are religious, socially conservative union workers, small business owners - they're all part of a segment the Democratic Party focuses on, but even a small defection causes major problems electorally.

The Democratic Party doesn't really have an answer for it, because the baseline expectation is that identity trumps all. Black? Poor or working class? Female or LGBTQ? You should vote for Democrats. Why? Don't worry about it. Works great for people who put their identity before policy, but not so much for the rest of the electorate.

It doesn't have to be this way, so it's not strategic, and it wasn't always this way, so it's not systemic. The Democratic Party has allowed itself to get this way, and it's a tactical error designed for short term wins rather than sustainable efforts. That the right took over the populist label with the Tea Party was a great example of the issues inherent to the Democratic Party: it's all voters that they assumed were for them. George Lakoff and the idea that the Democratic Party represents one's "best interests" further sends a message to more skeptical voters that the Democrats are out of touch with what's happening in the real world. This is all a choice.

(And before anyone goes "but Republicans," the GOP was a mess before Trump, and is a dumpster fire now. But they keep winning despite it because they have a systemic bias toward politically active voting blocs, especially the religious. The Democrats ceded that ground everywhere except the Northeast decades ago, and they've shown only hostility since then.)

The worst is this:

To what degree is there a consensus diagnosis of the problem(s)? What, if anything, are they trying to do about it?

There is no consensus because the Democratic Party doesn't believe there's a problem. You have activists yelling about the popular vote wins, you have pundits who talk about the issues as if everyone already agrees with them, you tailor your outreach toward identity groups to an extent that it actively feels hostile toward the out-groups, capture the bulk of the print and television media while complaining about a conservative bias in reporting, and wax poetic about the sanctity of democracy after challenging every Republican victory after 1988. And much like the Republicans with Trump, until the Democrats stop winning anything and face an electoral reckoning, nothing will change. And that reckoning will come eventually, and the longer it takes, the worse it will get.

Systemic mostly. The system is set up so that Republicans can do far more with far less. They require fewer votes to gain power, their policies can be enacted with less political capital, and the judiciary can undo liberal policies easier than it can enact them.

Their policies of saying no and tearing things down are simpler to campaign on than implementing things, so Democrats rely on these coalitions of voters with conflicting interests.

They don’t have the media power. Partisan media is a big industry on the right. Books, audio, speeches, religion, magazines, merch, it’s all about the money. Regular folks have no idea the extent of this industry. The Dems, the left and people who aren’t political have no idea what the hell 30% of the country is up to.

Of that coalition, the groups you mention, whose interests are they serving?

Women who they sometimes won’t admit exist or are unwilling to define? Women get offended when you refuse to admit they exist, or insist in something idiotic like “birthing persons”.

Minorities? Democrats have not been good to African Americans who seem to be waking up to this reality, more and more voting republican, as democrats pushed their attention to Latin American immigrants. And this offended many Latin Americans who immigrated legally, who have been offended that new immigrants aren’t held to the same immigration standards. Also the reality that the black community and the Latin American community tend to disagree more often with the LGBT movement that has received more of democrat’s attention of late.

The elderly? Who they killed by putting people with covid into nursing homes? The people on fixed incomes struggling with the inflation as much as anyone?

The working and middle class, who democrats are cheering a tax increase for, when Trump era tax cuts sunset?

Sorry, the coalition isn’t what you think it is.

All of the above.... The fact that Trump can claim he is the Populist shows there is a huge messaging/tactical/strategic error. And the reason for those errors is because our system is corrupted by big money, because since the ruling that you can basically donate infinite amounts the democratic party needed to get a slice of the pie or risk losing our on the money battle completely, so they have their own special interests. And often they seem to share in the same interests, military industrial complex (jobs in their state, money to their campaigns) big pharma, big oil/energy, etc.

Which is why we can't get universal healthcare, cheap drugs, gun laws, laws to protect the environment, worker protections, basic living wage. Capitalists all want the same thing and the Democrats have embraced the almighty dollar, not the almighty worker.

There is also a lot more, Dems always cleaning up the mess of Republicans. GOP gets tax cuts (for wealthy) and then Dems in power and the GOP all the sudden cares about the debt, while still wanting more tax cuts. The GOP messaging is better "we gave you tax cuts" (even though the "you" may only represent 2% of people who didn't need the help) vs "we have a great infrastructure bill"!!!!...

Dems have been terrible at messaging because they think too highly of themselves that the world should speak for itself and they don't need to do more. But the GOP is all about messaging, it is how they succeeded at convincing people of going along with things they don't agree with, "the patriot act" "help America vote act" "pro-life".....

When the Dems party does have power they squabble for perfection often instead of getting what is possible, you often see many vote against and speak out against each other's legislation, when Dems are in majority. But GOP is in lockstep for the most part, their agenda is hidden (help big corporations seems to be the major goal, and recently make America a Christian nation, scary) and created by think-tanks like the heritage foundation, while Dems are constantly working to please the peoples many demands, and people have very diverse opinions, which makes it hard to be the party that welcomes in everyone. Also a big reason the two party system itself is busted.

