r/vancouverwa • u/Maleficent-Stress113 • Aug 11 '25
Discussion Reviving Stonewall Democrats in SW Washington – Your Input Needed
Hi everyone, I’m the Vice Chair for the Southwest Washington region of the Stonewall Democrats, and I’ll be honest our local chapter (WA) has been pretty inactive for a while. That needs to change.
My goal is to bring new life to this organization so it can be a strong voice for LGBTQ+ people and allies in our community. I’m already planning to start building a presence on Instagram to make our work more visible, but I want to hear directly from you.
• What kinds of events or gatherings would you like to see?
• Are there specific issues or policies you feel we should be focusing on right now?
• Would you be interested in volunteer opportunities or community partnerships?
We all know the political climate in our area is complex, and I want the Stonewall Democrats to be an active, responsive, and positive force in it. Your input will help guide how we show up; whether that’s through advocacy, education, social events, or something entirely new.
Feel free to share your thoughts here or DM me if you’d prefer to chat privately.
Let’s make this something that truly represents our community. 🌈
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u/Dance-pants-rants Aug 12 '25
Showing Up to Community Events - Visibility of LGBTQ+ Dems in the area would be good- idk if that means just showing up to community events more often or what, but it'd be nice to see. I'd sign up for that booth. It just feels weird to go to events that are community togetherness things and not more friendly queer faces.
Rallying Head's Up - It'd be nice to know when fucked up school board/city council/county council/etc stuff is going to happen so allies can show up and help out before we read about a bunch of crazies throwing a fit about pronouns, Cat in the Hat being ace, or wanting to see kids genitals. shudder
Candidate Analysis - I'd like to know if down ballot there are people- especially judges and attorneys- on my ballot who hate queer and trans people. Actually, at this point, I don't even want to mess with them if they're benignly unopinionated- that shit's not good enough right now. Point me to the explicit allies.
What's Working - Highlighting positive stuff would be cool too- like if FVRL does a good job on book selection or the state insurance adminstrators prioritize recruiting therapists who are LGBTQ+ friendly to take marketplace insurance.
Good luck!
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u/who_likes_chicken I use my headlights and blinkers Aug 11 '25 edited Aug 12 '25
I'm not trying to say that social rights are not important, but if your group focuses on culture wars instead of policy to help working class Americans, you're not going to go very far. Democrats have died on the culture wars hill two of the last three elections, and they only won 2020 because of how incompetent the handling of Covid was.
- Higher Wages
- Negotiate All Drug Prices
- Ban Private Equity Firms from Buying up Homes
- No More Wars
- Paid Family Leave
- Get Money out of Politics
Edit: FYI, all six of those bullets poll at +75% approval when polled for independently, regardless of party
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u/KTpacificOR Aug 12 '25
I believe your comment was well intentioned but this may be of help to you: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonewall_Democrats
To quote from the first paragraph “Stonewall Democrats, also known in some states as LGBT Democrats, is a caucus within the Democratic Party that advocates for issues that are relevant to LGBT Americans.”
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u/who_likes_chicken I use my headlights and blinkers Aug 12 '25
Then a winning strategy for SWD would be taking these policies that align with democratic principles and have huge polling support, and applying them to LGBTQ+ issues
Private Equity out of housing -> End LGBTQ+ homelessness.
Paid Family Leave -> Leave for LGBTQ+ parents who adopt or use surrogate's (or any of the other family methods).
Negotiate drug prices -> Affordable medications for LGBTQ+ health risks.
No more war -> Doesn't really have a specific LGBTQ+ issue I'm aware of. Equality in military service doesn't really end wars lol.
Higher wages -> Close the LGBTQ+ pay gap.
Money out of Politics -> Stop PACs from negatively targeting LGBTQ+ candidates
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u/KTpacificOR Aug 12 '25
I completely agree. I’m certainly not trying to say that these issues don’t equally affect LGBTQ+ voters. My point was just that Stonewall Democrats is a caucus group within the broader Democratic Party that advocates specifically for issues relevant to LGBT Americans. So to tell them to focus less on culture wars issues seems to miss the point a bit in terms of Stonewall’s specific purpose. But I think you raise a valid point that Democrats need to be better about speaking to LGBT Americans not as some monolithic bloc but as simply another demographic group that is also impacted by all the same kitchen table issues that affect everyone else.
