General Discussion

If the top Dem leadership does not heed the lessons of this disastrous last election we risk becoming truly irrelevant.

Obama voters stayed home in droves. How does your theory account for that?
We lost in states that went for Obama last time.
90 Million Americans did not vote.
The Dems have lost at all levels---governorships, and locals across the country. This is beyond the big prize of the WH. There is a problem and it can't all be explained as white backlash.
Obama himself has said Dem messaging about the ACA was poor and unclear. Check. It was.
The Dems are seen as the party of NAFTA and the TOP.
Did not prosecute a single criminal who gave us the Bush Recession.
In fact, their messaging & connecting was so poor that O himself was blamed for the effects of the recession--that this happened comes from messaging and leadership myopia.

The Dems, regardless of some moderately helpful policies, are no longer seen as fighting for or in touch with ordinary people in the middle of the country. On the one hand they really do have Neo-liberal policies that do redistribute income upward, and on the other, when they do something decent, they don't know how to explain it. There is some kind of disconnect. It's time to admit it and pay attention to the exhaustion of the country with politics as usual.

Clearly many T-voters are motivated by fear, hatred and racism. Though this is not more dangerous than the systemic white privilege that dominates everywhere. Let's hope Perez can reach those lost O-voters. And those voters who were so uninspired they stayed home. Because we need to start winning down ticket offices fast.