This is why we lost.

[Eko]

Link to tweet

"We lost because they were better at lying to their voters than we were at telling the truth to ours."

[sop]

1. "When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies." - John 8:44

Trump is the Devil.

[spanone]

31. That should be on his tombstone.

[Jack Valentino]

43. So if we are going to get religious here, I SAY, it was NOT GOD who rescued him from ASSASSINATION---

it was DEFINITELY SATAN!!!


Who had more to gain by keeping him alive ??? We can see the results now...


(and, unfortunately, it does not appear that God interferes too much to
prevent evil from succeeding in its aims upon this planet--
so why would he have interceded to prevent the death of an evil diaper-boy?
I think NOT).

[CrispyQ]

78. "If there is a God, he will have to beg for my forgiveness". - Unknown concentration camp prisoner

Recently I read someone's take that Satan was the first resistor of an authoritarian regime & I really liked that POV.

[anamnua]

2. "It is easier for the world to accept a simple lie than a complex truth."

Alexis de Tocqueville

[dutch777]

7. Much the crux of the issue. Have to boil down our truths more succinctly. Too many voters can't think or reason.

[czarjak]

63. Convenience?

[senseandsensibility]

3. Wow! Reply one and two are bringing the quotes!

I'll just add that the Dems need to go on offense with extremely simple blunt language. The good news? They don't have to lie like he does.

[lame54]

4. They had more megaphones

[zorbasd]

14. Oh yeah, they certainly do have the RW propaganda

echo chamber that even sets the narrative for the MSM, and they know it.

[quakerboy]

25. Theres not really much of a difference

Find me a major news outlet that isnt owned by someone with right wing ties.

I did note that in the lead-up to this election, even MSNBC spent as much time whinging about the price of eggs as they did talking about the threat that trump was to democracy.

[JHB]

29. They spend 40 years investing in megaphones...

...as opposed ti putting out press releases and apparently expecting the mainstream media to take it up, bang a gong, and do all the work. And then be surprised when that didn't happen.

[JMCKUSICK]

5. The bad news?

Everybody knows he lies, and I mean everyone. And it doesn't matter. That's the bad news. How do we overcome that?

[Polybius]

8. Well, he's not running again

Vance doesn't have the same crowd attraction.

[LatteLady]

12. He has no intention of ever leaving office.

If he cannot get the courts to say he can run again, will institute martial law and suspend elections.

[RJ-MacReady]

16. I will worry about that

In 2028 and 2029.

[CaptainTruth]

26. F his intentions.

A large number of very angry people can accomplish a lot of things.

[yardwork]

67. I don't think that will work.

I'm feeling some optimism.

[NoMoreRepugs]

6. A Dem rapid response team refuting the constant lies with truth and facts might be a start?

[tonekat]

52. May need to buy ads

Goodness knows the Network News will not care.

[Scrivener7]

9. Also, we didn't realize that plenty of Democrats are racist and sexist too.

And those stayed home.

[Funtatlaguy]

61. Thank you for this.

It’s something that I don’t like to admit.
But there are some democrats who are just a “little racist” and a “little sexist”.
Enough so that they didn’t want a black female President despite hating Trump.

[enigmania]

64. Misogyny and racism

seem to be baked in to our culture. It's sickening.

[soldierant]

85. Moore misogyny than racism

else we would not have had is first term, let alone this one.

[FakeNoose]

71. Sadly you are correct

I've actually mentioned this a few times in my own post-election posts, but I got some pushback on it. Now it seems that more DUers are able to face it ... we're not as "woke" as we think we are.

Some of us anyway.

[Tarzanrock]

10. The more accurate Biblical reference is ...

Matthew, chapter 27, verses 15-26 where Pilate asks the crowd to choose between releasing Jesus or Barabbas.
.

[Iamscrewed]

11. Misinformation

I'm constantly amazed at how many people believe outright lies when the truth is infront of them.

[Karasu]

13. We've been living in a "post-factual" world ever since his first term. That is the face of modern conservatism.

[Wiz Imp]

23. It's been a lot longer than that.

Witness Bush's Presidency which lied us into 2 wars. People also forget that so-called "reasonable Republican" Mitt Romney's entire Presidential campaign was filled with constant lies.

https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2012/08/mitt-romney-sure-does-lie-lot-doesnt-he/

Mitt Romney Sure Does Lie a Lot, Doesn’t He?

