Well I have 2 breakdowns saved for conversations exactly like this.

Let's run through the recent story so people have it:

Jimmy Carter: Told people to conserve and got voted the fuck out. AKA left voters never show up.

Bill Clinton: After successive losses Bill figured out "it's the economy stupid". And when you run against an incumbent (Bush senior) you run from the center. So that's what he did. And he won.

Gore: After the population hopefully warmed up with Bill Clinton, he stuck his head out left with climate change, that supposedly big important issue to left people. And bam he lost the election. Thanks 3rd party protest voters!

Obama: So guess what Obama learned? Don't stick your head out. He ran on vague "hope", hoping the ambiguity would be enough considering Bush's disastrous wars. And he won.

Hillary Clinton: After the population hopefully warmed up with Obama, she stuck her head out just a tiny itty little bit left on climate change (that thing all the leftists care about right?) with the Map Room. And guess what happened? Bam she lost. Thanks protest non-voters! AKA left voters never show up.

On to Biden. Just like Obama learned from Gore, Biden learned from Hillary that you don't stick your head out left. And he was running against an incumbent, so once again when you do that you run center. He's actually been governing more from the left, but he ran center.

And people are amazed that they don't run an extreme left platform? Every time they stick their head out a little itsy bitsy tiny bit left they lose. And the next guy learns to go to the center to win.

So how do you get them to move left? By giving them victories. Consistent and overwhelming victories. Because when they lose, like they've lost 20 years out of the last 24 years, they will go to the centre to find votes.

Then [obama] governed as a moderate and won reelection by a much narrower margin

The Dems lost the house of representatives in Obama’s years 3 and 4. Again in years 5 and 6. And then lost both the house of representatives and the Senate in Obama’s years 7 and 8.

They lost control in 3 out of 4 elections under Obama. There is more than just the presidential election you know. The left voters never showed up after the first election. AKA the left voters never show up [after the first election].

And you’re wondering why they didn’t make a big move left after? Hilary made a small move left on climate change, that big important issue.

Well if it walks like a centrist and spews condescending lies about the left like a centrist…

Oh man and you're still on it. Yeah you're projecting hard with your binary categorization simply because I'm informing you that when Dems lose they go to the center. Well given that we'll see how much of the rest I'll reply to.

Yeah, you’re unfairly criticizing the left for not showing up to vote

Very fairly, see history above.

a common centrist smear job

Fucking lol at your backflips. I'm telling left people how to be effective and you're backflipping that into a centrist smear job.

Oh man you just continue with jabs the whole way down. I'm not going to call them all out, just that you do that.

Dems have kept following as the GOP move further right

Ok I've had this conversation and realized that people can't do the math. So lets do it:

Let's evaluate the last say 24 years and when the Dems had all 3 of the House of Representatives, Senate, and Presidency. Obama had it for 2 out of 8 years. Biden had it for 2 out of 4 years. Let's add it: That means Dems had control for 4 out of 24 years. Read that again, they had control for only 4 the last 24 years.

And that can still be filibustered. So if you want the filibuster proof majority, then Obama had it for 4 months. Not years, MONTHS. Biden never had it. Add it up: Dems had filibuster proof control for 4 months of the last 24 years.

Look at those stats again: Dems had control for 4 years of the last 24 years. For filibuster proof control, Dems had control for 4 MONTHS of the last 24 years.

This is why Dems compromise and reach across the aisle, because they basically never have control. To get literally anything done they need to compromise. Take your pick, either 4 years of the last 24 fucking years, or the 4 months or the last 24 years. And you wonder why they have to compromise? And why they go to the centre on the next election?

If you want progress you have to give Dems overwhelming and consistent victories.

Want to add Bill Clinton? That goes to 6 years of the last 32 years, and still 4 months for filibuster proof for the last 32 fucking years.

Want to add Bush senior? Then it’s 6 years of the last 36 fucking years.

Want to add Reagan? Then it’s 6 years of the last 44 years.

That's right, 6 years out of the last 44 fucking years that Dems had control. And for filibuster proof majority they had 4 months of the last 44 fucking years. Not 4 years, 4 MONTHS of the least 44 fucking years.

As I’ve explained above, neither of that is actually true. It’s just comforting lies that center right to right wing Democrats use to fool people into voting for them rather than the people whose policies they agree with.

Where do you think things would be if Gore won? It would be further left.

Where do you think things would be if Hilary won? It would be further left.

People need to stop waiting for this left candidate that's they think is going to magically appear (and until then they will logically protest no-vote). If you want things to go left you give Dems wins consistently and overwhelmingly.

Some left people think this is a mexican standoff, and that they just need to standoff and then the Dems will move left. But no they won't. The dems will just go to the voters that show up, which is, drumroll please, the center. Every time they lose they go to the center.

A center voter is worth double, because it's both a vote for you and a vote taken away from the other party. So when Dems lose, they go to the center voter (worth double) that actually shows up. Do you want the Dems to move left? Then be the voter that shows up, so that the Dems don't lose and have to go to the center to find voters.