Democrat Party- More evidence of leftward drift

[whell]

Say what you want about DiFi, but she was the occasional voice of reason in the Dem party. But...

In a sharp rebuke to Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the California Democratic Party has declined to endorse the state’s own senior senator in her bid for reelection.

Riven by conflict between progressive and more moderate forces at the state party’s annual convention here, delegates favored Feinstein’s progressive rival, state Senate leader Kevin de León, over Feinstein by a vote of 54 percent to 37 percent, according to results announced Sunday.

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/...in-leon-423452

No one should be a Senate lifer, IMHO. But the way that this one played out for Feinstein is, IMHO, more evidence that the Dem party is swinging more left, and has been for years.

Now, anticipating some responses that a post like this will get, is the Repub party swinging further right? Well, a study published a couple years ago - and I think I posted it here back then - does indicate that while both parties are experiencing polarization, the Dems are moving to further to the left than the Repubs are moving to the right.

I'd also suggest that Trump befuddles the Repub base. He's non-ideological, and while he appears to have "conservative instincts" on economic issues, he also appears more liberal on social issues. Also, since he's non-ideological, his positions on issues are harder to nail down. That may blunt any significant ideological shifts in the party's politics during the remainder of Trump's tenure.

The real question is: where are the voters. Are more voters conservative or liberal in their views? And what about the views of younger Americans?

Some of the answer depends on who you ask. Interestingly, Politico ran this piece in 2015, a little more than a year before election, finding that Americans are not moving to the left as some folks believed. While holding some positions that might have been identified as "liberal", surveys found that:

The real defect in the theory that America is moving left is that the polling evidence does not back it up. The country might not like the GOP, but it is generally not abandoning conservative views.

Also, this:

But on many other issues, even as the country’s demographics are changing, our core beliefs are not. It’s instructive to compare today’s polls on a range of other issues with those from 1999-2000, the last time we were nearing the end of a two-term Democratic presidency. Look at issues through a conventional left-right prism, and you see a public that has either not changed its views or has even shifted in a more conservative direction.

CNN also ran this piece on Millennials just before the election. While some assumed that millennials were more liberal, that piece's author didn't find supporting evidence of that in his studies. In fact, the study suggested a trend toward individuals identifying as "independent" rather than Democrat or Republican. However, younger voters tended to lean more to the right than the previous generations of voters.

On a final note - I happened to watch ABC's This Week show yesterday. Kasich and Hickenlooper were being interviewed together and were apparently trying to present themselves as alternatives to the polarized Dem and Repub parties. "Two moderates that were willing to work together to get things done", I guess, was their message. Ultimately, I thought they both ended up looking like idiots. However, Kasich did say one thing that I agreed with: I have no idea what the Democrat party stands for." I've asked the question here here on this forum any number of times. I've never gotten a sincere response to the question, so I've assumed that none of you are clear on what the party stands for either. According to a recent WaPo poll, a majority think that the only thing that the party stands for is being against Trump. WaPo, in their usual feckless style, seems to suggest that this is a good thing for Dems, suggesting that the Dems "don't need to be anything more than the anti-Trump party right now".... Well, maybe that was true a year ago, but we're now only months away from casting ballots in the 2018 mid-terms, and its still the case that the Dems have no unifying message other than "Trump sucks". Voters tend to want to vote "for" something rather than "against" something, so I suspect "Trump sucks" might resonate with the base, but it will also likely repel moderates.

[bobabode]

Yawn, looks like something the cat puked up from Drudge or the Daily Caller.

[whell]

Originally Posted by bobabode

Yawn, looks like something the cat puked up from Drudge or the Daily Caller.

Except that the supporting links were from Politico, CNN and WaPo. But thanks for confirming that you didn't even bother to give the post more than a cursory glance before you posted your smarmy and useless comment. Typical.

[bobabode]

Originally Posted by whell

Except that the supporting links were from Politico, CNN and WaPo. But thanks for confirming that you didn't even bother to give the post more than a cursory glance before you posted your smarmy and useless comment. Typical.

Chances are DiFi will continue as the senior senator from the Great State of California due to the moronic jungle primary system foisted on us by idiot conservatives. As such, the race will probably end up being between de Leon and Feinstein with Feinstein clobbering de Leon like a red headed step-child.

Now, seeing you whinging about someone else being smarmy on this board was good for my first chuckle of the day.

You've got the market cornered on smarmy and useless, Mike.

[Dondilion]

Trumps sucks repel moderates??

Moderates will definitely endorse the idea that Trump sucks and Trump is doing everything daily to reinforce it.

[whell]

Originally Posted by Dondilion

Trumps sucks repel moderates??

Moderates will definitely endorse the idea that Trump sucks and Trump is doing everything daily to reinforce it.

Yup, I think so. I don't think Trump's presidency is as repulsive to the masses as it is to the folks in the media, and most in this forum. Also, I think there are folks who look past the packaging and support the stated agenda.

[Rajoo]

Originally Posted by whell

Yup, I think so. I don't think Trump's presidency is as repulsive to the masses as it is to the folks in the media, and most in this forum. Also, I think there are folks who look past the packaging and support the stated agenda.

Women not part of the masses?

[nailer]

Originally Posted by Rajoo

Women not part of the masses?

whell actually just admitted that he thinks Trump's presidency is repulsive to the masses. Just not as repulsive as WaPo, NYT, CNN, chicks, finnbow ... and you would have us all believe.

[Rajoo]

Originally Posted by nailer

whell actually just admitted that he thinks Trump's presidency is repulsive to the masses. Just not as repulsive as WaPo, NYT, CNN, chicks, finnbow ... and you would have us all believe.

It's a game and posting on the internet has it's own hidden benefits. Ask whell.

[finnbow]

Originally Posted by whell

Yup, I think so. I don't think Trump's presidency is as repulsive to the masses as it is to the folks in the media, and most in this forum. Also, I think there are folks who look past the packaging and support the stated agenda.

If you don't find his presidency repulsive, it says a lot about your values (i.e., you have none).