Baffled in Loss, Democrats Seek Road Forward

The New York Times ^ | 11/07/04 | ADAM NAGOURNEY

[Indie]

Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm, Democrat of Michigan, said that in order to be competitive with Republicans, Democrats had to have a message that was ''strong and strongly pro-work, pro-responsibility, pro-duty, pro-service, pro-child, pro-seniors." "And not to be afraid of saying God," Ms. Granholm said. "And not to be afraid of saying that this is a country that is based upon faith.''

ENGLISH TRANSLATION: "Next time we will LIE and call ourselves centrists." [The way Klinton won]

[NHResident]

These guys are just like the New Yorkers and mASSholes - they are so full of how 'special' they are and how living where they do makes them SOOO much more intelligent, insightful, wise, blah, blah, blah - I have lived on 2 Continents in 3 countries, traveled and done business on 4 contintents - these people are NOT special - New Englanders and New Yorkers are more bigoted, delusional and narrow-minded then ANY of the other people I have met and worked with - if used to be a joke among my European friends to see just what stupid things visting US 'cosmopolitans' from New York and Boston would say and do.

These fools shouldn't change a thing - well - maybe they need to yell louder and speak a little slower so all the rest of us 'slow thinkers' can understand and learn.

SHEESH!

[madprof98]

I wonder if she's still lectoring at her Catholic parish.

[muir_redwoods]

If the democrats dropped gun-control, abortion and gay marriage as issues they'd be competitive. If they found a way to agree to SS reform as well, they would win about half the time.

The irony is that gun-control measures produce no positive results, abortion is already legal so it makes no sense to trot it out each election cycle for people to rally around or condemn and gay marriage is important to maybe 2-3% of the voters. SS reform is possibly the most populist measure in front of us today and the democrats are running from it. They have no sense and simply don't understand the electorate.

[CDHart]

"hey don't have a CLUE about most Americans"

Nor do they care, except as it benefits their lust for power.

Carolyn

[spodefly]

Several party officials said what they were most concerned about was the extent to which Republicans had succeeded in presenting the Democratic Party as out of the cultural mainstream.

Hello??? The Republicans 'presented' the Democrats as 'out of the mainstream'??? IDIOTS! The Democrats presented themselves as out of the mainstream, because they are out of it. Whoopi Goldberg grabbing her crotch and making Bush jokes? Michael Moore, perpetually immature, discordant, deceptive, propagandizing obtuse conspiracy theories and blatant lies? Ben Affleck? Barbara Streisand? A teeny-bopper looking trial lawyer with scant political experience but a long resume of using junk-science lawsuits to drive doctors out of business? Major media organizations forging documents?

There was NOTHING mainstream about the Democrats in this election. They presented themselves this way, and there is nothing they can do about it, because they are out of the mainstream.

[Gritty]

I think that we ignored in large measure the three big cultural issues of this election: guns, abortion and gay rights, epitomized by gay marriage," said Harold M. Ickes

The problem is, Harold, is not that you ignored these issues. The problem is you and your Party are on the wrong side of these issues and all your smokescreens and lies from your own mouths and those of your MSM enablers can longer cover up where you stand (as they have for the past 40 years).

You have been "outed". OUTED!!

Change your hearts and your genuine direction - not just your rhetoric - and you might have a chance. Otherwise, Harold Baby, fuggeddaboudit. America no longer believes your lyin' lips!

[ashtanga]

First, these idiots have to drop the word "values." This is an Orwellian substitute for "virtues," which has a suggestion of religious duty, and the secularists won't have that! You notice, too, that the gimmicrats say that they're "people of faith"? What does that mean? It can mean anything. But they won't say "I'm a religious man." Heck, if the gimmicrats just dropped all their Orwellian dictionary, they'd be on their way to dominance. How about starting with "choice?"

[ashtanga]

Thanks for the rant. I sure needed it.

[Agrarian]

"How did a party that is filled with people with values - and I am a person with values - get tagged as the party without values?"

If you believe the first part of the question, and have to ask the second part of the question, then there's no point in trying to explain.