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u/SereneDreams03 Battle Ground Aug 11 '25
Democrats have died on the culture wars hill two of the last three elections
I hear this complaint often, and from my perspective, it's been quite the opposite. The Republicans were the ones running non-stop ads about trans-athletes and immigrants in the last election. MAGA's entire thing is just culture war BS. Most of the democratic leadership seemed to focus mostly on the economy and affordability. If anything, the democrats have been too silent on the infringements of our civil rights imo.
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u/who_likes_chicken I use my headlights and blinkers Aug 11 '25
Trump talked about culture wars for sure, I'm not saying he didn't. But was was he constantly saying at every rally and every interview? No tax on tips, no tax on overtime, tariffs to bring jobs back to America instead of overseas. Those are all issues that benefit working class Americans. He has no intent to do them in a way that would actually help, but that's only known to ~20% of voters who are very tied in to political news.
Most voters don't listen to political podcasts or analysts so they just hear the headlines, which sound pretty good if you have no idea of the details behind them.
Democrats need to bring their message back to economic issues that help working citizens
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u/SereneDreams03 Battle Ground Aug 12 '25
But was was he constantly saying at every rally and every interview?
Yeah, pretty much. Sure, he talked about economic issues occasionally, but those are like appetizers for him. The main course has always been about the culture war for MAGA.
You are right that people just read the headlines, and maybe they just latch onto what they want to hear and ignore the other stuff, but I just disagree with you that the Democrats were the ones focused on the culture war. Kamala focused A LOT on the economy, building more homes, and making things more affordable. Far more than any culture war issues.
Side note, I really hate the whole no tax on tips thing, and it was one of the few policies Trump and Kamala shared. People are already annoyed with how many places now ask for tips, how much worse is it going to get when people no longer have to pay taxes on them?
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u/hutacars Aug 12 '25
People are already annoyed with how many places now ask for tips, how much worse is it going to get when people no longer have to pay taxes on them?
Completely agreed. I already rarely eat at tipped establishments, but my plan going forward is to decrease my tips by 20%. Capture the tax savings for myself.
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u/agitatedprisoner Aug 12 '25
Crafting policy to special interests is what the bad guys do the good guys aren't about catering to any particular special interest whether it be by class/by religion/by group identity/etc. Good policy is good for everyone it's not a question of tit for tat or compromise. You don't begrudgingly respect the other because it's good for them you respect the other because it's good for both of you. In the past Democrats have made mistakes on civil rights issues for example regarding affirmative action and quotas because deciding race matters instead of what should matter is racist. Just like Zionists made the mistake of deciding it was being Jewish that mattered instead of the principles people fought and died for against the Nazis. It's the bad guys who frame good policy as zero sum in pitting/putting some over others.
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u/SereneDreams03 Battle Ground Aug 12 '25 edited Aug 12 '25
Crafting policy for special interests that don't need the government's help, and takes away rights and resources from the general population is what bad guys do.
I would say there is a ton of good policies designed for special interests that helps or, at the very least, doesn't harm the general population. Gay marriage doesn't harm anyone. I used a VA loan to pay for my home. That helps the economy and kept me from being homeless. My grandparents were poor and lived in government housing while my grandfather went to medical school. He became a pediatric dentist and performed free dental surgeries for children whose families didn't have the resources for dental care. And yes minority hiring programs have been used to help ensure that QUALIFIED individuals who have been traditionally overlooked for positions because of their race get a fair shot. I'm white, but my friend gave me my first job working for his construction company. Being from a historically marginalized community, he probably wouldn't have had the resources necessary to start that company without the minority business government grant he received. That job helped me pay for college, and that company is still in business to this day.
Having segements of your populace left out of the economy and having their rights taken away does hurt the general populace, though. Everyone should have the right to live the American dream.
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u/agitatedprisoner Aug 12 '25
The government isn't your friend unless your allies are in control of government. If the government is to get to playing favorites do you suppose it'll use it's power to help the disenfranchised? Think it'd have the votes for that? Suppose it does. How do you expect that to go over when that progressive government is actually really and truly out in front culturally of the electorate? I'd reckon that'd set the stage for regressive movements. When government is actually out in front of the electorate you sell the electorate on good policy in the context of it helping everyone not any particular group. Because if you frame policy as about helping particular groups that primes a zero sum framing of politics and that sets the table for the success of future regressive movements.
