Just how out-of-touch are the Dems?

There is a level of being out-of-touch that is frustrating.
There is a level of being out-of-touch that is infuriating.
And then there is a level of being out-of-touch that is embarrassing.
The Democratic Party has now reached that new low.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) reached out to supporters on July 5 to poll four different options for a new sticker. Every option demonstrates how out of touch the party is from voters. The slogans were reminiscent of the Clinton campaign’s “Stronger Together,” “Love Trumps Hate,” and “America is Already Great.” The four slogans were “Resist & Persist,” “She Persisted, We Resisted,” “Democrats 2018: Have You Seen the Other Guys?” and “Make Congress Blue Again.”
Twitter users from both sides of the aisle made fun of the choices.

I wonder how many millions the Dems spent on consultants to come up with these sad slogans.
Personally, I like the Republican responses much better.

Meanwhile, the organization's Republican counterpart quickly took this apparent gaffe as an opportunity to raise funds from its own base. On its website, the National Republican Congressional Committee encouraged its donors to "Get ready for 2018 Democratic failures today!", along with its own parody sticker that says "Democrats 2018: We win moral victories, not elections."

Fortunately, the regular Dems had the best responses.

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no arrogance here

The Deputy Chair of the DNC, Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) called for security to remove a Bernie Sanders supporter on Wednesday.

This was after the man criticized the Democrat party for their ties to Wall Street and mistreatment of Bernie Sanders during the 2016 presidential election.

As soon as the man said, “…you guys want to go on an on about the Republicans, the Democrats are as much to blame,” Keith Ellison interrupts and says, “Can someone call security? He wants to be pulled out of here so let’s accommodate him.”

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@gjohnsit These people make my ass hurt as my ex husband used to say, and it fits.

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Only a fool lets someone else tell him who his enemy is. Assata Shakur

@gjohnsit
we're saved!

Soon after two Silicon Valley billionaires launched an online initiative to rejuvenate the Democratic Party Monday night, veteran progressive political operatives began mocking it as an out-of-touch vanity project.

Mark Pincus, co-founder of online gaming company Zynga, and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman created Win The Future, or “WTF,” as a platform for crowdsourcing ideas that can sway the party in a new direction, according to Recode, which first reported the organization’s launch.

The premise of the group, based at a website of the same name, is that Democratic politicians haven’t been responsive enough to ordinary Americans. But Pincus, the chief architect, told Recode that he also has a specific policy agenda rooted in fears that the party is “already moving too far to the left” and that he’d like to make it more “pro-business.”

The thought of tech billionaires pushing a would-be grassroots agenda that happens to reflect their cosseted worldview and self-interest at a time of mounting inequality and populist anger tickled liberal strategists.

“The weakness of the Democratic Party is not due to an underrepresentation of venture capitalists and tech company board members,” said Alex Lawson, executive director of Social Security Works, which advocates for expansion of that federal program. “The philosophical core of the Democratic Party is, and will remain, the working people who are sick and tired of politics that answers to money instead of the people.”

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edg's picture

@gjohnsit

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orlbucfan's picture

Rec'd!! @gjohnsit

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Inner and Outer Space: the Final Frontiers.

Raggedy Ann's picture

What will the tipping point be? The suspense is killing me! Diablo

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"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11

@Raggedy Ann
it's starting to get crowded

It is against this background that we have seen a significant growth of organized socialist forces, especially the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). As part of the outpouring of protest against Trump, DSA has grown from around 8,500 on Election Day to about 21,000 as of early May. It is the largest socialist formation in the U.S. since the 1960s, and it is well positioned to grow further.
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Meteor Man's picture

Good morning gjohnsit. This is the title of an article at American Prospect that suggests:

The search for the right message, and the debate about the implications of this year’s electoral tests, is as much about how to motivate likely Democrats who didn’t vote as about bringing back those who strayed to the other side. In fact, an argument is often made that the same economic message will work for both.

The analysis is reasonably well thought out.

http://prospect.org/article/getting-serious-about-2018

Your essay proves the Democrats are incapable of putting together either a message or an economic agenda that will "bring back voters".

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"They'll say we're disturbing the peace, but there is no peace. What really bothers them is that we are disturbing the war." Howard Zinn

@Meteor Man

these fuckers have decades about lying about everything they can lie about, and blaming the mean meanies for being mean, and selling us out.

