The Democratic Party is on Life Support!

[Hardkill]

1. The Democratic Party lost horrifically to Trump/MAGA. 2024 was winnable. But Democrats blew it — paralyzed between loyalty to Biden and fear of change. Now the far right controls the narrative and the government.

2. Biden’s exit cost them big. Yes, he was aging. But forcing him out late meant:

• Losing the incumbency effect
• Losing party unity
• Gaining confusion, infighting, and scrambled messaging

3. The DNC under Ken Martin is a slow implosion.

He promised modernization and unity. Instead:

• Mismanaged 2024’s transition
• Alienated progressives and youth
• Failed to build long-term infrastructure

4. David Hogg got pushed out as DNC Vice-Chair. A young, energized activist removed for being too vocal. The message? "Sit down, fall in line, or get out."
Great way to keep the next generation engaged, right?

5. And now? The DNC is facing a funding crisis.

• Donors are pulling out
• Grassroots enthusiasm is dead
• No vision, no inspiration — and it shows

6. The “Big Betrayal” bill gutted Biden’s biggest win. The Inflation Reduction Act — climate investments, tax reform — rolled back. Meanwhile, Trump-era tax cuts were extended. So… what did Democrats actually defend?

7. Trump owns the narrative. He speaks in emotion and clarity. Democrats speak in half-apologies and policy memos.You can’t beat propaganda with bullet points.

8. Right-wing media is a war machine. Fox, YouTube, TikTok, podcasts — cultural dominance. Democrats? Still living in the MSNBC bubble, clinging to legacy media. This isn’t just bad strategy. It’s suicide.

9. The courts are fully captured.
SCOTUS has shredded:

• Voting rights
• Student debt relief
• Climate authority
• Executive power

And Dems still won’t touch court reform. They act like the rules are fair.

10. Economic populism was the one unifying message — and they ran from it.
The working class wants bold action.
Democrats gave them donor-tested slogans.
Trump moved into the anti-elite lane. Again.

11. Now they’re terrified of Zohran Mamdani.
He won NYC’s mayoral primary on rent control, public goods, and worker-first messaging.
The DNC is panicking. Why? Because he connects. Because he exposes their timidity.

12. I don’t think Gavin Newsom can save them either.
I like some of what he’s done. I respect his pushback against Trump.
But right now, he governs safely within the donor bubble. He hasn’t shown bold economic vision.
Could he be pushed left like Biden was? Maybe. But I’m skeptical.

13. And I’m not just focused on him.
There are leaders I respect:

• Josh Shapiro
• Tim Walz
• Andy Beshear
• Wes Moore

But even the best of them can’t fix a party this broken — not alone. It’s the system that’s collapsing.

14. The party’s approval rating is at a historic low. That’s not about “messaging.” It’s about people giving up — on leadership, on vision, on a party that talks equity but won't confront power. And I’m starting to feel that too.

15. I’m not feeling optimistic right now. I want to believe we can turn this around. I want to believe someone will rise to the moment.
But watching the same mistakes play out again — while the right consolidates power — is exhausting. This doesn’t feel like a crossroads anymore. It feels like decline.

16. Still, I believe in the people — not the institution. Maybe the Democratic Party can change. Maybe it has to be rebuilt from the ground up.
Either way, it won’t be saved from the top. It starts with those of us refusing to settle.

 

The party needs an exorcism. Or it needs to be replaced.

* Sorry if I bolded too many words.

 

Edited July 3 by Hardkill

[hoodrow trillson]

The Republican Party went through the same thing when Obama got elected twice.  Absolutely destroyed by Obama.  The Democratic Party will be back (assuming this doesn’t turn into an actual authoritarian state lol)

I’ll tell you what though, even though people are angry at the Democratic Party and shitting on them — this era of American history with Republicans will be seen as a stain in the history books.

[Hardkill]

18 minutes ago, hoodrow trillson said:

The Republican Party went through the same thing when Obama got elected twice.  Absolutely destroyed by Obama.  The Democratic Party will be back (assuming this doesn’t turn into an actual authoritarian state lol)

I’ll tell you what though, even though people are angry at the Democratic Party and shitting on them — this era of American history with Republicans will be seen as a stain in the history books.

I hope you're right. 

Though I don't see the light at the end of tunnel right now.

There's no clear viable strategy at this point to save itself, let alone save the country.

[Raze]

I think Trump will cause so much damage democrats will do well in 2026 and 2028.

The issue is they’re going to try and maintain the establishment status quo and kneecap any progressive insurgency.

You can see how they tried it with Mamdani, Cuomo had something like triple the amount of funding. They’ll be even more intense in races they view as more important like congress or presidential primaries.

I think they’ll succeed, the progressive base really is not organized or coherent enough to challenge the establishment. The Bernie Sanders losses and the whole stuff and backlash seemed to have shattered them.

While polls show democrats are unhappy with the party and leadership, the candidates they rate highly are different people with the exact same establishment views and positions. 

Edited July 4 by Raze

[Hardkill]

30 minutes ago, Raze said:

I think Trump will cause so much damage democrats will do well in 2026 and 2028.

The issue is they’re going to try and maintain the establishment status quo and kneecap any progressive insurgency.

You can see how they tried it with Mamdani, Cuomo had something like triple the amount of funding. They’ll be even more intense in races they view as more important like congress or presidential primaries.

I think they’ll succeed, the progressive base really is not organized or coherent enough to challenge the establishment. The Bernie Sanders losses and the whole stuff and backlash seemed to have shattered them.

