Is it because there aren’t as many Democrats voting in West Virginia, or because Democrats have given up voting in West Virginia? It’s a chicken-or-the-egg problem: if West Virginia is a reliably Republican-voting state, should the DNC spend money to sway elections there when they could focus more on swing states?
Now, a case can (and should) be made that the DNC should focus more on grassroots level elections. They should do what Republicans did and focus more on local and regional elections rather than primarily national level elections. Obama bucked the DNC’s policies and ran a fifty-state campaign, and that helped him win. But – and I feel this is where the disconnect probably lies – the DNC is not the Democratic Party. The DNC is the fundraising and electoral strategy arm of the Democratic Party. Disagreeing with their electoral strategies should not put the blame on the entire Democratic Party for not doing their part to block the rise of fascism.
The DNC doesn’t have unlimited funds. For some odd reason, they don’t typically get quite as much money from corporate interests as Republicans. They don’t have as many dedicated donors as Republicans. Because Democrats still believe in a government for the people and by the people, which means taxing people who have more to help people who have less. So they have to decide how to best spend that money for the greatest effect. If that isn’t enough for you to go out and vote, even though you live in a state dominated by Republicans, then I don’t know what to tell you. If you’re not willing to do your part, I’m not willing to listen to your complaints about how not enough is being done for you.
That’s my point, though, I specifically said in that long string of text that I did go out and vote. I will go out and vote, but it sucks that it doesn’t matter.
Because I think you fundamentally are misunderstanding what my problems with the Democrats are. I think they don’t have any grassroots presence because they are so beholden to the capitalist class. So of course places like West Virginia, which objectively holds zero monetary value to Democrats, is going to be left behind.
West Virginia in particular was a strong Union state. Used to go blue every single election cycle. But that changed when Democrats adopted the new way view in the '90s.
So when both parties refuse to stand by the unions in any meaningful capacity, they’re going to revert back to the culture war.
WV is a great example of how Democrats have failed their constituency.
Democratic losses are entirely at the hand of moderate neoliberal policy.
I agree, the Democrats need to change and return to progressive goals. But the initial comment I was replying to suggested that Democratic voters have no reason to go vote, or at least that’s how I was reading it. If I misunderstood I apologize, but that’s exactly the sort of sentiment that plays into right-wing electoral plans. Discouraging people from voting is their goal, particularly in Democratic strongholds. We need to do everything we can to resist that, not feed into it.
No, I specifically said that the Democratic vote does not matter in West Virginia. Unfortunately, our entire democracy hinges on a few purple states to get actual leadership in charge.
Is it because there aren’t as many Democrats voting in West Virginia, or because Democrats have given up voting in West Virginia? It’s a chicken-or-the-egg problem: if West Virginia is a reliably Republican-voting state, should the DNC spend money to sway elections there when they could focus more on swing states?
Now, a case can (and should) be made that the DNC should focus more on grassroots level elections. They should do what Republicans did and focus more on local and regional elections rather than primarily national level elections. Obama bucked the DNC’s policies and ran a fifty-state campaign, and that helped him win. But – and I feel this is where the disconnect probably lies – the DNC is not the Democratic Party. The DNC is the fundraising and electoral strategy arm of the Democratic Party. Disagreeing with their electoral strategies should not put the blame on the entire Democratic Party for not doing their part to block the rise of fascism.
The DNC doesn’t have unlimited funds. For some odd reason, they don’t typically get quite as much money from corporate interests as Republicans. They don’t have as many dedicated donors as Republicans. Because Democrats still believe in a government for the people and by the people, which means taxing people who have more to help people who have less. So they have to decide how to best spend that money for the greatest effect. If that isn’t enough for you to go out and vote, even though you live in a state dominated by Republicans, then I don’t know what to tell you. If you’re not willing to do your part, I’m not willing to listen to your complaints about how not enough is being done for you.
That’s my point, though, I specifically said in that long string of text that I did go out and vote. I will go out and vote, but it sucks that it doesn’t matter.
Because I think you fundamentally are misunderstanding what my problems with the Democrats are. I think they don’t have any grassroots presence because they are so beholden to the capitalist class. So of course places like West Virginia, which objectively holds zero monetary value to Democrats, is going to be left behind.
West Virginia in particular was a strong Union state. Used to go blue every single election cycle. But that changed when Democrats adopted the new way view in the '90s.
So when both parties refuse to stand by the unions in any meaningful capacity, they’re going to revert back to the culture war.
WV is a great example of how Democrats have failed their constituency.
Democratic losses are entirely at the hand of moderate neoliberal policy.
I agree, the Democrats need to change and return to progressive goals. But the initial comment I was replying to suggested that Democratic voters have no reason to go vote, or at least that’s how I was reading it. If I misunderstood I apologize, but that’s exactly the sort of sentiment that plays into right-wing electoral plans. Discouraging people from voting is their goal, particularly in Democratic strongholds. We need to do everything we can to resist that, not feed into it.
No, I specifically said that the Democratic vote does not matter in West Virginia. Unfortunately, our entire democracy hinges on a few purple states to get actual leadership in charge.