Messaging IS critical - look at what the repukes have done packaging their lies! The repukes also deliver - welfare for rich pigs, jingoism, drooler social policy...

rmm.

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But then I sigh; and, with a piece of scripture,
Tell them that God bids us do good for evil:
And thus I clothe my naked villany
With old odd ends stolen out of holy writ;

@Meteor Man

The problem is not that the Dems can't make up a good message to con people into voting for their particular wing of the Two-Raced Corporate Party.

The problem is that they don't think in terms of serving the public good and instead act against the public interest and therefore what they actually want and plan to do does not spring to mind as a good 'public' viewpoint, as they'll fight tooth and nail to squeeze non-billionaire-Americans of everything they have - money/property and basic rights - for a cut from their thereby further enriched paymasters.

Never vote for evil of any kind! If TPRB give no choice, the people will have to do their damndest to make one, running as representatives truly of, by and for the people and honestly doing their best for the public good.

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Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.

A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.

riverlover's picture

What about a new platform to present? No new ideas?

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Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.

@riverlover
dems_0.PNG

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"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon

Trying to raise funds through actblue for yet another useless bag of water in a far off state. I just delete them now, after unsubscribing multiple times. Really regret I ever volunteered for Bernie, I wonder if he knows they are leaking "his" list. They are breaking the law sending me unsolicited email aren't they? Same thing with crap from outreach.senate.gov, Feinstein's office never saw the multiple unsubscribe messages either, I guess. Good way to show off technical ineptitude, can't even manage an email list. Not exactly the kind of people I want to represent me anywhere. Thanks.

peace

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dystopian's picture

Here Dems: "she persisted, so now I am stuck resisting"

What they don't realize is that we are resisting the Dem BS as much as ever.
Their level of narcissism precludes objective self-reflection, in a twist of irony.

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We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein

Strife Delivery's picture

"Have you seen the other guys?" Hahahahahaha

God, the easy life of a consultant. What moron made $2 million coming up with this gem? But then again, that's the point.

"Hey corrupt buddy, here is a bunch of money, we need you to phone in some shitty slogan or something."
"I'm on it."
"Perfect."

"Have you seen the other guys?" You mean the Republicans? The guys who've won across the nation?

Let the party finally just wither away. Just dissolve away.

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WaterLily's picture

@Strife Delivery Not with a bang, but a whimper.

Dog, am I enjoying the spectacle they're making of themselves.

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coloradoblue's picture

Democrats: We don't stand for anything but vote for us anyway.

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Dear Dems: You lost the WH, Senate, House, dozens of governors, state level SOS and AG and about 1,000 state legislative seats. Maybe...you're doing something wrong.

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Only a fool lets someone else tell him who his enemy is. Assata Shakur

This one would be appropriate as well:

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Anja Geitz's picture

are going about this all wrong. Enough with playing footsies and winking at their intended audience. They should just get into bed with them already.

The New Democratic/Republican Party:
Social Justice For the Little People
Economic Surplus for the Important People

Who cares if the little people have no clean water to drink? Or a job? Or Healthcare?

They'll have the satisfaction of having "won" the moral victory over the little people from the other team.

The New Democratic/Republican Party:
When Saying Fuck-You isn't enough.
We want you to like it!

And Tell Your Friends!

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There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

riverlover's picture

@Anja Geitz Totally embarrassing wimps.

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Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.

@Anja Geitz

The New Democratic/Republican Party:
When Saying Fuck-You isn't enough.
We want you to like it!

It'll fit on a protest sign too

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Anja Geitz's picture

@gjohnsit

I'd be out there picketing the Healthcare debate here in California. If It eventually does, I'll have a sign.

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There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

WaterLily's picture

"Love Trumps Hate" was Bernie's slogan long before Herself co-opted it -- and destroyed its initial spirit and power. Bernie meant it. She just wanted us to think she meant it.

(That still pisses me off).

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by a wide enough margin to fully discredit the strategies of her neoliberal supporters and creditors. They still believe she would have won, and should have won, had it not been for "a series of unfortunate events" as it were. They are counting on a big backlash against Trump, by putting most of their few remaining eggs in the "Horrible Trump" basket. If that backlash doesn't happen, the Party will sink like a stone -- it will be forced to either reform itself, or die. But if it does happen, the Dems will have gained a reprieve, and possibly a new lease on life.

