Posted on 11/07/2002 10:28:39 AM PST by Behind Liberal Lines
The Democratic Party needs to find a smoke-filled back room somewhere and tear up the playbook. While Republicans eat their lunch, Democrats rationalize that they needed to lose a few pounds anyway. They're blowing it.
A president hasn't gained so much ground in Congress in 50 years. Traditionally, a sitting president loses a few House seats at midterm. This president, who didn't even win a majority of the popular vote in his election, gained ground in the House as his party recaptured the Senate which had tipped, barely, in the Democrats' favor for two years. Now New York's two senators are pushed into the minority.
You can see Democrats outsmarted time and again. The economy turns south, with unemployment rising and the stock market on a mystery tour, but instead of capitalizing, Democrats let the White House dominate attention with talk about Iraq. Even then, the Democrats cave in when it comes time to vote.
Democrats could have tried to link the White House to corporate America's sins and the malfeasance that destroyed shareholder value in a number of companies. They could have wailed, too, that Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Harvey Pitt was bungling efforts to restore confidence in the markets.
Democrats did squawk but, again, failed to generate adequate heat. With the polls safely closed Tuesday night, Pitt's resignation became public.
One of the best fund-raisers in party history, Bill Clinton, raised tens of millions of dollars for Democratic causes. On one swing through Skaneateles in the year 2000, he and Hillary raised $160,000 in 27 hours.
But the national party stranded its gubernatorial candidate in New York, H. Carl McCall, when his campaign needed money the most, and the state party did little to bankroll upstate candidates for any legislative office.
New Jersey's Senate race isn't the one that tipped the Senate toward the Republicans, but it was handled recklessly, as the honesty-challenged incumbent, Robert Torricelli, decided to run for re-election after having his hand slapped by peers for taking private gifts. When Torricelli finally realized his chances were nil, he bowed out, after the deadline. Democrats pleaded with the courts to let them appoint a replacement. Foolishly, a court did.
In Minnesota, the party inserted the respected Walter Mondale into the Senate race after a plane crash killed incumbent Paul Wellstone. The party then saddled him with a backlash by letting a memorial service for Wellstone bubble into an ill-timed political rally.
The GOP didn't take back the Senate as much as the Democrats dropped it like a wet glass.
In the interests of assuring New York and the nation still have at least a two-party system in 2004, we offer a clue: President Bush, adopting a new set of priorities after Sept. 11, 2001, will talk about nothing other than foreign threats in coming months. He knows the economy, a major concern for Americans, cost his father a second term, and won't confront that topic willingly.
So what's an opposing party to do?
Also interesting how the "objective" media is practically screaming for the Democrats to win next time.
President Bush, adopting a new set of priorities after Sept. 11, 2001, will talk about nothing other than foreign threats in coming months. He knows the economy, a major concern for Americans, cost his father a second term, and won't confront that topic willingly.
The opposite is true. Having lived through his father's mistake in ignoring domestic issues, look for Bush to come out of the gate Jan. 2003 with a fairly aggressive domestic agenda.
He won't repeat his father's error.
Bad idea. The smoke is bad for one, and they need to keep that playbook. LOL.
How can this author say that the dems didn't try to link the White house to Enron, etc? The entire leftist media, broadcast and print, tried to hit Bush with everything they could. Guess what? It's not that they didn't try, it's that the people have figured these guys (dems AND the media) out! They spin, they lie! Their tactics no longer work. Any dem plan to make a comeback must include acceptance of this fact. Oh and character counts once again!
The problem is that Americas are tired of sqwaking and threats and scare tactics. Therefore the traditional playbook didn't work.
Now Texas' two senators are pushed into the majority.
Now Texas' two senators are pushed into the majority.
Now Texas' two senators are pushed into the majority.
Now Texas' two senators are pushed into the majority.
I like repetition, too.
Only because jeffords jumped!
TC
Oooooh, "link Bush to Enron" and bitch about the bad economy. Oh yeah, that'll get votes for Democrats. < /SARCASM >Once again, it is what the Democrats AREN'T saying that is killing them, i.e. that they have no new ideas for improving America.
Clearly the paper that printed this article has no new ideas. Their advice amounts to "vote for us because we aren't Bush".
Well, that's not a "new idea" and it won't invigorate America.
Once again, the Democrats have no new ideas. It is the Republican Party that is pushing the new idea of vouchers. Republicans are pushing to privatize a tiny part of social security. Republicans are pushing for faith-based charities.
Even if the Democrats succeeded in turning the ENTIRE political debate in 2004 away from Iraq/Iran/North Korea/global terrorism, they would still lose on the domestic issues because they don't offer ideas that can compete with the concepts being touted by Republicans.
America has heard the ideas that Democrats support. We've heard them for DECADES. They are all old ideas, and most of them have been long-since disproven (anyone want to nationalize our health care system so that we can be like Cuba??).
The Democrats have no new ideas, and neither does their sycophantic press.
Repeat after me: Do ya want fries with that?
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