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Ailing party diagnosis (War of the Dems)
Washington Times ^ | 12/27/04 | Donald Lambro

Posted on 12/27/2004 1:02:08 AM PST by kattracks

A centrist-leaning cadre of Democratic intellectual foot soldiers has declared all-out war on its liberal base, saying it needs to be transformed, if not pulled out by the roots, before the party can win again.
    In a bitter soul-searching debate over their party's future, and what needs to be done to halt its decline, no postelection self-analysis has triggered more political buzz among Democrats than a New Republic magazine critique that calls for ending the influence wielded the party's leftist, antiwar wing in its presidential-selection process.  "[John] Kerry was a flawed candidate, but he was not the fundamental problem. The fundamental problem was the party's liberal base," said New Republic editor Peter Beinart in a scathing attack on left-wing activists who oppose President Bush's war on terror.

[snip]

In a sobering diagnosis of the overriding influence of the radical left in the party's 2004 campaign, he singled out two as the most powerful of all: "Fahrenheit 9/11" filmmaker Michael Moore and the Internet activist group MoveOn.org, whom he compared with the party's Henry Wallace wing in the late 1940s "who saw communists as allies in the fight for domestic and international progress."

[snip]

But if you think the party's liberal leadership has learned anything from its last defeat, or was persuaded by Mr. Beinart's cogent analysis, think again.
    On the contrary, his critique led to an outpouring of angry counterattacks from liberal antiwar Democrats, some of whom — incredibly — argued he had not proven his point that al Qaeda and other terrorist groups were a serious danger to the United States.

[snip]

If the Democrats' grass-roots base refuses to make this the axiom of their national security beliefs, they are destined to suffer many more election losses to come.


(Excerpt) Read more at washtimes.com ...


TOPICS: Editorial; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: beinart; kerrydefeat; lambro
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1 posted on 12/27/2004 1:02:08 AM PST by kattracks
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To: kattracks

Well, he's right about TNR. I might disagree with them much of the time, but I've been checking up on it lately. Beinart absoultely gets it on the war on terror, and he gets why the party keeps losing. Beware, if they listen to him, we won't keep our majority for long, especially if we don't start cutting down spending.


2 posted on 12/27/2004 1:08:48 AM PST by zbigreddogz
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To: zbigreddogz
Yeah, I know. With most of the country siding with the liberals on the issues of gay marrage, abortion, gun control, and prayer in school, our chance of keeping control of Congress and the Presidency is slim indeed.

/ sarcasm

3 posted on 12/27/2004 1:17:54 AM PST by Balding_Eagle (Liberalism has metastasized into a dangerous neurosis which threatens the nation's security)
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To: kattracks
The libs response to every setback is to go hard left. The DemonRat leaders haven't figured out that that is the main problem. I'm betting that a bunch of their "intellectuals" are looking at how Bubba Klinton got elected in 1992 and are working on plans right now to elect another unknown to the White House. The winning formula is:


4 posted on 12/27/2004 1:51:13 AM PST by Excuse_My_Bellicosity (Gun-control is leftist mind-control.)
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To: kattracks

They still don't get it. They're more concerned about Ohio instead of the danger the United States faces. Whatta party!


5 posted on 12/27/2004 3:15:23 AM PST by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives On In My Heart Forever)
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To: kattracks
"If the Democrats' grass-roots base refuses to make this the axiom of their national security beliefs, they are destined to suffer many more election losses to come."

The "Federalist" party went away, will the Democrats join them in the ashbin of history???

6 posted on 12/27/2004 3:17:19 AM PST by Wonder Warthog (The Hog of Steel)
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To: Excuse_My_Bellicosity
(The celeb appeal will also cover them later if they're caught giving nuclear secrets to the communists, looking the other way at al-Qaeda terrorism, or bombing Slavic civilians for 3 months straight because Jaque Chirac, Helmut Kohl, and the head UN dickhead had them over for dinner).

Now that's pretty funny! The sarcasm in your whole response is great. You have been paying attention.

7 posted on 12/27/2004 3:23:23 AM PST by patj
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To: Wonder Warthog
Yes, this grand old coalition is melting away. Jews are sensing that the Dems are wishy washy on support for Israel, African-Americans are buying houses and moving to the suburbs, Latinos are moving rapidly into the middle class, Reagan democrats who went back to the Dems are either dying now or have given up on the Dems, soccer mommys broke slightly for Bush..they're not thrilled about gay marriage, athiesm in the public schools and terrorism.

The funny thing is that MOVEON.ORG declared that they now "own" the Democrat party.