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native

riverlover's picture

@native I am anti-Trump but I see no promising option from the Ds. Booker? AYKM? Such a suckup. Biden? Old paper. Who else is in the run?

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Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.

@riverlover
and they're sticking with it. Most of them are still head-over-heels in love with Obama, lost in dreams of former glory. Bernie's "movement" is little more than window dressing at this point, and the Dem establishment is standing pat. They will either win or lose with their current hand, and have no intention of seriously reforming anything.

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native

@native

She lost due to a "host of uncontrollable headwinds."

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snoopydawg's picture

@LoneStarMike this never gets old.
In case not everyone has seen this Smile

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There were problems with running a campaign of Joy while committing a genocide? Who could have guessed?

Harris is unburdened of speaking going forward.

@native Yah, the democrats are absolutely replaying Clinton's tactics since the election. Same themes with the same people. And yes, they are relying on a backlash to Trump and like Clinton offering no vision for 2018. All of their major marches have been for nothing except that in some way Trump is bad. As I have said, just look at the DC speakers list of the Women's March which included people who prominently in rhetoric or electorally stabbed Bernie in the back.

Well, I should say that the democratic party is offering a vision but implicitly and unconsciously. Maybe thee most pressing issue is health care. Democrats derailed single payer in CA. Leading democrats in the power structure of the party have come out against using lame excuses or right wing talking points. The DCCC's only major support so far in elections was an corporatist candidate in GA. The only alternative they offer is a defense of Obamacare which is slowly collapsing and still leaves millions uninsured and under-insured.

All of these actions add up to describe what the party is actually all about. And it is Hillary all over again.

But in terms of relying on a backlash centered around Russia. That narrative is slowly collapsing in its ability to generate the needed backlash. The media is being slowly dismantled in credibility. The lack of resolution and the growing complexity of the charges is planting the sense that Russia-gate is the proverbial "nothing burger" and has nothing to do with everyday life. 9-11 did change daily life in America. The fact that Flynn met with somebody who met with a Russian who put stories on the internet does not change anybody's life. The more the story and charges grow, the more abstract it becomes to people.

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@MrWebster

All of their major marches have been for nothing except that in some way Trump is bad.

But it isn't being run by the Dems.
It's Our Revolution, Working Families, DSA, etc.

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The Aspie Corner's picture

@gjohnsit

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Modern education is little more than toeing the line for the capitalist pigs.

Guerrilla Liberalism won't liberate the US or the world from the iron fist of capital.

@The Aspie Corner
the protests call for non-violent civil disobedience.

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The Aspie Corner's picture

@gjohnsit It's what they did with Occupy and BLM and that worked pretty well in terms of demonizing them.

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Modern education is little more than toeing the line for the capitalist pigs.

Guerrilla Liberalism won't liberate the US or the world from the iron fist of capital.

@MrWebster
peter out, but it's likely that Trump's domestic agenda will cause plenty of damage on its own. Maybe even enough damage to inspire a big anti-Trump turnout... in spite of Dem candidates being generally on the wishy-washy side. But that's a big maybe, and their leadership seems to be betting the farm on it. I'd give them no better than 50-50 odds of winning that bet.

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native

@native

If the Trump backlash is big enough, the incumbent (R)'s will turn on him and tell the voters to re-elect them to counter Trump. Maybe some show votes. "We are the REAL Republicans" will be their slogan.

2020: I expect a primary revolt against Trump. Unless the (D)'s screw the pooch and overplay Russiagate which is getting as old as the Kenyan Birth certificate.

DCCC will recruit pseudo-dems and real Republicans will easily defeat them.

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I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

@The Voice In the Wilderness

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native

@native "But but but...she won the popular vote!"

How many times have you heard it? I heard it just yesterday. Yep, that's the sliver of hope they're hanging on to. They were really right all along because Her won the one category that doesn't get you elected. Just ignore the fact that they've done bupkis to increase those numbers or put the party in a better position to win some states. Yep, they are banking everything on Trump and the Republicans going lower rather than going higher. Because, Her already won the popular vote, so why try harder?

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Idolizing a politician is like believing the stripper really likes you.

snoopydawg's picture

@Dr. John Carpenter
Almost every diary on the front page of GOS starts with

popular vote loser

Trump.........

