Your second paragraph is pure spewing of media talking-points and relying on the magic "stroke of the pen fallacy"
- Biden still got a ton of debt-relief done but the biggest proposals were killed by GOP lawsuits and the Supreme Court
- Many major climate initiatives were also undone by lawsuits and the Supremes who went way beyond what they were supposedly ruling on to basically remove any environmental liabilities from corporations
- Codifying Roe is only accomplished through electing a Democratic House
but this is why people didnt trust us - it doesnt matter at the end of the day that there were legit technicalities, there was a big public scoreboard and we lost.
Retired65, I don't know how many people you have ever tried to persuade to change their vote from A to B, but in my experience (and I think I qualify as an expert) persuasion is much more closely tied to perception than reality and if the reality goes my way but the perception goes against then I have to go uphill to win that vote.
Voters are allowed to have fallacies! Most have lots, some break our way at doors some break the other.
I think it's natural, given the national political whiplash of the last few days and the last eight years, and the roiling local issues we've been experiencing, to look for patterns on the local, state, and national level. Some conclusions might be overly simplistic or even demonstrably wrong, while others might point to legitimate reasons we're seeing more disaffected voters. We're seeing seismic activity on a local level, and on a national level, and a lack of trust. (This will always unfairly benefit Republicans, who throw wrenches into the system only to claim that the system can't work.) While it's unfair to equate the local and national realities, I think it's natural to look for throughlines, especially at a fraught moment like this. And if that searching leads to engagement like we're seeing on this page, messy as it may sometimes be, then it brings me hope for where we go from here.
I don't have experience in politics other than volunteering and some recent efforts trying to advocate for specific local and state reform, but your comment about perception rings very true. And it seems there's plenty of anecdotal evidence to suggest that Democrats, locally and beyond, are losing ground on voters' perceptions of their effectiveness. There are many reasons for this, as you've noted; some, like media narratives, probably shouldn't be primarily attributed to the politicians themselves. But I think voters see, in the lurchings of our various levels of government, that there's often a very big gap between voters' sense of urgency about day-to-day issues and the willingness of politicians to spend political capital to address those issues. This doesn't discount things you personally know and experience -- the care and hard work of our reps, that their hearts are in the right place, the fact that many of them are doing good and valuable work every day in an imperfect system. But the perception is there, and it has basis in genuine experience and concern.
There will always be practical limitations, but the more responsiveness we can foster in our government -- local, state, national -- the better able we'll be to channel voter engagement to effect real change. Otherwise, I fear we'll continue to lose ground at every level.
I’ve been a dem my entire life and a HS social studies teacher for 25 years. Here’s what I would say to your points.
- What did Biden and the Dems do about a packed court hijacked by republicans? Nothing.
- Again, what did Biden and the Dems do in response? Nothing.
- Did the Dems codify Roe when they had the chance? They did not.
Could they have done these things? They had unified control in 2020. No, Roe had not been overturned yet. But codifying it did not need to wait for that. Yes, I know, Manchin and Sinema. Yes, I know, the filibuster.
I’ve been hearing those kinds of excuses my whole life from Dems. In 2008 it was Lieberman and Baucus. In 2000 it was the Supreme Court (Again). The Dem Senate confirmed Clarence Thomas in 1991, with Biden heading the judiciary committee and chairing the hearings.
I’m sick of them. I want results. I want policies I believe in enacted. I’m tired of waiting.
We may get to see if the filibuster stops republicans from passing a nationwide abortion ban. My guess is the republicans won’t hesitate to eliminate the filibuster to pass one.
The Biden Administration didn't even close the open Dept of Education cases against District 65 for the DEI training! First day the Trump admin shows up, they've got a hot live case against District 65. They can start right where they left off in January 2021. What exactly were they doing over there in DC to protect our interests?
He didn't close it, it was just put on hold because he passed some EO about DEI stuff early in his administration. The last time I looked the OCR case was still open.
I might make a post on this, because someone has to close this before Jan 21 or its gonna cost taxpayer pile of money to litigate over dumb culture war fights.
