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Harley "Griff" Lofton's avatar

Why the Dems have to move to the center, Chapter 18,898---

This is probably the most tiresome song getting played over and over again on "The Bulwark".

In the first place it is already too late to tack FURTHER to the center in any convincing manner. The entire Biden agenda that has so far passed in Congress is almost entirely centrist... and yet no matter how often this is pointed out it isn't enough to overcome the creeping socialism canard.

The culture war issues being battled are mostly state and local issues--- and if leftists in Portland are somehow the problem of moderate Democrats in Virginia there is nothing to be done.

In the second place it really doesn't matter--- Democrats could go to the center right of Joe Manchin and they would still be misrepresented as communists, socialists, baby eating transgender lesbians by the GOP and half the country has already accepted that as true.

So the ONLY issue that needs to be decided is whether or not this country remains a democracy or becomes Hungary and Poland. IF white suburban voters are more concerned about inflation than preserving democracy then LET them vote Republican.

Give them the government they deserve.

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Karl's avatar

Dem problem is not insufficient policy centrism. Majority of Dem supporters I know are centrist to just a bit leftward. No amount of policy moderation will make any difference. The problems are (a) politically incompetent leadership that is too beholden to hard-liberal major donors, (b) excessive media attention to bright-shiny-object backbenchers like AOC who represent party fringes, (c) inability to forcefully articulate longtime shared community values, and (d) the ability of the right-wing-noise-machine to absolutely dominate agenda-setting. The complicity of the mainstream media in the RWNM's painting the Squad as the party leadership is breathtaking.

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