2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumThat story about the DNC no longer enthusiastically signing up young kids on campuses is a shocker!
King described in his story ( http://www.nydailynews.com/news/election/dem-voter-registration-leading-turnout-article-1.2545420 ) how the DNC has really cut back its national emphasis on signing up students on college campuses and other places where the youth congregate, and this seems to be because the younger voters (35 and under) vastly prefer Bernie. This is seen as putting a big thumb on the scale for Hillary.
If this is happening, it may well hand the White House to Trump. And if it is happening, it is an utter disgrace.
Democrats should be spreading their base as widely as possible. It is the Republicans who have traditionally been more interested in voter suppression.
Any comments?
Buzz Clik
(38,437 posts)reformist2
(9,841 posts)Buzz Clik
(38,437 posts)Did I miss anything?
Raster
(20,998 posts)...was thrown out the window long ago.
When you're lining up the Bill and Hill First String Bootlicking Team, DWS is Team Captain.
Buzz Clik
(38,437 posts)Jitter65
(3,089 posts)HassleCat
(6,409 posts)We seem to be the party of aging baby boomers. This could explain why our voter turnout has been so low.
Warren DeMontague
(80,708 posts)But try getting DU to listen to that one, fuck. All you'll get is an earful of "listen, sonny, this party has always been the party of young people! Why do you think i stumped for McGovern in '72?"
Live and Learn
(12,769 posts)Buzz Clik
(38,437 posts)Not sure what your point is.
Live and Learn
(12,769 posts)recruit new Democrats. DWS is a complete and utter failure.
And neither the OP nor my post mentioned Hillary at all. Not everything is about Hillary. Although, in this case, Hillary may well be the reason DWS doesn't want new Democrats.
potone
(1,701 posts)It is also very short-sighted. If people get in the habit of voting when they are young, they likely will continue to do so. Not trying to involve young people in the democratic process is, in effect, telling them that their votes and their political priorities don't matter.
Barack_America
(28,876 posts)At least from my standpoint of registering college kids in that election. The Obama campaign was tireless in their registration efforts, whereas the college Dems, not so much.
Codeine
(25,586 posts)to get their demo vote-ready. Why didn't Sanders?
Barack_America
(28,876 posts)Codeine
(25,586 posts)and the general whining that the DNC isn't doing it.
RoccoR5955
(12,471 posts)The Flagship newspaper for Camp Weathervane, no less.
Codeine
(25,586 posts)in all seriousness yesterday?
Not enough rofl-smiles in the world for that one.
DemocratSinceBirth
(99,708 posts)SwampG8r
(10,287 posts)Seemed real to me. Sounded just like her. Since we cant see transcripts i have to believe the leaked one until i see transcripts.
passiveporcupine
(8,175 posts)could it be that more people registered earlier because of their excitement about Bernie?
jwirr
(39,215 posts)pscot
(21,024 posts)that their votes and political priorities don't matter. That's the problem.
MineralMan
(146,254 posts)that's not really the DNC's job, really. That's what the local Democratic Party organization does. Here in Minnesota, I've been helping people of all ages register to vote ever since I moved here. I get the forms from the MN Department of State. I always have some with me, wherever I go. I carry them when I canvass in my precinct, too.
It's the local party that runs registration drives, not the DNC. That's always been the case. Individual candidates, too, often conduct voter registration drives.
The DNC is a rather small organization, and one with a national focus, hence the name Democratic National Committee. It's not about voter registration in individual states. That's the function of the local party organization.
I was coming in to say the same...You said it much better than I would have!
MineralMan
(146,254 posts)Most are elected officers in their state party organization. It is a national organization with national goals.
Voter registration is the job of local Democrats. That's what we do here. It's a big part of our voluntary jobs.
Lucinda
(31,170 posts)Sanders team telling the media early on that they were bringing in all these great crowds and the DNC should be registering voters...I think they did finally start doing it, but it looked as though they didn't wont to be bothered with it.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/10/12/bernie-sanders-s-strategist-this-is-how-we-win.html
editing to add link
Bluenorthwest
(45,319 posts)than Republican turnout. From the link:
In all four states where Republicans have voted, they have broken the all-time records for voter turnout for each and every state. On the flip side, turnout for Democrats is down 28% in Iowa, 13% in New Hampshire, and an astounding 33% in Nevada.
I can add that SC looks to be at least 100,000 votes lower than 08 in a State that was supposed to be enthusiastic for one of the candidates. Super enthusiastic. She sure beat Bernie but she did not serve as a ballot draw there, thus far none of our candidates has. Bernie got more NH votes than anyone ever. NH turnout was still low.
The State and local Parties take their lead from DNC, and DNC should be leading them to register like mad but they are not.
In the end, claiming it is someone else's job won't solve the lack of voter pool come the Fall.
From the link:
Immigration advocate Alida Garcia said, "I can't wait until the summer when Democrats realize they haven't registered any voters this cycle. Turnout is down, folks. This ain't a political revolution; its fighting over the same piece of pie."
Alida Garcia served as the National Latino Vote Deputy Director for President Barack Obamas 2012 reelection campaign whereby she focused on developing the national Latino vote program in the 11 priority battleground states, which ultimately produced the highest Latino voter turnout in Presidential campaign history.
http://www.alidagarcia.com/biography/
Codeine
(25,586 posts)Seriously, it's knock-down, drag-out MMA shit with the Klown Kar Koalition. On our side it's not even a contest.
jhart3333
(332 posts)Because no one showed up for Hillary?
