Posted on 12/03/2003 3:36:26 PM PST by Tumbleweed_Connection
Democrats hate George Bush. No, that’s not graffiti scribbled on a men’s room wall at the Democratic National Committee. That deeply felt anger is shaping the Democratic primary contest. But it is doing so in a way that threatens our party’s ability to appeal to swing voters next year. No one factor accounts for Democrats’ intense animosity. Indeed, almost any reason will do. Some are angry that he stole the election. Others are set off by the war. Still other Democrats find his support for special interests, or his environmental policy, or his tax cuts, or his halting locutions as reasons to detest Bush. The level of animosity Bush arouses in Democrats appears unprecedented. The data are not strictly comparable, but in 1998, 75 percent of Republicans said Bill Clinton made them angry. Bush’s father could arouse the ire of only 64 percent of Democrats. Today, Bush enrages nearly 90 percent of Democrats. This intense anger is reflected in the posture Democrats want to take vis-à-vis Republicans. While the vast majority of Republicans and independents want the two parties to work together to solve problems, Democrats do not. They are spoiling for a fight. Many Democrats feel betrayed by what they see as an accommodationist party. These Democrats do not want compromise, conciliation or cooperation. They want political war. As a result, the Democratic candidates for president have spent months beating Bush about the head and shoulders. At every debate and at every candidate appearance, the president takes a harsh and often personal, though well-deserved, thrashing. This situation presents a simple political problem, however: Democrats are alone in their views. Democrats constitute the minority of Americans who abhor the president; swing independents (and, of course, Republicans) do not. They want presidents and members of Congress who will reach across party lines. They disagree with many of Bush’s policies. They dislike his priorities. They do not approve of many of his actions. They are distraught because he favors special interests over the needs of ordinary citizens. But swing voters do not hate Bush. Many, somehow, actually like him. In response to a Los Angeles Times poll question, 68 percent of independents said they like Bush. A Zogby poll found only 31 percent of Democrats proud to have Bush as president, compared to 51 percent of independents. The Los Angeles Times found that 43 percent of independents thought Bush understood the problems of people like them, compared to just 19 percent of Democrats. In reality, the Democratic base is out of sync with swing voters. The Democrats’ visceral anger with Bush is but the prime example of this disconnect. The war in Iraq is another. By a 42-point margin, Democrats say removing Saddam was not worth the cost, according to a CBS poll. But independents say it was worth the cost, by a 13-point margin. Of course, the Republican base also is out of sync with swing voters on a host of issues — from choice to education to the minimum wage. Presidents, though, can hide the disjunction between the base and the swing. Presidents help create the agenda, dominate the channels of communication and enforce discipline. Our presidential candidates, by contrast, must compete with other Democrats for the party’s base. On policy issues, the problems largely can be evaded. Seemingly incongruous issue positions can be reconciled or emphasized differently. Witness former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean’s new emphasis on balanced budgets and his National Rifle Association support. But emotions are communicated much more readily and much more clearly than policy positions. Emotions create images from which it is hard to escape. If Democrats offer only anger, we will excite ourselves but swing voters won’t buy in.
Ewwwww, so that's what they've been doing.
Fortunately, the other guys operate from emotion instead of reason, so this sort of thoughtful -- if slanted -- analysis will be lost on most of them.
... and: Democrats are alone in their views. Democrats constitute the minority of Americans who abhor the president; swing independents (and, of course, Republicans) do not. [...] But swing voters do not hate Bush.
... and: The Los Angeles Times found that 43 percent of independents thought Bush understood the problems of people like them, compared to just 19 percent of Democrats.
... and: In reality, the Democratic base is out of sync with swing voters. The Democrats’ visceral anger with Bush is but the prime example of this disconnect. The war in Iraq is another. By a 42-point margin, Democrats say removing Saddam was not worth the cost, according to a CBS poll. But independents say it was worth the cost, by a 13-point margin.
Hey... 'Rats: still feeling good about that whole "Angry Dr. Dean" thing, are you...? :)
Many, somehow, actually like him
This author probably begrudgingly wrote to article to try to bring the whining nine dwarves back to reality.
Amazing alright.
They will not be able to reign in the 'angry mob' now. They are off and running.
Good that some Dems are smart enough to see what is happening; but most are not.
I hated their Macbeth-like ambitions, their contempt for average Americans and flaunting of the rule of law.
One of the most bile-inducing days of my life was when Bill, running out of Executive Privilege excuses to the SCOTUS to avoid testifying, claimed that as the CINC, he was on ACTIVE MILITARY DUTY! At that point, hate cannot describe my feelings for him.
Translation: The Donkeys don't have a clue about what the death cult of the moon god is up to.
"Um......uh.....seems like to me......I'll carry about 40 states next year & whoop the hell out of your sorry donkey tails...."
;-)
Ya don't say! But how could that even be possible? (/sarcasm)
Despite what others have commented above, I don't believe that this is a good analysis. Rather its a glimps into the fevered mind of a dementocrat who thinks HE is the rational one; As usual with this ilk, they think they are all right and the rest of the world is all wrong.
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