# How Fucked is the Dem Party? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 29, 2013, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fucked-is-the-dem-party/672576 "2013-10-29T18:35:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fucked-is-the-dem-party/672576/41 "2013-10-29T22:14:23Z")
[Way, way less fucked than the Republicans.](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2013/10/29/the-implosion-of-the-gop-brand-in-one-more-chart/) ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fucked-is-the-dem-party/672576/42 "2013-10-29T22:18:36Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > What, you think the TP will split from the GOP and go third-party, or Ralph Nader will remind us he yet lives, or what? Yes, I think it’s entirely possible there will be a Tea Party candidate. That’s not to say there will be one, but given the financing someone may do that. It wouldn’t necessarily split the party outside of the presidential candidacy, but it could make a rational Republican look more desireable. The risk for the Democrats right now is losing the advantage they’ve gained after the government shutdown. If they start a pattern of bungling themselves then the independents looking for change may turn to an inoffensive Republican. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fucked-is-the-dem-party/672576/43 "2013-10-29T22:26:56Z")
> [@leahcim](#): > > Well there are a lot people in the Democratic party, and chances are a large percentage of those people get it on from time to time, so as a whole, the party is probably pretty fucked. More than the Republicans probably; I understand that prostitutes do much bigger business when a Republican convention shows up than when a Democratic one does. As in “The Republicans are gonna have a convention here! We need to bus in more hookers!” Apparently Democrats have actual _relationships._ So yeah; the Democrats are indeed fucked. Regularly. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omg_a_Black_Conservative)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fucked-is-the-dem-party/672576/44 "2013-10-29T23:21:30Z")
> [@Richard\_Parker](#): > > No, I was gently poking fun at the notion that anyone has seriously projected that 40 - 67% of the currently privately insured will have their policies cancelled. I suspect you’re missing a word in that sentence or mis-remembering a statistic. [Investigations: U.S. & World News Investigations | NBC News](http://investigations.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/10/28/21213547-obama-admin-knew-millions-could-not-keep-their-health-insurance?lite) > [@](#): > > President Obama repeatedly assured Americans that after the Affordable Care Act became law, people who liked their health insurance would be able to keep it. But millions of Americans are getting or are about to get cancellation letters for their health insurance under Obamacare, say experts, and the Obama administration has known that for at least three years. > > Four sources deeply involved in the Affordable Care Act tell NBC NEWS that 50 to 75 percent of the 14 million consumers who buy their insurance individually can expect to receive a “cancellation” letter or the equivalent over the next year because their existing policies don’t meet the standards mandated by the new health care law. One expert predicts that number could reach as high as 80 percent. And all say that many of those forced to buy pricier new policies will experience “sticker shock.” > > None of this should come as a shock to the Obama administration. The law states that policies in effect as of March 23, 2010 will be “grandfathered,” meaning consumers can keep those policies even though they don’t meet requirements of the new health care law. But the Department of Health and Human Services then wrote regulations that narrowed that provision, by saying that if any part of a policy was significantly changed since that date – the deductible, co-pay, or benefits, for example – the policy would not be grandfathered. > > Buried in Obamacare regulations from July 2010 is an estimate that because of normal turnover in the individual insurance market, “40 to 67 percent” of customers will not be able to keep their policy. And because many policies will have been changed since the key date, “the percentage of individual market policies losing grandfather status in a given year exceeds the 40 to 67 percent range.” > > That means the administration knew that more than 40 to 67 percent of those in the individual market would not be able to keep their plans, even if they liked them. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fucked-is-the-dem-party/672576/45 "2013-10-29T23:25:13Z")
Do you see your error now? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fucked-is-the-dem-party/672576/46 "2013-10-29T23:55:31Z")
Here’s the deal. If conservatives (or liberals) want to get an accurate assessment of the political situation in the country, they have to step outside of their comfort zone. The modern media makes it too easy to live in a bubble. You can surround yourself with people who agree with your political views. And existing full time in such a surrounding gives you the illusion that your political views are universal. You’re not going to get the complete picture on websites like American Thinker or Daily Kos - they’re aimed at a smaller audience. So you need to decide: do you want to be comfortable or do you want to hear what’s true, even if it may be uncomfortable? Comfortable’s nice but only up until the moment when the bubble pops and you realize how much was going on that you weren’t paying attention to. ---
**Author:** ![IceQube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@IceQube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IceQube)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fucked-is-the-dem-party/672576/47 "2013-10-29T23:59:53Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > More than the Republicans probably; I understand that prostitutes do much bigger business when a Republican convention shows up than when a Democratic one does. As in “The Republicans are gonna have a convention here! We need to bus in more hookers!” Apparently Democrats have actual _relationships._ > > So yeah; the Democrats are indeed fucked. Regularly. 😉 Cite. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2013, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fucked-is-the-dem-party/672576/48 "2013-10-30T01:20:36Z")
> [@IceQube](#): > > Cite. No, pics. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2013, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fucked-is-the-dem-party/672576/49 "2013-10-30T02:07:42Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > The modern media makes it too easy to live in a bubble. You can surround yourself with people who agree with your political views. And existing full time in such a surrounding gives you the illusion that your political views are universal. > > You’re not going to get the complete picture on websites like American Thinker or Daily Kos …or the Straight Dope Elections forum. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2013, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fucked-is-the-dem-party/672576/50 "2013-10-30T02:28:47Z")
