Democratic Party Rebuild
- Thread starter the next guy
- Start date
bruh…why are yall telling me this isn’t a big issue? 
This is literally the Top 3 issues this entire article is focused on thats hurting democrats 
Six Months Later, Democrats Are Still Searching for the Path Forward
The party’s standing is startlingly low after a defeat that felt like a cultural rejection. What comes next?
May 25, 2025
By Shane Goldmacher
Shane Goldmacher is a national political correspondent currently focused on the rebuilding efforts of the Democratic Party
One longtime Democratic researcher has a technique she leans on when nudging voters to share their deepest, darkest feelings about politics. She asks them to compare America’s two major parties to animals.
After around 250 focus groups of swing voters, a few patterns have emerged, said the researcher, Anat Shenker-Osorio. Republicans are seen as “apex predators,” like lions, tigers and sharks — beasts that take what they want when they want it. Democrats are typically tagged as tortoises, slugs or sloths: slow, plodding, passive.
So Ms. Shenker-Osorio perked up earlier this year when a Democratic man in Georgia suggested that a very different kind of animal symbolized her party.
“A deer,” he said, “in headlights.”
The man had more to say.
“You stand there and you see the car coming, but you’re going to stand there and get hit with it anyway.”
Six months after President Trump swept the battleground states, the Democratic Party is still sifting through the wreckage. Its standing has plunged to startling new lows — 27 percent approval in a recent NBC News poll, the weakest in surveys dating to 1990 — after a defeat that felt like both a political and cultural rejection.
Communities that Democrats had come to count on for a generation or more — young people, Black voters, Latinos — all veered toward the right in 2024, some of them sharply. And unlike Mr. Trump’s win in 2016, his victory last year could not be waved away as an outlier after he won the popular vote for the first time.
President Trump won a nearly identical percentage of the vote in the battleground state of Arizona — around 52 percent — as former Vice President Kamala Harris won in the supposedly safe state of New Jersey.Adriana Zehbrauskas for The New York Times
The stark reality is that the downward trend for Democrats stretches back further than a single election. Republicans have been gaining ground in voter registration for years. Working-class voters of every race have been steadily drifting toward the G.O.P. And Democrats are increasingly perceived as the party of college-educated elites, the defenders of a political and economic system that most Americans feel is failing them.
“Over a long period of time, our party overdrew our trust account with the American people,” said Rob Flaherty, who was deputy campaign manager for former Vice President Kamala Harris last year.
The Democratic Party’s tarnished image could not come at a more inopportune moment. In this era of political polarization, the national party’s brand is more important and influential than ever, often driving the outcomes of even the most local of races.
And so The New York Times is beginning an occasional series of articles about the Democrats and their predicament: how it got so dire, what comes next and who could lead the way.
The first challenge is that it is not just Republicans and independents who have soured on the Democratic Party. It is also Democrats themselves.
The Democratic base is aghast at the speed with which Mr. Trump is undermining institutions and reversing progressive accomplishments — and at the lack of resistance from congressional leaders. Primary challenges are on the rise headed into 2026, often along generational and ideological lines.
“There is fear, there is anxiety, and there are very real questions about the path forward — all of which I share,” said Representative Jason Crow, a Colorado Democrat who is charged with recruiting candidates to help Democrats win back the House in 2026.
“We are losing support in vast swaths of the country, in rural America, in the Midwest, the places where I’m from,” Mr. Crow continued. “People that I grew up with who now support Donald Trump, who used to be Democrats. There’s no reason why we shouldn’t have the support of these folks, other than we have pushed, in so many ways, these people away from our party.”
Several men sit in a row at a table in an ornate room. A television screen slightly behind them to their right shows an image of Jason Crow speaking into a microphone.
Representative Jason Crow of Colorado, shown on the screen during a House hearing, has been tasked with recruiting candidates to help Democrats win back the chamber in 2026.Pete Marovich for The New York Times
Even the gender gap — which had long benefited Democrats — helped Republicans in 2024 as men swung harder to the right.
Now, top party officials, activists and donors are broadly weighing how to rebuild, and reassessing how to speak to voters, how to listen to them and how to reach those who have tuned out entirely.
