Given that Democratic messaging since Obama has been, at best, weak and at worst, actively driven core constituencies into the GOP what should their core message be in 2026 and beyond?8



*Working on the assumption that we'll have free and fair elections in 2026 and 2028 . . .

5/31/2025 6:58:46 AM

In 2026 you run on anti-corruption and a return to government norms. Forcing this insane admin to comply with the law. I think people are getting sick of the constant tests of the judiciary, Congress mostly ignoring its oversight duties, the $Trump coin. If I’m a Dem, I’m asking “what did Donald agree to in order to get that Qatari jet?” Literally every time a camera is nearby.

In 2028 I think you need a more substantial platform. It’s too far away to get too detailed IMO. Assuming no black swans, the economy and immigration will be key issues as they have been in the recent past. They also happen to be two of the most volatile areas for this current Admin, they’ve made big promises in these areas while also being incompetent dipshits. Seems like Dems might have a chance to run on “clean up on aisle 47.”

5/31/2025 7:29:18 AM

"We know we fucked up in various ways over the last decade+, we're sorry, and we want to get back to Making America Great Again. We will do it with an unapologetically strong commitment to the values that the Democratic party has always espoused, but we'll also learn from where Republicans and Republican voters have turned out to be right as well, and integrate that into our platform going forward."

something along these lines I think would go a long way with the American public.

^ of course justice SHOULD be done (so i'm not saying we should just look the other way on all that trump/maga have done), but the best way to defeat corruption at this point may be to wash it out with an overwhelming message of Goodness and a focus on our future, rather than wallowing in the stagnant muck of grievance and revenge. that strategy has clearly failed.


[Edited on May 31, 2025 at 7:53 AM. Reason : I want a 10x victory https://twitter.com/kenwarner/status/1712214815307977031]

5/31/2025 7:38:57 AM

I think the corruption has to be pointed out, but the public is famously indifferent to corruption if they don't think it impacts them. Corrupt political bosses successfully ran American cities for decades and the public -- in many cases -- loved them for it.

So I'm not sure the corruption angle alone works.

5/31/2025 9:52:43 AM

exactly my thinking too. that's why I suggested the contrition angle. it's easy to argue all day long decade after decade about which side was more corrupt. we've gotten nowhere with it, just wasting our precious time and energy over and over and over again. But there's not much room to argue when somebody says that they were wrong and want to be better. People respect and admire that. That's the kind of leadership that resonates and makes us all great again.

[Edited on May 31, 2025 at 10:09 AM. Reason : let's reclaim the m word]

[Edited on May 31, 2025 at 10:19 AM. Reason : just a ramble. not sure if it's right or not. if i'm wrong lmk]

5/31/2025 10:04:36 AM

Dems ran on combatting Trump 45 corruption in 2018 and won 40 seats in the House. I think you are right that the contrition should be a part of it. They should lead with policies that will clean up their act too. Stock trading ban for Congress is the obvious one (very popular with voters from all parties).

I do not think this is a strong enough platform for a presidential campaign, those election years need to have much more of a vision. It could be pretty effective for mid-terms.

5/31/2025 12:30:50 PM

Quote :

"Dems ran on combatting Trump 45 corruption in 2018 and won 40 seats in the House."

fair point. we were very much in the thick of the "how the hell did trump get elected" hysteria then, plus of course the opposing party tends to do well in midterm elections.

Quote :

"They should lead with policies that will clean up their act too."

love it.

Quote :

"I do not think this is a strong enough platform for a presidential campaign, those election years need to have much more of a vision."

why not both dot gif. i'd say that there's an above 50/50 chance that AI related job losses are going to start rolling in pretty significantly by the time 2028 primary season arrives. perhaps a vision to help solve those issues would be prudent...

this conversation segment highlights a relevant messaging (and just as important, policy) issue the dems must confront as well



[Edited on May 31, 2025 at 2:29 PM. Reason : ps op since you're new here fyi https://thewolfweb.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=654569]

5/31/2025 1:47:05 PM

I went back and looked at 2018 briefly because I do think it is the most relevant corollary. Dems picked up 41 seats in the house and won the popular vote in the house by 8.5 points, the biggest seat gain in the House since the mid terms right after Watergate was getting started. Dems lost two seats in the Senate (extremely favorable map to the GOP?) so it’s not like it was across the board victory. Trump’s corruption was a major issue, but there were others, for instance the House GOP had just failed at another crusade to repeal ACA/end pre-existing conditions protections.

5/31/2025 8:25:35 PM

I might be able to successfully identify losing strategies, but I don't know a winning strategy. To me, the correct binary choice has never been more self-evident.

This narrative that Democrats aren't speaking to young men in ways they can understand only serves to underscore how pathetic this generation is. They are self-selecting these insane sources of validation.

