Joy Reid Says She's 'Barely Hanging On' With Party Too Scared To Embrace 'Effective Fighter' Progressives "

[moonshinegnomie]

shes pissed at mainstream dems criticizing Karine Jean-Pierre for leaving th eparty claiming it not preogressive enough.
she pissed that jasmine crockett is in her words being itnored by the mainstrem wing of the party.

Reid said Democrats should start emphasizing effective leadership over everything else.

“If Jasmine Crockett is the most effective fighter, give me Jasmine Crockett. And I really don’t care what you have to move around or who you have to disappoint in order to give me her. Just give me her because we need a leader,”


and i agree with her. the dems need to start fighting dirty like the fascists do. if that means AOC and Crockett in the leadership than so be it. better than the old time dems trying to do business as usual...

https://www.mediaite.com/media/radio/lifelong-democrat-joy-reid-says-shes-barely-hanging-on-with-party-too-scared-to-embrace-effective-fighter-progressives-like-jasmine-crockett/

[Gore1FL]

1. I don't think we need to "fight dirty," but we need to fight.

I'm on board with Joy's observations.

[PatSeg]

5. I agree

Fight smart but not fight dirty. That would make us like them.

[Gimpyknee]

93. How'd When they go low, we go high work out?

[Iggo]

97. It didn't.

[PatSeg]

98. You can fight without being

vicious and dishonest like MAGA republicans. If we become like them, then what is the point? We are fighting for truth, freedom, democracy, etc. They are fighting for power and fascist government.

We defeated the Nazis and the Japanese in World War II and though far from perfect, we didn't defeat them by becoming them. We even helped rebuild Germany and Japan.

This is not about "winning", this is about fighting for a way of life that republicans are trying to destroy. If we toss principles and morality out the window, then we are all doomed.

"An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind" Mahatma Gandhi

[RhapsodyFav]

99. Understand and agree with the concept..

but in this reality it's an all out street fight because the "we go high" goes too far above their heads.

[cadoman]

109. Four years of Joseph Robinette Biden?

And we had narrow control of both House and Senate for two years. It didn't work out that badly.

The handoff to Harris just failed, for a lot of reasons. It's hardly a good reason to discard Democracy or pursue some form of extremism.

[ImNotGod]

29. Think of a fighting match where fighters have permission to hit below the belt but only one fighter

takes advantage of it, who do you think will win that fight? For instance, we should do voter suppression in red districts like fascists do in progressive districts. When we start that they will bitch and whine enough to get some voters rights legislation.

[WinstonSmith4740]

44. I like your fighter analogy.

A lot. I've been saying this for years...we all know the adage about not bringing a knife to a gun fight. Democrats haven't even been bringing a knife, they've been bringing a rule book. They've given the schoolyard bully their lunch money, and are now begging him to leave them alone, because he came back for their whole allowance. I'm sorry, I love Michelle Obama, but going high when they went low got us here. The Democrats should have Jasmine Crockett, AOC, Eric Swalwell, Maxwell Frost, and the rest of our very deep bench of.young guns in front of the camera every damn day. "Measured and reasonable" responses will continue to get us nowhere with this crowd.
Again, sorry, but we're gonna have to get down in the mud and fight like them.

[chowder66]

56. It can turn off people from politics all together if both fight dirty. I don't know how long I'd want to watch that.

But if you do take the punches and stand on honor and principle then you become the underdog people want to stand with.

It may be a wash either way they go but I know I'd rather be on the side of honor and principle than hate and violence.

[MyOwnPeace]

79. Sorry, but too many aren't "crossing over"

to stand with us - they're staying at home and pretending that everything will work out just fine. They're 'brainwashed' by 'FUCKS NEWS' and not hearing anyone with enough courage to call them out.
We don't have to be 'dirty' - we just need to be LOUD, HONEST, DETERMINED, and AGGRESSIVE!
Every law that they break - every move that they make that takes away another law-given right - NEEDS to be called out immediately on the next news cycle. Get someone out there in front of the White House on camera and calling out the BULLSHIT that's flowing from there!
We have to FIGHT - fair, clean, but FIGHT!

[Jack Valentino]

100. We can "fight dirty" with FACTS instead of lies.... (and it isn't really dirty but the facts are)--- For instance---

Democrats should start repeatedly publicizing the very long list of prominent Republicans who have been charged and/or convicted of child molestation, possessing child pornography, etc--- to prove who is actually the party of Pedophilia!

EVERY Democratic candidate for President down to the office of township supervisor should jump on that bandwagon and bang the gong from here to eternity, the way that Republicans do with all their false attacks!

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

59. +1,000,000!!

[Magoo48]

48. If you wanna fight great, if you aren't gonna fight, go down the road and pound sand.

We are now fighting for freedom. If we’re holding to the old methods and protocols, we’re dragging anchor. Pitfalls and opportunities are changing daily, we must be nimble and create responses on the fly. The “strongly worded letter” is a vestigial structure. Direct action is happening now in our neighborhoods, if you can’t figure out ways to help us, please, with respect, get out of the fucking way. The last thing you wanna do is criticize those who are doing.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

57. 1000%!!