1StrongBlackMan
(31,849 posts)that began for the end of the primaries?
I've done a bunch of these efforts and can't think of a single time, except the standing booth a Democratic campus organization manned.
MineralMan
(146,254 posts)in the 2008 primary period. Not really sponsored by anyone. I'm a big registration/GOTV activist, and always have been. I often work independently from official party or candidate efforts. I have a card table, a folding chair and a box of official state registration forms. The table has a "Register to Vote Here" sign hanging from it. I can load it into my car anytime, and often do that at local community gatherings when I'm in the mood. Block parties, National Night Out events and things like that.
I'm an independent old fart when it comes to election activism, and always have been.
wildeyed
(11,243 posts)Never. I have never even seen our local Democratic part DO voter registration. But they are fairly dysfunctional. Obama did a bunch here in 2012, but only in the GE. Other than that, it has always been done by c3 non-partisan groups. And we were most definitely NOT allowed on college campuses. It was always a PITA because we wanted to be there, but could not find student volunteers solid enough to make it happen. The one exception was the HBCU. They always had a representative at our regular coalition meetings, managed their own registration events AND brought volunteers to our off-campus events too.
So no primary registration and no registration on college campuses at all without an actual student organizer.
1StrongBlackMan
(31,849 posts)He speaks to decades of GOTV/Voter Registration efforts; but, seems unaware that such events rarely, if ever, are done before the primary's end ... AND, even in the event of an uncontested (presidential) primary, the Party NEVER starts GOTV/Voter Registration efforts this far out.
And there is a reason for that!
wildeyed
(11,243 posts)No actual facts, just the usual clueless entitlement. Bernie Sanders is ENTITLED to voter registration on college campuses by the DNC, even though the DNC rarely does voter registration, never does it during a primary and is barred from registering on college campuses anyway. And the fact that this is not happening shows The Establishment is against Bernie Sanders!
Voter registration is REALLY simple. You don't need to be establishment to figure it out. My Board of Elections even has a nice little "How to do a Voter Registration Drive" pamphlet that they give out for free.
1StrongBlackMan
(31,849 posts)it comes dangerously to be complaining that, "the revolution is failing and its your/their fault for not help us."
wildeyed
(11,243 posts)is anyone with experience or knowledge of the political process, it is a bit difficult to get the revolution off the ground.
I know you know.... But they don't seem to know what incredibly grinding hard work GOTV actually is. Gotta snag the registration, then do the five voter contacts. FIVE calls, or knocks or lit drops. And still less than 50% chance they will actually vote if they are a new voter. Maybe pick them up on election day if they don't have transport. Multiplied by thousands and thousands and thousands. Every year this needs to happen.
For people who think they need inspiration just to show up at the polls every year, kinda unlikely that they will be willing to stick with the process.
Revolutions are HARD WORK.
LiberalArkie
(15,703 posts)by ACORN.
wildeyed
(11,243 posts)in my city. And they were a c3 group, not affiliated with the Democratic Party. I did some GOTV with them, and it was an interesting process. Not at all like the regular system most groups use. It was funny how much the GOP got their panties in a bunch about that group. They always seemed really disorganized to me. Always missing rent on the HQ, so it moved around constantly. They didn't pay their organizers enough to afford cars and didn't provide any, which was hugely problematic in a city like mine without good public transport. Hardly the juggernaut the GOP made them out to be. I think that was more a product of the GOP's racist imagination than anything else.....
Once they were gone, other groups used their organizing system for a bit and DID turnout those neighborhoods. But not sure if they are still doing it. I am a bit out of the loop these days....
I do wish the Dems would do registration more consistently. But it is hard. The state party is FUBAR here, IMO, and not sure what the DNC can do about that. It is how the by-laws are written, I guess. I mostly avoid them because I think many of them are crazy and they waste my time with their little interpersonal dramas.
As usual, it is complicated.
dchill
(38,442 posts)I don't like the way they're doing it.
MineralMan
(146,254 posts)That's a state-by-state local matter. Did you know that you can register voters yourself? You can get as many voter registration forms as you like from your state's election offices. You can set up a voter registration table just about anywhere and nobody will tell you to go away, ever.
You want more registered voters. Go help people register. I've been doing that for over 50 years. It's fun. It's worthwhile. Don't blame the DNC. Each state only has a few DNC members. Where do you live? Go register voters.
kristopher
(29,798 posts)We're a national party with national goals that require nationally coordinated boots-on-the-ground work - including voter NATIONAL registration campaigns.
I don't doubt your statements, but I can't think of any reasons why it should be that way that don't involve moving the center of political power away from the body politic.
Another reason we need Bernie and another item on the to-do list for the revolution restoration.
Hekate
(90,556 posts)kristopher
(29,798 posts)It's just one more link in the chain to depress the vote. Increasing voter participation is a central feature of the Sanders campaign - which he will be able to act on with the powers of the president. His campaign and the strategy of the resistance to his initiative literally proves the need for them.
Please visit this PEWresearch site and compare the international voter rates as a percentage of both voting age adults and registered voters.