It doesn't matter how many more votes Hillary received, the only way to win the election is to win the electoral college. This hasn't changed since this country started voting. Sheesh. She lost because she was a horrible candidate and instead of going to the 3 states she lost, she went to private fundraisers.
She has to know that it doesn't matter how much money one has, she still needed to win votes.

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There were problems with running a campaign of Joy while committing a genocide? Who could have guessed?

Harris is unburdened of speaking going forward.

Wink's picture

@snoopydawg
concerned (they being TOP), Hillary won. And no one can tell them differently. She only "lost" becuz the Russians hacked voting machines, kept Dems from voting.

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the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.

snoopydawg's picture

@Wink and said horrible things about her. Plus the Vermont electrical grid and the.......ad nauseam.
Funny isn't it how no one talks about the paid Hillary supporters who joined ToP and wrote countless diaries saying they used to support Bernie, but have seen the light and now support her.

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There were problems with running a campaign of Joy while committing a genocide? Who could have guessed?

Harris is unburdened of speaking going forward.

@snoopydawg

She has to know that it doesn't matter how much money one has, she still needed to win votes

but she learned zero.

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@native

But will it - or will this simply give the Repubs the majority they need to rewrite the US Constitution so that only billionaires and top corporate interests have rights? It wouldn't surprise me if the top corporate Dems had been promised massive rewards to publicly show their true colours and lose to Repubs for this purpose.

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Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.

A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.

SparkyGump's picture

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The real SparkyGump has passed. It was an honor being your human.

Democrats 2018

Shut Up and Vote

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"If you can't eat their food, drink their booze, take their money and then vote against them you've got no business being in Congress."

kharma's picture

jesusHat.jpg

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There is nothing which I dread so much as a division of the republic into two great parties.. This...is to be dreaded as the greatest political evil under our Constitution.--John Adams

Big Al's picture

in touch with the people, they're there to serve the oligarchy and plutocracy. This is how it's always been.

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Democrats
--------------
2018

Please Clap!!!

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Bollox Ref's picture

Image1.jpg

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Gëzuar!!
from a reasonably stable genius.

The Aspie Corner's picture

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Modern education is little more than toeing the line for the capitalist pigs.

Guerrilla Liberalism won't liberate the US or the world from the iron fist of capital.

dervish's picture

Democrats 2018:

Respect your betters

Follow your leaders

Or Else!

Because Saban says so.

Oligarchs R Us

Listing in the wrong direction

Building for a new Apocalypse

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"Obama promised transparency, but Assange is the one who brought it."

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snoopydawg's picture

of congress.,
Yep. This move is sure to regain both control of congress and get the people who demexitted to come running back to the party.

Back to the Center, Democrats

The path back to power for the Democratic Party today, as it was in the 1990s, is unquestionably to move to the center and reject the siren calls of the left, whose policies and ideas have weakened the party.

After years of leftward drift by the Democrats culminated in Republican control of the House under Speaker Newt Gingrich, President Bill Clinton moved the party back to the center in 1995 by supporting a balanced budget, welfare reform, a crime bill that called for providing 100,000 new police officers and a step-by-step approach to broadening health care. Mr. Clinton won a resounding re-election victory in 1996 and Democrats were back.

I don't know how I missed this. Damn, I feel so stupid.

But the last few years of the Obama administration and the 2016 primary season once again created a rush to the left. Identity politics, class warfare and big government all made comebacks. Candidates inspired by Senator Bernie Sanders, Senator Elizabeth Warren and a host of well-funded groups have embraced sharply leftist ideas. But the results at the voting booth have been anything but positive: Democrats lost over 1,000 legislative seats across the country and control of both houses of Congress during the Obama years. And in special elections for Congress this year, they failed to take back any seats held by Republicans.

Yep. The democrats lost over 1,000 seats because Obama, Bernie, Warren and our dear friend Hillary had moved or were going to move the party too far to the left. This gets worse the more I read.

I kept looking for the snark tag, but apparently these two authors are serious.

Come early and get a good seat so you can be one of the first in line to re-register as a democrat.

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There were problems with running a campaign of Joy while committing a genocide? Who could have guessed?

Harris is unburdened of speaking going forward.

Amanda Matthews's picture

jilted girlfriend...