[dwayneb]

81. Maybe... be we need to fight SMARTER

We all get it - Trump is an authoritarian and MAGA is a fascist movement that is set to destroy our democracy as we have known it.

But simply repeating this and pumping the fear with providing tangible solutions is a huge problem.

Candidates and talking heads alike immediately get tongue tied when they are asked exactly how they are going to solve the problem.

[TalenaGor]

95. 10000% I dont think Jasmine nor AOC are any where near 'dirty' but they are CORRECT!!!

Now is the time to get pissed off - and DO SOMETHING

[Jilly_in_VA]

2. The NYC mayoral primary results

ought to encourage her a lot. And yeah, I think we need to start fighting a little dirty. AOC and Jasmine Crockett are showing us how.

[Akakoji]

39. We need to fight dirty.

And relentlessly like the fascists do. Every minute.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

58. Been sayin that for years... if there was ever a time to fight these fuckin' fascists it's NOWWW!!

ARE YOU READY?!

[bdamomma]

102. We need

to stay in their faces, and fight. Just their fucking disrespect to Americans, gets me pissed off. Gutting our agencies and benefits, treating people like crap, trampling over our rights, treating women and LGBTQ, Migrants, treating our service members and families with no respect. This should FUEL us more to stop them.

The enemies within are those in this regime.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

106. YESSSSS, you're 100% right... our representatives either fight the fascists or get the hell out of the damn way!!

What we DON'T do is throw our most loyal constituents, some of whom you mention, under the bus... no one who's a true principled Democrat should stand for that, which is what I absolutely LOVE about Jasmine, AOC, and the the future mayor of NYC, Zohran Mamdani, among other fighters like them!!

[Oopsie Daisy]

3. Okay. Well... bye!

I'm sure that whatever its about the Democrats that displeases her will IMMEDIATELY be fixed as soon as she declares that she's now a registered Independent or Democratic Socialist or Green or whatnot.

How wise of her to know that the best way to change a political party is to QUIT the political party and to take cheap-shots from her perch in the tower. That's always easier (and much more profitable, personally) than actually working to grow and strengthen the party... and I'll bet for her it's more "fun" than heaping her scorn and criticism on the GOP (where it's actually deserved.)

Maybe she's still feeling resentful and disoriented after losing her job... I'm sure the blames the Democrats for that too.

[moonshinegnomie]

6. or maybe she thinks the democrats need to change

they lost all 3 branches of government letting teh fascists take over.
they elected a younger reformer (david hogg) to a top spot in the dnc and then forced him out in a hurry.
the mainstream candidate in NYC that the powers that be supported just got his ass kicked.

i thingk the party needs a major change if they want to win
the old ways dont cut it anymore

[Qutzupalotl]

8. You and Oopsie Daisy both make great points,

and this is why I love DU. Yes, it is opinion versus opinion, but both are informed, reasoned, and principled, but just happen to land on opposite sides here. If we are ever to find our way forward, it must be through conversations like this.

I think we need both fighting spirit from the youths, combined with wise tactics from the elders, to combat this orchestrated takeover of government. What that looks like in each particular, we'll have to work out as we go.

[Oopsie Daisy]

9. David Hogg was not "forced out". That's a lie. He chose not to run again (probably knowing he'd lose)

... but the "poor me, they forced me out" narrative suits his needs better, I suppose. It's certainly been profitable for him. Regarding Ms. Reid... that may indeed be what she thinks. But it's also clear to me that those type of "I'm leaving the party" theatrics only serve to benefit herself and not whatever cause she claims to believe in. It draws attention to herself and does absolutely nothing to grow or strengthen the party, or change what she thinks needs to be changed. So... fuck Joy Reid... goodbye, good riddance. She can go sit in that high tower and look down her nose at us with the other Democrat-haters: Sarandon and Briahna Joy Gray.

[Arazi]

10. David Hogg *tried* to stay within the ultimate Dem establishment

“ working to grow and strengthen the party... “ (your words) from within.

Even here tho he’s totally shit upon.

He’s a solid democrat as is (was?) Joy Reid. Dems either work with this expanding group who want to see some recognition that this party must grow new roots or they’ll lose them like KJP.

[moonshinegnomie]

14. And yet the old guard resists

I think a lot of them have been in office so long that they are drunk with the power and perks of their office

[LiberalArkie]

24. The thing I see is that once a person gets to be a certain wealth level, even if it was from winning a lottery and

coming from living in a trailer, they become a very different person after a few years. So a populist that becomes a senator and is able to sit on committees and gets info that enables that person to invest and become wealthy becomes a very different person. They do not want to do anything that might cause them to loose any of that wealth.

Nothing will ever change until we bring public service back into all branches of government. This means no investing in anything except a commonly owned federal 401K. Any thing of wealth before election must be sold off. Think Jimmy Carter

[cilla4progress]

28. Not my Senator

Patty Murray

[Akakoji]

43. Brilliant

Absolutely. How?

So a populist that becomes a senator and is able to sit on committees and gets info that enables that person to invest and become wealthy becomes a very different person. They do not want to do anything that might cause them to loose any of that wealth.

Nothing will ever change until we bring public service back into all branches of government. This means no investing in anything except a commonly owned federal 401K. Any thing of wealth before election must be sold off.