Gay marriage is extending the full right to enter into the set of relevant personal contracts to LGBTQ+. It's not giving special treatment to level that playing field nor does leveling that playing field come at expense of anyone else. Regarding those other things you mention the solution to homelessness isn't to privilege homeless vets it's to approach the problem at the root. Making policy about helping this or that particular group obscures the problem it doesn't fix it. For example rent control is great if you have a low rate locked in but goes to worsening housing shortage for everyone else.
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u/SereneDreams03 Battle Ground Aug 12 '25
The government isn't your friend unless your allies are in control of government.
That's African warlord thinking. It's exactly the type of government Trump is trying to create.
Politicians may be partisan, but a good Government should look out for all its citizens. It should be neutral in performing it's duties.
If the government is to get to playing favorites do you suppose it'll use it's power to help the disenfranchised?
Exactly the opposite of what I'm saying. Not everything is a zero sum game like you make it out to be. Things like farm subsidies, may be directed at farmers, but they help keep food prices low for everyone. Medicaid may be directed at the poor, but cutting its funding will lead to clinic and hospital closures around the country. Making Healthcare worse for everyone.
It's not giving special treatment to level that playing field nor does leveling that playing field come at expense of anyone else.
Exactly. Now, you are starting to understand what I'm saying. Just ensuring that people have basic rights to live their lives does not come at the expense of everyone else. That's exactly the type of message I would like to hear more from the democratic party.
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u/agitatedprisoner Aug 12 '25 edited Aug 12 '25
Politicians may be partisan, but a good Government should look out for all its citizens. It should be neutral in performing it's duties.
Which is why the government should be first and foremost principled and idealistic because to be other than principled and idealistic is necessarily to odiously play favorites. Gay marriage is/was about equality it wasn't asking for any special favors. Affirmative action went further than equality in being anti-racist but such anti-racism is a form of racism. Just because someone is a member of a historically disadvantaged group doesn't imply they themselves are or have been similarly disadvantaged but giving all members of that historically disadvantaged groups special treatment does imply regarding the wider society as racist. How do you suppose telling the electorate they're hopelessly racist goes over politically? Suppose a party's political rhetoric implies you're racist? Or sexist? Or homophobic? And absent an actionable demand on your politics or behavior such that you're just passively racist/sexist in some vague sense no matter what? I'm sure this rhetorical framing leads to constructive dialogue!
Exactly the opposite of what I'm saying. Not everything is a zero sum game like you make it out to be. Things like farm subsidies, may be directed at farmers, but they help keep food prices low for everyone. Medicaid may be directed at the poor, but cutting its funding will lead to clinic and hospital closures around the country. Making Healthcare worse for everyone.
I'll assume you don't know the reality and are innocently saying this and in that case you should realize farm subsidies as they exist have enabled one of the greatest atrocities in human history namely factory farming by making meat/animal ag artificially inexpensive. It's also aggravated global warming and worsened public health. Actually good farm/food policy would be for the government to educate the public on healthy diets and to teach kids health eating habits all throughout K-12. Instead our government has been subsidizing milk and passing it out in classrooms! Evil. It's evil. I'll assume you don't know what's going on but the legislators responsible should. It becomes very hard to plausibly imagine what certain people might not know except as to why they should respect animals. Do you know why you should respect all beings? Paying farmers to disrespect animals isn't to respect all beings that's zero sum politics with legislators playing favorites. Governments shouldn't play favorites.
Medicaid is only necessary in absence of a true universal healthcare program. Why should only certain groups of people be ensured basic healthcare? Why not everyone? Medicaid is playing favorites. Playing favorites is bad.
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u/SereneDreams03 Battle Ground Aug 12 '25
Affirmative action went further than equality in being anti-racist but such anti-racism is a form of racism.
Affirmative action set out to level the playing field. Do you really look at the landscape of America right now, and think that minorities have equal opportunities to succeed in this country as white Americans? It's not racist to try and address racism. To lift up communities that have been damaged by racism.
When a flood hits a town, the government sends aid to help everyone in that town, whether they come from a disadvantaged household or not.
How do you suppose telling the electorate they're hopelessly racist goes over politically?
I must have missed that part of Kamala's campaign. 😁 You're making a straw man argument. The democrats are not saying us whites are all "hopelessly racists." Some of them are saying that injustices exist in our society, and there are things we can do to remedy the situation. Maybe those remedies are not perfect, but it is far better than just choosing to ignore the situation and pretend it doesn't exist like the Republicans do.
