@Olivier5,
The left wing universe is, of course, trying to ascertain what happened last election (not to mention what has happened in state houses). And there's a real immediacy in this task because of the consequences for governance, democracy and citizen well-being at both levels. Lots of smart people (and lots of money) have been working on this problem. But the problems are exceedingly complex and there's no magic silver bullet. The present power of the right in the US has arrived slowly over a period of a half century when organizations and institutions have been built up (with enormous funding) to reach this point. And those same strategies are being used now to further establish permanent political power and dominance. But let me focus on just one bit...
Quote:“When you look at long-term successful political parties and movements, there is a message that is powerful and inspirational for people you are trying to reach,” said Tom Steyer, the California billionaire and Democratic activist. “If you look at the last few years in the Democratic Party, one of the questions legitimately is, ‘Is there a cohesive vision of what we are trying to accomplish?’” [...]
Sure. Obama obviously inspired huge numbers of Americans. So did Bill Clinton. A new candidate with similar talents and charisma could do the same. But upon that candidate's arrival, the enormous resources of the modern right will be put towards removing him/her from influence and effectivenss in following through on proposed policies (which is why dreams of what Sanders might have achieved are almost entirely delusional).
And we know from experience and from cognitive science research that humans very easily fall prey to negative stories and to some of their own worst impulses. It's true that good policies can be powerful. It's true that coherent messaging also can be powerful. But just look what happened with the ACA. Look at what happened with the Occupy movement. Sure, the Dems have to get better at this stuff - particularly now - but let's not continue to imagine that, in appealing to large groups of humans, we are dealing with rational processes here.