[LiberalArkie]

54. If you were a congress person or an aide to one or a secretary in the office and you heard that the

President was going to write an executive order that bans EV's. What would you do if you or your wife or family had stock in Tesla or really any automotive stock?

What would human nature tell you to do?

[The Roux Comes First]

31. The "Perks," Maybe, But It's Been a Woefully Long Time Since They Effectively Utilized Their "Power"

On behalf of their constituency.

But I guess using their power on their own behalf could be intoxicating.

[Jilly_in_VA]

84. Tear the Fascists Down

If there was ever a time, the time is NOW!

[GiqueCee]

86. I got spanked today for saying pretty much the same thing...

... even with qualifiers expressing my devotion to the Democratic Party, but not necessarily to the top echelon. Tells me a lot.

[Oopsie Daisy]

17. No he didn't. Hogg attacks Democrats rather than Republicans.

His even-steven switch-a-roo plan does NOTHING to help Democrats get the majority. No wonder the GOP loves it so much. No wonder Fox helps to perpetuate the false "Hogg is a victim" narrative. -- They fail to mention how much he's profiting, though.

If Joy Reid wants to quit the party, then that's what she'll be known as. A QUITTER. If she wants to stand on the edges and shout at the party (and profit from it too) than that's her call. But if she really wants to help to grow and strengthen the party, then those changes come from LOYAL Democrats who work WITHIN the party.

There will always be an "establishment" even the newbies who run "against the establishment" and win... they find themselves as part of the establishment. The thing that they hate so much, they now must BE and learn to work within if they want change. But the ones who shout obscenities from their towers and look down at the party as being "unworthy" of their grand presence have must less influence than they imagine.

Fuck the QUITTERS! We need LOYAL DEMOCRATS... not quitters, not party switchers, not part-time Democrats, not fair-weather Democrats.

[Arazi]

21. "Growing and strengthening" the party (your own words)

Doesn’t always look like “elect more Dems” to get a majority.

You know that right? Many MANY good Dem advocates don’t actively work on advancing a Congressional Dem majority - their primary work is focused on boosting Dem issues for example (like Shannon Watts and gun control, or Cecile Richards and abortion rights).

AOC’s election didnt boost our majority but replacing Crowley with AOC has indisputably helped the Dem party be stronger for the future. That’s David Hogg’s biggest point - we need fighters not place holders (and his position is to primary safe seats only).

It’s really depressing to watch the freak out on stuff this. We are so fucked as a party that someone like JOY REID gets this kind of backlash.

[Oopsie Daisy]

23. Boo hoo... poor Joy Reid.

David Hogg also fails to consider that Vermont-style liberalism doesn't always win elections in these so-called "safe" districts. He's living in a fantasy world if he honestly believes that unnecessarily primarying incumbent Democrats doesn't actually HELP REPUBLICANS.

When these unnecessary challenges end up bloodying and bankrupting the incumbent, that just makes it easy for a Republican to swoop in with more money and flip the seat. Why not try to replace REPUBLICANS. Only then will we get the majority. And ONLY with the majority can we actually stop the GOP.

His priorities are fucked up.

[BannonsLiver]

25. Imagine caring what Joy Reid or any other bloviating cable news personality says about anything.

Way too much deference given to these people on this forum. Like they're gods or something.

[Arazi]

34. Joy Reid is just today's human stand-in for any lifelong progressive Dem tbh

Tomorrow’s whipping boy that “we” shouldn’t give a shit about will be AOC, Friday can be Bernie, Saturday can be Chris Hayes day, and maybe on Sunday we can decide between Laurence O’Donnell, Pramila Jayapal, Bruce Springsteen or (insert favorite progressive here).

Why stop at individuals? Hell, let’s shit on the newsmagazine Rolling Stone or The Guardian.

There’s so many choices to shit on and alienate right? Maybe establishment Dems could move faster to piss off allies?

[BannonsLiver]

38. Cool story. Isn't she a homophobe?

Oh, that's right. She is. Then, instead of owning it, she concocted some ludicrous story about being hacked.
I guess maybe some folks are willing to overlook all that.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43936042

[Arazi]

51. I'm not deifying her

I explicitly indicated she’s the latest stand-in for any progressive Dem that dares question the old guard.

That’s she’s deeply flawed wasn’t today’s argument.

[Midwestern Democrat]

107. MSNBC lost a lot of credibility when they let her get away with that phony hacking claim

She should have been fired on the spot for that - I've always suspected that the only reason she wasn't was because she had a very powerful protector at the network.

[W_HAMILTON]

60. That's how you end up with a decades-long political career without any notable progressive accomplishments to your name.

Last edited Wed Jun 25, 2025, 03:31 PM - Edit history (1)

If you've been """fighting""" for 30+ years and have as many progressive achievements under your belt as Republicans, what the fuck is the point? What were you fighting for all that time? For $27 dollar donations from poor people that put their faith in you to actually do something for them?

Fuck fighting -- I want WINNING.

I want ACCOMPLISHMENTS.

I want PROGRESS.

[betsuni]

74. What the fuck is the point -- this is what's fascinating, it doesn't make sense.

SNL did a "Price is Right" with Larry David as a character saying "We're gonna win this thing the [name] way, which means if I lose, I bring everyone else down with me."

Destroy the Democratic Party as you screech meaningless slogans and insults, bring everyone else down with you. Why?

[Deuxcents]

101. Teachers Union head quit her position with the Democratic Party on June 15th. Lee Saunders

Who represents the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees quit his post because he, too, had disputes with the Dem Chairman, Ken Martin. There’s too much infighting and this is the worst timing as we’re supposed to be making decisions about midterms..lots of people are calling for change from within the party’s leadership and it’s gonna cost us in the end

[Arazi]

103. Ominous signs 😞

[Deuxcents]

104. Not good..at all.

[Mblaze]

19. The last election showed us that

If Progressives don't vote for moderate Dems, we get Trump.

[Oopsie Daisy]

20. No, it showed that when people encourage their constituents to NOT support the Democrats *

* and to vote "Uncommitted" then they help the GOP.

If these "progressives" you speak of want to "moderate" the party then they need to vote, participate, join, become active WITHIN the party. The constant smears, insults, snipes and other denigrating and shitting on the party only serve to harm the party and to HELP the GOP.

>> If Progressives don't moderate Dems, we get Trump.
Let me fix that for you: If Progressives don't moderate GET OFF THEIR BUTT AND VOTE FOR Dems, we get Trump.

[Mblaze]

26. I actually had

Left out the words "vote for" and had to edit it. You must have read it before I fixed it. I agree with your position. 😆

[ck4829]

30. It sounds like the moderate Dem belief they are entitled to power gave way to Trump

[moonshinegnomie]

32. Exactly

And every day I get texts from dems begging for money. And yet when push comes to shove they do squat

People like Hogg and joy reid are exactly what the dems need. Not some 80 year old fossil who wants to go back to the old way of doing business.

That ship has sailed. It’s time to embrace the young firebrands instead of telling them they have to work within the existing party structure


And the result of that is trump.

[Mblaze]

40. I'm inundated

By money requests from Progressives as well. Money is grease for their wheels. Congressional Progressives support the Party. I wish Progressive voters would.

[kkmarie]

116. Love your point about 80 yr old fossils

We need the young blood!

Although honestly I don't understand why so many think that the democrats aren't running on things important to the people.
In every one of Joe Biden's or Kamala Harris's speeches/rallies/debates and democrats in federal and local government.

All have had the same visions:
More support for poor and working class families (health food education housing)
More support for small businesses and unions
Rights for women and LGBTQ + (health care)
More support for our Veterans
Secure and fair elections
Protecting voting rights of all
Peace
And so much more good things for We the People.

Is it just because democrats own no big media companies? Because everything good for we the people would cost the rich?

[Mblaze]

36. As far as I'm concerned

They are entitled to the power that voters gave to Trump. Biden's term earned them that power.

[angrychair]

33. You realize that it's not just Hogg

It came out this morning that two national union leaders quit the DNC yesterday because they don't think it has the best interest of workers at heart.
Did you hear that?
Randi Weingarten, the head of the very powerful American Federation of Teachers and Lee Saunders, head of AFSCME, both quit the DNC yesterday because they think it's lost the script on American workers.
Collectively, they represent over 3 million union members. We are going in the wrong direction and every alarm bell should be ringing right now.

[Oopsie Daisy]

35. Quitters never win. They have made themselves irrelevant and voiceless.

Rather than working hard and not giving up, they choose to sabotage the party and help the GOP. What a charming little Veruca Salt attitude, eh?

[angrychair]

42. They are not voiceless

They represent over 3 million union members. 3 million union voters. 3 million potential volunteers. 3 million small dollar donors.

These people are not voiceless. They are the voice. They represent the people we say we care about but the people we say we care about don't think that is true. We cannot afford to ignore the voices of three million union members.

[Oopsie Daisy]

47. If these people want to abandon the Democratic party then they are responsible for their own fates.

If they want to sabotage and weaken the Democratic party, then it's clear that their priorities are to help the GOP. Quitters and cowards is how I'd describe anyone who intentionally tries to harm the Democratic party. I'll never understand how that type of childish tantrum-throwing immature behavior comes out of adults. Those who follow the all-or-nothing philosophy will ALWAYS end up with nothing. Those who want to "destroy to rebuild" the Democratic party only serve to benefit the GOP. Little wonder that the GOP supports this type of behavior. Yes... if they want to give up their voice, they become voiceless and they make their OWN lives worse because of it.

How pathetically sad is that?

[moonshinegnomie]

53. Maybe it's the democrats who abandoned them. at least the old guard

Don’t the same thing over and over and expecting different results is nuts. The old guard are the ones responsible for trump

[Oopsie Daisy]

61. No. The ones who shouted "Genocide Joe" and who listened to their rep and voted for Uncommitted...

... and the rest who refused to vote for a woman of color because she wasn't liberal enough or perfect enough... that's who to blame.

Democrats aren't doing "the same thing over and over". What nonsense! That's just a babbling brook way of complaining "they didn't do it MY way, so I'm not going to vote for Democrats." Another variation of the all or nothing philosophy. I've had enough. If we can't count on them, we'll find votes elsewhere. Probably by moving closer to the center. How's that?

[angrychair]

55. All due respect

You are demeaning three million union voters. Don't you think they tried to make their point and felt it was falling on deaf ears. To think they made this move lightly is to not understand the seriousness of the issues.
Sometimes you cannot put out a house fire while you are still standing in the house.
The NYC primary is not an anomaly. The success of AOC. Crockett. Frost. It's where the people are telling us the direction they want to go.
They left the DNC but are still Democrats. They care enough to do what unions do and that is vote with their feet.

[Oopsie Daisy]

62. If they don't want to support the party then it's idiotic for anyone to expect the party to support them in return.

Let them find their own way. If they don't want to support Democrats then the Republicans benefit. Walk away from the party do what? Turn to the republicans? Or just sabotage the Democrats to "teach the party a lesson" (while STILL helping the GOP). Fuck that.

Sometimes you don't need to burn down your entire house just because you have a squeaky floorboard. Please... spare me the dramatic analogies.

[angrychair]

70. Trying hard to remain polite

Because, if I'm being honest, I'm not completely confident I'm not being trolled.
They didn't leave the Democratic Party, they just left their leadership positions at the DNC.
They are still committed to effecting change but they could not do that from within the DNC (the organization) leadership structure because they were not listening.

We literally lost in 2024 because leadership were not listening to the rank and file members and they were choosing to ignore how they were voting. Party insiders endorsed a guy that is accused of sexually harassing women and lying about COVID deaths and resigned in shame over a guy that has only been singing the praises of the Democratic Party from the beginning.

How can we talk about the Mango Mussolini and his SA when we literally endorsed an accused sexual predator to be the mayor of NYC. DNC leadership is out of touch with reality.

[Oopsie Daisy]

76. I'm done with you. We've reached an impasse and now I'm being called a troll.

Goodbye.

[angrychair]

77. That isn't what I said

I said I don't know if I'm being trolled because you keep working the same messaging with no regards to what is actually being said.
They didn't leave the party. They are not becoming Republicans.
And you are dismissive of the concerns of people that have been Democrats longer than some have been alive and that lead 3 million union members, the literal life blood of the Democratic Party.
Union members are why the Democratic Party even exist.

I'm not insulting you, I'm trying to understand why you are so willing to trash them like this

[sheshe2]

105. Actually, you did.

https://www.esafety.gov.au/young-people/trolling#:~:text=Trolling%20is%20when%20someone%20posts%20or%20comments%20online%20to%20'bait,believe%2C%20just%20to%20cause%20drama.

[angrychair]

111. Not my intention

My exact words were:

Because, if I'm being honest, I'm not completely confident I'm not being trolled.

Mainly because they stayed on the exact same talking points over and over again without really speaking to the content of the responses they were getting.

That said I appreciate the feedback. I don't mind the criticism. We all are Democrats here, some of us are just walking different paths and have different opinions on how to get there.
Hope you have a relaxing rest of your night SheShe!

[DonCoquixote]

46. so working hard means

that when democrats do somethign that will screw over the voters slightly less than the gop, was cannot say "come on, we can't we do somethign that is more like what we say we are about", we are supposed to just shut up? That is nto going to help us win either, as we wind up acting like we do not believe our own policy.

[Oopsie Daisy]

50. I don't know how I can be any clearer: Quitters never win.

Want change? Work for it. -- Quitting the party is not working for change. Encouraging others to quit the party is equally stupid. It's just shitting on the party and having a temper tantrum. You can try to justify it all you want, but in the end it's all BS. You're either with us or against us. Anyone who's working against the best interests of the Democratic party is working FOR the best interests of the GOP. There are no two ways about it.

[Arazi]

52. "Best interests of the party" is exactly the debate

And right now the Dem party is putting their hands over their ears and actively shutting out any debate over what the “best interests of the party” might mean.

We fucking lost everywhere in 2024 with the establishment Dem playbook.

Fuck that.

[Oopsie Daisy]

65. The notion that sabotaging the party will help the party is insane.

The philosophy of "let us have our way or we'll burn it to the ground" is equally mad. Those who follow the "all or nothing" philosophy with their temper tantrums always end up with nothing.

>> We fucking lost everywhere in 2024 with the establishment Dem playbook.
No, we lost because of the treachery of saboteurs and a certain bitter rep who amplified the Genocide Joe and Killer Kamala lies... and because of racism and misogyny. Stop making excuses for NOT voting for Democrats or thinking that "punishing" the party is helping the party.

[moonshinegnomie]

66. we lost because we ran an 80yr old who did nothing to excit ethe young

then we switched to kamala with little input from the young people we need.
meanwhile the fascists ran someone who you cant deny excited their voters. and they won big.

a young firebrand will do more to excite people than doing the same old thing. crocket,aoc and teh like excite young voters. similar to what obama did back in 2008. Shumer and the rest of the old guard not so much. your typical young person who sees the cost of ,housing becoming unaffordable, no healthcare and human rights being taken away dont care about an 80 yr old politician whos been in office for decades while things get worse and worse. they want young blood who speaks to them.

