During negotiations with the DNC and the Harris campaign, we were repeatedly told by interlocutors that Harris couldn’t meet any of our basic requests (a policy shift from Biden, a Palestinian speaker at the DNC, a statement distinguishing herself from Trump on Israel, or even a meeting with Michigan families who lost loved ones to Israeli bombs) because of AIPAC-aligned politicians like Fetterman, who might take to TV, rile up suburban white and Jewish voters, and fracture the party’s coalition in a swing state.
That political calculus alienated a key voting bloc, although likely not large enough to have shifted the ultimate election outcomes, that should be part of a durable Democratic majority. But few will ever be held accountable for that choice.
A Fetterman staffer condemning Uncommitted for not advocating for Palestinians 'the right way' is like an arsonist scolding the fire department for using the wrong hose.
Voting isn't some bargain between a thousand voting groups and one candidate. Let's break it down.
THERE ARE TWO CANDIDATES
YOU PICK THE BEST CANDIDATE
Note that 'best' isn't 'great'; nor is it 'good', 'awesome', etc. And, while there are more candidates, sometimes only two have a chance (Hi Ross Perot!). So it's a binary choice. There has to be someone in office. You pick the least-worse one.
The unmentioned third option is "If you vote third party or don't vote at all, you accept the consequences of a worst-case scenario".
I'm really thinking America didn't educate people on 'this or that'.
No you can force a political party to abide by your wishes by showing you are willing to not vote for them.
What lesson can the Democratic party learn from this?
Angsty, disaffected, adolescent me in the 1990's believed that repeated rounds of "least-worst" would lead to, well, it's here. He wasn't proved wrong.
That's literally what it was intended to be. Political party conventions once were real, high-stakes meetings to hash out a platform that appealed to as many interests as possible.
The elections over champ, you can stop screeching the same thing over and over again. Unless you're already gearing up to lose the next election too.
Sounds like US democracy with the US voting system is deeply flawed and the only moral action is to no longer engage with it. Otherwise you are expected to choose between different approaches to an ongoing genocide.