General Discussion

This is not just a popularity poll. The "right direction - wrong direction" goes a lot deeper emotionally, and it gets more honest answers because it is not about specific names or people.

The Gallup data goes back decades: https://news.gallup.com/poll/1669/general-mood-country.aspx

Forever, this question showed pendulum swings, mostly between 30% and 70% But something changed RADICALLY around 2005. SInce that time, the national sentiment has NEVER been above 50% "right direction," and it has mostly remained under 40% regardless whether the President was Bush, Obama, Trump or Biden.

The country is really pissed. They know they are getting screwed. They know politicians from both parties are being openly bribed -- and are heavily influenced to do the will of the billionaires and corporations. They see the cost of health care at ridiculous levels. They understand that the markets and money supply are rigged to favor the rich and the banks. They see the cost of an education is shooting out of control, and even with a good education, it is harder and harder to make a living wage and support a family. They see the cost of just about everything exploding far higher than the fictitious 2% inflation rate we are supposed to believe.

These are the issues that animate the majority of Americans. Trump is probably the worst person on the planet to deal with any of these things, even if he wanted to. But Dems have been so fixated on the narrow issues of "our base" that we have allowed Trump to position himself as the populist. He says only he can solve these problems -- because he is a great businessman.

We know that is absurd, but Dems have never presented any coherent or consistent plans for how we will deal with ANY of these problems. So we lose.

The only way out of this problem is to get leadership that understands just how pissed off Americans really are, and can unite the Party to present a real alternative to what the fascists are doing. We all enjoy the trolling that Newsom has been doing. That's fine. But trolling is not enough. We need to present a real plan -- a plan based on populist ideals that address the issues that have Americans so pissed off.

Time is running out. This cannot wait for 2028. We need leaders to step up now. We need a real plan now. We need this in time to recruit candidates to run hard on this plan in 2026. We need to come out of the mid-terms with a clear mandate. We can't have a mandate without a national plan. And without a mandate, we won't be able to shut Trump down in 2027-2028.

(For those who are inclined to flag posts that aren't sufficiently "feel good", let me point out that I have not attacked any Democrats here. You won't find any names stated or implied. I am talking about a mindset I see broadly throughout the party. I am talking about a lack of strategy, lack of messages, and lack of affirmative actions that can address the issues of concern to the majority of Americans. While some may not agree with my opinions, stating these opinions does not violate any site rules, as far as I know.)