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/chronicling-mitts-mendacity-vol-xl-msna200771

Chronicling Mitt's Mendacity, Vol. XL

A joke made the rounds this week, which resonated with me. It goes like this: a man dies, goes to heaven, stands before St. Peter, and see a huge wall of clocks. The man asks what all the clocks are for and St. Peter explains, "These are lie clocks. Everyone on earth has a lie clock. Every time a person lies, the clock hands move."

Pointing to one, the man says, "Whose clock is that?"

"That's Mother Teresa's," St. Peter answers. "The hands have never moved, indicating she never told a lie."

"Incredible," the man responds. "And whose clock is that?"

St. Peter responds, "That's Abraham Lincoln's. The hands moved twice telling us he told two lies in his entire life."

"Where is Mitt Romney's clock?" the man asks.

"Romney's clock is in Jesus' office," St. Peter says. "He's using it as a ceiling fan."

It's obviously just a joke, but it reinforces an increasingly common observation about Romney's casual relationship with the truth. Consider, for example, the 40th installment of my weekly series, chronicling Mitt's mendacity.

[Mtnmama]

17. A lot of people simply believe

What they want to believe. And I think the majority of trump voters wanted to believe the lies.

[LQ_Dem]

81. Not so much believe

Repubs just roll with Ttrump's lies. No R thought he would end the Israel/Gaza conflict on day one. They just accepted the lie and then voted for him. I don't think Rs have any beliefs anymore--free trade, rule of law, balanced budget, etc.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

79. I think the better term is *disinformation.*

While misinformation can be accidental, disinformation is on purpose. MAGA lies are intentionally concocted & disseminated.

[BidenRocks]

15. Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics

Every damn day!

[Bernardo de La Paz]

18. We lost because they appealed to emotions and we did not. . . . . nt

[Skittles]

20. it is easier to appeal to fear and ignorance

than to hope and courage

[Bluetus]

37. There are positive emotions and negative emotions

Trump has no positive emotions, but directing hate towards scapegoats is a Trump specialty.

One can win by charging up positive emotions, but appealing to kindness, aspirations and opportunity is not as powerful as appealing to greed and fear.

But Dems don't do either very effectively. If you want to engage the emotions, you must have some bold ideas, and then sell them to the point that the voter connects with those ideas. The Apollo program was an example of a very bold idea. It began with a negative: Sputnik. But soon it became an American passion to lead the world in space exploration.

No Dem Presidential candidate has presented any bold ideas in over 40 years. These days, our only arguments are to no be as bad as Trump. That's something, but not an electoral winner, evidently.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

40. You get it. Your post is full of good points.

Though I disagree about no bold ideas.

Democrats have to get good again at push both positive and negative emotions. Obama did it, especially in 2008.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

39. Yes, but the thing to do is to do both. That's what Obama did

He appealed to hope and courage: I have a "Yes we can!" button. He was exceptionally good on positive emotions and current Democrats should study that.

But he also spoke to fears: "Obama's campaign sought to characterize Romney as a plutocratic businessman who was out of touch with the average American.[4][5]" There were a lot of reference to the "binders of women" and "the 47%" remark Romney made.

It's dim in my memory after 13 years, but the point is it can be done.

With maga, you have to appeal to emotions. Telling them that the plane violates the Emoluments clause in the Constitution makes their eyes glaze over and/or they are armed with talking points about that. But if you say something like "Hey, tRump got his christmas present early. How about dolls and toys for your kids?" it has more impact.

There are many ways to turn dry fact based stuff into emotional freight trains. It takes skill and focus, but most of all it takes the realization the voters basically operate on emotions and especially maga who draw greater proportions from the below average intelligence ranks. We joke and sneer about that all the time, but we really should operate on it.

[Skittles]

44. a lot easier done with a fair media

that was gotten WAY worse since Obama

[Bernardo de La Paz]

50. I'm trying to come up with things to do, ways to go forward. I get a lot of negativity in response

Sigh.

[B.See]

19. Or maybe it has something to do with

that Matrix... stuff. You know, where Agent Smith tells Morpheus how the first Matrix was founded upon a perfect world concept that humans rejected. That perhaps the (more) "perfect" society envisioned by Democrats gets rejected because many define reality by misery and suffering, or more accurately, the misery and suffering of somebody ELSE. Or maybe I'm just sardonically pulling a leg or two. Or maybe not?

[Martin Eden]

21. Great quotes in this thread!

And so true.