Fierce ideological debates over policies — whether to push for a stricter stand on immigration, defend transgender rights less forcefully or embrace anti-corporate economic populism — are already playing out on Capitol Hill and on the nascent 2028 campaign trail.
All political parties, of course, face time in the wilderness. And by some measures, this is far from the bleakest outlook Democrats have confronted in modern times.
President Ronald Reagan enjoyed a 49-state romp in 1984. By comparison, Mr. Trump’s 1.5-percentage-point margin of victory in the national popular vote was narrow, and he was only the second Republican to win the popular vote since 1988.
But while the overall margin, and most of the presidential battleground states themselves, was relatively close last year, the country as a whole has shifted markedly to the right. In the final tally, Mr. Trump won a nearly identical percentage of the vote in the battleground of Arizona (52.2 percent) as Ms. Harris won in the supposedly safe state of New Jersey (52 percent).
The Democratic Party of 2025 also faces structural challenges that will impede its recovery, including a Senate map tilted distinctly to the right and an Electoral College in which blue and battleground states are losing population to red states.
Mr. Trump twice cracked the “blue wall” states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. But even carrying those northern battlegrounds is unlikely to be enough for Democrats to win the White House after the 2030 census.
“The party has to find ways to compete in states where it’s not,” said Jaime Harrison, who stepped down in February as the chairman of the Democratic National Committee.
A man drives a moped with a large Trump 2024 flag attached to it. A slogan printed on the flag reads, “The rules have changed.”
Unlike Mr. Trump’s win in 2016, his victory last year could not be waved away as an outlier after he won the popular vote for the first time.Michelle Gustafson for The New York Times
For now, Democratic donors and strategists have been gathering at luxury hotels to discuss how to win back working-class voters, commissioning new projects that can read like anthropological studies of people from faraway places.
The prospectus for one new $20 million effort, obtained by The Times, aims to reverse the erosion of Democratic support among young men, especially online. It is code-named SAM — short for “Speaking with American Men: A Strategic Plan” — and promises investment to “study the syntax, language and content that gains attention and virality in these spaces.” It recommends buying advertisements in video games, among other things.
“Above all, we must shift from a moralizing tone,” it urges.
Mr. Trump’s diminishing popularity since the election has some Democrats already salivating for the midterm elections. Republicans control the House only narrowly, 220-212, with three vacancies in heavily Democratic seats.
“Trump’s numbers seem to be getting worse and worse, and I’m pretty optimistic Democrats will have some real opportunities in 2026,” said Zac McCrary, a Democratic pollster.
But Mr. McCrary, who lives in an Alabama congressional district that is often ranked the nation’s most conservative, cautioned against taking the wrong lessons from any successes in 2026 because, he said, the party’s brand is repellent in so much of the country.
“The 2022 midterms masked the Biden problem,” he said of the former president’s age. “A good 2026 midterm — we should not let that mask a deeper problem.” He added that Democrats had “lost credibility by being seen as alien on cultural issues.”
Ms. Shenker-Osorio, the Democratic researcher and messaging consultant who holds regular focus groups, said Democratic voters today craved more action and less self-reflection.
“Voters are hungry for people to actually stand up for them — or get caught trying,” she said, urging Democratic leaders to embrace the fight. “The party is doing a lot of navel-gazing and not enough full-belly acting.”
What rights should democrats defend when it comes to trans issues that aren’t being defended?
the cac mamba
Veteran
progressives' brand of weird fakkitry is killing the party's image. it's a fact, whether you accept it or notFrom monetary policy discussion to talking about gays and trannys, these guys need to go live out the fantasies
it's kinda like how you fukking idiots can't accept that trump was elected to do things like pass the Laken Riley act. you're just not in tune with normal people. the vast majority of voters
and that's why progressives can't/don't win anything outside of dark blue areas. your politics are trash
the cac mamba
Veteran
imagine thinking that this local talent, niche-appeal bozo is actually the face/future of the party
To all of the "follow the Science" transphobes...
bsky.app
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Charlotte Clymer (@charlotteclymer.bsky.social)
More than two years ago, Utah Republicans commissioned a study on gender-affirming care for youth. It just came back, and the conclusion is unambiguous: full recommendation in support of gender-affirming care. https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/05/utah-transgender-youth-affirming-care-ban/
bsky.app
1/27
charlotteclymer.bsky.social
More than two years ago, Utah Republicans commissioned a study on gender-affirming care for youth. It just came back, and the conclusion is unambiguous: full recommendation in support of gender-affirming care.