[Oopsie Daisy]

67. Shitting on the party and abandoning the party is not the way to make the party better.

This type of selfish behavior and temper tantrum only serves to benefit the GOP. Stop defending it. Stop making excuses for it. The choice was CLEAR. People who claim "Oh I need to fall-in-love with the candidate" or "Oh, I will only vote for someone that I feel like I could have a beer with" or "I need something to vote FOR not AGAINST" ... what bullshit. A simple-minded selfish worldview.

[Arazi]

68. You know we're not talking about the Genocide Joe voters right?

The OP is about Joy Reid type Dem voters who were strongly for Biden and Harris - the vast majority of the party.

Their issues aren’t astro-turfed I/P bullshit.

[Oopsie Daisy]

75. She can't be trusted... just like the rest of the saboteurs. Fuck her.

If she hates the Democrats that much, she can become the next Nina Turner and start her OWN party. In the end, for national elections, only one of two candidates will win. Either the Democrat or the Republican. Any vote that does not DIRECTLY benefit the Democrat has the net effect of benefitting the Republican. Every non-vote, or Green vote, or People's Party vote, or No Labels vote (ie: NOT helping the Democrat) makes it that much easier for the Republican to win. It's how our system works. Two parties. Take it or leave it. If whining Joy can't get behind the Democratic party then she's supporting the GOP... there are no two ways about it. It's one or the other. Looks like she's made her choice. Fuck her.

[58Sunliner]

91. We lost because it was a corrupt election.

[DonCoquixote]

85. there is support, and then enabling

If you keep buying liquor for an alcoholic, or buy pills for an addict, you are not loving them. I love the Democratic party, but it is addicted to big money interests that will make sure it's health gets worse, until it is a joke that cannot oppose anything by the gop. Note that I am yello dog democrat that will literally vote for bucket of crap over the best the gop can offer; the archangel Gabriel could be the gop candidate, and I would vote demcorat because I know what the GOP do. But I am not being supportive when I cannot even ask that the party fight the republicans are consistently as they fought us.

[Oopsie Daisy]

88. Keep that shit to yourself, please. It makes ZERO sense to demand that the Democrats concede to the GOP...

... by refusing to accept donations that we are LEGALLY ENTITLED TO ACCEPT. If you want to get rid of "money in politics" then get rid of Citizens United. Until then, it's just INSANITY to demand that the Democrats willingly give a financial advantage to the GOP for the sake of "appearances" and boasting of "taking the high road" while letting them win.

A Pyrrhic victory indeed.

Oh, but look how PURE we were as we willingly let the GOP kick our asses! At least we didn't accept money from "big pharma". Please... GMAFB!

[sheshe2]

78. " they lost all 3 branches of government "

Have you forgotten the voters? No candidate can win without votes! Remember when Hillary ran there was a huge contingent of bros, some on this very site, that said they would not vote for “that woman”… and voila, tsf’s first term!

This election, once again they didn’t vote. We actually had a ‘Progressive’ Dem tell her constituents not to vote for Biden in the primary, ffs! They liked the idea so much it carried over to the general election with Kamala as our candidate. Because, ya know, they just couldn’t vote for that uppity woman. Elections have consequences. If you aren’t getting everything YOU want at least think about our children’s future.

I vote in every election, luckily for me I never had to hold my nose to cast my vote and even if I did I would still vote for the Democratic nominee.

So, no, it wasn’t the candidates that lost us all three branches, it was the voters. This country has a pretty piss poor record of eligible people not voting!

[moonshinegnomie]

80. maybe the reason for that is shitty candidates

in 2016 we ran hillary. besides her issues the fact is she was 69 years old and has basically been in government since decade with he husband... part of the old guard

in 2024 we ran joe. who had been in government his whole life. then when it was clear he had issues we suddenly switched to kamala at the urging of the centrists. a move that would turn off the left.


meanwhile the fascists were literally throwing everything against teh wall to see what sticks nowing that a lie repeated often enough gets more believable...

after kamal losr the dems put david hogg on the dnc. and then forced him out. turning off a lot of young progressives. as leader in teh senate they have a man whos been in congress for 45 years. not something to excite the young.

and even here just mentioning that life long demscrats are turining away from the party the response from a lot of dems if fuck em let them go...

not exactly the way to win in the future. what we need is new ledership. which ive been saying for a while. no one who was elected to congress 30 years ago should remain in the leadership. let teh youngsters take over...

[sheshe2]

82. Your words:

maybe the reason for that is shitty candidates

Then you go on to list Clinton, Biden and Harris. So if I am reading this correctly you are calling them all "shitty candidates". Seriously? On Democratic Underground no less.

PS. You keep claiming Hogg was ousted, he was not. One man and one woman are elected and Kenyatta won by a mile.

PPS. Sanders who was 4 years older.

[electric_blue68]

96. Excuse me? Hillary was one of the Smartest, Experienced, and Caring Candidates we ever ran. Geeeebz! Bernie's older,..

too. What's your excuse for him, if you were a Bernie Bro?

Hillary called herself "a pragmatic progressive", which to me meant she knew how politics was played. Certain things directly, maybe some by steps.