Of course Obamacare is going to fail, because: - Universal Health Care has never worked anywhere else in the World 😕 - both Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachmann oppose it :eek: - the Tea Party are always right :smack: ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2013, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fucked-is-the-dem-party/672576/51 "2013-10-30T02:35:04Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Yes, I think it’s entirely possible there will be a Tea Party candidate. That’s not to say there will be one, but given the financing someone may do that. It wouldn’t necessarily split the party outside of the presidential candidacy, but it could make a rational Republican look more desireable. Not enough so to overcome the opposition-splitting problem, I should think. If Romney’s 2012 vote-share, even if augmented by 5% or even 10%, is divided between Joe Teaper and Fred Goper, Hillary Demer takes it in a walk. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2013, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fucked-is-the-dem-party/672576/52 "2013-10-30T02:36:58Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > …or the Straight Dope Elections forum. There’s definitely a liberal bias on this board. But I don’t think too many liberals here got caught by surprise by the outcome of the 2012 election. That’s the kind of bubble-popping reality check I mentioned. It happened to conservatives in 2008 and 2012 and if they don’t start looking at reality it could happen to them again in 2014 and 2016. Conservatives need to stop preaching to the choir and start reaching out to voters who haven’t been voting Republican in the last few elections. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2013, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fucked-is-the-dem-party/672576/53 "2013-10-30T02:46:12Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Not enough so to overcome the opposition-splitting problem, I should think. If Romney’s 2012 vote-share, even if augmented by 5% or even 10%, is divided between Joe Teaper and Fred Goper, Hillary Demer takes it in a walk. Romney is a bad choice for comparison, Christie is making himself more appealing and so far isn’t kowtowing to the Tea Party. But the Democrats haven’t really screwed themselves either, at least not yet. But if they do flip the house they’ll have two years to mess things up. All of this would be based on events that haven’t happened yet, that damn future is so unpredictable, it really gets in the way of good planning. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2013, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fucked-is-the-dem-party/672576/54 "2013-10-30T02:58:11Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > … Conservatives need to stop preaching to the choir and start reaching out to voters… Shhh! Don’t _tell_ them! ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2013, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fucked-is-the-dem-party/672576/55 "2013-10-30T03:17:37Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > There’s definitely a liberal bias on this board. But I don’t think too many liberals here got caught by surprise by the outcome of the 2012 election. That’s the kind of bubble-popping reality check I mentioned. Or the 2010 election for that matter. Although I could be wrong and many liberal dopers thought there was no way that Congress would shift in 2010, I myself knew that the House would flip. But most of my conservative co-workers were so insulated in the bubble that they thought the Senate was a sure flip, too, which just wasn’t going to happen (the 2014 election is another story, even though it does seem that the GOP is doing its best to ruin their chances at flipping the Senate.) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2013, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fucked-is-the-dem-party/672576/56 "2013-10-30T03:21:40Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Conservatives need to stop preaching to the choir and start reaching out to voters who haven’t been voting Republican in the last few elections. But, something embarrassing always seems to happen when they try that. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2013, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fucked-is-the-dem-party/672576/57 "2013-10-30T04:25:19Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > They’re trying to bottom out with stupidity. Only problem is, they keep taking turns with the shovel. We haven’t gotten down to your level yet. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2013, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fucked-is-the-dem-party/672576/58 "2013-10-30T04:44:15Z")
Oooh. Burn. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2013, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fucked-is-the-dem-party/672576/59 "2013-10-30T04:50:57Z")
> [@rowrrbazzle](#): > > We haven’t gotten down to your level yet. Democrats can defend their strategy by the fact that it’s working. They don’t need to fix it. But Republicans have been losing most elections. They need to acknowledge they need to change something. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2013, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fucked-is-the-dem-party/672576/60 "2013-10-30T13:55:40Z")
> [@Richard\_Parker](#): > > Ron Fournier. LOL. Yeah, I think it was the “well-respected by liberals” line that made me choke on the water I was drinking… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fucked-is-the-dem-party/672576.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fucked-is-the-dem-party/672576.md?page=4)