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
2/27
cabridges.bsky.social
Flashback to Nixon’s demand for a study on marijuana, which concluded decisively that the most dangerous thing about weed was that you could get arrested for it.
3/27
itsnotathing.bsky.social
I am baffled by the level of control the right wants to exert on the population as a whole. No masks, but women self determination or LGBT+ issues are their decision.
4/27
loudmouthginger.bsky.social
I bet this wasn’t the outcome the Utah GOP thought they were paying for when they kicked this can down the road. Sadly, they will ignore the study because it’s based on science.
5/27
napeungae.bsky.social
It boggles that we need a study to confirm that treating people like human beings is better than not.
6/27
jeffreymkirk.bsky.social
Sadly, with a predictable result: "Rep. Katy Hall, who co-sponsored the 2023 ban, issued a statement that dismissed the study’s findings. 'We intend to keep the moratorium in place.'
Why ignore their own review? Polling, the legislators’ statement suggests."
7/27
carelesswhisperer.bsky.social
Based on my years here in Utah, they ignore a lot of studies, like the studies showing the power and water sustainability of rapid growth in the southern part of the state which are promptly ignored so that the bloated gated communities and subsidized golf courses can go up.
8/27
1stladydi.bsky.social
There you go again.... challenging Republicans with facts.
9/27
patrickkevin.bsky.social
That won’t sit well with the party that wants to cause as much hurt, hate and poverty as they possibly can.
10/27
jkurutz.bsky.social
Al Gore could have predicted the response. Republicans have a history of ignoring Inconvenient Truths dating back to at least 2006.
11/27
monafran11325.bsky.social
Knowledge is power and science is essential.
12/27
dudleypj.bsky.social
13/27
grammykay.bsky.social
I am sick of my state tax dollars being used here in Utah to punish people who don't fit the mold of white, straight,Mormon,republican/maga
14/27
flyingmadman.bsky.social
Wow. Im kinda shocked Republicans would accept this result...did they?
15/27
jacquidesigns.bsky.social
Amazing what you can learn with science!
16/27
kenkiyama.bsky.social
Are they going to be like the national security staff in the White House and tell the study authors to try again?
17/27
clotpoll.bsky.social
sounds like one for the mormon memory hole, sadly
18/27
bjgt.bsky.social
the evidence supports treatments are effective in terms of mental health, psychosocial outcomes, & the induction of body changes consistent with the affirmed gender in pediatric patients…treatments are safe in terms of changes to bone density, cardiovascular risk factors, metabolic changes, & cancer
19/27
carelesswhisperer.bsky.social
Well you see in Utah I see them ignore all kinds of studies, like those showing lack of affordable housing and unsustainable water usage but that doesn’t stop them from building the many gated communities and subsidized golf courses and water parks here in southern Utah. This study is no exception.
20/27
larksparking.bsky.social
I think about the kid down the street who fought their parents to wear a non-girly swimsuit and asked us to call them Herb, as the dad was telling us not to. I hope Herb is doing well as Herb now. Over forty years ago.
21/27
fitzgeraldmom.bsky.social
Of course it did!!! They should get all the care they need without the GOP of haters getting in the way!!!!
22/27
momny.bsky.social
THIS IS A FAMILY CHOICE
23/27
dadhyde.bsky.social
"Be careful what you ask for, because you just might get it."
24/27
getinformed23.bsky.social
How inconvenient for the haters.
25/27
westernwriter.bsky.social
How is it that Utah is coming up with the goods lately?
26/27
meshaiman.bsky.social
Sheer accident.
27/27
alisonspeaks.bsky.social
They should rejoice because this is speaks to self-determination and lord knows they’re not into people helping one another.
