part 2! I agree with this but . . . " If the DFL wants to expand its base, the answer is clear: listen harder to the obstacles people face, then build policies that address them. Explaining those policies in normal language only works if the DFL has actually done the work to produce results. Words come second. Delivery comes first."
I think the Dems have delivered, again and again. What they fail to do is follow up with words, to take credit for it. Every time I see some bridge being built or infrastructure improvement out in the boonies, and the construction jobs they create, I say, "Thanks Biden." I'm probably one of a hundred who does that!
Thank you for pointing out that the event was Friday, not Thursday, I've corrected the online version.
On the broader point about Democratic successes: I agree that voters struggling to afford healthcare, education, and housing deserve to hear more about what Democrats have accomplished. Locally, if there is a vision for how the DFL plans to revitalize Minneapolis, it hasn't been heard by enough people. More importantly, it isn't being experienced by them in their daily lives.
On a local level, Hennepin Avenue after reconstruction is an example of where the DFL vision and leadership has failed. Traffic has worsened, storefronts sit empty, and the transit stations the city built have been closed due to safety concerns. More than one investor has told me it's difficult to do business here right now. Much of the Minneapolis DFL seems indifferent to the concerns of business owners. People will say, 'but that is the DSA,' when to many the DSA now appears to run the DFL.
That said, Democrats did pass significant infrastructure projects at the federal level under Biden but failed to build public awareness around them. The real gap seems to be structural: Democrats haven't built a trusted network of voices on podcasts, newsletters, and social media who communicate with voters in plain, relatable language.
The comparison to Cuomo's New York campaign is apt, if Democrats continue down that path, they'll struggle to reach the numbers they need. Cuomo relied on traditional TV advertising and was dominated by viral clips on social media.
Right now, the party seems to be betting that Trump's unpopularity will be enough. That's a risky calculation.
I think it's important to differentiate between the city DFL, which has been hijacked by ideologues and petty goofballs -- and the state DFL/national Democratic party. They may not be good at winning elections but they are not (yet) beholden to the DSA.
I heard Sen. Elissa Slotkin say the other that Dems have to change what they're doing because clearly it's not working for the American People. And I quibbled with that because I think in general what Dems have done, or tried to do, has worked pretty well for the American people -- from FDR through Biden, despite Republican attempts to undo it -- from Reagan through the grifter-in-chief. What isn't working is how we campaign, not how we govern, and of course there's room for improvement there too, natch.
This one hits the nail on the head, Terry. "...importing language from sociology seminars" is something that needs to stop. The far left is obsessed with identity and victimhood, and if they can't find a victim, they invent one. We won't pull out of this chasm until we have more Beshears and Klobuchars, and fewer Omars, Moriartys, Wonsleys, Chowdhurys, and Chugtais.
This is coming from a guy who voted for Bernie twice.
I am done with the “DFL”. it pains me in a variety of ways. As a person who cast his first vote for president to Mondale, it's extra sad. But I am completely done.
Maybe if I lived in a red state I would feel different. But 20 years in the middle of Minneapolis and I am just fed up with the nonsense.
I'm a pragmatic Dem and have attended the DFL dinners for decades, and did again on Friday night. I've always found them moving and inspiring because the state DFL remains the big tent party and hasn't gone into the ideological weeds. Or hasn't very often.
In the past there have been awards given to farmers and to labor/union folks and they're just so -- heartening. But the dinners have also been notoriously long and tedious to those who don't find politics to be the stuff of a fascinating evening. So this year it was streamlined and I kind of missed hearing from the rural and labor people. But, we were also honoring the Hortmans and Tina Smith and Tim Walz, so that made it a full night. I've heard Beshear speak several times and he's very good and likable, but I thought last year's speaker, Gov. Pritzker, had more fire in the belly.
Also, it's all well and good to say we need to stop pushing identity politics and talk WITH people instead of talking AT them, and I agree. But in analyzing why we lost to Trump in the last cycle, many Dems look at our own sins and mistakes and ignore that Donald Trump is a one-off, who beat every other Republican candidate and does so by insulting his opponents and ignoring facts, aka, lying. He (and Vance) flat out made stuff up that for some reason people believe and apparently want to hear. And they continue to do so and 30-some percent of our fellow citizens still think this guy is great.
I once asked Al Franken why Dems don't do a better job of messaging and he said, "We're constrained by those little things called facts." It is hard to compete with someone who has no such constraints.
For me, the Democratic Party has little credibility due to far left extremist policies. In MN, a culture of compassion without competence has fostered plenty of fraud, and we are becoming the land of activists and protestors demanding resources be dedicated to small minority groups. We have elected officials who lack even the basic skills of professional behavior and communication …as evidenced by the need for a million dollars of team building consultant support required by our dysfunctional city council. Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about the city’s sanctuary policies….. what is the price tag of providing welfare benefits and other services to the immigrants in our city//state? I want to see policy proposals that include all additional costs incurred to taxpayers, including an assessment of success/failure after an appropriate period of time. Basically, I want competence and balance in government, which uses taxpayer dollars wisely and values the rule of law.
Thinking about your comparison to Rochester. It appears the largest employers in Minneapolis are: Healthcare systems (Fairview, Allina), Target HQ, University of Minnesota, and Hennepin County. The largest downtown employers are HCMC and Target Corp. Except for Target, all are government or non-profit organizations. I am wondering what we can leverage here? No great ideas from me, but it gives me something to think about.
part 2! I agree with this but . . . " If the DFL wants to expand its base, the answer is clear: listen harder to the obstacles people face, then build policies that address them. Explaining those policies in normal language only works if the DFL has actually done the work to produce results. Words come second. Delivery comes first."