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/05/06/u-s-voter-turnout-trails-most-developed-countries/
Once people are registered they turn out. What do you think we should do about universal registration for all adults?
Hekate
(90,556 posts)....going to ever have that "revolution" they keep going on about when they refuse to even learn how things like voter registration get done?
You've told them, patiently. I've told them, and I've lost patience. Others keep telling them.
And STILL the same whining that they are being held back, undermined, and ill-served by the DNC for not doing something that is actually the job of LOCAL CITIZENS.
My gods.
kristopher
(29,798 posts)We need a fundamentally different approach.
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/05/06/u-s-voter-turnout-trails-most-developed-countries/
It's easy to see on the data view that voter participation rates as a percentage of registered voters is pretty consistent no matter where you go. The variable - the thing that determines whether enough voters are showing up so that the public voice is clearly heard - is voter registration rates.
Why would you endorse the method of registration that is guaranteed to produce low voter registration leading inevitably to low voter participation?
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/05/06/u-s-voter-turnout-trails-most-developed-countries/
Why would any democrat endorse doing that when options such as automatic registration for all adults is completely feasible?
JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)HereSince1628
(36,063 posts)FRs that can be taken for granted because they have no place else to go.
Getting older has meant more years of exposure to that conditioning. And many Boomers are now well conditioned to hold their nose and vote for what they don't want. That fraction of Boomers are exactly the type of voter that the DNC cultivates, and that Rahm Emmanuel tells dem politicians to ignore in favor of big donors.
arcane1
(38,613 posts)Why EARN our votes if they're guaranteed anyway? There is no need to even try.
And that's why we can't have nice things.
Arazi
(6,829 posts)suppress the vote now in order to thwart Sanders and get HRC the nomination
Then ramp up the GOTV effort after she's the nominee
Their flaw is in thinking they're going to get folks excited enough about her
MisterP
(23,730 posts)have the voters to preblame
Codeine
(25,586 posts)and get his own registration drives set up.
The Bernie folks keep hammering on how they have the huge numerical advantage with younger voters; then get your damned vote out! Don't whine about the media or the DNC -- do your gruntwork. Obama didn't cry like a little baby when he faced down the Clinton Machine, he organized his base and got them to the polls and became America's first black president. He knew he'd need young voters and he did what was needed to ensure they could vote.
Sweat equity; the Clintons did that shit for years and it's why they have the kind of "establishment" support that they do. Sanders and his Revolutionary Youth Brigade don't realize politics and elections are all about work, planning, and setup. The DNC isn't registering college kids? The get on the stick and register them yourself or accept that they aren't going to back you at the polls.
Why the heck didn't he do this?
MineralMan
(146,254 posts)I personally registered about 100 new voters in my little precinct. When I canvass, I always have a bunch of registration forms and am happy to help people fill them out and mail them for them. Since we also have registration at the polling place on election day, when the deadline had passed, I'd explain how to do that to people who still hadn't registered. I told them what to bring with them to show their residence in the precinct.
I saw some of the people who I helped register on election day at our polling place, too.
That is what people do in their own local area. It's not the job of the DNC, which doesn't have volunteers walking precincts. It's the job of the local party and individual candidates. If they don't do it, they shouldn't complain about their supporters not showing up at the polls.
Obama did it. Al Franken did it, and won because of the new voters who came to the polls. That's how you win elections if you're not a household word and a long-time politician.
That's what the Sanders organization needed to do in SC. Apparently, they didn't get it done. Hillary won almost 3 to 1 there. It should be an object lesson, I think, on how to win.
msanthrope
(37,549 posts)the DNCs job.
fredamae
(4,458 posts)If one is working For Defeat to help the opposition win.
How many Dem seats have been lost under DWS reign? 900 Plus, nationally?
So, IF Dem Leadership were really interested in GOTV....The DNC - imo- would have a Major Voter Registration Drive - booths up at Every event and then some.
This isn't happening because they're Stupid.
Sancho
(9,067 posts)State rules and regulations about registration are getting more complex. Depending on the 20-something vote seems a poor plan for 2016.
Betty Karlson
(7,231 posts)How shortsighted can DWS be?
Sancho
(9,067 posts)Everyone may want an ACORN-style registration drive over the summer before the Nov. election. Chances are that will occur. It usually does, but things have changed since 2008.
DWS and just about everyone else realizes that there are some bigger issues - those include:
1.) gerrymandering gone wild over the last decade
2.) access to polls because of new voter ID rules, purges, and even poll locations
3.) reduction of early voting and restrictions from voting in your home precinct
4.) difficulty registering voters because of a pile of new rules for residency, proof of ID (birth certificates, etc.) and the cost of proving eligibility
Even if you get all those college students registered, likely they can't cast a ballot!! Depending on your state, getting registered is no longer "signing up". You might have to produce an original birth certificate. In FL, more that 25% were born outside of the US!! You may be living in a dorm, parents are split and living in two states, and you have to produce evidence of your domicile!
This is not "short-sighted". Anyone looking at the issues for 2016 realizes the challenges for any Democratic candidate. Most young people don't want to spend the time and expense to run the gauntlet of voter registration and going to the polls when the state puts barriers in front of them.