To post tweets in this format, more info here: https://www.thecoli.com/threads/tips-and-tricks-for-posting-the-coli-megathread.984734/post-52211196
charlotteclymer.bsky.socialMore than two years ago, Utah Republicans commissioned a study on gender-affirming care for youth. It just came back, and the conclusion is unambiguous: full recommendation in support of gender-affirming care.
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
2/27
cabridges.bsky.socialFlashback to Nixon’s demand for a study on marijuana, which concluded decisively that the most dangerous thing about weed was that you could get arrested for it.
3/27
itsnotathing.bsky.socialI am baffled by the level of control the right wants to exert on the population as a whole. No masks, but women self determination or LGBT+ issues are their decision.
4/27
loudmouthginger.bsky.socialI bet this wasn’t the outcome the Utah GOP thought they were paying for when they kicked this can down the road. Sadly, they will ignore the study because it’s based on science.
5/27
napeungae.bsky.socialIt boggles that we need a study to confirm that treating people like human beings is better than not.
6/27
jeffreymkirk.bsky.socialSadly, with a predictable result: "Rep. Katy Hall, who co-sponsored the 2023 ban, issued a statement that dismissed the study’s findings. 'We intend to keep the moratorium in place.'
Why ignore their own review? Polling, the legislators’ statement suggests."
7/27
carelesswhisperer.bsky.socialBased on my years here in Utah, they ignore a lot of studies, like the studies showing the power and water sustainability of rapid growth in the southern part of the state which are promptly ignored so that the bloated gated communities and subsidized golf courses can go up.
8/27
1stladydi.bsky.socialThere you go again.... challenging Republicans with facts.
9/27
patrickkevin.bsky.socialThat won’t sit well with the party that wants to cause as much hurt, hate and poverty as they possibly can.
10/27
jkurutz.bsky.socialAl Gore could have predicted the response. Republicans have a history of ignoring Inconvenient Truths dating back to at least 2006.
11/27
monafran11325.bsky.socialKnowledge is power and science is essential.
12/27
dudleypj.bsky.social
13/27
grammykay.bsky.socialI am sick of my state tax dollars being used here in Utah to punish people who don't fit the mold of white, straight,Mormon,republican/maga
14/27
flyingmadman.bsky.socialWow. Im kinda shocked Republicans would accept this result...did they?
15/27
jacquidesigns.bsky.socialAmazing what you can learn with science!
16/27
kenkiyama.bsky.socialAre they going to be like the national security staff in the White House and tell the study authors to try again?
17/27
clotpoll.bsky.socialsounds like one for the mormon memory hole, sadly
18/27
bjgt.bsky.socialthe evidence supports treatments are effective in terms of mental health, psychosocial outcomes, & the induction of body changes consistent with the affirmed gender in pediatric patients…treatments are safe in terms of changes to bone density, cardiovascular risk factors, metabolic changes, & cancer
19/27
carelesswhisperer.bsky.socialWell you see in Utah I see them ignore all kinds of studies, like those showing lack of affordable housing and unsustainable water usage but that doesn’t stop them from building the many gated communities and subsidized golf courses and water parks here in southern Utah. This study is no exception.
20/27
larksparking.bsky.socialI think about the kid down the street who fought their parents to wear a non-girly swimsuit and asked us to call them Herb, as the dad was telling us not to. I hope Herb is doing well as Herb now. Over forty years ago.
21/27
fitzgeraldmom.bsky.socialOf course it did!!! They should get all the care they need without the GOP of haters getting in the way!!!!
22/27
momny.bsky.socialTHIS IS A FAMILY CHOICE
23/27
dadhyde.bsky.social"Be careful what you ask for, because you just might get it."
24/27
getinformed23.bsky.socialHow inconvenient for the haters.
25/27
westernwriter.bsky.socialHow is it that Utah is coming up with the goods lately?
26/27
meshaiman.bsky.socialSheer accident.
27/27
alisonspeaks.bsky.socialThey should rejoice because this is speaks to self-determination and lord knows they’re not into people helping one another.
To post tweets in this format, more info here: https://www.thecoli.com/threads/tips-and-tricks-for-posting-the-coli-megathread.984734/post-52211196
Commented on Mon May 26 14:38:17 2025 UTC
Wait what? Science DOESN’T support mindless hate? Guess they’ll just have to stick to religion.
