Democrats simply aren't fooling people and they don't realize it

CNN's Jeff Zeleny had some choice words for the current state of the Democratic Party.

"We’ll see if that’s true this time, but it’s a huge problem for Democrats. There is no bench for the party. So they can be laughing all they want about these poll numbers for Donald Trump, but the reality is, Democrats are in complete disrepair and disarray in their own party. There’s no leader," he concluded.

Zeleny is a hack, so if even he can see the problem it must be obvious.
What Zeleny doesn't realize is that the reason the Democrats don't have a leader is because the Democratic elites in no way represents the Democratic voters, and the progressive base won't accept it.
This is reflected in the fundraising situation.

If Democrats turn out to vote in the 2018 midterms at the same levels they have in 2017’s special elections, the party will pick up 80 seats in the U.S. House.

There’s one problem for the Democrats: The party has a serious fundraising crisis.

Over the first six months of 2017, the Republican National Committee pulled in $75 million—nearly twice as much money as the Democratic National Committee, which raised $38 million. The predicament isn’t simply that there is a funding gap between the parties; it’s what kind of money they attract. Republicans have quietly taken a decisive edge over Democrats when it comes to small-dollar fundraising.

During that same six-month time span, the RNC raised $33 million in small contributions—money from people who donate $200 or less over an election cycle—while that same class of donors gave the DNC just $21 million.

That statement that I highlighted isn't 100% correct.
Instead of "Democrats" it should say "DNC".
The fact is that most Democratic organizations are having no problem with fundraising. The DNC is the outlier.

The ACLU has raised $80 million in online donations since the election, and 16 times as much in 2017 as they did in 2016. This includes raising $24 million in three days following the implementation of Trump’s travel ban targeting seven Muslim-majority countries. Planned Parenthood has seen more than 700,000 new supporters and “unprecedented outpouring of support” since the election, according to the organization.

Democratic candidates are also overperforming in fundraising. Senate Democrats in competitive races outpaced GOP incumbents in similarly competitive races in the 2016 cycle, Politico reported. ActBlue, an online fundraising hub for Democratic candidates, raised $137.4 million in the second quarter, more than they had raised in the second quarter of 2016, an election year.

But the DNC continues to have a hard time winning over donors.

Gee, why do you suppose that is happening? What could have caused voters to not want to support the DNC?
Nothing comes to mind. Can you think of a reason?

“Certainly, there are some people in the Democratic Party who want to maintain the status quo. They would rather go down with the Titanic so long as they have first-class seats.”
- Bernie Sanders

Eight months into 2017, the DNC seems to be on the same basic track as last year. It is symbolic and substantive that one of the national Democratic Party’s most prominent online fundraising spokespeople still is Donna Brazile, who filled in as acting DNC chair after Wasserman Schultz suddenly resigned in disrepute last summer when her on-the-job bias was exposed. The release of Clinton campaign emails showed that Brazile had used her position as a CNN commentator to obtain and secretly funnel debate questions to Clinton—via campaign chairman John Podesta and communications director Jennifer Palmieri—during the primary battle between Clinton and Sanders.

In a recent article, Salon columnist Sophia McClennen recalled: “In the months when she was interim DNC chair, Brazile went on totally lying about her transgressions until she finally admitted to doing it, but stated that she felt no remorse.”

McClennen added: “The DNC is tone deaf to the fact that Brazile and Wasserman Schultz and the whole pack of insiders that didn’t hold an ethical primary should be exiled from the party, they are tone deaf to the real reasons why Trump won, and they are tone deaf to the fact that Sanders is the most popular politician and the most popular Senator in the nation. … The Trump administration’s cronyism, elitism and disregard for any semblance of democratic values has voters calling for impeachment, but the DNC has its own credibility problems—exemplified by the fact that Donna Brazile is still a party insider.”

It's revealing that the Dem Party mouthpiece, the Washington Post, had this headline today: Centrist Democrats begin pushing back against Bernie Sanders, liberal wing
If you read the article, the "centrists" are "a group called New Democracy, a combination think tank and super PAC".
Oh, boy. Sounds like "grassroots" to me. Don't it to you?
Sheeesh!

The Democrats are a disaster right now. They are totally corrupt and lost.
However, the Republicans would be mistaken to celebrate.
Their disaster of a President and their Congress that only knows how to oppose, will implode the moment the financial bubble finally bursts. Then they will have no one to blame but each other.