The real issue is that the right wing propaganda machine as brainwashed Republicans with lies and bullshit using racism, misogyny, homophobia and xenophobia. Republicans tend to fall in line and do what they are told while the Democratic party is many different groups that cannot agree on many policies and tend to not stick together. Add in the Electoral College and now we are all screwed because without the Electoral College we would not have had the two worst modern Presidents that have caused the most damage.

After the other night? Ethical.

We’ve been gaslit with “really, Joe’s sharp as a tack” for years from the people who insisted democracy is in danger and only The Party of Truth And Justice Can Save Us (TM).

You’d think at least they’d be better at lying.

All of the above.

Tactically, the Democrats are unable or unwilling to respond appropriately to their opposition being insurrectionist, campaign finance violating felons, and rapists.

Strategically, the Democrats are fielding a fairly unpopular incumbent whose mental decline is obvious and upsetting. He legitimately should not be in the most powerful position in the world. The fact that his opponent is even worse isn't a good enough reason.

Systemically, the Democrats have failed to address the way insurrectionist Republicans have infiltrated state and local electoral oversight positions, are openly planning to attempt another insurrection if they lose again, and they're also not able or willing to address the GOP structural advantages of the electoral college.

The problem with the dnc are tactical, strategic, and systemic. The organization is rotten top to bottom. This was shown in 16 and again in 20 and we just keep reaching new lows. The establishment types need to be ejected from the party if they wish to be successful. Baring a miracle Biden is dead in the water and already managed to lose the election (you never know with frump though 🤡) but should have lost let’s say.

Dems are totally corrupt and out of touch. Strategically the Dems are lost. They chose to quadruple down with this Weimar neo liberal conservative agenda that has failed every western country that tried it and destroyed the United States middle class. The gop at least were smart enough to see the writing on the wall. People are fed up with the system the economy the country the way business is done. People elected Obama for this change that never happened. People voted for trump for this change that never happened. Politics will get more and more extreme until change comes. Democrats need to lean into the left. They will not because the organization exists to protect the system and prevent change. Democrats will not win but they aren’t trying to.

All of the above.

Tactics: They're pulling in suburban RINOs turns off the young and more progressive parts of their coalitions. (They're catering to them by adopting Republican policies.)

Strategic: They're emphasizing their hippie counterculture new-social-order roots and their Clinton-style Reaganomics policies. Voter's despise both of those things.

Systematic: There's rot in the post war recasting of Liberalism as an idea. They've chosen to discard state intervention as a thing that can be just. All of the effective redistributive policies, the things people need ultimately, require direct intervention by the state.

Systemic and strategic. It is and has always been a coalition based party cycling through different interest groups in a big tent (contra the more Middle Class and regional GOP). But in recent years, its tent has had certain poles crack and holes cut into it.

It’s evolved into basically an urban-interest party placating its professional, college educated group while kicking out anything and anyone considered gauche to them. Rural types, more conservative union members, hard leftists, etc. One that caters to a big and diverse population, but isn’t drawing from them.

It’s dinosaur like gerontocrats buoeyed by young political activists in a West Wing-y bubble. They’ve tried to remedy this, but an inertia is there preventing it and causing dissonance. The GOP can afford it because it’s comfortable with its elderly support and has a well-groomed pipeline bringing in fresh blood. The Dems are a party of youth that mostly just promotes upon death.

I got here because I read a brief summary of Project 2025, and immediately wondered, as I so often do when I come across these manifestos, why the Democrats haven't released their own "Project 2025". And of course, that's because it doesn't exist. Because they NEVER have a plan.

The last two years, while the Republican party has been hard at work crafting a comprehensive plan, getting on message, putting all their ducks in a row, preparing for battle, the Democratic party has been twiddling its f*cking thumbs. They literally don't have strategic vision for the future of America for the next four years, yet alone the next 50 or 100. As a result, they're constantly on the defensive, responding to the ideas, the strategies, and the effective implementation that we consistently see from the Republican party. They think that fear of the alternative is enough of a strategy to motivate voters, but it's just not. That may last for a single election cycle, but it's not enough to keep voters engaged for the longterm, which is why they constantly have to battle for those flipflop voters.

They also think negotiating with a party that absolutely refuses to negotiate on anything is somehow going to score them "righteous" brownie points. Look at what going toward the center did for Obama.

I'm literally sick of voting Democrat because it feels pointless, will never vote Republican, and can think of nothing more horrible than running for office myself, so I'm just over it.

That’s not true at all. The democrats have something/ someone that the republicans don’t want to see come forward.. they have someone who knows exactly what has been going on for a very long time. That person has also witnessed it firsthand, and they have a very long list of people who have been involved in this scheme..