We had a a chance at at least a very good Madame President.
😑 😌

And I really like Jasmine, Frost, Swalwell. et al. Like AOC.

[Midwestern Democrat]

114. Good luck trying to get away with that excuse in the business world - "It's not our fault - it's the Goddamn customers!"

[sheshe2]

115. Now you are just grasping at straws.

Tell me a business that can survive without customers any more than a candidate can win without voters.

[Bettie]

4. I don't see it as dirty fighting

it is simply fighting with all the tools at our disposal.

Sidelining the people who are WILLING to actually fight for us is foolish at best.

We are long past the time when we could talk about "friends across the aisle"...the vast majority of Republicans would happily see those on that other side of the aisle dead as long as they weren't endangered in any way.

[B.See]

18. Precisely. "friends" across the aisle indeed...

Used to burn my ass everytime I heard it. Have they been ACTING like our "friends"?? Because with "friends" like those...

Re embracing effective leadership, Reid is spot on... as USUAL.

Including outspoken ones like Crockett and Jefferies. The tried and true like Bernie and AOC. And the relative newcomers who generate excitement and HOPE.

I think it would behoove our party to figure out WHY they do.

[stillcool]

7. an effective fighter, is not 'dirty'

lying, cheating and stealing is quite the thing to aspire to.

[ananda]

11. She is not alone.

nt

[Hotler]

12. First our team needs to find a truck load of gumption. Vow to play has a team.

Then use the repugs own playbook against them. Treat them the way they treat us. I call that meeting halfway.

[Kid Berwyn]

13. I can't blame Joy for her observations.

The Party had four years to “politically neutralize” a traitor and yet there he is in the Oval Office. Again.

[Nigrum Cattus]

15. We, all non-repugs, need to focus against them only

There should only be (1) foe, and that's repugs

[JustAnotherGen]

16. I'm 100% onboard with Joy

Including fighting dirty, below the belt with the intent to bring the Fascists to heel and dominate them for the next 160 years.

Anything else is a return to the Status Quo of 'be nice to the traitor confeds'.

[Quiet Em]

22. Joy Reid is spot on and I fully agree with her.

[LymphocyteLover]

27. Leaving the party sends a terrible message and is extremely counter-productive since there are so many good people in .

the party.

As if we don't have enough problems!

IMO people should focus on their local races and not obsess over Dem party "leadership".

[Scubamatt]

37. This is not

Last edited Thu Jun 26, 2025, 02:58 PM - Edit history (1)

Inherently, an age issue. It's a leadership and fighting issue. The current leadership - old or not- seems more concerned about tongue wagging and sternly worded letters and relying on the courts. It's pretty passive and consistent with Carville's advice that we just need to lay low and let Trump implode. I contend that the rank and file don't agree with that. We need leaders - old, young, middle-aged, whatever - who are going to smartly get our message across in this media driven world and paint a clear contrast between our side and their side. And do so every day, in every way, but especially ways that target/capture the limited attention span of the majority of the public and that will get clicks.

[ificandream]

41. And we need to be speaking out much much more about Fox.

They are the real enemies. Not CNN. Not MSNBC. Not the New York Times or Washington Post. It's Fox who is planting the lies and propaganda about the Democratic Party each day through their "news" shows. And Democrats (including some here) are picking up on their crap. Fox isn't rooting for us. One example: We must not forget they planted the b.s. about Obama not being a citizen.

[gab13by13]

45. I get 4 or 5 texts every day to donate money,

I need to see a better strategy than to let Krasnov burn it all down and then pump money into the next election. Those were Chuck Schumer's words on Chris Haye's show.

I now donate money to Indivisible and the ACLU. Indivisible has organized more protests across the country than Democrats.

Schumer and Jeffries should have organized town halls across the country based on specific issues. Do a town hall on how the Big Ugly Death bill will kill people and shorten their lives. Have invited guests to tell their stories, put faces to what devastation is about to happen.

Should have done a town hall right after SignalGate and NLRB Gate where Musk's cyber punks gave usernames and passwords to Russia. Should have done a town hall with Malcolm Nance moderating it. Bring in intelligence experts, bring in retired Generals to let Americans know how Krasnov has caused this national security disaster. Magats are still using personal phones and computers and Signal to conduct government business.

It sure looks to me that too many Congressional Democrats are following Schumer's strategy.

It is so predictable, the time is fast approaching for this headline - GOTV, and if we lose it will be our fault. Kamala Harris won the last election. Too bad Democrats didn't follow up on all the voting irregularities.

[et tu]

49. change is hard

but we must and we must at least bring together our big tent
instead of bashing other viewpoints, we need to evolve.
certain dems in congress are trying very hard to fight and
they need support. we must also mentor the younger generations
to keep the party alive and strong. i don't fault anyone for following
their convictions to stay in the party or leave. but jeebus, don't rag
on them- that's a rw talking point and they love it - chaos and discord
the party needs hogg and more or we will definitely have king krasnov.

[Sympthsical]

63. We have other fighters who weren't "hacked"

Sorry, I will never let that go. You don’t do that to gay people and then think you can walk away from it while mumbling.

There are 340 million people in this country.

I suspect we can find other fighters in the pile.

