When Democrats stay home, Republicans win. It is just as simple as that.

[RBInMaine]

Yes, the national party operation SUCKED this cycle. BUT, in the end Dems/Progressives were urged to vote and once again too many refused. It is just as simple as that.

So, what to do? Yes, get a new DNC chair in there, reinstate the 50-state strategy, start setting a clear as crystal economic message again.

Next, Obama knows he has NOTHING to work with in Congress. He needs to simply go right to bat with them and so do Dems. Enough of trying to "work with" these assholes. There is no "working" with them. What you do is set a strong, popular, populist economic agenda and take it to the people. Here is the problem with Obama: He doesn't get LOUD and consistently
TOUT his ACCOMPLISHMENTS. The Dems need to SET the message.

Again though, enough of this excusing lazy Dems/Progressives who sit on the couch instead of voting. This is what happens. We aren't children who need to wait to be "excited." They need to get off their butts and get to the polls.

[YarnAddict]

1. But

turnout was GREAT. Everyone said so everywhere. Conventional wisdom says that should favor Dems, right?

[caber09]

2. Record GOTV, Record Turnout, right?

Guess not, the GOTV was epic fail, need Dean and his 50 state strategy again that did well in 06 & 08, blame Obama for removing him and replacing him with Kaine right after his own election, Kaine was terrible, DWS helped out in 2012 but huge disaster in '14, time to bing Dean back.....DNC, DSCC, DCCC stole are $$$ with this pathetic "best ever, historically awesome ground game"

[RBInMaine]

7. Lack of united Dem MESSAGE and once again too much voter apathy.

[johnlucas]

10. Voter apathy wouldn't be a problem if the Democratic Party wasn't so mealymouthed

Obama's election in 2008 was supposed to change the game.
He went weaksauce & dampened the enthusiasm that put him in office resulting in 2010.
We gave him & the Democrats another chance to restore that enthusiasm in 2012.
Once again he went weaksauce & dampened the enthusiasm that put him in office resulting in today's result in 2014.

These 4 elections of 2008, 2010, 2012, & 2014 should have been the deathknell for the Republican Party.
And it WOULD have been if the Democratic Party had conviction & strength behind their words & their stances.

They're WEAK man! And it pisses me off!
Now we gotta deal with this crap.
Everything that we kinda sorta gained over the past 6 years is going down the toilet now.
Absolutely wasted opportunity.

You can forget 2016 now by the way.
Your next President is going to be Jeb Bush & it's the Democratic Party's fault.
John Lucas

[Systematic Chaos]

3. Nah, sorry. Radio host Mike Malloy JUST got done speaking for me.

The man didn't vote in Georgia this election cycle, for the first time in his life.

Why?

Because his two "Democrat" choices are one who supports Keystone XL among other grossly stupid policies, and another who supported Georgia's "Guns Everywhere" law.

What, EXACTLY is the fucking point, he asked?

Anymore, I ask the same thing.

[RBInMaine]

8. Please quit that. Staying home out of protest is nonsense. What does that accomplish?

[AleksS]

4. Keep in mind that no matter how good the D GOTV operation is

Keep in mind that no matter how good the D GOTV operation is, the GOP has 24/7/365 GOTV in the form of Fox News and AM radio.

In our suburb, turnout in 2010 was 95%. Ninety-five percent. And it went HARD red. I said before that I don't know what the answer is, but in the absence of a rock star (read: Obama) it is really really really hard to GOTV more effectively than republicans do. Hate, anger, greed, and fear are excellent motivators. I mean, look at sites like Discussionist. There's a republican on there crowing about how his (D) wife's tears are "delicious" to him. These guys get off on being dicks. It's like a drug to them. Of course they're going to get out and vote.

[C Moon]

5. Yeah, and who knows: maybe it would have been worse if we didn't push as much as we did.

I can't imagine it being any worse, though.

[noiretextatique]

6. dark money, disenfranchisement schemes, supine medua

How on earth can you continue to blame voters when this shit is going on?! the system is broken and corrupted. Until we face and fix it, voting does not make that much difference.

[Colorado Liberal]

9. 11:45pm EST wins the pool....

...for the first post to blame the loss on "progressives". I lost the pool - I didn't think it would take that long...