While polls show democrats are unhappy with the party and leadership, the candidates they rate highly are different people with the exact same establishment views and positions. 

What if Democrats lose again in 2026 in 2028 because either Trump and his party cancel those elections or because too many people stay home and not vote in large enough numbers for the Democrats because of how toxic their party brand is as well?

Edited July 4 by Hardkill

[Deziree]

I see a democratic win in 2026. Gavin Newsom is a good candidate. The Democratic party now hinges on good candidates who aren't fluff. 

[sholomar]

Honestly don't care that much. Despite the bluster by leftists about Trump being the end of the world there  isn't THAT much difference between them. It's good to have gridlock because the fringes of both parties are both looney. They'll all keep printing our money and increasing the debt. They'll both keep being corrupt and giving handouts and bailouts to the top and bottom while the purchase power of the middle class decreases. 

[Hardkill]

On 7/3/2025 at 9:04 PM, sholomar said:

Honestly don't care that much. Despite the bluster by leftists about Trump being the end of the world there  isn't THAT much difference between them. It's good to have gridlock because the fringes of both parties are both looney. They'll all keep printing our money and increasing the debt. They'll both keep being corrupt and giving handouts and bailouts to the top and bottom while the purchase power of the middle class decreases. 

That's the kind of false equivalency that plays right into the hands of authoritarians like Trump.

[Hardkill]

On 7/3/2025 at 7:35 PM, Deziree said:

I see a democratic win in 2026. Gavin Newsom is a good candidate. The Democratic party now hinges on good candidates who aren't fluff. 

He's going to need to really prove himself to have a broad enough appeal for the country and be a true fighter for the working class.

Even then, it's not clear that he will be able to overcome the smears made on him by the right-wing and anti-mainstream media in this day and age.

Edited July 7 by Hardkill

[Boethius]

Social moderation and economic populism is the way to go, I believe, and it seems like a lot of the NY Times commenters seem to be getting the message on that, so I have hope. We just need to get more people like Rep. Chris Murphy into positions of leadership and power.

[PurpleTree]

Dems aren’t just the donkey. They also suck donkey ballz. Especially since they attacked the Berns.

[Hardkill]

4 hours ago, Boethius said:

Social moderation and economic populism is the way to go, I believe, and it seems like a lot of the NY Times commenters seem to be getting the message on that, so I have hope. We just need to get more people like Rep. Chris Murphy into positions of leadership and power.

Yeah, I really think the Democrats may have no choice, but to also sound like white Judeo-Christian Nationalists as they promote more left-wing economic populism. 

[Boethius]

15 minutes ago, Hardkill said:

Yeah, I really think the Democrats may have no choice, but to also sound like white Judeo-Christian Nationalists as they promote more left-wing economic populism. 

In speaking about his faith, Obama did not sound like Christian Nationalist. And a surprisingly large number of people who voted for Trump had also voted for Obama (and in 2016 were considering voting for Sanders), so that being white is not a prereq either. I see a path forward for a democratic politician with the proper balance of policies and some rizz.

Edited July 7 by Boethius

[Hardkill]

13 minutes ago, Boethius said:

In speaking about his faith, Obama did not sound like Christian Nationalist. And a surprisingly large number of people who voted for Trump had also voted for Obama (and in 2016 were considering voting for Sanders), so that being white is not a prereq either. I see a path forward for a democratic politician with the proper balance of policies and some rizz.

Yeah, but the fear and anger of the declining percentage of white people as the percentage of black and brown people is growing in our country has now been greater than ever before. The fear and anger of Christianity in America dying in this country has now been greater than ever before. 

Also, Democrats should try to win back the majority of white people in this country after not having ever won the majority of whites at the presidential level for decades.

Edited July 7 by Hardkill

[Boethius]

14 minutes ago, Hardkill said:

Yeah, but the fear and anger of the declining percentage of white people as the percentage of black and brown people is growing in our country has now been greater than ever before. The fear and anger of Christianity in America dying in this country has now been greater than ever before. 

Also, Democrats should try to win back the majority of white people in this country after not having ever won the majority of whites at the presidential level for decades.

Black and brown working class people are shifting to the right and have been shifting to the right for a long time now. And honestly, I think it needs to be remembered that democrats were (openly) celebrating the shifting racial demographics for many years because they thought that would mean they would be locked into power for decades to come (oh how the wheels of History grind all of our grand hopes to dust!)

So, eh, I think it's best to let the racial and religious stuff sort itself out at the cultural level, and at the political level to focus on the people who are really fucking over the average American -- the bastard billionaire class and the corrupt politicians who are in their pocket.

[Hardkill]

Polls more than a year out generally don't mean much, but so far, the Democrats are off to a bad start for the midterms.

[DocWatts]

Honestly, I'd be more concerned if the approval ratings of the current do-nothing Democratic Party weren't in the toilet.

Dems like Mamdani, Bernie, AOC, and Tim Walz who've decided to embrace economic populism over being a doormat are genuinely popular.

Just look to New York - Schumer and Cuomo represent everything that's wrong with the Democrat Party. Yet it's also home to a populist movement with real enthusiasm behind it.

The Democratic Party should embrace economic populism, remain absolutely uncompromising on denouncing and obstructing Trump's vile Nazi-like deportation regime, while moderating a bit on social issues.

Edited 11 hours ago by DocWatts

[enchanted]

The Democrats lost the plot when Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden unfairly squeezed out Sanders during their primaries. Sanders was the correct left wing populist response to Trump. 

Edited 9 hours ago by enchanted