The key part of this article was the implications for the future of the U.S. Senate. The GOP needs a solid strategy for grooming great conservative candidates to win Senate seats in red states. Two Senators from each state solidly won by Bush and one Senator from each "battleground" state would probably give us 60 votes, easy. And they would be real Republicans.

[CyberAnt]

I saw a guy on FOX this morning from the "Sun". He was extremely good in doing analysis. He hit the target by saying that the dems don't recognize the middle of America and they constantly demean average American's values.

He said that just talking the talk will not get the dems anywhere. Kerry tried that .. and it fell flat. He said if the dems pick Hillary as their candidate, they are destined for another devastating defeat - because it will mean they have not learned their lesson from this defeat. He said Hillary is far to the left of her husband and since that fact has already been established, the dems will have a hard time trying to paint her as "moderate" like Bill.

I was kind of surprised by his statements.

[EDINVA]

it's the same ole "I don't know how he won, no one I know voted for him" mentality. Let them keep it up. And if one more Democrat says we have to start TALKING about faith, I will scream .. it's just proof they absolutely don't get it.

[AndyJackson]

How did a party that has been out of power in Washington, D.C., become tagged with the problems of Washington, D.C.? How did a party that is filled with people with values - and I am a person with values - get tagged as the party without values?"

First, they have only been, "out of power" for two years, and a lot of Clinonites burrowed in at State, Defense, and elsewhere in the federal government.

Second, what values? Not values about human beings certainly. Maybe globalism and spotted owls and global warming and the UN and about Hillary care. You don't have values about genuine hard-working, country loving, god fearing tax paying citizens. Your party thinks they are all hicks and rubes, and have even been saying so in print in the last couple of days.

[hinckley buzzard]

"We need a fresh reassessment of how we communicate with people. . . ."

Yes. They still think it's all about what you say and how you say it. They forget that the baby boom generation is nearing retirement, we've been around the track way too many times to be taken in by the old 60's "Baffle 'em with bullsh&t" approach, that worked when the nation's median age was 27.

And every election cycle, the voting population gets slightly older, more conservative...

[AndyJackson]

In order to be competitive with Republicans, Democrats had to have a message that was "strong and strongly pro-work, pro-responsibility, pro-duty, pro-service, pro-child, pro-seniors.

Some how this still has the distinct ring of more nanny-state socialism take from everybody and hire the Washington elites and fund the UN to me. How about some mention of personal freedom. You know, just to be left alone without having to apply for a permit and pay user fees and hassle with a bunch of government bureaucrats for the right - you know - to sit in a hammock and drink beer. There is more to life than some policy wonk's nuanced programs and that is what is wrong with Rats. We don't love them, we don't like them. We just want them out of our face. We don't want a different set of programs. After 50 years of these technocrats monkeying with programs we know we can't get better programs. Government is incapable of it. All we are left with is fewer programs, and that is what we want, along with fewer elite liberal intellectuals to try to explain it all to us.

[foofoopowder]

The Demo Rats need a botox treatment. Change party name to National Socialist Party? Or just merge with the Communist Party USA.....that might work for them.

[ChicagoRighty]

>> Democrats said President Bush's defeat of Senator John Kerry by three million votes left the party facing its most difficult time in at least 20 year<<

More like 5 million, it seems.

[ChicagoRighty]

>> So the other Democrats mentioned as either high-profile leaders and possible presidential candidates are all governors; .... Rod R. Blagojevich of Illinois. <<

Ha Ha Ha... he may not make it full term as governor. He's a mediocre leader and a poor politician. Illinois politics are devoid of any strong personalities... O'Bama possibly excepted... but then he has issue problems.

[Robespierre]

"We need to be a party that stands for more than the sum of our resentments.

Its time to sit down and reassess how you get your point across. Media manipulation, judicial fiat, violence, screaming, prevarication, and a few more devices that the libs have used over the years just wont cut it any more. It is time to articulate and persuade. Quit complaining about how divided the country is when it is your side that is being divisive.

[ILS21R]

Well said.