@CurtAdams

I have literally written essays on why the ACA was, in the end, a net negative for healthcare in the country, but this will have to do for this forum:

1) The ACA made assumptions about good faith on the part of the insurance companies that have proven to be naive
2) The resultant regulatory framework looks like it was written by industry consultants, and probably was
3) So today, millions "have" health insurance, but...

@JessTheUnstill @futurebird @foolishowl @PallasRiot

@CurtAdams @johnzajac @JessTheUnstill @foolishowl @PallasRiot

I think this question is changing the subject. John's point is Democrats have not done enough, did not use their time in power to good effect. You have highlighted some of the things that they did do which were very difficult.

But what if part of what makes it difficult is that it's not enough?

Frankly I get mixed messages from Democrats. Voters when polled think they are as corrupt as Republicans.

Why is that?

@CurtAdams @johnzajac @JessTheUnstill @foolishowl @PallasRiot

I think this question is changing the subject. John's point is Democrats have not done enough, did not use their time in power to good effect. You have highlighted some of the things that they did do which were very difficult.

But what if part of what makes it difficult is that it's not enough?

Frankly I get mixed messages from Democrats. Voters when polled think they are as corrupt as Republicans.

Why is that?

@johnzajac @JessTheUnstill @futurebird @foolishowl @PallasRiot Just the ACA Medicaid expansion alone saved 19,000 lives over 3 years. https://www.cbpp.org/research/health/medicaid-expansion-has-saved-at-least-19000-lives-new-research-finds. And would have saved 15,000 more if the Republicans on the Supreme court hadn't rewritten then law.

It's now been 11 years since implementation, and I think a law that was written to save about 100,000 is a very good thing. Do you disagree?

@futurebird @johnzajac @JessTheUnstill @foolishowl @PallasRiot The public thinks the Democrats are equally corrupt because the media spent VASTLY more time talking about Hillary Clinton using email the same way every previous Secretary of State did than they did talking about the hundreds of millions in fraud Trump did - including fraudulent charity operations *during the 2016 campaign* https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-37547094

@CurtAdams @johnzajac

This isn't, in my view, a problem of messaging or of voters "not knowing all the good things Biden did" I did my best to push that too! No. They would just say "but what about Pelosi trading stocks?" or "why is our foreign policy like that?" or "but what will they *do* about immigration?"

Last one is interesting because it *wasn't* that they wanted harsh enforcement. Just a real change from this quasi-legal black market labor nonsense.

@futurebird @johnzajac We *did* have an immigration bill. Trump blocked it.

The important point is that when the policies aren't good enough, the problem is almost always that the Democrats don't have a large enough majority.

@CurtAdams @johnzajac

An immigration bill but also so much backing for more border security. Which is like admitting that the border was ever really a problem. If the thesis is that immigrants don't cause crime (because they don't) why do they keep doing things that suggest republicans are correct?

@CurtAdams @johnzajac

An immigration bill but also so much backing for more border security. Which is like admitting that the border was ever really a problem. If the thesis is that immigrants don't cause crime (because they don't) why do they keep doing things that suggest republicans are correct?

@futurebird @johnzajac Well, because the Democrats had to have some Republican support to pass the bill.

When Dems are really in control, like here in CA, we get sanctuary policies and healthcare for undocumented immigrants.

@CurtAdams @johnzajac

Do you think that if Democrats keep doing what they have been doing they will win?

Frankly, as a very practical matter, that's my top concern. How do they wrestle back enough power to move us away from this cliff? And further, if they do get power will they be able to use it effectively?

I have been trusting the democratic leadership "knows what they are doing" and I think that's a big mistake now.

For example: They could stop trading stocks. They could do that today.

@futurebird @CurtAdams

I think this is a distraction because political leadership is about so much more than legislation, which is something Republicans have understood since Reagan and something Democrats haven't understood since JFK and RFK were assassinated.

The real missed play here isn't "immigration legislation"; it's calling out GOP lies about the impact immigration has on the country. It's acknowledging and celebrating our reliance on migrant workers. It's supporting their unions.

@johnzajac @CurtAdams

"It's supporting their unions."

The union angle is the perfect one IMO. Because people who have had their wages depressed by immigrant labor are just people we pretend don't exist. Republicans also don't talk about this exactly, they just do racism.

If the line were "everyone should be able to unionize. no one should have to compete against off the books labor" I think it'd make a real difference with the kind of voters who have drifted away from democrats.

@futurebird @CurtAdams

I agree with this.

IMO, the real issue then is one of credibility: Biden breaking the railroad strike harmed the Democrats far more than they acknowledge. That New Palestine happened weeks later, and they spent weeks trying to bury the story (despite the *black mushroom cloud* lol) just highlighted how wrong Biden was.

Democrats need consistency, and they need to enforce loyalty in the party ranks. WE know they can do that, because they *routinely* do it on the left.

@futurebird @CurtAdams

I agree with this.

IMO, the real issue then is one of credibility: Biden breaking the railroad strike harmed the Democrats far more than they acknowledge. That New Palestine happened weeks later, and they spent weeks trying to bury the story (despite the *black mushroom cloud* lol) just highlighted how wrong Biden was.

Democrats need consistency, and they need to enforce loyalty in the party ranks. WE know they can do that, because they *routinely* do it on the left.

@futurebird @CurtAdams

It's kind of our earlier discussion: a scheme to eliminate big donors doesn't work if you fudge it just a *leeeetle* bit for these specific big donors.

A loud support of unions doesn't matter if it comes and goes depending on what the consultants say.

EDIT: I think Democrats are addicted to default votes and have literally forgotten how to get affirmative ones. That's why absent a completely re-do of their leadership, I struggle to see the party doing any of this.

@johnzajac @futurebird @CurtAdams Around here, Biden breaking the railroad strike shredded confidence in the Dems amongst workers in the trades.

@CurtAdams @johnzajac

They keep saying "democracy is in danger" and I believe them.

Yet some of their actions don't tell that same story.

@CurtAdams @johnzajac

Do you think that if Democrats keep doing what they have been doing they will win?

Frankly, as a very practical matter, that's my top concern. How do they wrestle back enough power to move us away from this cliff? And further, if they do get power will they be able to use it effectively?

I have been trusting the democratic leadership "knows what they are doing" and I think that's a big mistake now.

For example: They could stop trading stocks. They could do that today.

@futurebird @CurtAdams @johnzajac Are they actually doing anything? From this distance they seem inert.