Bernie has not addressed these issues an any speech I've heard. Hillary was early on the voter registration problems and has often spoken about access to the ballot. Check it out!
Betty Karlson
(7,231 posts)In a landslide, gerrymandering's effects are far reduced - like Bernie's coattails would do.
"most young people don't want to run the gauntlet" - NO: they don't want to make that effort on behalf of a lady stuck in the 20th century. They will register voters and run to those polls over broken glass for someone who enthouses them.
But please don't let me interrupt you; you were waxing poetically about the status quo, I believe?
UglyGreed
(7,661 posts)to be political. Maybe that is why they are against college for all because an educated populace is a danger to those in power.
Kelvin Mace
(17,469 posts)Who wants politically aware cannon fodder.
UglyGreed
(7,661 posts)plus if college was taxpayer supported then how could we entice the children to go to war......
Kelvin Mace
(17,469 posts)I would bring back the draft, but the minimum age would be 35, not 18.
I am guessing that there would be a lot less war.
UglyGreed
(7,661 posts)when everyone has something to lose you tend not to gamble and play it closer to the vest. The age you suggest IMO would also be a great help. Never mind the fact that the human brain is not fully developed until 25 or so.
Kelvin Mace
(17,469 posts)police, CEOs, etc. If you are a pacifist, then you do "national service".
HubertHeaver
(2,520 posts)Lackland AFB, proving ground for geriatric care.
merrily
(45,251 posts)In this job market, that ain't nutthin'.
I am non-violent and am not recommending anyone join. I'm just saying, jobs for young people are not plentiful, so I think they will still be able to recruit.
Kelvin Mace
(17,469 posts)with 4 years of college. Aside from the occasional campus shooting, a lot safer to.
merrily
(45,251 posts)That was a slogan at many colleges not all that long ago.
FangedNoumenom
(145 posts)Bingo.
frazzled
(18,402 posts)The DNC only helps by providing data on potential unregistered voters. It's up to the campaigns, voter registration orgs, or state parties to register voters.
Akamai
(1,779 posts)am sure there are other general strategies as well that they have employed in the past.
The DNC certainly could be cheerleaders for outreach, and I am sure they were cheerleaders in the past, perhaps before DWS took control of the party.
I am sure there are many checklists, many ways to help campaigns get their act together, etc.
Of course there are still many reports of local Dem offices not supporting Bernie supporters.
I wonder if this is part of the reason that Hawaii Congressperson Tulsi Gabbard resigned from the DNC to support Bernie.
Go Bernie!
Land of Enchantment
(1,217 posts)was the best of all DNC chairs but Debbie decided to drop the 50 state strategy and we have lost so much ever since. Bernie wants a national holiday just for voting, brilliant.
frazzled
(18,402 posts)Which the DNC has expanded over the past several years:
...
Heres what that means: Through the project, campaigns and state parties will have access to data showing them not just the number of currently unregistered potential Democrats in a given precinct, but also the expected vote gain that a registration drive in that precinct would provide. They could also look at a density index that rates the neighborhoods suitability for door-to-canvassing operations, so as to avoid wasting resources by sending volunteers into difficult-to-canvass areas where houses are far apart.
The aim is to offer a simple cost-benefit analysis for evaluating potential voter registration drives in any area. And it ensures that all the Democratic campaignsfrom the presidential campaign down to state legislative racesare using the same technology, so their efforts can more easily benefit each other.
The project also includes a website, IWillVote.com, that provides a one-stop-shopping guide to educate people on the process for registering and voting, offering voter registration forms in English and Spanish.
The Arbor Project melds voter files that the party has built up over a decade with detailed information gathered by the Obama campaigns, publicly available sources like the Census, and even consumer data.
Data wizardry aside, the project marks the latest stage in Democrats increasing interest in bringing previously inactive voters into the process. It was developed in part by the DNCs Voter Expansion Project, launched earlier this year, which aims to expand access to voting, and to push back against Republican-backed voting restrictions like voter ID.
http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/democrats-unveil-new-software-voter-registration#52538
Voter registration drives themselves have always been and continue to be done by the campaigns, organizations, and state parties. I've done it myself for various campaigns. If the Sanders campaign can't register the voters they want, it's their disorganization: they have access to all the data, and are frequently on campuses across the nation, and supposedly have thousands of volunteers--which is what it takes. One problem the campaign has, is that most of its supporters are self-identifying as "Independents or Others." Clinton has been winning among registered Democrats in Iowa and South Carolina (no data as to party affiliation was taken on the exit polls in NH for some reason). In Iowa, Clinton won with Democrats (who were 78% of the caucus goers) 56% to 39%; Sanders won with self-identified Independents (who made up 20% of the caucus goers) 69% to 29%. In SC, Democrats were 85% of the voters and Clinton won them 80% to 20%. Independents comprised 16% of the voters, and Sanders won them by the smaller margin of 53% to 46%. The problem seems to be that, at least in these states, which is all we have the info on right now, Sanders is not pulling in Democrats. His strength is among independents. If I can find any numbers for NH, I'll get them (though I'm trying to do my freaking taxes right now, so don't really have the time.) Are you going to believe a columnist from the NY Daily News, who is the only person pushing this story right now? And maybe young Sanders voters do not want to permanently register as Democrats. Maybe that's the problem. The outreach is strong, the data is more available than ever. And everyone can easily register online, either through the state or the national websites.
http://www.cbsnews.com/elections/2016/primaries/democrat/iowa/exit/
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/02/27/us/elections/south-carolina-democrat-poll.html?_r=0http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/02/27/us/elections/south-carolina-democrat-poll.html?_r=0
JackRiddler
(24,979 posts)As much as establishment politicians have broken for Hillary, young people under the age of 35 have broken for Bernie Sanders. Without fail, in each primary so far, in Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada, young people under the age of 35 have voted for Bernie by a margin of 85% to 15%. It's not even close.