Wait what? Science DOESN’T support mindless hate? Guess they’ll just have to stick to religion.
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│ Commented on Mon May 26 15:19:26 2025 UTC
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│ This is a repost from another comment i responded to:
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│ My friend Noah (I love him, hes a walking encyclopedia and the most purely kind human ever) always says the problem with these kind of people is that their opinions and beliefs are not founded on a basis of curiosity and trying to see if they are wrong in what they believe
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│ They create their own opinions and then search for facts to justify them
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│ He says all opinions should be formed on the basis of null hypothesis
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│ This is a repost from another comment i responded to:
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│ My friend Noah (I love him, hes a walking encyclopedia and the most purely kind human ever) always says the problem with these kind of people is that their opinions and beliefs are not founded on a basis of curiosity and trying to see if they are wrong in what they believe
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│ They create their own opinions and then search for facts to justify them
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│ He says all opinions should be formed on the basis of null hypothesis
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│ │ Commented on Mon May 26 16:14:02 2025 UTC
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│ │ He’s right. These types of people will use anything to justify their beliefs. My mom recently saw someone who she believes was trans and commented on how ‘unhappy they looked. Even after all of those changes, they still looked miserable.’ Like….ok #1 you don’t know if they’re trans. And #2 TRANS PEOPLE ARE ALLOWED TO BE UNHAPPY SOMETIMES TOO. They’re allowed to have bad days.
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│ │ He’s right. These types of people will use anything to justify their beliefs. My mom recently saw someone who she believes was trans and commented on how ‘unhappy they looked. Even after all of those changes, they still looked miserable.’ Like….ok #1 you don’t know if they’re trans. And #2 TRANS PEOPLE ARE ALLOWED TO BE UNHAPPY SOMETIMES TOO. They’re allowed to have bad days.
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│ │ │ Commented on Mon May 26 17:25:13 2025 UTC
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│ │ │ I'd say, given the trash they're forced to deal with that the other 99% of us don't, they are even MORE than allowed to express their unhappiness.
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│ │ │ I'd say, given the trash they're forced to deal with that the other 99% of us don't, they are even MORE than allowed to express their unhappiness.
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the cac mamba
Veteran
this Dean Phillips revenge tour is 
this is actually a great read. crazy, the level of failure and hubris
For too many Americans, the Democratic brand is now associated with rising costs, inefficiency, tenure over talent, bureaucratic complexity, poor customer service, and the “canceling” of people and ideas that diverge from the Democratic gospel.
this is actually a great read. crazy, the level of failure and hubris
For too many Americans, the Democratic brand is now associated with rising costs, inefficiency, tenure over talent, bureaucratic complexity, poor customer service, and the “canceling” of people and ideas that diverge from the Democratic gospel.
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the cac mamba
Veteran
To all of the "follow the Science" transphobes...
Posted on Mon May 26 14:02:33 2025 UTC
yeah, you clowns just don't get it. keep this filth away from children
the fact that anyone has to explain that to you is insane
Theres no such thing as transgenderism. What science is there to follow?
Outlaw
New Hope For the HaveNotz
Why do you talk about them with such disgust?From monetary policy discussion to talking about gays and trannys, these guys need to go live out the fantasies
The average male voter doesn’t feel the messaging coming from Dems is intended for them. This shouldn’t be debated at this point.
You can resonate with your target demographics and pass policy without making folks need to read a research paper or browbeating them into caring about shyt they don’t care about.
Unironically, Ken Klippenstein is exactly the kind of person most working class guys aren’t kicking it with.
You can resonate with your target demographics and pass policy without making folks need to read a research paper or browbeating them into caring about shyt they don’t care about.
Unironically, Ken Klippenstein is exactly the kind of person most working class guys aren’t kicking it with.
AquaCityBoy
Veteran
If men are going right because heaven forbid we focus on marginalized groups, oh well. fukk them bytch ass snowflake dudes.
Men.
Men.
If that’s your read you’re just showing why you’re out of touch.If men are going right because heaven forbid we focus on marginalized groups, oh well. fukk them bytch ass snowflake dudes.
Men.