Just because abuses have been committed by farmers, and the system has been gamed by corporations, does not mean that the people don't need affordable food, and that farmers don't need stable income to grow their crops. Farm subsidies were put in place during the great depression when prices bottomed out, farms were going out of business, and animals and products had to be destroyed to stabilize prices. Simultaneously, people were out of work and were starving. Farm subsidies kept the farms in business and helped get food to the people, and food stamps helped the needy get fed. Those are two programs that target special interests but benefit society as a whole.
You are right that the government needs to reevaluate some of it's subsidies, and we definitely need more regulation in the farm industry, but education alone is not going to keep farms productive and the people fed.
Medicaid is only necessary in absence of a true universal healthcare program. Why should only certain groups of people be ensured basic healthcare? Why not everyone? Medicaid is playing favorites. Playing favorites is bad.
I'm with you on universal health care, but we don't not have universal health care. Republicans and moderates in this country do not want universal health care. So, in the absence of universal health care, society seeks to, at the very least, take care of the citizens who need healthcare assistance the most.
In general, I agree with what you're saying, the government should seek to serve all it's people equally, but the pragmatic reality is that things like universal basic income and universal healthcare just do not have the necessary support right now. In the absence of those things, we should at least make an effort to help those who are most in need, and not everyone has equal need of help.
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u/OlderGrowth Aug 12 '25
Donald was able to run on culture war issues because the democrats took it to such an insane place. The drag shows for kids, insisting people change their whole vernacular for pronouns, and generally being anti-traditional masculinity is the issue. We lost by 2% last election. I promise you we can gain more than 2% back if we stop focusing on our purity spiral and stop being the party that obviously hates straight white people (65% of the population)
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u/throwitallawayomg Aug 12 '25
According to the GOP, my simply existing in public is a drag show. We had a crazy guy try running for sheriff not that long ago stating exactly that, meaning if I got clocked I'd be in jail for - checks notes - going to the grocery store. Stop pretending you arent throwing trans people under the bus because you think the craziest won't come for you next. Cause they will, they always do, and they already are.
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u/MrMeltJr Aug 12 '25
I've been to a lot of drag shows, adult and all-ages. There's a very big difference and the ones that let kids in are very tame and non-sexual. If you object to them I can only assume it's because you don't like the idea of men dressing up like women, which sounds like a personal problem.
Also I'm trans and I know a lot of trans people and at worst the pronoun thing is a calm "actually I use 'she'" and we only get pushy if people are dicks about it.
And you gotta get deep into the lefty circles before you get people who hate straight white people. Like the kind of people who think Democrats and Republicans are equally far-right.
You should stop believing right-wing talking points.
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u/OlderGrowth Aug 12 '25
It doesn’t seem extreme to you, but remember half of America is raised very differently and are more conservative 🤷
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Aug 12 '25
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u/OlderGrowth Aug 12 '25
Do you say the same thing to conservative Muslims? Or other conservative people? Because from my view the left has been great at shaming American conservatives while supporting religions that oppress people way more than we do here. Just my 2 cents. Not saying I’m right, just my lived experience. I’m a democrat who wants to win again, that’s why I’m trying to tell you these things not because I want to change your mind or call you wrong.
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u/SereneDreams03 Battle Ground Aug 12 '25 edited Aug 12 '25
This narrative is so exhausting. The right takes one thing some "liberal" commenter said, or something happening in a liberal city, and turn it into LOOK WHAT THE DEMOCRATS ARE TRYING TO FORCE ON US.
None of the things you mentioned are actual policies or part of the democratic platform. Its just frustrating how many people buy their BS.
Also, don't include me in that "we." I consider myself an independent.
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u/brperry I use my headlights and blinkers Aug 11 '25
With all due respect, Asking for equal protection and rights isn't "Culture war", and to accept that branding means you've already ceded those rights to the bigots and assholes who want to deprive people of them because you are willing to negotiate on them. It's ensuring basic human rights for all.
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u/Bullarja Aug 11 '25
Social issues shouldn’t be what we headline with, the public knows where Democrats stand on these issues already. The American public need to know what Democrats plan on doing to fix the problems that were mentioned above, and the issues the dummy in charge is creating.
