• BanMe@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    4
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    2 days ago

    There’s growing evidence Democrats do better when they moderate (get closer to average American’s viewpoints) than go extreme progressive (go away from average American’s viewpoints). Again people are turned off by extreme positions. So many people voted for Trump, or didn’t vote for Dems, because they believe we sponsor sex change surgery for minors, or paying for immigrants’ sex changes (I know it’s called gender reassignment surgery, but this is how middle America talks about it).

    How the hell is going more progressive, spending more time talking about trans girls playing sports (a wildly unpopular topic), vs going in with a hard-hammered message of economic stability, which is what people keep voting for?

    Whenever I hear leftists talking about going more progressive, I wonder if you’ve spent any time wandering around the flyover states, talking to the average farmer or factory worker, because they decide the president, not us. We are out of touch with them, and nothing we are doing is drawing them in - only turning them off.

    • Schmoo@slrpnk.net
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      4
      ·
      1 day ago

      Here’s a list of progressive policies that the Democratic leadership have made taboo and their approval ratings:

      Medicare for All shows majority support in nearly every poll.

      55% support raising the federal minimum wage.

      An overwhelming majority support ending citizens united.

      59% support the green new deal.

      79% support raising taxes on the rich.

      These numbers vary by single digit percentage points from poll to poll, not enough to change the conclusion - that progressive policy is overwhelmingly popular - which is why it’s so frustrating that you’re defending Democrats shying away from those policies to appeal to a mythical “moderate.” Zohran Mamdani’s campaign shows you don’t have to back down on trans rights to run an economics focused campaign, and it’s the progressive economic policies that are the most popular. When people hear Democrats hem and haw about “economic stability” they hear “we’re not going to change anything about the system that’s fucking you with a rusty tire iron.”

    • Gigasser@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      4
      ·
      2 days ago

      Did they vote for Trump because he was the centrist position? Did pandering towards center work for Kamala? Is “spending more time talking about trans girls playing sports” really what Schmoo meant when he was talking about progressive/left economic populism? People like Zohran seem very popular right now. They aren’t centrist.