Your second paragraph is pure spewing of media talking-points and relying on the magic "stroke of the pen fallacy"
- Biden still got a ton of debt-relief done but the biggest proposals were killed by GOP lawsuits and the Supreme Court
- Many major climate initiatives were also undone by lawsuits and the Supremes who went way beyond what they were supposedly ruling on to basically remove any environmental liabilities from corporations
- Codifying Roe is only accomplished through electing a Democratic House
but this is why people didnt trust us - it doesnt matter at the end of the day that there were legit technicalities, there was a big public scoreboard and we lost.
Retired65, I don't know how many people you have ever tried to persuade to change their vote from A to B, but in my experience (and I think I qualify as an expert) persuasion is much more closely tied to perception than reality and if the reality goes my way but the perception goes against then I have to go uphill to win that vote.
Voters are allowed to have fallacies! Most have lots, some break our way at doors some break the other.
I think it's natural, given the national political whiplash of the last few days and the last eight years, and the roiling local issues we've been experiencing, to look for patterns on the local, state, and national level. Some conclusions might be overly simplistic or even demonstrably wrong, while others might point to legitimate reasons we're seeing more disaffected voters. We're seeing seismic activity on a local level, and on a national level, and a lack of trust. (This will always unfairly benefit Republicans, who throw wrenches into the system only to claim that the system can't work.) While it's unfair to equate the local and national realities, I think it's natural to look for throughlines, especially at a fraught moment like this. And if that searching leads to engagement like we're seeing on this page, messy as it may sometimes be, then it brings me hope for where we go from here.
I don't have experience in politics other than volunteering and some recent efforts trying to advocate for specific local and state reform, but your comment about perception rings very true. And it seems there's plenty of anecdotal evidence to suggest that Democrats, locally and beyond, are losing ground on voters' perceptions of their effectiveness. There are many reasons for this, as you've noted; some, like media narratives, probably shouldn't be primarily attributed to the politicians themselves. But I think voters see, in the lurchings of our various levels of government, that there's often a very big gap between voters' sense of urgency about day-to-day issues and the willingness of politicians to spend political capital to address those issues. This doesn't discount things you personally know and experience -- the care and hard work of our reps, that their hearts are in the right place, the fact that many of them are doing good and valuable work every day in an imperfect system. But the perception is there, and it has basis in genuine experience and concern.
There will always be practical limitations, but the more responsiveness we can foster in our government -- local, state, national -- the better able we'll be to channel voter engagement to effect real change. Otherwise, I fear we'll continue to lose ground at every level.
I happily cosign this sentiment.
I’ve been a dem my entire life and a HS social studies teacher for 25 years. Here’s what I would say to your points.
- What did Biden and the Dems do about a packed court hijacked by republicans? Nothing.
- Again, what did Biden and the Dems do in response? Nothing.
- Did the Dems codify Roe when they had the chance? They did not.
Could they have done these things? They had unified control in 2020. No, Roe had not been overturned yet. But codifying it did not need to wait for that. Yes, I know, Manchin and Sinema. Yes, I know, the filibuster.
I’ve been hearing those kinds of excuses my whole life from Dems. In 2008 it was Lieberman and Baucus. In 2000 it was the Supreme Court (Again). The Dem Senate confirmed Clarence Thomas in 1991, with Biden heading the judiciary committee and chairing the hearings.
I’m sick of them. I want results. I want policies I believe in enacted. I’m tired of waiting.
We may get to see if the filibuster stops republicans from passing a nationwide abortion ban. My guess is the republicans won’t hesitate to eliminate the filibuster to pass one.
The Biden Administration didn't even close the open Dept of Education cases against District 65 for the DEI training! First day the Trump admin shows up, they've got a hot live case against District 65. They can start right where they left off in January 2021. What exactly were they doing over there in DC to protect our interests?
I just remembered this. I thought Biden closed it but I guess it was moved to the back burner. How will we find out if this will be pursued?
Update: I just looked it up and the case is closed now. I'd like to take credit for it but who knows.
He didn't close it, it was just put on hold because he passed some EO about DEI stuff early in his administration. The last time I looked the OCR case was still open.
I might make a post on this, because someone has to close this before Jan 21 or its gonna cost taxpayer pile of money to litigate over dumb culture war fights.