Still reeling, Democrats struggle over '04 strategy

The Boston Globe ^ | Globe Staff | Anne E. Kornblut

[Radix]

PHOENIX -- After the Democrats suffered a wave of defeats in the 2002 midterm elections, party officials rebounded with a promise to sharpen their strategy and emerge reinvigorated well ahead of the 2004 campaign.

More than six months later, however, as Republicans sweep up tens of millions in donations nationwide, many Democratic officials and party faithful say they are still struggling to regain their footing, and are daunted by the next task: Trying to unseat President Bush and win back control of at least one house of Congress.

[Radix]

''The good news is, there's nowhere to go but up.''

The good news is that the strateregy is working.

The bad new is that I do not want to wait until 2005 in order to see some real changes.

[paul in cape]

Drink Up, Boys!

[spokeshave]

Titanic anyone.....?

[friendly]

The 'rats are under the iron thumb of the narcissistic sociopath Clintons who control the DNC through their vile winged monkey Terry McAwful, the DNC chair-vermin.

And there is no greater boon to the Republicans than the crooked, destructive, devisive Clintons. May they rule forever!

[friendly]

LOL

[Ann Archy]

Amen. Hillary will be "begged" to step in for the 04 election at the last minute...either an Arkancide or a VERY bad scandal (which the Clinton minions will leak) and VOILA!!! Hillary to the rescue. It's all being stratergized as we speak. The only ones that don't know this are the 9 dwarves.

Memo to the dem that wins the nomination: LOOK OUT!!!!!

[xrp]

The Democratic Party is starting its downward trend. Hispanics don't vote for the Democrats the way black Americans have. Most affluent people don't vote Democrat. Even black Americans are starting to question the relevance of voting Democrat. They look back over 50 years of almost unwavering loyalty to the Democratic Party and they don't see much improvement in their lives (the ones that vote Democrat). Black American families are still shattered, with most families headed by one parent (usually female) and government schools continue to fail inner city children by the boatload and black parents who care about their childrens' success want their children out (vouchers).

In addition, New Deal Democrats of FDR's time period are dying off, FINALLY, removing a lot of guaranteed votes for the Democrats. A lot of Generation X and Generation Y, during the 1990s pretty politically ignorant, are becoming aware. Having enjoyed high salaries early on in life (early 20s to mid-30s) during the technology boom of the 1990s, these 2 generations saw what hard work can do for you in America and understand that Washington spends too much and they (Gen X and Y) got too little for how much they were taxed. Many of the Gen X'ers (my generation) that I interact with are conservative Republican (becoming more of an oxymoron) and a surprisingly large percentage are Libertarian (convinced that the Republicans have sold out conservatism). It will be interesting to see how the next 10-15 years go politically.

[ODDITHER]

For years, the democrats have used a combination of "chicken-little", The boy who cried wolf, and lies to keep their base faithful and to sway independents. They have been successful because they have had the media behind them and people dependent on them.

They have become the party of homosexuals, anti-Americans, abortion lovers, corporation haters and environuts. The are the cybil of politics. They no longer have core values, but have become a party of multiple personalites. The cybil of politics. They are a party of hypenated Americans. Instead of just Americans. As with a person suffering from multiple personalities, as the disease has progressed, it leads those around them distrusting and frustrated.

Without common interests and values, the very existance of a political party is in jeapordy.

[sandlady]

They have become the party of homosexuals, anti-Americans, abortion lovers, corporation haters and environuts. The are the cybil of politics. They no longer have core values, but have become a party of multiple personalites. The cybil of politics. They are a party of hypenated Americans. Instead of just Americans. As with a person suffering from multiple personalities, as the disease has progressed, it leads those around them distrusting and frustrated.

Yes.

[Semper Paratus]

The democrats only hope is to 'impoverish' enough voters to depend upon them for handouts.

[Southack]

"The problem with the current style among Democrats, Masters said, is that the more we scream and yell, the louder, the hotter the rhetoric gets about George W. Bush, that doesn't help us. We need to articulate a message, and we haven't done that yet."

Indeed. Most Democrats aren't capable of understanding (or accepting) that fact, however.