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I'm tired of this back-slapping "Isn't humanity neat?" bullshit. We're a virus with shoes, okay? That's all we are. - Bill Hicks

Politics is the entertainment branch of industry. - Frank Zappa

dervish's picture

for what's wrong with the party. He's all package and delivery and no content. They'd love to find another like him, a good speaker who says the right things, but then comes home and serves the oligarchs exclusively.

It's Bush in a liberal wrapper.

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"Obama promised transparency, but Assange is the one who brought it."

I've separated the paragraph quoted from the OP link, below, to ensure that the two major factors in what I believe to be the potential for an upcoming last-ditch opportunity are both emphasized.

http://observer.com/2017/07/democratic-party-dccc-message/

Opinion
Democratic Party’s Message: ‘Have You Seen the Other Guys?’
Embarrassing new slogans show how out of touch the party is
By Michael Sainato • 07/06/17

...Right now, Democrats are the losing party, and leadership makes it increasingly more embarrassing to be affiliated with the party. It’s not a coincidence that Sen. Bernie Sanders—an independent who won’t tarnish his name by affiliating with the party—is the most popular politician in the country. Americans are increasingly identifying as independent, a symptom of their disenfranchisement from both political parties.

Democrats fail to realize that trying to capitalize on hatred of the Republican party only creates more apathy. So far, Democrats have failed to develop a vision that resonates with voters and to sever ties with their corporate donors or widely unpopular leaders. Nancy Pelosi, Charles Schumer, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Tom Perez and Hillary Clinton—all widely disliked—are the current party spokespersons. All these aspects combined ensure Democrats will continue losing until they drastically change course.

The instant Bernie decides to run in a new Party and take with him his supporters, (this being the only strategy which has ever worked in replacing an American political party) - or gains control over the Dems, (which I'd personally rather see rotting of their own corruption in hell, but what the fuck, although Corporate Dem 'leaders' will never, in my estimation, voluntarily give up their access to a cut of their paymaster's money and power often directly drained from The People by such political puppets) - the corporate media will again shut him out/smear him and there must be an absolute and utterly obvious electoral landslide for Bernie and actual Progs for the increasingly comprehensive cheating to be too implausible to be attempted or, at any rate, to work for the Two-Faced Corporate Party and their paymasters.

So Bernie needs to stay in the corporate media in order to retain any access to the public limited to the usual corporate propaganda channels at all costs, to keep the concept of government of, by and for the people and working in the public interest alive as a potential in the public mind.

The Corporate Dems are corporate-interest/multi-millionaire self-interested Dems, just as are the Corporate Repubs/billionaires/multi-millionaire self-interests now directly taking over the public service and public policy, and neither are sane enough to act even in the interest of the survival of planetary life. Only the psychopathic, devoid as they are of ethics or empathy, would so eagerly sacrifice the rights, health, happiness, freedom and lives of their own countrymen for the accumulation of more wealth than they could reasonably spend, or be capable of even considering destroying the Earth's life support system for further temporary personal riches because they believe that nothing they do can harm them personally; they are way too much smarter, better and more exceptional than everyone else to be subject to reality.

And the Dems have been to great lengths to show this level of pathological greed to the public, over and over again, drastically losing ground to the Republicans.

The Republicans are very close to being able to allow corporate interests and billionaires to directly rewrite the US Constitution to suit themselves in eliminating the rights of all non-billionaires and to 'legalize' their abuses of Americans and their country as they please. I strongly suspect that this Constitutional destruction may be why the Dems are not lying and pretending to care about the public to gain/retain duped voters, perhaps even why Hillary failed to campaign among the public and publicly showed herself as a pathetically venal and heartless corporate shill during this last Presidential election and did everything possible to show herself and all Corporate Dems as utterly venal and pathologically greedy and cowardly warmongers in (just as with the other, Republican, half of the Two-Faced Corporate Party,) invading/attacking/threatening/bullying/politically meddling in so many smaller countries.

Bernie always works the long game and never gives up until some public good has been achieved; he's done this all of his life and has the record to prove it.

And it looks to me (speaking as One Who Knows Nothing, But Speculates A Lot) as though this is playing out just fine for a final 'impossible' chance at survival against an international monster intent on global domination even at the cost of global destruction.

The American people may have an actual Presidential choice next time, after all, despite all efforts to deny them one.

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Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.

A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.