Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Why Liberals lose elections
UMass Daily Collegian ^ | 2/6/17 | Heffler

Posted on 02/06/2017 6:42:02 AM PST by pabianice

Many liberals are still recovering from the shellacking that Democrats received in the November elections, resulting in a fierce debate over what went wrong, who should run the Democratic National Committee and how to fix the Democratic Party. Regardless of where you stand on these debates, all liberals should realize that there a few key things holding them back from winning elections. First, “it’s the economy, stupid,” a slogan James Carville and the Clinton campaign hit on the head in 1992 and helped lead Clinton’s campaign to two landslide electoral victories. While many liberals enjoy living in a bubble where the biggest problems facing the country are things like global warming and college debt, it simply isn’t the case for the swing state voters that decide presidential and legislative elections.

Think about the states that carried Trump to victory (aside from the votes Hillary lost by people just not showing up to polls). They are stereotypical “Middle America”, white, working-class families. According to FiveThirtyEight, Trump excelled the most in areas where economic anxiety is high. As notable as the causes like global warming and college debt are, these people have to first worry about putting food on the table and holding on to their way of life. The Democratic Party needs to recognize this. The second point is marketing. Despite being an avid Bernie Sanders supporter, one thing I always hated about him was how he presented many of his ideas. He consistently brought up a policy proposal, talked about another country or group of countries that have this policy and how well it works for them, and then said it was time for America to be like that country or group of countries.

Liberals need to drastically improve their marketing strategy, and it’s not very hard. Americans enjoy hearing about how America is better than the rest. So, instead of telling voters we want to be more like Denmark, explain how these policies will make us even stronger and better than every other country. The third point is Global Warming. To be honest, I’m taking this idea from the late, great comedian George Carlin, so I’ll just quote him: “the environmentalist doesn’t care about the planet, not in the abstract they don’t. You know what they’re interested in? A clean place to live. Their own habitat…The planet isn’t going anywhere. We are …The planet will shake us off like a bad case of fleas, a surface nuisance.”

While this is a very crude assessment of global warming, it provides a good roadmap of how to shape the fight against global warming. Average people are sick of hearing about the liberal self-righteous crusade to save the planet. Tell it like it is: we need to fix this situation for our own good and our own survival, plain and simple. The fourth issue is political correctness. Here’s where all the liberals start to get mad at me. Let me preface this with saying there is nothing wrong with political correctness.

However, people get upset when liberals try to push their political correctness onto others. Liberals have an odd fetish of fighting intolerance by being intolerant of anyone who doesn’t think like them. Remember Hillary’s whole “basket of deplorables” comment during the election? That was the epitome of liberal self-righteousness, which is something many in the country can’t stand.

The political correctness problem that liberals generate for themselves manifests itself in a host of topics. For example, former President Barack Obama, representative of the Democratic Party, wouldn’t say the term “Radical Islamic Terrorism”.

While I completely understand that Islam is a religion of peace for the vast majority of those who practice, and that not all terrorism is based in any kind of Islamic teaching, you can’t just pretend that Radical Islamic Terrorism isn’t a thing. I personally could not care less what it’s called, but the fact that some Democrats won’t say it really ticks off some key swing voters. Why are liberals shooting themselves in the foot on this?

It’s a noble cause to do your best to avoid offending people and sending the wrong message about your beliefs. However, when you’re trying to win an election, it might be prudent to allow for offending a couple of people instead of angering thousands of swing voters. Try fixing problems after you win the election, not during.

It’s time for liberals to get out of the bubble and start thinking a little more like the rest of our country during election seasons. It’s our only path toward progress.

Matt Heffler is a Collegian columnist and can be reached at mheffler@umass.edu.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Philosophy; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 2016issues; liberals
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-22 next last
More Global Warming hysteria, please.
1 posted on 02/06/2017 6:42:02 AM PST by pabianice
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: pabianice

In other words: He recommends lying. Which is something else the left is good at


2 posted on 02/06/2017 6:50:16 AM PST by Fai Mao (The only person I hate is the PIAPS)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: pabianice

The libs can only urinate down the backs of the American folks before even the least informed become aware of a failing represive regime . Americans woke up , got out to vote and took back their country .

Now comes the HISSY FIT ,,, get over it !!!


3 posted on 02/06/2017 6:51:04 AM PST by Lionheartusa1 ()-: ISIS is Islam without the lipstick :-()
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: pabianice

“While I completely understand that Islam is a religion of peace for the vast majority of those who practice, and that not all terrorism is based in any kind of Islamic teaching,”

Well, I disagree with the author there. All Islamic terrorism is based on Islamic teaching.


4 posted on 02/06/2017 6:52:45 AM PST by LydiaLong
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Fai Mao

Go to the Holy Bible. In the New Testament, look up the words Jesus had for the Pharisees. They are appropriate for and describe the Leftists, also.


5 posted on 02/06/2017 6:55:45 AM PST by sport
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: pabianice; Fai Mao

Exactly. All he is doing is suggesting that they lie more practically, and save their deceit for “after” they win.