Democrats have no new ideas. We've heard their pro-abortion spiel since before Roe v Wade. We've heard their eco-nonsense since before they banned DDT. We've heard their Welfare state ideas since before Social Security. Where are their *new* ideas?! They don't have any new ideas.

...And bashing Bush with wild-eyed rhetoric such as "he's a coke addict" or "he's a drunkard" or "he doesn't know foreign policy" or "he's a dummy" simply makes you look like some kind of fringe-level existence extremist. Those sorts of vile slanders aren't going to play very well in 2004, yet that's pretty much all that you've got, save the big "surprise" that you're saving when Al Gore jumps back into the Presidential race to "shock" the nation with his (and perhaps Hillary/Dean/Kerry as his VP) radical campaign.

Yawn. Yeah, we'll just be *so* surprised...and you still won't have any new ideas.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Latinos don't seem to buy into the usual hand-out programs offered by the Democrat Party. As the fastest growing minority, W was right on in welcoming them into the GOP.

[Common Tator]

The bad new is that I do not want to wait until 2005 in order to see some real changes.

If you are looking for real changes, then you will have a long wait.

In the real world of the United States of America here is how politics works. A leader finds out where the voters want to go... then boldly steps out front and leads them there.

There are just two choices for the leader of a political party. He can try to make the people into what the party wants to be, or he can try to make his political party into what the people want. The latter is what any leader who wants to be successful does.

If you are waiting for Bush to remake the voters into your image... that is not going to happen. Bush is remaking the Republican party and its imgage into a picture of what the majority of americans wants.

I have said it many times those that focus on getting the right politicians are doomed to failure. Political movements must convince a majority of voters to their views. If they can do that nothing else is required, if they do not, little if anything they want done will get done.

Republicans will start from jsut left of center an go the the right. They will try to do the things that please all of this group. They cannot go very far right, with out loseing the group just left of center. This spectrum if held will win elections. The democrats on the other hand start from the right of center and move left. They try to do things that will please this group.

The candidate who does this best will win elections. If either party is forced to follow the dictates of its base, it will fail to win or hold office.

The real shifts are when for some reason the center line changes. If it moves to the right then much of the right's agenda will be implemented. But candidates do not move the center. Schools and Teacher move the center, the popular media and entertainers moves the center. The consequences of events move the center.

Those that want to change America must move the center. Few try..most just try to influence candidates... That does not work.

[NittanyLion]

As near as I can tell the Democrats would change two major things: the War on Terror and the tax cuts. Domestic spending has increased at a rate higher than most liberals dared dream.

End analysis: the Dems must campaign against two wildly popular issues and have been robbed of their traditional issues.

Of course, we'll all pay for the shortsightedness of the GOP in a few years when the bill for their spending spree comes due.

[Redwood71]

"Without common interests and values, the very existance of a political party is in jeapordy."

They have no issues. GW has slowly, and with big time media coverage, taken everything away from them they have tried to use for the last 20 years. He has entertained answers to starving kids, seniors problems to include perscription drugs, vouchers to improve education while trying to take the federal funding away from system, welfare issues by added monies to the tax cut for children, a huge tax cut aimed at creating jobs......they have no issues. There are no starving kids anymore (never were). They don't have a platform. They have no where to go, and no one to lead them. As long as everyone comes out to vote, the RATS are "dead meat."

Now's the time to get the voters ready to get out and vote, because if we do, we can continue to control congress and the presidency for four more. And with the obvious increases we will gain, it will be "with authority." MAKE SOME NOISE!

[chasio649]

good post

[COBOL2Java]

They no longer have core values, but have become a party of multiple personalites.

The new face of the Democratic Party:

[William McKinley]

''We are near rock bottom,''

Near. Not near enough. They'll get there.

''The good news is, there's nowhere to go but up.''

No, that is not true. There is still rock bottom. And the Democrats may end up going the way of the National Republicans, with Bush as their Jackson.

[rface]

"bump" for a later read.....

[aristeides]

If the Democratic Party disintegrates because the Republican Party has moved too far left for a further-left party to be viable, that will create an opening for a new party on the right. Such a development would move the political center substantially to the right.