People used to always tell me I would get more conservative with age and having to pay taxes. I find the exact opposite to be true. I started conservative from upbringing and environment, but at least had a good sense of right and wrong instilled and an appreciation for history and a respect for intelligence. We have to play these stupid games on all these ridiculous alternative platforms and spoon-feed the shits what should be obvious?

"Don't forget to like and subscribe" is right. . .

5/31/2025 8:43:22 PM

I think contrition is misguided, inside the beltline wonk thinking

It’s based on the understanding the the parties are coherent entities that have persisted for decades— which is true

But voters don’t perceive parties are coherent entities the way people who actually follow politics do. Being contrite reminds voters of past failings more than it portrays authenticity.

Whoever becomes the front runner should own the Image of the party and essentially just pretend like Joe Biden and Kamala Harris never existed, that the democrat party was born yesterday. Look how much Kamala stumbled for example to explain why she was or was not like Joe Biden. She should have just owned the party— and let’s not forget she actually came close to winning.

Besides this, focusing on the populist aspects of the party platform are key, authenticity is key. If we have someone like Pete Buttigieg as the nominee, he should fully embrace being a nerd and talking like a nerd. Hillary should have embraced being a lifelong politician — hell yeah she started learning politics in high school, doing activism, studying the law— why wouldn’t you want this? She can’t relate to normal people— good because her brain is filled with nerdy foreign policy facts.

6/1/2025 12:09:57 AM

Quote :

" We know we fucked up in various ways over the last decade+, we're sorry, and we want to get back to Making America Great Again. We will do it with an unapologetically strong commitment to the values that the Democratic party has always espoused, but we'll also learn from where Republicans and Republican voters have turned out to be right as well, and integrate that into our platform going forward."

co-opting the mantra of the fascists is a horrible, godawful suggestion

Republicans and Republican voters haven’t been right about anything. ever.

6/1/2025 5:49:56 PM

Almost.

6/1/2025 6:00:41 PM

Shes right. Making sports for everyone is a great message. There’s agreeable and fair ways to do it— California actually had a good system (multiple winners). Let people compete. Give people a reason to work harder.

Quote :

"Simone Biles & @Simone_Biles You're truly sick, all of this campaigning because you lost a race. Straight up sore loser. You should be uplifting the trans community and perhaps finding a way to make sports inclusive OR creating a new avenue where trans feel safe in sports. Maybe a transgender category IN ALL sports!! But instead I... You bully them... One things for sure is no one in sports is safe with you around!!!!! Riley Gaines @@Riley_Gaines_•4h Comments off lol To be expected when your star player is a boy x.com/mshsl/status/1... "

6/6/2025 8:53:29 PM

Quote :

"I don't care if these monstrous ICE raids are a "federal operation". This is authoritarian violence, plain and simple. Just because Stephen Miller has kidnapping quotas for brown people he doesn't want to see on the street doesn't mean we have to think it's okay. "

- https://bsky.app/profile/katmabu.bsky.social/post/3lr2nmk3ojc2o

6/8/2025 10:49:08 AM

Quote :

"We know we fucked up in various ways over the last decade+, we're sorry"

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

That'd be a death sentence for the Democrats. Stop bowing down to the people, lead them

[Edited on June 8, 2025 at 6:13 PM. Reason : 1]

6/8/2025 6:12:57 PM

What Democrats need to learn is that when you don't deal with issues yourself, when you practice appeasement, someone, however evil or terrible, will gain support and make it much much worse, all just to fix what you could've done competently.

need more professional politicians
professional
competent
american

no nonsense

6/9/2025 7:38:10 AM

Quote :

"We know we fucked up in various ways over the last decade+, we're sorry"

=

we didn't deal with the issues, we appeased too much and someone gained support and made it much much worse. we're sorry and we want to get back to doing things professionally, competently and americanly again. no nonsense.

[Edited on June 9, 2025 at 10:57 AM. Reason : iow it's not bowing down. it's taking accountability, and THAT is leadership.]

6/9/2025 10:57:14 AM

what issues?

6/9/2025 1:55:23 PM

Quote :

"we appeased too much and someone gained support and made it much much worse. we're sorry and we want to get back to doing things professionally, competently and americanly again. no nonsense. "

I would like to see this. This has a different meaning to me that “we screwed up sorry”

6/9/2025 9:10:19 PM

🤝

[Edited on June 9, 2025 at 9:25 PM. Reason : ^^ what issues do you think the American public would like to see addressed]

6/9/2025 9:25:30 PM

TELL THEM WHAT THEY WANT

6/10/2025 2:03:12 AM

^^Emoji hack using one weird old trick that website owners don't want you to know!

6/10/2025 6:52:29 AM

https://x.com/BGOnTheScene/status/1931923042655224154

I want to start typing deport under posts now, except not racially, like just please
go away

6/10/2025 8:45:15 AM

I think they should run “Make America Sane Again”. Although MASA sounds awful and would have terrible connotations.

Ok, maybe they shouldn’t go with that, but something similar. Make America Civil Again? Normal again?

6/10/2025 9:05:10 AM

think harder

6/10/2025 9:42:08 AM

Quote :

" what issues do you think the American public would like to see addressed"

I’m not the one who brought up “issues”

I don’t think it’s too much of an ask for you to detail which issues you’re referring to

6/10/2025 10:04:56 AM

we can start with immigration i suppose

Quote :

"won't someone think of the poor tech bros/google?!?!?"

also, if you people would stop putting people into boxes so you can dehumanize them and justify violence against them, that would be great. we're all human beings here. behave accordingly.

[Edited on June 10, 2025 at 11:11 AM. Reason : thx in advance. -mgmt]

6/10/2025 10:32:10 AM

Who are you quoting?
Found it, chit chat

Also didn't Biden have an immigration bill and Trump told everyone to vote no?

[Edited on June 10, 2025 at 12:43 PM. Reason : E]

6/10/2025 12:17:28 PM

If California syndrome spreads to all major cities then Democrats will definitely win in 2028.

6/10/2025 12:48:38 PM

Quote :

" think they should run “Make America Sane Again”. Although MASA sounds awful and would have terrible connotations. Ok, maybe they shouldn’t go with that, but something similar. Make America Civil Again? Normal again?"

no

6/10/2025 1:14:33 PM

Quote :

"we can start with immigration i suppose"

I agree that Dems should stop being Republican-lite when it comes to immigration

immigration is great and Dems need to celebrate it more instead of tripping over themselves to sound like Republicans about it

6/10/2025 1:17:28 PM

Quote :

""We know we fucked up in various ways over the last decade+, we're sorry, and we want to get back to Making America Great Again. We will do it with an unapologetically strong commitment to the values that the Democratic party has always espoused, but we'll also learn from where Republicans and Republican voters have turned out to be right as well, and integrate that into our platform going forward.""

I have disagreed with a lot of things qntmfred has said in Soap Box, but this is the first time I ever thought something he said was downright stupid.

The great advantage that Democrats will have going into 2026 is rage against MAGA and the Republican Party. Democrats should oppose all of it - first because that's the morally right and rationally correct thing to do, and second because it's the message people will want.

There is no significant appetite in this country for "sane Republicans." If there was, a sane Republican would have won any of the last three Presidential primaries. Anyone who claims they want a "sane," or "old-school," or "Mitt Romney" Republican falls into one of three camps:

1) Democrats who want a Democrat to win but, if they have to live with Republicans, would like them to not be crazy
2) "Moderates" who would prefer a sane Republican to Donald Trump, but prefer Donald Trump to Democrats
3) True never-Trump Republicans who will vote for a Democrat for President...and then vote down-ballot for a bunch of lickspittle Republicans who will enable Donald Trump to do whatever he wants.

These are not people to build a message, a campaign, or a movement on.

Quote :

"rather than wallowing in the stagnant muck of grievance and revenge. that strategy has clearly failed. "

Exactly the opposite. The great failure of the Biden administration was taking such a lackadaisical approach to punishing the crimes of the first Trump term. Yeah, they rounded up some Jan. 6 morons, but Garland and his crew let all the big fish off the hook.

Quote :

"it's easy to argue all day long decade after decade about which side was more corrupt."

There is no argument! One side is obviously, clearly, manifestly more corrupt than the other. This isn't a thing where both sides can bring the same amount of grievance to the table in good faith. Beat them over the head with their vast compendium of offenses. People will get tired of hearing "Hunter Biden" and "they didn't tell us Joe was old" over and over again.

I absolutely believe that an anti-corruption platform needs to be at the core of Democratic messaging, and it should be made clear that it will apply to everybody. And when elected, they damn sure better go after corrupt Democrats, too. But they're never gonna get elected with a message of, "Republicans are corrupt and so are we! Our bad."

Quote :

"this conversation segment highlights a relevant messaging (and just as important, policy) issue the dems must confront as well"

They absolutely do not have to "confront" this. Joe Biden made public appearances and went on live television to have a debate. That is not a cover-up. It is also to feed this narrative while Trump's brain is turning to pudding right in front of us.

---

Having talked mostly about what the messaging should not be, here's what I think it should be:

"One party, under the control of one man, has been responsible for sowing division and hate throughout this country and, indeed, the world. They have launched a relentless attack on the very foundations of America and they have lied to you relentlessly while they did it. You see the fruits of their efforts all around: civil disorder, economic fear, the collapse of institutions on which you and your families and your communities relied. The world looks on us with mistrust at best and hostility at worst. America is broken.