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Pricknick's picture

the democratic party?

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Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.

Centaurea's picture

@Pricknick

Seriously, progressives would be better off not expending any more energy on worrying about what the Dem establishment realizes or understands. It's interesting to consider the Dems from a psychological and sociological point of view, but focusing on the Dems' pathology isn't going to get us where we want to be.

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"Don't go back to sleep ... Don't go back to sleep ... Don't go back to sleep."
~Rumi

"If you want revolution, be it."
~Caitlin Johnstone

Pricknick's picture

@Centaurea
Your words are more apt than mine at describing the current state of flux.

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Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.

Big Al's picture

@Centaurea Time to put up or shut up. Either go with the democratic party or go with the other option, against the duopoly.

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divineorder's picture

@Big Al

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A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.

shaharazade's picture

@Big Al

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shaharazade's picture

@Big Al @shaharazade

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Big Al's picture

@shaharazade @shaharazade There has to be an organized movement against the duopoly and this political system that empowers the criminal system at the top. That could include a boycott of the duopoly and backing of third parties, or preferably, a boycott and a working class movement outside the election system but concurrent with the process. It could be similar to Occupy but with the goal of democracy instead of Wall Street. Discontent, rage, whatever at our government and this system has to take place. The world has to know many Americans will not take this anymore. We can't allow this duopoly to dominate how this country and our lives are governed.
I just can't think of any other way. Electing more politicians and relying on this political system and system of government to me has long been proven to be a fool's errand.

P.s. and Hi Shaha, hope you're doing well.

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detroitmechworks's picture

@Pricknick
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsrfovOPcjk]

Cuz for 24 years I've been voting for the democrats...

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I do not pretend I know what I do not know.

@Pricknick

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Fighting for democratic principles,... well, since forever

@Pricknick it has nothing to do with you.

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Orwell: Where's the omelette?

@Pricknick

Not having even one viable party in a two party system is a problem. I have no answer, but ignoring the situation won't make it any better. In fact, talking about it doesn't seem to make it any better either.

That said, I'm with Caitlin Johnstone. I believe our only role is to counter the propaganda put out by both parties and the MSM. If we aren't a pain in the Dem's ass, who will be? Certainly not the NYT or Washington Post.

The Dems don't intend to change a GD thing.

Obama to reemerge in ‘delicate dance’ with Dems

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

Big Al's picture

@dkmich Counterpunch were basically the same.

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@Big Al

I don't think I am, but I could be. I think everyone and everything today is basically full of shit. Eat eggs, NO, don't eat eggs. Coffee is bad for you. A cup of coffee a day will may you live until you are 200. Throw in the bias of institutions, add a dollop of bias from each teller of information, and who the hell knows what is true.

My mind is so open the wind blows right thru, Al. We need an opposition party. Theoretically there are only two, Democrats and Republicans. In reality, we all believe they are different sides of the same coin. I don't think we can change that, but I believe we need to.

So have I sufficiently walked the subject in a circle? Chicken/egg - who the hell knows.

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

@dkmich

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Cassiodorus's picture

@dkmich They're nothing but hideous space reptiles!

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"The war on Gaza, backed by the West, is a demonstration that the West is willing to cross all lines. That it will discard any nuance of humanity. That it is willing to commit genocide" -- Moon of Alabama

to mean '"heavily compromised, clueless, party-goers" within the Washington DC area, most well-known for entertaining people from K street, which is where they will have their office to do their "real job" after sufferring complaints for a set number of years, or as soon as their voting history becomes a matter of public focus.' see also "how to be a jet-setter on someone else's dime"

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Fighting for democratic principles,... well, since forever

Really?

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Meteor Man's picture

@LoneStarMike Oh noes! Bernie is dividing the party! Bernie is not a Democrat! I'm still with her!

Sure am glad I don't twitter. Or is it tweet? That Twitterverse place is totally whack!

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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

orlbucfan's picture

Now, it's being posted just how bad the Twitterverse has become! No surprise there! Rec'd!! @Meteor Man

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Inner and Outer Space: the Final Frontiers.

@Meteor Man

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SpamNunn's picture

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It's just my opinion. It can't hurt you

It's so widespread; it could not be more transparent.