8 posted on 12/27/2004 3:31:11 AM PST by Pio (Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus)
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To: kattracks

No one wants to admit it or think about it...but the Democrats have morphed themselves into some kind of 1936 socialist wack party. Nothing they say makes any sense anymore. The realities we face against such things as terrorists who want to kill as many Americans as possible does not concern them. It doesn't even register.....


9 posted on 12/27/2004 3:39:04 AM PST by Route101
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To: kattracks

The funny part is, if Beinart & Co. were ever successful in pushing the anti-war libs out of the Democratic Party, the media would be among those purged.


10 posted on 12/27/2004 3:45:52 AM PST by Nick Danger (Want some wood?)
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To: kattracks

"Some Democrats are allergic to the use of force. They still have a powerful influence on the party. That's certainly a problem,"

These are probably the same people as the anti-war activists of the 60s and early 70s.


11 posted on 12/27/2004 3:49:35 AM PST by MadAnthony1776
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To: Route101
You don't have to believe al Qaeda is as grave a threat as the U.S.S.R. to believe it is the greatest threat to U.S. security.

The American left never thought the USSR was a threat. I cannot imagine the 'rat party tossing out their commies.

12 posted on 12/27/2004 4:02:05 AM PST by Jacquerie (Democrats soil the institutions they control)
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To: Jacquerie

I am waiting for Hillarys brownshirts to appear. The current Dem party reminds me of 1932 Germany with a touch of 1916 Russia thrown in for good measure.

These people are dangerous to say the least and what is worse is they are willing to run a scorched earth policy against America to regain power.


13 posted on 12/27/2004 4:25:21 AM PST by EQAndyBuzz (60 votes and the world changes.)
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To: kattracks

The reality is that the so-called moderate democrats, deep down inside, really believe most of the stuff that spews out of moveon.org. The Michael Moores and Howard Deans simply have the intellectual honesty and the guts to confess what they really think. These idealistic people with the younger following represent the future of the party.

The older, more moderate democrats are hardly moderate at all. These guys and gals came of political age in the days of Hubert Humphrey, George McGovern, Jimmy Carter and Tip O'Neill. These are the people that took over the party when the real pro-defense Truman/Kennedy democrats left for the GOP or George Wallace.

These older democrats who complain about the younger extremists are the ones who sent their kids to elite leftist prep schools and then to elite leftist colleges. They let their "limousine liberal" kids go and protest the WTO or G8 and hobnob with environmental extremists. And now they complain that their kids, whom they exposed to liberla extremism, are not extremists.


14 posted on 12/27/2004 4:31:34 AM PST by bobjam
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To: kattracks

Howard Dean for DNC chair!!!


15 posted on 12/27/2004 4:42:14 AM PST by .cnI redruM (Please Nominate This man! - Rich Lowry on Howard Dean)
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To: bobjam

The Democratic party is slowly killing itself in America today....How are these far left, anti-social space cadets think they are going to deal with in your face be-headings????...


16 posted on 12/27/2004 4:47:30 AM PST by Route101
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To: kattracks
A centrist-leaning cadre of Democratic intellectual foot soldiers has declared all-out war on its liberal base, saying it needs to be transformed, if not pulled out by the roots, before the party can win again.

I go with uprooting the crime syndicate, throwing it down the chipper/shredder, and watch the tree of liberty give fruit, shade and beauty to all.

17 posted on 12/27/2004 4:59:58 AM PST by PGalt
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To: kattracks

Billie Rat " Well let's see, we used to stand for this this and that, but we didn't win. Now let's stand for that that and that, so we can win. End of crisis! Let's go smoke some dope!"
And these people really think crap will work?


18 posted on 12/27/2004 5:52:12 AM PST by jmaroneps37 ( Frist/ Blackwell in 2008 for a landslide: you saw it here first.)
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To: kattracks

Beinart has asked his fellow party members a fair question: "whatever happened to Scoop Jackson and Sam Nunn?" And let's be honest here. If it's to survive, our democarcy NEEDS a loyal, effective opposition because that's the only way to keep the ruling party honest. Power corrupts, and the Republican Party has acquired a lot of power in the last 30 years. As much as I admire the George Bushes, the Newt Gingriches, the Karl Roves and the Roger Aileses of our party, they remain fallible politicians. We've come this far because we were FORCED to devise convincing, logical arguments for our postions. Now the Democrats need to do the same...for ALL our sakes.


19 posted on 12/27/2004 5:57:19 AM PST by Clioman
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To: zbigreddogz

And .. if you look back in history - some of the fiercest hawks in the govt used to be DEMOCRATS. You can see, by looking at the leaders they have chosen .. how the party has become the wishy-washy appeasers.


20 posted on 12/27/2004 8:47:42 AM PST by CyberAnt (Where are the dem supporters? - try the trash cans in back of the abortion clinics.)
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