Consequently, party leaders (again, that's code for Hillary supporters) have seemingly hosted fewer voter registration drives. Doing so, would, in essence, be drives for Bernie Sanders. In some cases, party leaders are just skipping them altogether in many states and at college campuses.
When the Democratic Party loses interest in voter registration and voter empowerment, it is truly blurring the lines between what makes it fundamentally different than the Republican Party.
sufrommich
(22,871 posts)sign ups,neither do state democratic parties. Where is Bernie's army? Why isn't he committed to registering his biggest constituency? The last major push to sign up on college campuses wasn't done by the DNC,it was done by campaign workers volunteering for Barack Obama.
FighttheFuture
(1,313 posts)Why Are Dean and Emanuel Fighting?
The rift that divides Dean and Emanuel reportedly has to do with the fact that Dean has apparently told him that the DNC is not going to support the Fall campaign to the DCCC's satisfaction.
Instead, Dean is pursuing what he calls the "50 State Strategy." According to the DNC, its purpose is: "to (win) elections at every level in every region of the country." ...
Paging Dr. Dean: Please Save the Democrats from Themselves
Compare this strategy with the "old-school" tactics that Rahm Emanuel employed at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC.) Rahm focused on a small number of districts, recruited conservative Blue Dog Democrats and told them to run against their own party to co-opt the Republican base. At worst, these candidates lost. At best, they won - but would then go to Washington with an anti-progressive mandate.
Howard Dean is the reason Democrats won in 2006 - and got nothing but grief for doing so. The media started pushing a lie right after the election that Democrats won because they had run "conservative" candidates. James Carville went on CNN to throw a tantrum about how Dean should be kicked out of the DNC, and that Harold Ford - the only serious Democratic Senate contender that year to lose, and an anti-progressive DLCer to boot - should replace him.
Harold Ford? Remember that DLC Joke of a Democrat?
onenote
(42,585 posts)Dean's "Register for Change" initiative was a national registration drive (using the "big blue bus" . It began in July 2008 -- a month after Obama had become the presumptive nominee by capturing more than half of the delegates to the convention.
FighttheFuture
(1,313 posts)groundwork of the 50 state strategy early on. It did not start with a "big blue bus" a month after Obama became the presumptive nominee. It also extended well beyond federal elections and was designed to spread Democratic gains at ALL LEVELS. Too bad Rahm and Obama shitcanned it, basically. It really helped Obama and gave him incredible coattails and good wins for Democrats at the state and local level.
Looking Back at Howard Dean's 50-State Strategy
When former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean became chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in early 2005, one of his main efforts was to undertake a "50-state strategy," a bid to build up party infrastructure and candidate recruitment at every level and in every state -- even in solidly Republican bastions.
"We strengthened the parties so sitting governors could find good candidates" for offices high and low, Dean said. "That's much easier to do from Topeka than it is from Washington."
State party chairs loved the idea, but among national strategists, the approach was controversial. Dean bumped heads with then-Rep. Rahm Emanuel, the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, who believed in a more conventional strategy of focusing limited campaign resources on swing districts. On CNN, Paul Begala said Dean's gambit amounted to "hiring a bunch of staff people to wander around Utah and Mississippi and pick their nose." (Begala later apologized.)
Here's how the Democrats fared in the reddest of red states between January 2005 and January 2009, the period when the 50-state project was in operation:
State House seats: Net gain of 39 seats, a 2 percent increase of all seats in the states analyzed
State Senate seats: Net loss of two seats
Governorships: Net loss of one
Attorney generalships: Net gain of one (elected seats only)
U.S. House seats: Net gain of three seats
U.S. Senate seats: Net gain of one seat
Presidential performance: In 15 of the 20 states, the Democratic nominee saw an increase in vote share between 2004 and 2008. In three other states, the vote share remained constant. It dropped in only two states.
Now let's compare this record to the one between January 2009 and January 2013.
State House seats: Net loss of 249 seats, a decrease of 13 percent of the existing seats in those states
State Senate seats: Net loss of 84 seats, a decrease of 12 percent
Governorships: A decrease by half, from eight governors to four
Attorney generalships: A drop by two-thirds in elected AGs, from nine to three
U.S. House seats: A 40 percent drop, from 44 seats to 26
U.S. Senate seats: A drop from 11 seats to 8. (It could drop further by 2014: Of those eight remaining seats, three senators are retiring and another three face tough reelection contests.)
Presidential performance: Only two of the 20 states (Alaska and Mississippi) saw higher support for Obama in 2012 than in 2008. In most of the 20 solidly red states, Obama's 2012 vote fell back roughly to John Kerry's level from 2004.
Altogether, these post-2009 declines are, to put it bluntly, pretty catastrophic. In these 20 solidly red states, the Democrats controlled 13 legislative chambers in 2005, a number that fell to just three in 2013. Of the 40 chambers in these states, only two experienced a net gain of Democratic seats between 2005 and 2013; in the other 38, the Democrats lost ground.
Thanks Obama!
onenote
(42,585 posts)nationwide registration drive.
Maybe you can point out where it discusses such an effort. Or find some other source that does.
I've worked on local Democratic registration and GOTV efforts for many many years and the Register for Change effort was the first national registration drive conducted under the auspices of the DNC that I recall.
http://www.wdam.com/story/8685636/dean-to-lead-national-voter-registration-effort
FighttheFuture
(1,313 posts)that was part of it. It was trying to grow and organize the Democratic Party all over at all levels. A succinct summary from wiki:
After Dean became Chairman of the DNC, he pledged to bring reform to the Party. Rather than focusing just on swing states, Dean proposed what has come to be known as the 50-State Strategy the goal of which was for the Democratic Party to be committed to winning elections at every level in every region of the country, with Democrats organized in every single voting precinct. State party chairs lauded Dean for raising money directly for the individual state parties.
:
Dean's strategy arguably paid off in a historic victory as the Democrats took over control of the House of Representatives and the Senate in the 2006 mid-term elections. While it is likely this is also attributable to the shortcomings of the Republican Party in their dealings with the Iraq War and the scandals that occurred shortly before the election, Dean's emphasis on connecting with socially conservative, economic moderates in Republican-dominated states appears to have made some impact. Indeed, Democratic candidates won elections in such red states as Kansas, Indiana, and Montana.
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The 50-state strategy was acknowledged by political commentators as an important factor in allowing Barack Obama to compete against John McCain in traditionally red states, during the 2008 presidential contest. In 2008, Obama won several states that had previously been considered Republican strongholds, most notably Indiana, North Carolina, and Virginia.
The Democrats abandoned this strategy, obviously as the new administration in power consolidated their hold for the benefit of the DLC type democrats while marginalizing the more progressive members. They let ACORN die from a false narrative and lost all of their gains and much more in the subsequent elections. So much for the party "establishment" that only seems adept at snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
onenote
(42,585 posts)registration drives while criticizing and arguing with those who were talking about voter registration drives.
The 50-state strategy mounted by Dean focused on finding candidates for every district and helping to fund those campaigns. It did not involve the DNC itself conducting a national voter registration effort. Voter registration efforts prior to the 2008 Register for Change campaign were locally-run, often campaign sponsored efforts. I know. I was there.
This thread is not about the 50-state campaign -- its' about the role played by the DNC in voter registration. Some here have claimed the DNC has abandoned its effort to register new voters. Others have said the DNC never has mounted a voter registration effort.
My point is that both statements are wrong. The DNC, to my knowledge has mounted a nationwide voter registration campaign once: in 2008 after Obama had clinched the nomination. Otherwise, it has been local state committees and individual campaigns that have conducted voter registration drives.
FighttheFuture
(1,313 posts)50 state strategy to sufrommich. the efforts of that were leading to more signups of democrats in states.
After the 2008 election, those efforts were abandoned by "establishment" democrats under Obama, such as Rahm Emmanual. I am pointing out, in essence, that the DNC can do a lot more and it really isn't, and that's the fault of people like Obama, Hillary, etc. They are damaging this party, badly, in their desperate bid to remain center right, a few steps behind the republicans.
If you do not have a viable local party, you do not have much registration. Dean was building viable local parties in all 50 states.
Chasstev365
(5,191 posts)It's about HILLARY and the Clinton's pathological lust for power. Who gives a shit about the future of young voters: It's Hillary's turn and no one is going to stop her!
Chasstev365
(5,191 posts)If Hillary wins, Bernie supporters need to enhusiastically support her, take those call and emails and donate, and work for her victory!
Tell me Hillary supporters: if Bernie had the backing of the DNC and they were working such a fashion, would you be inspired to support Bernie?
wildeyed
(11,243 posts)State and local groups do voter registration, not DNC, and rarely until AFTER the primary. It is on the individual campaigns to do registration at their events and to register and turnout their "core constituencies". No one EVER stopped Bernie Sanders or his supporters from doing any of that. THAT is suppression. No one has been suppressed. It is UGLY for you to even insinuate that.
No one else is responsible for doing GOTV for you or your candidate. Is it the DNC's job to drive them to the polls too? Revolution is HARD WORK.
AzDar
(14,023 posts)whereisjustice
(2,941 posts)make sure Trump wins. The new Democrats and old Republicans are more alike than they are different.
AtomicKitten
(46,585 posts)It's not the Democratic Party I joined so many decades ago. The party has drifted so far right, shepherded by the Clintons starting in the 1990s. Enough is enough is enough.
erlewyne
(1,115 posts)I am a registered Democrat and have been for damned near 50 years.
bettyellen
(47,209 posts)highprincipleswork
(3,111 posts)George II
(67,782 posts)There is nothing the demonstrates the premise of that article or the OP here.
Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)BernieforPres2016
(3,017 posts)Hillary borrows so much from the Republican playbook, why not voter suppression in the Democratic primaries? I suspect the incessant posting of state polls at DU where Hillary has the largest lead and "Bernie has given up" in upcoming states (like South Carolina and Texas, even as he was campaigning there) are other strategies to convince Sanders voters in those states that it isn't worth going to the polls.
wildeyed
(11,243 posts)Rich white people Some students get blocked in the GOP suppression efforts, but the main target is always black voters. Hillary Clinton has ZERO to do with those rules.
Not her fault y'all don't understand even the most basic rules of campaign management. Voter registration is RIDICULOUSLY easy. Like go to the Board of Elections and pick up a packet of forms easy.
Basic rules: You cannot refuse to register anyone for any reason. You must turn all the forms in. You cannot alter a form without the registrant's permission. Check your states website for more details. There, consider yourself trained. Go forth and register some voters. That would be FAR more beneficial to your candidate that what you are doing here
BernieforPres2016
(3,017 posts)That's where his numbers are the highest and voter participation is the lowest. If young people don't vote in much bigger numbers, Bernie is not going to win the nomination.
draa
(975 posts)I read an interesting piece at DKos a couple of days ago that actually showed Sanders doing better than Clinton from low turnout. It goes against traditional wisdom but the numbers added up in that article and the diarist was a well known Kos'er so I trust what he wrote. Sadly, I looked for the link yesterday and couldn't find it but it's on DKos if you care to search.
And the reason for low turnout is the white working class voters are not voting for the Democrats. This article lays it out pretty accurately.
When you hear the commentary class parrot the conventional wisdom about political demography, youre most likely to be privy to road-worn blusterous pronouncements about the Republicans near-intractable race problem. And, yes, Republicans must appeal to a broader spectrum of minority voters if they are to remain a competitive party at the presidential level. What the last several months have exposed, however, is that Clinton and the Democrats have a complex and conflicted relationship with the population of majority white voters. Its a race problem you rarely hear discussed in polite company.
https://www.commentarymagazine.com/politics-ideas/campaigns-elections/hillary-clinton-white-voters-race-problem/
That article is from Oct. 6, 2015 but it's spot on in what we see happening right now. It a great read for any Sanders' supporter who's feeling a little down today. It also shows why this race is far from over.
BernieforPres2016
(3,017 posts)Interesting article. Hillary and her advisors appear to have been delusional to think that they would just inherit Obama's 332 electoral votes and add some southern states to it.
It will be very interesting to see what the results in states like Colorado, Minnesota and Massachusetts are on Super Tuesday.
draa
(975 posts)But I wouldn't read too much into it really. If he carries 4-5 states he'll be fine.
There's a least 2 solid wins (Alaska and Vermont), and 2-3 that he should be competitive in and possibly win. Even so, Bernie's strength is in the upper Midwest and far West states. Also through the Rust Belt and the Wheat Belt states.
He overwhelmingly won the white working class vote in Iowa and New Hampshire. The same people who voted for Clinton in 2008 are going with Bernie in large numbers. That's why her 332 EC nonsense is so funny. The people she was counting on, white voters, are either not voting or voting for Bernie.
Even last night in SC, which should favor Clinton in all demographics due to the conservative bent, exit polling showed white males went 2-1 for Bernie. White females were basically split (52-48 Sanders), and considering all the "I'm a women" talk Clinton does, that number is a campaign killer for sure. I think she lose without the white male/female vote.
Considering AA's are only 12% of our population, if Clinton doesn't get those white votes back she has problems ahead.
EdwardBernays
(3,343 posts)The DNC is all over them.
whereisjustice
(2,941 posts)dlwickham
(3,316 posts)Get off your ass and go register people instead of bitching about it
WillyT
(72,631 posts)cantbeserious
(13,039 posts)eom
ChiciB1
(15,435 posts)Our Democrats today ONLY want people who they think WILL VOTE FOR HILLARY! It's not the POC they want to HEEL, it's all of us!
It is because Hillary has been crowned since the beginning and people just don't like her so thus the low turnout and Sanders has pretty much had a press blackout.
Old Codger
(4,205 posts)The repugs suppress voting, a repug is running the DNC so they are doing their thing for their bestest hope to get the White House
FighttheFuture
(1,313 posts)democrank
(11,085 posts)DNC did their best to help tamp down those rumblings.
PWPippin
(213 posts)I was told there were no Democratic Party representatives registering people. There were a lot of enthusiastic young (and older) people that would have signed up on the spot. I was concerned and curious that such a perfect opportunity was not being taken advantage of. In hindsight, I guess, judging from the ongoing shenanigans, that the thinking from the DNC was that they would prefer not to have them registered at all rather than as Bernie supporters. Sad, shortsighted and undemocratic. Not the party I have known and identified with since the forties and fifties when my dad was in the Truman administration and, later, Kennedy's.
tammywammy
(26,582 posts)Shame that they've let such opportunities pass them by.
Lucinda
(31,170 posts)Prior campaigns have handled their own, and worked with state party members. The Sanders campaign just chose not to spend the time or resources to do it.
wildeyed
(11,243 posts)The party MIGHT do some registration during the General Election, but they are certainly not responsible for doing it at a CANDIDATE event. There is no conspiracy, really.