[MaineBlueBear]

22. He said he would reopen the mines

She said that they need to be be retrained for the new economy.

They wanted to believe the lies.

[DownriverDem]

24. Partly true

Last edited Tue May 20, 2025, 08:31 AM - Edit history (1)

Don't forget the RW has a massive media machine with talk radio and Fox News going back decades. When we got Air America with great radio hosts, the rich repubs bought up all the stations and changed the formats. Even though we had great candidates with Hillary and Kamala, the country just wasn't ready for a woman. I'm in Michigan and we had both Kamala and Walz here often. Our TVs had many many ads for the Dem candidates. A lot of folks did not vote in 2024. Was it because of not wanting to vote for a woman? Let's hope they see how bad not voting can be. The 2026 Midterms must be our focus.

[Doodley]

27. We lost because Trump has never been held to account for his lies.

[Cha]

28. Yeah, they have so much of the Fascsit enabling media..

and the Cult Sacred Cow Spreading LIES Across our Land.

Fucking Fascist Billionaires.. Mump, Bezos., Zuckerfuck.

[BaronChocula]

30. I get the the value of the tweet for its rhetorical flair

But I want to make sure that Vice President Harris gets her due as a clear communicator in the election. She tore the rapist to pieces in the debate and excited record crowds.

I'm just a little sensitive seeing how so many of us who were confident going into Election Day and then turned to blame the Party when the victory didn't happen. I am solidly convinced that the loss was due to attitudes and bias (race + gender) and not because of failures in the campaign. The Harris/Walz campaign was focused and on message. They were running against a veritable perennial trainwreck of a campaign (2016, 2020, 2024). The question should NOT be "what are Democrats doing wrong" but "how do we overcome crippling bias in the U.S.?"

[Getting down off soapbox]

[Eko]

33. I'm with you.

I think we told the truth plenty but that they just told sooooo many lies. And humans seem to believe lies very easily when it validates their bias.

[B.See]

47. precisely

#stopblaimingdemocrats

[betsuni]

42. So many "what are Democrats doing wrong" and none of the answers make any sense to me.

After the election suddenly the same thing: flawed campaign, flawed candidate, overconfident/complacent, people wanted change, no economic message, didn't connect with voters, etc. Generic criticisms.

Democrats aren't doing anything wrong.

[BaronChocula]

46. The only question is

Why Democrats can keep error to a minimum and lose while republicans can leave rally-goers stranded in desert heat, endanger residents living in the heart of their support base, lie about basic economics, pick a wildly disliked #2 for the ticket, stand against female reproductive rights, announce they're firing their own gov't employees, etc and still win.

It's not Vice President Harris' fault that people are defaulting to an alternate reality.

[betsuni]

60. Yes, that's the question. Without knowing anything about that world, I don't know

what's in that world's alternate reality. Blaming Democrats is stupid coming from any world.

[Ol Janx Spirit]

83. It's incredibly hard to understand--until you look at it through the lens of religion....

For the entirety of human existence--across all cultures and eras--there has been a tension between reality and religion. And I do not mean that in a bad way. Religion has obviously served a vital role in the organization and development of culture throughout human history. But from a modern perspective we know religion got many facts wrong about how the world actually works. Despite that fact, religion is still a major factor in today's society--even among scientists who are tasked with accepting outcomes of observations free of bias.

What Trump has cobbled together politically feels much more like a religion than a political movement. It has nothing to do with reality. It demands people believe in IT over anything else--and many do. This gravity brings in many others who look at the stark message of reality that Democrats try to sell and feel like it is far easier to buy into the idea that all of their problems are caused by the external forces of immigration and DEI than by a much more complicated social contract involving tax policy and the equitable distribution of resources in society.

Yes, I understand this is a ludicrous position we find ourselves in, but I think it is crucial to understand in order to go forward as a society. Religion in its many forms has been a powerful tool in shaping society, and it really feels as if we are up against some new form of religion in the MAGA movement. Combatting it demands developing counterarguments based on this understanding.

[BaronChocula]

86. I'm actually less concerned with the cult

There has always been a base for conservatives. Only now they're completely beyond reason with very few exceptions. And they don't make up the majority of the electorate.

Believe it or not, there are people NOT in the cult of the yam titted monkey who still filled the little circle for him. Believe it or not, there were people who were undecided just prior to Election Day. And yes, many of these people tend to be low-information voters, but what confounds me is how effective those people are at deflecting logic. It's like a superpower.