We, the Democrats, want to fix it. We want to embark on a New Reconstruction to recreate government. Not just to rebuild it as it was before, but to build it back better. We're going to strengthen democracy by reforming congressional representation and the courts, and by strengthening voting rights. We're going to rebuild the departments and agencies torn down by MAGA and DOGE, taking what worked from before and updating as we go to better meet the demands and abilities of the modern world. We're going to protect the rights of those who have been oppressed. And yes, where appropriate, we are going to punish the wrongs that have been done.

The Trump administration was the most corrupt in more than a century. They committed many of their crimes in broad daylight, confident you wouldn't notice or care that they were enriching themselves off your suffering. But you did notice. Other crimes they committed in the shadows, fearful of what would happen if they became known. Now they will be. These people abused their office and you the people and they will face justice for it. But beyond that, we will also close the legal loopholes and workarounds used by Trump and his cronies to violate the law or to do those things which may not have been illegal but which we as Americans know in our hearts were wrong."

6/10/2025 4:46:37 PM

GrumpyGOP for US Senate!

6/10/2025 4:53:36 PM

GrumpyGOP for Democrat!

6/10/2025 8:00:49 PM

Quote :

"Anyone who claims they want a "sane," or "old-school," or "Mitt Romney" Republican falls into one of three camps: 1) Democrats who want a Democrat to win but, if they have to live with Republicans, would like them to not be crazy 2) "Moderates" who would prefer a sane Republican to Donald Trump, but prefer Donald Trump to Democrats 3) True never-Trump Republicans who will vote for a Democrat for President...and then vote down-ballot for a bunch of lickspittle Republicans who will enable Donald Trump to do whatever he wants."

This is nitpicking and doesn't refute your broader point that the vast majority do fall into something roughly along those 3 categories...

but I want a sane, Mitt Romney Republican (or better yet, the other Mormon--Jon Huntsman). I'd love to see something like a Jon Huntsman/Jim Mattis ticket.

and I do not fall into any of those 3 categories.

Quote :

"And when elected, they damn sure better go after corrupt Democrats, too"

Yeah there is definitely no argument over the last decade or so. The GOP is both massively more corrupt and massively less inclined to police their own.

Look at Al Franken, or Bob Menendez, Eric Adams.

Quote :

""they didn't tell us Joe was old""

I personally think that is a dramatic understatement and minimization. The severity to which he was diminished and the ways in which that was obscured and denied are scandalous. Now, I understand why--various elements of the Democratic Party were caught between various rocks and hard places, and part of the blame lies with President Biden himself, who I don't believe accurately assessed himself.

and in any case, Biden in a coma with his staff running things would still be vastly better, and probably less undemocratic, than Trump.

...but that was still bullshit.

6/10/2025 8:49:40 PM

thx for the thoughtful reply grumpy. i like thoughtful replies. i'll return the favor probably tomorrow

6/10/2025 10:27:19 PM

Coo

[Edited on June 11, 2025 at 12:02 AM. Reason : ]

6/11/2025 12:02:26 AM

Quote :

"The severity to which he was diminished and the ways in which that was obscured and denied are scandalous"

The entire media apparatus of this country dedicated itself to sanewashing Trump for the election and continue to do do now. His people lie constantly and brazenly in an effort to obscure the fact that he is, as you say, "diminished." And he is. Nobody was ever gonna mistake Trump for a genius and he's always been a sociopath but you can see quotes or clips from him in the 90s or early 2000s and it's clear he was much, much better then.

Now nobody likes both-sidesism, but I do think one of these cases is more egregious than the other and certainly has had worse consequences for the country. People start offering me examples of Biden's mental state adversely affecting policy decisions or causing actual, real life problems, maybe we can talk.

But let's skip ahead and say, hypothetically, there are good examples here. Ok. That bothers me, just like it bothered me that Biden decided to run again at his age even without his mental fitness being in doubt. But I'm not clutching my pearls and taking it personally the way Jake Tapper and the GOP seem to want me to because it's not special. It's not new. There's Trump, then before him there's Reagan spending a big chunk of at least his second term sliding into senility. There's JFK's people hiding his health problems (among other things) and Edith Wilson hiding Woodrow's drooling post-stroke state and on and on and on. Democrats don't need to fall on their sword over this.

I think an upper age limit to hold office is perfectly reasonable and would love to see that as part of the Democratic platform, although that's a pipe dream. But if it were to be raised, there are a dozen examples to harp on, beginning with the incumbent. Wearing the hair shirt and beating our breasts over Joe Biden is not required or desirable.

6/11/2025 3:58:43 AM