Voter registration drives are the simplest thing to do. How could a serious campaign not understand how that works? There are direction for how to do it on the Maine board of elections website. I just checked
bettyellen
(47,209 posts)shenanigans, FFS. I have registered hundreds of voters in my town- and will again for the general. It's always a local activity - find out yourself.
PWPippin
(213 posts)I really should have known that and am glad I do now.
BainsBane
(53,012 posts)that isn't their role. That is what campaigns and state parties do. It's incredible that people don't know that.
tammywammy
(26,582 posts)It must be too difficult at these giant rallies for Sanders volunteers to set up a freaking voter registration table.
JI7
(89,239 posts)onenote
(42,585 posts)But it's also important to remember that Dean and the DNC waited until Obama had become the presumptive nominee before commencing that effort. Up until that point, it was largely up to the Obama and Clinton campaigns, sometimes together with the state committees, to conduct voter registration drives.
BainsBane
(53,012 posts)I registered many hundreds of voters in 2004 when I lived in Florida. I did it through the state party, the Kerry campaign, and simply on my own as a citizen.
In MN we have same day registration at the polls so voters registration is not as big of an issue, but I nonetheless did
some voter registration for the Obama campaign.
The DNC has very little funding. Compare that to the $100 million plus that both Bernie and Hillary have raised. Hillary has been registering voters, like candidates always do. Why Bernie doesn't have volunteers registering voters at his rallies confounds me.
liberal N proud
(60,332 posts)I started university in 1977 and was associated with college life until 2000.
I still grew up Democrat.
Seems to me this is a non-story.
wildeyed
(11,243 posts)on college campuses in my area. If student Dems or Sanders supporters want to do voter registration on campus, then that is on them to get it done. DNC does not do voter registration. Local parties or candidates might do voter registration. Or not. And never until the GE was in full swing. And again, would not be allowed on campus anyway.
That article is kinda dumb. I don't see any proof at all of the accusations being made. Or any understanding of the actual GOTV process.
spooky3
(34,405 posts)Lorien
(31,935 posts)about anything. The General election? Who cares! We have a battle to win! The long term effects of Fracking? Not a problem! We'll deal with the shit when it hits the fan! The long term effects of the TPP? Meh! There are short term profits to be made! And on and on. They believe themselves to be oh so clever, but they're completely incompetent. It's damned shameful!
Hekate
(90,556 posts)....yet I have participated in voter registration drives on college campuses, at the Farmers' Market, in front of the supermarket, during precinct walks, at political rallies, and anti war protests.
Whoever is waiting for some imaginary national group to waltz into their town and do this for them is just plain dumb. The DNC doesn't have registration forms for the 50 states plus assorted territories. Your local County Registrar does, and will be happy to give your group a stack of same.
This is a democracy. You are presumably Democrats. Get out there and act like it.
Warren DeMontague
(80,708 posts)DWS has gone out of her way to insult millennials and blathered to the times about how we need to put more pot smokers in prison.
How does this help us, as a party?
Hekate
(90,556 posts)Or are you just going to hang out waiting for the revolution to happen by magic?
Warren DeMontague
(80,708 posts)Hmmmm, perhaps not coincidentally, all our candidates won in 2014, despite that election being a clusterfuck for Democrats nationally.
And dont try to deflect. Im not the DNC chair. Appoint me to the job, then you can critique my performance.
Hekate
(90,556 posts)Got your card table all ready to unfold at the next rally or in The Quad on the local campus?
So glad to hear it. Because this is not a deflection. It is the real deal, the nitty gritty of democracy.
Warren DeMontague
(80,708 posts)Debbie wasserman schultz goes out of her way to attack millennials and doubles down on arresting pot smokers, to the times.
How does this help us as a party, especially with younger voters?
oasis
(49,326 posts)Betty Karlson
(7,231 posts)who could well be a very weak candidate in thje GE: the kind that loses us the House, Senate and White House.
DINO-Debbie and the rest of her Third Way need to go. NOW.
Warren DeMontague
(80,708 posts)fun n serious
(4,451 posts)Spider Jerusalem
(21,786 posts)LonePirate
(13,408 posts)Her actions will undoubtedly hurt the Dem nominee in November, though.
Deadshot
(384 posts)I'm caucusing for Bernie tomorrow here in MN and I look forward to it!
left-of-center2012
(34,195 posts)The DNC is in the bag for Clinton
noamnety
(20,234 posts)"Veteran Democratic political strategist Donna Brazile is an adjunct professor, author, a syndicated columnist, and the Vice Chair of Voter Registration and Participation at the Democratic National Committee."
https://www.democrats.org/person/donna-brazile
(not directed at the OP)
I keep seeing people in this thread claiming the DNC doesn't do voter registration at all, it's not their job. Maybe they should question why there's a job title for it!
Jack Rabbit
(45,984 posts)Usually, that's a GOP strategy. I guess we see another example of how the Democratic establishment is Republican Lite. Only Republican Lite now has more calories than ever before.
Be careful, consumers. Republican Lite isn't healthy.
blackspade
(10,056 posts)This is not an accident, it's by design.
Octafish
(55,745 posts)Not a smart strategy, particularly when young people are "terrifyingly" liberal, per GOP turd Frank Luntz.
https://theintercept.com/2016/02/24/top-gop-pollster-young-americans-are-terrifyingly-liberal/