But we live in a country where erring on the side of a white man over a black woman, regardless of that white man's astounding lack of knowledge and character, is in the cultural DNA. Particularly for Whites and for many naturalized voters. As I heard one Latino activist describe, many immigrants are taught to assimilate to be an American and by American, they mean white. I know first hand of a naturalized voter who in 2016 questioned "a woman in control of the United States???" It depresses me too much to go on.

[Jarqui]

32. The media is supposed to be the great arbiter

They're supposed to help sort out for the public what is fact and what is fiction.

As we're seeing currently, CBS/Paramount deal is more important than that.
The US oligarchs control a large % of the media and social media.

The truth got told well enough.
But this democracy doesn't have the media to adequately report it and call out the lies.

[Kaleva]

34. The media is a for profit business

They’ll put out what attracts readers or viewers which in turn increases their profits.

Therefore, it’s up to individuals to separate facts from fiction by use of critical thinking skills

From Google Search AI:

“Key aspects of critical thinking include:
Analysis: Breaking down information into its component parts to understand how they relate to each other.
Evaluation: Assessing the credibility and reliability of information and arguments.
Interpretation: Understanding the meaning of information and drawing inferences based on evidence.
Inference: Making logical deductions based on available information.
Reasoning: Using logical and deductive thinking to form conclusions.
Self-reflection: Being aware of your own biases and assumptions, and considering alternative perspectives. “

[Jarqui]

35. Single mothers, folks working three jobs to get by

folks who can't afford internet, etc

They do not have the time and money for that.

The education system is being further dismantled.
Books are being banned
Nobody is supposed to learn about past racism crimes and critical race theory.

Critical thinking has already been undermined.

If your answer is the answer, kiss the democracy goodbye.
It is over.
Big money financing lying prevails.

[Skittles]

45. damn straight

and I am tired of people acting like Dems aren't "messaging" well - it doesn't matter WHAT they say if it's either not presented by the media, or it presented negatively

[SomedayKindaLove]

36. We lost because

They scared more voters than we did. A month of “They’re weird” didn’t scare as many people as years of FOX pushing “illegal immigants are killing everyone” did.

That and this country is horribly racist and possibly even more sexist.

[pansypoo53219]

38. i blame the teevee gnewz + amerikan stupids/amnesia. and the economy. well, inflation.

[flvegan]

41. Nope. 77 million people were too stupid to think any better, and

85 million were too stupid to bother to vote at all.

[B.See]

49. Yes. But what gets me the most

were the so-called undecideds, the protest voters, and the ones who flipped from Biden to Trump.

Think about it. One had to go through all the motions, whether as simple as signing then mailing an absentee ballot, or dressing up, going out, and standing in what may have been long lines, for hours... to flip from Biden to TRUMP?

The guy who refuted the legitimacy of your vote, and who tried to overturn it?????

And for what earthy reason, knowing all he'd done, all he's said and all he's failed to do, and the worse yet to come, that he promised up front?

By what twisted mindset could a former Biden voter ever think what Trump & MAGA were offering, be any better? Unless you WANTED chaos.

So yeah... Those are the ones I'll never forgive... nor forget.

[Initech]

48. We lost because they ran a famous candidate who's nothing more than a figure head.

For people who are really abusing their power - Fox, Heritage, Federalist, and so on. The only reason that Trump won is because he's a famous name. If the GOP doesn't have that, they'll lose.

[thought crime]

51. The MAGA party has many voters whose belief systems are based on faith and emotion.

Fascism relies on the politics of emotion (mostly hate). The propaganda machine, cultural myths, conspiracy theories, and embrace of toxic alpha male hierarchy provide support for this fascist movement.

[DJ Synikus Makisimus]

53. Trump lied in 2020, too, and he lost. That's not the all of it.

For running a campaign that managed to alienate voters into becoming non-voters, the Harris campaign may take the blue ribbon for the 21st century. They lost over 6 million votes compared to Biden's 2020 effort. Had they kept them, Harris would be President; because Trump only picked up about 2 million from 2020. You may wish to dig deeper.

I realize most folks commenting aren't ready for that analysis yet, so I won't go there. There were LOTS of reasons.

[betsuni]

56. The Harris campaign did not do anything to "alienate voters into becoming non-voters."

[GJGCA]

69. Not a thing ..

...comes to mind...?

