Agreed. And I'm in pretty much exactly the same boat. This is a message to establishment democrats, if you want the support of the people who were fired up for Bernie, if you want to win next time you've got a chance, you need to listen to the people who were willing to give you a shot.Bitch, don't even pretend you were ever in the party. It's not like the DNC's handling of Bernie Sanders drove you from the bosom of your caucus out into the radical wasteland. You were in the woods before, followed a hermit to the campfire and then when he didn't take it over, you returned howling to the woods.
It's the wrong message, though. "you lost us because of Donna Brazile" rather than "the only reason we were talking to you is it was the only plausible way to get a socialist elected president." Here's the basic problem the DNC faces: if you're rich and self-interested, you vote Republican because you've likely managed to accumulate wealth and privilege. If you're poor and self-interested, you vote Republican because they bald-facedly tell you things will be better if they gut environmental regulations and kick out the Mexicans. If you're poor and selfless, you vote Republican because ISIS is going to blow up the Chick-Fil-A and Obama has death panels. If you're rich and selfless you're a fucking unicorn. I am now in a position where I know about hiring lobbyists. I am now in a position where my wife's trade group is attempting to gently remind a multi-billion-dollar multinational that they're afoul of state law (and impacting our trade rights) and hoping that the hospital group doesn't just decide to lobby to make my wife illegal. I am now in a position to understand that government protection is great for everybody, but seeing that the people who actually make up the government that protect you are, on average, Peter Principle bureaucrats that have risen to the level of their own incompetence and are in the positions they're in because they lack the drive or skill to work in a competitive marketplace. It's really easy to be a democrat when you're poor. That wealth that needs to be distributed to the underprivileged? You're one of 'em. When you have amassed some assets? You have to be pretty goddamn idealistic. I'm a booster of Obamacare. I'm glad it provides insurance for millions that couldn't get it any other way. But it directly cost me $5k a year. You gotta really want universal healthcare for your country to eat five grand and not be bitter. Railing against it? Simplest fuckin' thing. 'I work for my money why are you taking it from me and giving it to a bunch of strawman welfare queens I've never met and have no reason to believe exist?' So the DNC needs to be a party that doesn't gut anyone who has actually made some money in the system while also trying to represent the interests of people who are fucked by the system without employing the guns-guts-god trifecta that the Republicans employ. Because the people clever enough to make it out of the Republican strongholds? They're currently in liberal enclaves where they don't have to suffer under conservative totalitarianism and where their vote also doesn't count.