I think the Dems have delivered, again and again. What they fail to do is follow up with words, to take credit for it. Every time I see some bridge being built or infrastructure improvement out in the boonies, and the construction jobs they create, I say, "Thanks Biden." I'm probably one of a hundred who does that!
Thank you for pointing out that the event was Friday, not Thursday, I've corrected the online version.
On the broader point about Democratic successes: I agree that voters struggling to afford healthcare, education, and housing deserve to hear more about what Democrats have accomplished. Locally, if there is a vision for how the DFL plans to revitalize Minneapolis, it hasn't been heard by enough people. More importantly, it isn't being experienced by them in their daily lives.
On a local level, Hennepin Avenue after reconstruction is an example of where the DFL vision and leadership has failed. Traffic has worsened, storefronts sit empty, and the transit stations the city built have been closed due to safety concerns. More than one investor has told me it's difficult to do business here right now. Much of the Minneapolis DFL seems indifferent to the concerns of business owners. People will say, 'but that is the DSA,' when to many the DSA now appears to run the DFL.
That said, Democrats did pass significant infrastructure projects at the federal level under Biden but failed to build public awareness around them. The real gap seems to be structural: Democrats haven't built a trusted network of voices on podcasts, newsletters, and social media who communicate with voters in plain, relatable language.
The comparison to Cuomo's New York campaign is apt, if Democrats continue down that path, they'll struggle to reach the numbers they need. Cuomo relied on traditional TV advertising and was dominated by viral clips on social media.
Right now, the party seems to be betting that Trump's unpopularity will be enough. That's a risky calculation.
I think it's important to differentiate between the city DFL, which has been hijacked by ideologues and petty goofballs -- and the state DFL/national Democratic party. They may not be good at winning elections but they are not (yet) beholden to the DSA.
I heard Sen. Elissa Slotkin say the other that Dems have to change what they're doing because clearly it's not working for the American People. And I quibbled with that because I think in general what Dems have done, or tried to do, has worked pretty well for the American people -- from FDR through Biden, despite Republican attempts to undo it -- from Reagan through the grifter-in-chief. What isn't working is how we campaign, not how we govern, and of course there's room for improvement there too, natch.
This one hits the nail on the head, Terry. "...importing language from sociology seminars" is something that needs to stop. The far left is obsessed with identity and victimhood, and if they can't find a victim, they invent one. We won't pull out of this chasm until we have more Beshears and Klobuchars, and fewer Omars, Moriartys, Wonsleys, Chowdhurys, and Chugtais.
This is coming from a guy who voted for Bernie twice.
I am done with the “DFL”. it pains me in a variety of ways. As a person who cast his first vote for president to Mondale, it's extra sad. But I am completely done.
Maybe if I lived in a red state I would feel different. But 20 years in the middle of Minneapolis and I am just fed up with the nonsense.
I'm a pragmatic Dem and have attended the DFL dinners for decades, and did again on Friday night. I've always found them moving and inspiring because the state DFL remains the big tent party and hasn't gone into the ideological weeds. Or hasn't very often.
In the past there have been awards given to farmers and to labor/union folks and they're just so -- heartening. But the dinners have also been notoriously long and tedious to those who don't find politics to be the stuff of a fascinating evening. So this year it was streamlined and I kind of missed hearing from the rural and labor people. But, we were also honoring the Hortmans and Tina Smith and Tim Walz, so that made it a full night. I've heard Beshear speak several times and he's very good and likable, but I thought last year's speaker, Gov. Pritzker, had more fire in the belly.
Also, it's all well and good to say we need to stop pushing identity politics and talk WITH people instead of talking AT them, and I agree. But in analyzing why we lost to Trump in the last cycle, many Dems look at our own sins and mistakes and ignore that Donald Trump is a one-off, who beat every other Republican candidate and does so by insulting his opponents and ignoring facts, aka, lying. He (and Vance) flat out made stuff up that for some reason people believe and apparently want to hear. And they continue to do so and 30-some percent of our fellow citizens still think this guy is great.
I once asked Al Franken why Dems don't do a better job of messaging and he said, "We're constrained by those little things called facts." It is hard to compete with someone who has no such constraints.
For me, the Democratic Party has little credibility due to far left extremist policies. In MN, a culture of compassion without competence has fostered plenty of fraud, and we are becoming the land of activists and protestors demanding resources be dedicated to small minority groups. We have elected officials who lack even the basic skills of professional behavior and communication …as evidenced by the need for a million dollars of team building consultant support required by our dysfunctional city council. Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about the city’s sanctuary policies….. what is the price tag of providing welfare benefits and other services to the immigrants in our city//state? I want to see policy proposals that include all additional costs incurred to taxpayers, including an assessment of success/failure after an appropriate period of time. Basically, I want competence and balance in government, which uses taxpayer dollars wisely and values the rule of law.
Angie Craig is in the Beshear model, and needs to be our candidate for the Senate.
Thinking about your comparison to Rochester. It appears the largest employers in Minneapolis are: Healthcare systems (Fairview, Allina), Target HQ, University of Minnesota, and Hennepin County. The largest downtown employers are HCMC and Target Corp. Except for Target, all are government or non-profit organizations. I am wondering what we can leverage here? No great ideas from me, but it gives me something to think about.