[betsuni]

70. Why would Democratic voters be "alienated" by a Democratic candidate like Harris?

[GJGCA]

73. Probably or almost certainly...

...they wouldn't, but then the generic "voter" is not necessarily a Democratic voter, yes?

[betsuni]

54. No! They're terrible liars. Obvious, over-acting, change the lie in the middle of the sentence, they don't even try.

And the idea that Republicans are good at messaging. Absurd.

"During every appearance Kevin McCarthy looks like he just woke up from a nap and can't figure out where he is or what he is doing. Mitch McConnell, one of the worst communicators in modern political history, sounds like he is reading 'The Almanac of American Politics' with a mouthful of marbles. And no one exemplifies the adage of 'less is more' than Ted Cruz, an amalgamation of the five most annoying people you went to high school with. ... Turn on Fox News, and you'll find a parade of awkward, angry white men doing bad impressions of Donald Trump. Even Trump, the supposed master media manipulator, has the discipline and strategic thinking of a coked-up Tasmanian devil.

"The Lincoln Project was touted as tougher, faster, and smarter than those mealy-mouthed Democratic ad makers whom Democrats love to hate. ... During the 2020 campaign, questions about the effectiveness of the Lincoln Project were dismissed by many as ad envy. However, once the campaign was over, a Democratic group released a study that showed the ads from the Lincoln Project were largely ineffective."

Dan Pfeiffer, "Battling the Big Lie"

[love_katz]

55. Trump voter are blind bigots and a lost cause.

The people who swung the election are the people who copped out by not bothering to vote or who got scammed into "protest " voting.
I think the Gaza shouters got played, possibly by social media propaganda originating from Turkey. It's interesting how they never showed up to protest at any of the Orange Oinker's rallies. It just seems kinda suspicious that they only protested at Kamala's rallies.
And, as another poster pointed out upthread: how do we overcome misogyny and racism?
Twice we ran highly qualified women against $hit-for-brains Traitor and Greed Face, and the Traitor-in-Thief got chosen both times.
Women are not unqualified or incapable of handling the office, and Dems didn't do anything wrong. The responsibility for the current shit show is on the non-voters and the people who thought that the Crime Minister would somehow be on their side about Gaza, and male people of all stripes who think they are better off under patriarchy.
Until these people learn that we all do better when we all do better, and that the PTB have no intention of letting them into their privileged little club, we will probably continue to have problems GOTV.
We need a bigger megaphone, because a huge point that we need to get across is that the broligarchs are united in robbing the rest of us of every single cent and that the Republican party wrecks the economy and has been doing that all the way back to Nixon.

[no_hypocrisy]

57. We served spinach and they served chocolate cream pie.

[anamnua]

58. Another relevant quote -- from Churchill during WW2

'We have all the disadvantages of being the gentleman. The enemy has all the advantages of being the cad.'
I'm afraid this is closer to the stark reality on the ground than Michelle Obama's 'when they go low we go high'.
The blunt truth is that if we want to win we will have to get down and dirty.

[Emile]

59. There is no way they won every battleground ground state. Anybody

who orchestrated an insurrection four years earlier is capable of cheating.

[Lokee11]

62. Here is a Quote -

“Those who vote decide nothing. Those who count the vote decide everything.”

― Joseph Stalin

✊FDT!

[DickKessler]

65. We lost because the Biden administration was unpopular and because of high inflation.

nt

[FakeNoose]

72. The US news media told us that the Biden administration was "unpopular"

... and I guess some of us really believed it. Big mistake.

[Martin68]

66. That's right.

[elocs]

68. We lost because too many Democrats & those on the Left who voted for Biden

skipped voting for Harris. Complacent or overconfident Democrats or those who couldn't bring themselves to vote for a woman for president.

[LymphocyteLover]

75. a big part of it, but there were so many reasons including $250 million from Elon and possible vote tampering

[southmost]

74. and mainstream is sold out

to distribute the lies

[LymphocyteLover]

76. cute line but it's WAY over-simplified

[JustAnotherGen]

77. Fear and Selfishness

That's what wins in America.

Morality, kindness, equality - means nothing to the selfish swing voters.

Inspire fear in them and find ways to tap into their selfishness. . . Works well on a lot of Indies.

[C Moon]

80. It was because they were eating the dogs, they were eating the cats...

I just can't believe that alone didn't bring him down.

[Oopsie Daisy]

82. No it's not.

Stop it. The Democratic party cannot be blamed for the gullibility and ignorance of voters.

[oasis]

84. +1

[betsuni]

87. +2