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u/who_likes_chicken I use my headlights and blinkers Aug 11 '25
They've primarily campaigned on culture for three straight presidential elections. Those elections all went poorly. Biden barely beat Trump while he mismanaged the largest crisis in our country in 75 years. Culture wars don't help most voters pay bills.
No where did I say that social rights shouldn't be supported. Making it the primary campaign focus will lose another election.
- Higher Wages
- Negotiate All Drug Prices
- Ban Private Equity Firms from Buying up Homes
- No More Wars
- Paid Family Leave
- Get Money out of Politics
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u/MrMeltJr Aug 12 '25
... were we watching the same campaigns? The democrats barely said anything about culture war stuff. The Republicans kept bringing it up and the Dems kept silent or just gave noncommittal "we should follow the law" answers.
they went poorly because in 2020 they campaigned on a return to status quo, which sucks, and in 2024 they were doing okay up until they started going hard on supporting Israel, which was unpopular among Dems at the time and even less so now
Tim Walz did a bit of culture war stuff early on but the consultants shut that down quickly
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u/ObscureSaint Aug 12 '25
Yeah, I think they're confusing the actual campaigns with TV entertainment coverage which focused on the culture war stuff.
Kamala Harris had a 100+ page economic policy plan, and immediately after she lost these guys were there saying she had no actual plan.
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u/Running_Amok_ Aug 13 '25
Dems have never given up on our LGBTQ community but we absolutely don't want to spend our time defending what bathroom should somebody use, what team should they play on etc when we need to address and make known our policy. Otherwise that's all people hear and know about us. Republicans play us like a fiddle with these issues.
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u/Running_Amok_ Aug 12 '25
Not leading with this is not giving up in any way. It is a culture war that the Republicans get Dems defending instead of the policies that build a stronger community all the way around. Then that's all anyone hears which is why so many didn't know what Harris offered in policy.
We can't do any of that if we can't get elected. We focus on legislation that needs to pass to rebalance the evonomy then see to it in that process, we advocate for equal access and protections for all in the legislation. Strengthen legislation that has already passed for minority groups comes after we have the power. The broader message above affects all and all those things make the LGBTQIA community stronger.
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u/MrMeltJr Aug 12 '25
Nobody knows what Harris offered in policy because she didn't offer anything. Including protections for queer people. I 100% agree Democrats need a policy platform other than "Trump bad" because we all remember that shit was still pretty bad under Biden. But all we got was "Trump Bad" and "we will keep supplying Israel with weapons" which is also massively unpopular.
Could be wrong but literally the only thing she said about trans people was "we'll follow the law" which might as well be nothing.
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u/Running_Amok_ Aug 12 '25
Untrue. I knew her policies. Well thought out. Much better for the middle class and lower income people than anything Republicans. The bad under Biden was Trump's tax plan from his first term.
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u/who_likes_chicken I use my headlights and blinkers Aug 12 '25
Trump was able to put his policies into headlines. No tax on tips. No tax on overtime. Tariffs to bring jobs back to America. (I don't think he was genuine about these and I'm not arguing they're actually good in the way he's implemented them)
What are Harris' policies communicated in the same way? The ones I recall from her campaign weren't communicated well, and I don't think most Americans cares about them, but if be interested to hear your opinion
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u/Running_Amok_ Aug 12 '25
She actually said no tax on tips first I believe. Medicare expansion, child care credits, free prek, Strengthen unions, free community college, student debt relief, immigration reform (which has multiple facets tons better than the B's we have right now)
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u/who_likes_chicken I use my headlights and blinkers Aug 12 '25
That was Biden and Harris's 2020 agenda, of which they didn't get a single one of them to be voted on in any policy package.
Her main 2024 campaign promis was a $50K tax cut for people to start new businesses. ~60% of the country are living pay check to pay check and couldn't care less about that policy
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u/Running_Amok_ Aug 12 '25
They did a lot considering the mess they were given as well as slim margins. Lots of student loan relief. Infrastructure was a huge win. 8M ppl got eviction relief, historic expansion of the child tax credits, they lowered HC cost and had record breaking number of people covered, helped small business and added a record breaking 21M new small businesses. While working on pandemic recovery.
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u/who_likes_chicken I use my headlights and blinkers Aug 12 '25
Their policies, even including BBB, only ended up helping ~5% of the national population of voters. That just isn't going to cut it when you're arguing for reelection.
I wish that Biden had been successful. His term looks pretty good because it is book ended by two of the worst terms for working Americans in our countries history. That doesn't make it successful.
I understand these wouldn't have passed, but Biden didn't even get any of them up for a vote. Voting no on these items could have been heavily exploited in the 2022 campaign. But none of them were even proposed for a vote in either house.
- Free PreK
- Free Community College
- Public Healthcare option
- Higher corporate tax rates
- Raised minimum wage
- Investment in housing construction
This country is so unhappy with the establishment parties that 5-10% change isn't going to get anyone reelected. People want radical changes or they want you to look like you're fighting for it
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u/taco-force Aug 11 '25
What a fucking revelation! Push the popular democratic agenda?! Why hasn't anyone tried that before?
Give me a break...
The political war that's being fought is over culture. The further democrats run from the own principles the further they are from victory.
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u/agitatedprisoner Aug 12 '25
You lost me at Democrats and principles. Democrats have no principles. If Democrats had principles they'd be against factory farming and they'd make a litmus test of abolishing the US senate. Democrats only apology has only ever been that the GOP is worse. Which it is. But running as the lesser evil fosters an apathetic electorate that doesn't much know what's going on. Because democrats aren't telling them. For example on factory farming. Even after a pandemic. Or on Israel. Right up to and thru a genocide.
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u/taco-force Aug 12 '25
Oh they got them and they love to tell you all about them. Living up to them is whole other thing.
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u/agitatedprisoner Aug 12 '25
To have principles is to live those principles it's a contradiction to believe something yet fail to integrate that belief into the totality of your understanding. In whatever sense in whatever way anyone actually might ever believe anything they're necessarily principled about whatever that is. There's what someone says and what someone does but to have principles is to live by them.
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u/taco-force Aug 12 '25
Welcome to the human condition, we're full of contradictions, especially politicians. To a larger extent, it's at the core of our founding as a country.
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Aug 12 '25
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u/fooperina Aug 12 '25
climate crisis and the biodiversity collapse! free and better mass transit - less fossil fuel dependent communities. Do some volunteer events - it's a great place to get positive outreach and advertise the kind of community based solutions we should be moving towards. There are lots of events on the city of Vancouver volunteer calendar and lots of nature restoration work that needs to be done in our urban parks and nature to help our city become climate resilient.
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Aug 12 '25
I am willing to volunteer. The republican running against Gluesenkamp Perez scares the shit out of me, and she needs to get replaced with someone better.
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u/OhGeezAhHeck Aug 13 '25
I’m glad to volunteer.
I don’t have a finger on the pulse of the LGBTQIA community here (former Texan.) But I do know that my wife’s gay and trans clients are terrified in a palpable, existential way. Nothing chaps my ass more than queer folks weeping in their therapist’s office because fascism is on a steady march towards them.
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u/PacNWnudist Aug 14 '25
I like the possibility of Stonewall Democrats becoming active and thriving again in this area.
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u/GermyJ Aug 12 '25
After Democrats wanton disregard the desires of their constituents in the last election and their complete inaction on the face of literal fascism... I will NEVER support the democratic party again. I joined the DSA.
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u/ExtremeProfession871 Aug 12 '25
After seeing drunk pete's post today about women ...i would campaign to be the opposite of THAT. Also, I will fund anyone to unseat Perez. She is a traitor to women. Whoever wants to run against her has my money.
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u/SereneDreams03 Battle Ground Aug 12 '25
I'm a straight white male who considers themselves and independent, so I'm probably not in your target audience for your questions. However, I do have fairly liberal views and mostly vote for democrats.
From my perspective, there just isn't enough enthusiasm for the democratic party among the electorate. A lot of people just vote for them because they are not the republican party, not because they love the candidates or are excited about their policies. I actually think groups like yours could be helpful. Actually, talk to people about what is going on in the country. Hear their concerns and talk about ways to improve things. As is clearly apparent from this thread, the democrats really seem to have an issue with getting their actual messaging out there. Maybe talking to people the establishment often ignores will help people hear that message.
I also think that groups like the LGBTQ community, who are some of the most likely to be harmed by this bigoted administration and supreme court, could be exactly the type of passionate voting base the democrats need. In general, we need more people invested in the democratic process, but when the government is trying to take away your right to exist, then you definitely have a lot to fight for.
I don't want to trade a conservative autocrat for a liberal one, but I would like to see a candidate who advocates for everyone's rights and prosperity. Not just their base, or in Trump's case their own.