The Rs win because they very, very, very rarely say to their nominees,

[pnwmom]

"Give me a reason to vote for you."

They all held their noses and supported Trump, even though most of party leaders hated him during the primaries, thought he wasn't a "real" Republican, etc. They hated Hillary more.

Unfortunately, progressives are much more likely to require a D to "give me a reason." And they'd rather vote for someone they perceive as a "better" candidate (like Jill Stein) even if there is zero chance that person can win.

[mcar]

1. I cannot believe some on "the left" are still pulling this crap

[CentralMass]

4. This line is becoming tiresome. Those people who voted for Stein, or who didn't vote aren't

listening. The party has some issues. Hillary had baggage, made some mistakes, and still won the popular vote. Those of us who voted for Sanders in the primary voted for Hillary at a ratio of 2:1 over Hillary voters in 2008 who voted for Senator Obama.

The party needs to fight for this.

[mcar]

7. Are you saying "give me a reason to vote Democratic?"

If not, I wasn't addressing you.

[CentralMass]

2. Look who they end up electing.

[empedocles]

3. Something to be said for winning

[magicarpet]

5. Something to be said about not fucking yourself, your children, your grandchildren, and your...

... parents over royally - because you wanted a pink unicorn that farts gold sparkles.

[eleny]

6. Critical thinking - it's a cross

[Maraya1969]

8. Yup. During the primaries my brother and his wife said they didn't support Trump and gave a look

like they really disapproved of him. And then they voted for him. And now they don't find him doing anything wrong.

[NurseJackie]

9. I call those people "Vanity Voters". They choose people like Stein to flatter themselves.

"Give me a reason to vote for you."

I call those people "Vanity Voters". They choose people like Stein to flatter themselves. I get the impression that this is the end result of the "everyone gets a trophy" philosophy. The boast about their choice to give the appearance of being intellectual... but ironically... the EXACT OPPOSITE is true.

I have to chuckle at those in that group who ALSO "we're the base! we're the base" ... GMAFB! They're the furthest thing from the "base"!! Because the ACTUAL Democratic "base" are the ones who ALWAYS turn out, who ALWAYS vote for the Democrat or the party's nominee. They're the ones who volunteer. They're the ones who donate.

The Democratic base does NOT sit on the sidelines attacking the party and the party's nominee. The Democratic base does NOT snipe and denigrate the party or the party's nominee. The Democratic base voters do NOT parade around declaring themselves "Independent" or "Non-Affiliated" and then expect to vote in the party's primary. The Democratic base does NOT try to "send a message" by not voting, simply because their first-choice wasn't selected during the primary process.

For example: I wanted Rushern Baker to win the Democratic primary for the Maryland governor's race. He was my FIRST choice, but Ben Jealous won instead. I'll be voting for Ben Jealous. I won't write-in Rushern's name. I won't vote for some third party candidate. I won't not-vote to send a message. I'm a Democrat, I'm the base, I always vote for the Democrat and I'll be voting for Ben Jealous.

All I'm trying to say is that they care more about their own egos than they do the good of the country. Hashtag sad. Hashtag stupid.

[AlexSFCA]

10. Reps are much more tribal

[Blue_true]

11. Not when it comes to voting. They tuck in their pride and vote strategically.

The far left does not, it often votes like idiots at critical times.

The hopeful sign that I see is democrats over performing in red districts, winning many of them. That implies that some people who would vote republican are having second thoughts and pulling the lever for a democrat.