6 posted on 02/06/2017 6:56:01 AM PST by wgflyer (Liberalism is to society what HIV is to the immune system.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Lionheartusa1
"The libs can only urinate down the backs of the American folks before even the least informed become aware of a failing represive regime ."



Senator, don't piss down my back and tell me it's raining...

Dean Wormer
7 posted on 02/06/2017 6:58:33 AM PST by Old Teufel Hunden
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Old Teufel Hunden

Every movie that guy was in was pretty good.


8 posted on 02/06/2017 7:01:08 AM PST by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: All

Liberals are losing elections because Social Media and the Internet no longer allow them to hide who they are and what they intend to do.


9 posted on 02/06/2017 7:06:22 AM PST by Maverick68 (.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: central_va

I thought he was a great actor. I think he probably didn’t take himself too seriously as he spoofed a lot of his best loved roles. I really think his role in outlaw Josie Wales was underrated. I’m not sure there were many actors that could have played that part any better. His soliloquy at the end to Josie Wales about what he would do if he ever saw Josie again was awesome...


10 posted on 02/06/2017 7:06:32 AM PST by Old Teufel Hunden
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: pabianice
There is nothing "Democratic" about the Democrat Party, yet the writer insists on using the former as the party name. Given the number of times he repeats this mistake, it was probably purposeful.
11 posted on 02/06/2017 7:12:01 AM PST by Major Matt Mason (Those that can, do, those that can't, work in the Beltway.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: LydiaLong

You should ignore the deeds and words of Mohammed, they are not based on Islamic teaching.

< /s> < /Liberal logic>


12 posted on 02/06/2017 7:19:45 AM PST by FreedomPoster (Islam delenda est)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: pabianice

Actually this kid’s doing well. He at least understands the self-defeating aspects of so much of what they do. After he watches them cling to these practices no matter what, he’ll realize that liberals are hopeless ideologues who can’t even pretend to care about “Middle America”, i.e. the country. From there he’s a good candidate for conversion to our side.


13 posted on 02/06/2017 7:21:04 AM PST by Behind the Blue Wall
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Maverick68
. . . Clinton’s campaign to two landslide electoral victories.

He got a popular vote majority in neither one, just sayin' Woody Wilson was the only other two term president to achieve that feat.

Every other two term president made substantial improvement in their re-election contest . . . until Zer0 came along.

14 posted on 02/06/2017 7:22:02 AM PST by Vigilanteman (ObaMao: Fake America, Fake Messiah, Fake Black man. How many fakes can you fit into one Zer0?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: pabianice

He understands a vast number of Americans do not agree with liberal goals for our nation. So the solution is not to re-think those goals, but to become better liars.

This worked well when the left were the gatekeepers but not so well now.

Even lying about your goals will not work. Liberals will only win when they can cheat.


15 posted on 02/06/2017 7:27:01 AM PST by CIB-173RDABN (US out of the UN, UN out of the US)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Fai Mao

In other words: He recommends lying. Which is something else the left is good at

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yep, except he wants the ultimate achievement in lying - the ability to sound sincere.

I recommend that they keep pushing all of their current agenda, and double-down, triple-down, get louder and more histrionic. Like communism and other leftist schemes, it’s not going to work until you do more of it and put the right people in charge of it.


16 posted on 02/06/2017 7:28:08 AM PST by angryoldfatman
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: pabianice

“Clinton’s campaign to two landslide electoral victories.”

Clinton never received more than 47% of the vote. Only won since Perot and Bush split the conservative vote.


17 posted on 02/06/2017 7:48:23 AM PST by outpostinmass2
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: pabianice

This is what George Carlin said.

““We’re so self-important. Everybody’s going to save something now. “Save the trees, save the bees, save the whales, save those snails.” And the greatest arrogance of all: save the planet. Save the planet, we don’t even know how to take care of ourselves yet. I’m tired of this sh*t.
I’m tired of f-ing Earth Day. I’m tired of these self-righteous environmentalists, these white, bourgeois liberals who think the only thing wrong with this country is that there aren’t enough bicycle paths. People trying to make the world safe for Volvos. Besides, environmentalists don’t give a sh*t about the planet. Not in the abstract they don’t. You know what they’re interested in? A clean place to live. Their own habitat. They’re worried that some day in the future they might be personally inconvenienced. Narrow, unenlightened self-interest doesn’t impress me.”


18 posted on 02/06/2017 8:30:31 AM PST by EQAndyBuzz (Nuke Bilderberg from orbit. It''s the only way to be sure.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: EQAndyBuzz

What would Carlin have said about President Trump?


19 posted on 02/06/2017 8:52:26 AM PST by Taylor42 (Autism - the ignored epidemic)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies]

To: pabianice
The Dems won't change a thing.

In fact, they'll double down and keep doubling down.

Count on it.

You'll hear shrieks of "RACIST!" to the moon in the mid terms.

20 posted on 02/06/2017 8:59:02 AM PST by IDontLikeToPayTaxes
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-22 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson