Democrats are furious. And they want their leaders to get mad, too.

“I wish you’d be angry,” a constituent told representative Gil Cisneros, a Democrat of California, at a recent town hall. At an event in Minnesota featuring a panel of Democratic attorneys general, an activist voiced a similar sentiment: “Get angry, man,” punctuating the message with a profanity.

The anger roiling the party, slow to build, is now a forceful current coursing through the electorate and pulling in Americans terrified that the country is descending into authoritarianism. Democrats – with no leader to guide them and little power to wield in Washington – are scrambling to harness the sudden fury.

At rallies, town halls and protests, voters are venting their fury with Donald Trump and his empowerment of Elon Musk’s full-frontal assault on federal agencies, stoking what progressive activists believe are the embers of a populist backlash against the president – and the Democratic leaders they believe are not meeting the moment.

  • SGGeorwell@lemmy.world
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    3 days ago

    Bernie is touring with AOC for a reason. He’s demonstrating the next leader now. She’s already here.

      • gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.works
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        2 days ago

        Which is one of the reasons that going forward, I’m now considering third parties a completely fair choice. If DNC leadership continues to refuse to pull their heads from their asses, I’m not going to give a shit about casting a “spoiler” vote, considering the existing leadership have not only refused to relinquish their chokehold on power, but also because they have shown themselves to be their own spoiler party in most cases, and the outcome would be functionally identical (looking at you, Schumer, you vapid, spineless, fascist enabling cunt).

      • Muehe@lemmy.ml
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        2 days ago

        Well I don’t know about that. Maybe if this current outrage gets enough people to engage in internal party politics the DNC can be reformed? I’m honestly not too knowledgeable about that area of US politics, but my understanding as a layperson was that there isn’t really anything (except for party-internal conflict obviously) preventing registered democrats from trying to reform or even replace the DNC.

        But even if that is possible not sure if it would be fast enough. There are probably a host of different internal elections involved to gain the required influence, and the next national midterms elections are probably way beyond Trumps deadline for going completely mask off “I’m your dictator now”-fascist.

    • SinningStromgald@lemmy.world
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      3 days ago

      I completly agree with you. But…

      The DNC would never endorse her and she would get a media blackout as an independent. Democrats would rather be irrelevant but rake in corpo money than pivot to anything progressive.

      • SatansMaggotyCumFart@lemmy.world
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        3 days ago

        I’ve heard people saying that Bernie and AOC aren’t progressive enough for them.

        I don’t think it’s worth going after people who are looking for any reason not to vote.

        • SinningStromgald@lemmy.world
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          3 days ago

          And apparently some people don’t like reality, based on the downvote(s). But we don’t live in a fantasy Democratic-socialist republic with ranked choice voting and districts without gerrymandering and more than two political parties. We live in this current shithole hellscape called reality and the likelihood of AOC getting the nod or being leader of the DNC is less probable than the second coming. It would be very nice but it ain’t happening.

          • Dagwood222@lemm.ee
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            2 days ago

            Former NYC Mayor Ed Koch said it best.

            “If you agree with me 51%, vote for me. If you agree with me 100% see a psychiatrist.”

        • Dagwood222@lemm.ee
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          2 days ago

          They couldn’t vote for Humphrey and we got Nixon.

          They couldn’t vote for Carter and we got Reagan.

          They couldn’t vote for Gore and we got Bush.

          They couldn’t vote for Hilary and we got Trump.

          Thank god we have Progressives pushing the country to the Left!

          • lemmingthelemmers@lemmy.world
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            2 days ago

            Bernie voters overwhelmingly voted for Hilary - around 80%.

            Hey good things most of them voted for Joe Biden who not only delivered jack shit to the American people, but also spent over $20 billion of their tax dollars aiding and abetting a terrorist nation committing genocide against the Palestinians in a crime against humanity many if not most Americans do not support.

            Imagine if sleepy Joe did something that actually helped the citizens and made everyone WANT to vote for him?

            Hard to push the country to the left when there are a bunch of braindeads tying themselves to the do-nothing-democrats (yes - Bernie and AOC are democrats) or the radical republicans and blaming other citizens for not sipping either flavor of the kool-aid.

            • Dagwood222@lemm.ee
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              2 days ago

              Bernie voters overwhelmingly voted for Hilary - around 80%.

              Proves my point.

              20% saw Donald Trump and noped out.

              And fuck the idea that Biden/Harris had to earn anyone’s vote. That’s like saying you’d rather drown than get into a lifeboat where somebody has the flu.

              • Count042@lemmy.ml
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                2 days ago

                20% is a lot less then the amount of PUMA people that didn’t vote for Obama. (The point here is that the left rallies behind the centrist and right of the party far more then the centrists do. And yet you still blame the left.)

                Maybe if the Democratic party wasn’t addicted to feeling self righteous, and it your comment reflected reality (it doesn’t) then the DNC would recognize the left as a voting block they have to appease to, you know, win.

                You know, actually do politics rather then look down their noses at people demanding unreasonable stuff like health care.

    • SoftestSapphic@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      I remember in 2016 when Bernie was supposed to be the one to save us from the Duopoly, then he endorsed Hillary Clinton.

      I will beleive it when I see it

  • UncleGrandPa@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    It’s as though there are two Democratic parties

    One that yells and protests and works for change and another that makes sure nothing ever changes

    But your never really sure who is in which group

    • MisterOwl@lemmy.world
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      But your never really sure who is in which group

      It’s pretty easy to determine which group our representatives are in.

    • SoftestSapphic@lemmy.world
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      Which is why we should stop searching for babies in this toxic bathwater and dump it out.

      We need to end the Democratic party to end the Duopoly.

    • SoftestSapphic@lemmy.world
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      Bernie also has shown he is willing to bend the knee to the Democratic party like in 2016.

      And he’s the only opposition that the billionaire owned news is willing to cover.

      So I am hesitant on supporting him again.

      After 2016 he’s started to give off “controlled opposition” vibes IMO.

  • Apricot@lemm.ee
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    3 days ago

    We need a person that can easily break down the real reasons people are suffering, that can reach the average American without coming off as belittling or consescending, and that can unite wide coalitions and instill a renewed sense of trust into disaffected voters. The left needs a populist. And in my opinion, after listening to her speaking on the Fight Oligarchy Tour, AOC fits this bill. Whether it is her or someone else, the Dems need a united front of this messaging, or they will allow us to get fucked once again. No more of the old guard, neoliberal, Chuck Schumer bullshit or we’re toast.

    EDIT: spelling