The problem is systemic. The poor and needy must remain poor and needy in order to serve as a threat and an incentive for others to do whatever it takes, against all reason or humanity, if necessary despite cruelty, to any cause that promises to be lucrative and to obey in this sense. This is how we came to this world, in which we are heading for a future that nobody wants and yet nobody can prevent. The party that has taken up the cause of helping the poor and needy must never succeed in this. And so they vote and vote and nothing changes. And so they vote for "the other party". What other choice do they have?

Republicans make appeals to emotion rather than coming up with any cogent policies because the Republican mantra is mostly a reactionary one at the moment. And it does seem to work very well.

There is an equally broad Republican coalition like the Democratic one but a lot of it centers around very narrow special interests (e.g., less regulations for the business class, keeping gun rights the same, restrictions on abortion, etc.).

None of these things require any real debate or policymaking. Just cross out the old law or bring the old law back.

Meanwhile, a lot of things that Democratic leaning people want (embrace of change) do require debate and serious policymaking. They often require carveouts from state budgets, new taxes, new fees, etc. to bring to fruition. And in many cases, people want their pet cause to come first.

The Republicans can keep their coalition together because conservatism requires no resources or policymaking. It's all about keeping things the same. Meanwhile Democratic-centric priorities require resources and attention that not everyone within this coalition is willing to give.

I say systemic. It goes from the bottom to the top. The American election process is insane. It caters to those who are old and have money. The average Americans feel like they don't have a candidate on either side because of party politics.

The democrats seem just as divided as the Republicans. But the Republicans have let it almost destroy them. If the moderates in the Democrat party don't listen to the ever growing progressive side, they will find themselves in the same boat.

While Biden worries about America, Here is what Trump obsesses about daily in his own words

 https://youtu.be/Wf92dYPbzx8

um its how the senate and the electoral college was set up. theyre disadvantaged because small states support republican ideas, large states support democrat ideas. thats kind of why their platform and their ideologies are different.....

Republicans are the party of the White Christian conservative majority, while Democrats get everyone else.

I think Bernie Sanders said it best, the DNC has become the party of the coastal elites. They’re too focused on all these intersectional social justice stuff that the west coast elites love. And they have completely abandoned the working class.

'I think it is fair to say that in many ways the Democratic Party has become a party of the coastal elites, folks who have a lot of money, upper-middle-class people who are good people, who believe in social justice in many respects,' Sanders said, Newsweek reports.

‘But I think for many, many years the Democratic Party has not paid the kind of attention to working-class needs that they should've.' Party demographics have shifted as more donors and businesses fund campaigns, Sanders asserted.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8900189/Bernie-Sanders-says-Democratic-Party-party-coastal-elites.html

Your comment pretty much encapsulates the issues they have. The DNC has all but abandoned the issues of the working class and kitchen table issues in favor of trying to pander to social issues in large part due to wealthy donors.

All these "Political Discussion" Questions seem geared to sowing fear and worry in Democrats.

They never ask about the systemic racism and problems with getting people who actually have an education to vote for Republicans.

The democratic party is corrupt. Yes, the GOP is corrupt too, but the GOP’s corruption isn’t cynical like the democrats. The democrats claim to be the party of the people and the environment but those are all just lies. They are the party of the people that give them money.

The Democratic party has been hijacked by fringe goups. Groups that imagine that they have the moral high ground which justifies them ignoring the wishes of at least half of the American population. Whether Democrats wish to accept it or not, this craze of catering to an alphabet soup of minority groups has alienated the majority white population. Many whites don't want to vote for Trump, they just feel that they don't have a choice.

Should the Democrats actually decide that they want to win the election, they should run a straight, white, male middle of the road candidate. Many current Trump supporters would go for that.

For those of you who object to this you need to open your eyes. The general American public is not ready for a female president, a black president (specifically an African American, Obama's unique heritage made him more palatable to the white public), a gay president, a disabled president.

Democrats are paying the price for ignoring the majority ethnic group in the country; White Protestants.

All of the above

Republicans have convinced racists and small minded folk that they are the party for them. Those folk happen to be found in abundance in rural states, meaning freebie Senate seats and electoral votes

Tactically, Democrats must also satisfy a party that is all about inclusion and protecting of the disenfranchised. That means religiously devout Catholic Latinos share a party with atheist drag queens and nonbinaries and somehow, they must like being in that same big tent

Strategically. Democrats try to appeal to the head with facts and plans. This is not always useful when their opponents appeal to the lizard brain and fear of the other. Democrats attack and are easily attacked by gaffes. Republicans attack identities and villainize their opponents

systemic... the DNC apparatchik is still very much owned and operated by conservatives and like conservatives everywhere they fear change and favor power.

but change is coming

we will either change proactively or we will be forced to change reactively (in many ways this is already happening).

so the the problem is systemic and i'm not sure anything short of a complete overhaul can fix it.