Why don't people to donate to the DNC as they do to the ACLU? The ACLU does the job it's supposed to do and, AFAIK, is not corrupt. Neither of those things is true of the Democratic National Corruption.

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as soon as Bernie said he might run in 2016. The bs never stops.

Remember when, during the primary, WAPO posted umpteen negative stories about Bernie in a matter of hours?

The establish really, really is not that into the 90%

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but the reality is, Democrats are in complete disrepair and disarray in their own party. There’s no leader," he concluded.

They have no leaders because they have no philosophy other than "show me the money".

Who can lead based on "show me the money"? No one.

So they lie about this and they lie about that. But in the end only so many people are willing to turn a blind eye to their pocket-stuffing.

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dervish's picture

@nosleep4u they own and operate the party, but they don't want credit and can't lead, because that would be a liability.

Unless someone grabs it back, the Dem party is essentially out of the game, and so is the Rep. party.

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

thanatokephaloides's picture

@dervish

Their leaders are Saban, Soros and other mega-donors

I had to re-read that to get it right.

At first, what I saw was: "Their leaders are Satan...."

Dr. Freud, paging Dr. Sigmund Freud......

Wink

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"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

If Democrats turn out to vote in the 2018 midterms at the same levels they have in 2017’s special elections, the party will pick up 80 seats in the U.S. House.

Yup

There’s one problem for the Democrats: The party has a serious fundraising crisis.

Nope.

The big turnouts in 2017 broke down into two categories:

1. Progressive candidates. But the Dems constantly work against having progressive candidates.

2. Massive money dumps, like the Ossoff campaign. Forget fundraising - there just isn't enough money in the world for them to pull an Ossoff in that many districts. Even at record fundraising that strategy won't work.

Bottom line: one cannot fix shooting ones-self in the foot with a bazooka by dumping Benjamins on the stump.

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out is there will be enough backlash against Trump that Dems will have some success in 2018. Not enough success to take the House or make any meaningful difference in anything, but enough to claim some form of moral victory (like they do with Hillary's popular vote "win" in 2016).

Whatever moral victory theme can be spun out of the 2018 results will be presented as proof that the establishment is right, always has been, and if a little more scolding can bring the stubborn purists around maybe Cory Booker, Kamala Harris, Hillary Clinton, or some combination of the three can eek out a lesser evil win in 2020.

This is the only path Dems are willing to take. If they can't win this way they would rather lose.

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Amanda Matthews's picture

@Dopeman
filed in a current court case filed against the DNC that states they have the right to lie, cheat, and defraud their 'supposed' supporters might discourage some (with traceable brain wave patterns) from falling in line and forking over the bucks.

Die-hard DNC zealots are the 'left's' very own Tea Party.

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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

divineorder's picture

@Amanda Matthews

https://www.truthdig.com/articles/dnc-fraud-lawsuit-exposes-anti-democra...

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A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.

no matter what the platform, or the talking points or what group gets pandered to there's always this undercurrent, that some how they can sway their own "basket of deplorables" and drag that dead donkey over the finish line. Since this election, at least, the contempt the dem leadership has for us is out in the open, and we can see who's really dividing the party, our "leaders".

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ZimInSeattle's picture

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"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." - JFK | "The more I see of the moneyed peoples, the more I understand the guillotine." - G. B. Shaw Bernie/Tulsi 2020

divineorder's picture

@ZimInSeattle action...

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A truth of the nuclear age/climate change: we can no longer have endless war and survive on this planet. Oh sh*t.

Man I love your stuff,funny but right on point,no words could send a better message as a DEAD ASS IN THE GRASS!

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DW

EdMass's picture

The Congressional Map Has A Record-Setting Bias Against Democrats
And it’s not just 2018.

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-congressional-map-is-historical...

Even if Democrats were to win every single 2018 House and Senate race for seats representing places that Hillary Clinton won or that Trump won by less than 3 percentage points — a pretty good midterm by historical standards — they could still fall short of the House majority and lose five Senate seats.

Gee, y'a think?

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Prof: Nancy! I’m going to Greece!
Nancy: And swim the English Channel?
Prof: No. No. To ancient Greece where burning Sapho stood beside the wine dark sea. Wa de do da! Nancy, I’ve invented a time machine!

Firesign Theater

Stop the War!