[BannonsLiver]

69. Real fighters also don't pout and threaten to take their ball and go home like Joy Reid has done.

She’s weak. Insecure.

[Sympthsical]

72. A lot of self-described fighters have "L'etat c'est moi" energy.

Egos got them thinking they are the fight. If you don’t support them, then you don’t support the struggle.

We need to move on from these kinds of main characters.

[leftstreet]

71. +1

[Joinfortmill]

64. Totally agree. This is a goddamn war. Fight or get out of the way.

[TheProle]

73. Joy Reid is in the business of Joy Reid.

[Mr. Ected]

83. Last time I checked, there are two political parties, the Democrats and the Republicans

Leave us to become Republicans? Have fun over there, Joy.

Leave us to disenfranchise yourself as an independent? Have fun in the abyss, Joy.

You can only effect meaningful change from within.

[The Grand Illuminist]

87. It's not the fighter....

But the courage to go all in, make sacrifices, and a passion and devotion check of the willing.

[LaMouffette]

89. We need to WIN. That is ALL that matters. I am a feminist who hopes to God a woman wins the White House

before I die, and who was an early and wildly enthusiastic supporter of Kamala Harris's presidential campaign.

But, sadly, I do not think we should nominate a woman as our candidate in 2028. We need to win by a margin large enough to offset the cheating and vote suppression that the Republicans will undoubtedly commit before the election. We need independents and Republicans who are done with Trump, and I don't think many of those folks are evolved enough to vote for a Democrat woman to be president.

Therefore, I think we need an intelligent, patriotic, kind-hearted, humane former-military, badass white guy,—preferably with a Southern accent so that he doesn't come off as one of the "elites" that non-Democrats detest. To top it off, he must be entertaining! We can't have a presidential candidate that bores the pants off people, no matter how qualified he is. Extra points for being a well-liked celebrity.

We probably won't find someone who ticks all these boxes, but the more, the better.

Then, once the country heals, then we can and we MUST elect a Democratic woman president. Just as soon as we have some kind of assurance that the dumb asses of America will vote for her.

[Littlered]

90. People that are "leaving"

Because the party isn’t far left enough are inconsequential when compared to the moderate middle voters that are leaving in droves. I’d be willing to bet, that when it comes right down to it. They are still going to vote (and donate) Democratic. The moderates are gone forever.

I look at my state as the perfect microcosm. We didn’t become a solidly red shit hole because the party wasn’t far enough left.

[moonshinegnomie]

113. its the young people that are leaving

they see a democratic party that has done nothing for them while things get worse and worse for them. if you were a millenial or gen z why would you want to support a party that your whole life has hasnt really helped you. they cant afford housing. they cant afford healthcare. they have jobs they hate. and when a progressive come along and speaks to their concerns the mainstream of the party shits on them. in their view its a pox on both their houses. the dems need candidates who speak to their concerns. schumer et al dont. aoc,bernie,jamine crockett and the like do. mamdani in ny spoke to them as opposed to cuomo running towards the mainstream. we need more aoc and less schumer.

[Evolve Dammit]

92. We're being steamrolled. May not have much left soon, and it's only been 5 months.

[gixxerlee]

94. Yes

We need to get more aggressive, more combative. More Jasmine Crockett less Chuck Schumer

[murielm99]

108. This post is discouraging, to say the least.

I thought this was the DEMOCRATIC underground. I must have the wrong website.

[Nixie]

110. It's sort of becoming clearer why MSNBC fired her.

[betsuni]

112. But it's politics, not some sort of group therapy.

Well, if running away from home because people are mad at Old Guard Mommy is what they want, fine. Mean old establishment mommy will be very very sorry when fighting spirit true progressives take over and everything becomes nice. See, it was easy!

[bigtree]

117. Joy Reid is still playing fantasy politics

...pretending the stuff inside her head is self-actualizing.

She's taking no responsibility for a Democratic majority here, and that's the tragic fault of these talking heads in 2024. It was hard, at the time, to no believe hers was a deliberate attempt to sabotage Democrats at times, with some myopic focus on some pettiness that had nothing to do with winning elections.

When will media and other influencers on monetized social media accept THEIR own failure to use the forum they were advantaged with to defeat Trump? What I remember from Joy was a daily backbiting against Democrats, promoting apathy and cynicism, instead of highlighting things the party is doing and saying -just this same navel-gazing denigrating din of self-defeating drivel of hers.

Oppose republicans, support Democrats. Doing otherwise in an election, and expecting that epic pout to do more than virtue-signal, is simply enabling a continuation of the worst of this autocratic republican regime.

These legislators had ONE vote each in that last election. They have zero numbers to do any of the magic wand waving Reid is expecting of them. The actual influence and responsibility is on citizens, right now, not out-of-power legislators who voters didn't bother to equip with a majority.

Really convenient to spend so much time bashing Democrats, as Reid did in 2024 and before, then spend the time after republicans took control of ALL the branches of government ragging on them because they have virtually no legislative power.

The responsibility for ending this regime is in the hands of individual citizens like Joy who need to show up on election day and elect Democrats into office. None of this whinging of hers is focused on that, and it's tragic and sad.