CA: Offer alternative - State Democrats fail to learn from losses

How appropriate that Democrats, when they were looking for a mascot, settled on the donkey. It can be an ornery and stubborn animal that sometimes just won't learn its lesson.

Sort of like California Democrats. They never learn from their mistakes. In fact, they just keep making them over and over again. At campaign time, they always seem to try to drive up their opponent's negatives and hope that will be enough to coast to victory.

And it looks like that's pretty much the Democrats' battle plan for retaking the governor's mansion in 2006.

Just listen to what came out of their annual convention a few weeks ago in Los Angeles. According to Bob Mulholland, campaign strategist for the state Democratic Party, the party faithful are convinced that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is beatable. "People are smelling blood," Mulholland told the Union-Tribune. Democratic political consultant Bill Carrick thinks the party has a reservoir of discontent it can tap into in the base where "the anti-Bush feelings are in the process of being transferred to anti-Schwarzenegger."

Good plan. California Democrats ought to ask President John Kerry how much political mileage he got from all that "anti-Bush" sentiment?

Here's how politics works: More times than not, people will go to the trouble of going to the polls to vote for someone, not just to vote against someone else. Consequently, if you want to be successful, you can't just go around saying what your opponent is doing wrong. You need to explain what you would do better. Negative campaigning may get its share of headlines. But it's positive messages that get votes.

Bill Clinton understood that. In the 1992 election, he knew that he couldn't simply run against the record of the first President Bush. Rather, Clinton had to provide what Bush later derided as "the vision thing." He had to lay out his idea of where he wanted to take the country, and then spell out how he wanted to get there. In 1980, Ronald Reagan did the same thing. He didn't just run against the record of President Jimmy Carter – although, heaven knows, he had plenty of ammunition. Instead, Reagan explained what he wanted to do – cut taxes, increase defense spending, trim social programs. That's what the American people voted for in two elections.

Back in California, the early crop of Democrats vying for their party's nomination and the chance to take on Gov. Schwarzenegger is a feckless bunch of government bureaucrats. Attorney General Bill Lockyer, Treasurer Phil Angelides, and Controller Steve Westly are all reading from the same script. Up to now, their main selling point doesn't seem more complicated than: "Elect me. I'm not Arnold."

They'll have to do much better. If next year's election becomes nothing more than a referendum on the job performance of the current governor, odds are that Schwarzenegger will be re-elected. After all, the person who controls the debate controls the election, and you don't beat something with nothing.

Well, I for one, will vote for Arnold over a Dem even though I am not all that fond of some of his policies. I hope he is learning from some of his mistakes and I am glad he came out against illegal immigrants. If they can find a stronger conservative, one who actually does something instead of just saying they will do it, then I would vote for that person in a heart beat.

If they can find a stronger conservative, one who actually does something instead of just saying they will do it, then I would vote for that person in a heart beat.

Sadly, that chance was passed on by way too mnay who claim conservative beliefs..

Now, we will all be paying for that omission for years and years.. or until the state tanks as a whole, which is now likely inevitable due to the socialists and globalists who are now the corssove backers of many of these same moderates who talk a a good talk, but can't seem to deliver.

Beware of hidden agendas and who is backing who.

If they can find a stronger conservative, one who actually does something instead of just saying they will do it, then I would vote for that person in a heart beat.
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The essence of where all this needs to go -- ONLY ACTIONS COUNT. Talk is cheap and worthless; corrupt, lying politicians have proven that to us, too many times. ONLY JUDGE BY ACTIONS. Only actions matter.

This Op/Ed states:

"Bill Clinton understood that. In the 1992 election, he knew that he couldn't simply run against the record of the first President Bush. Rather, Clinton had to provide what Bush later derided as "the vision thing." He had to lay out his idea of where he wanted to take the country, and then spell out how he wanted to get there."

Could someone please spell out to me what 'vision' the Clinton's provided in 1992 or 1996? I never saw it. Universal Healthcare? 100,000 new cops? 100,000 new teachers? 100,00 new interns? Please someone let me know what I'm missing here.

What I saw was Clinton garnering less than 50% of the votes in both elections. In 1992 he ran against Bush 42 on what? I think Perot helped defeat Bush 42 because the Conservative base was so peeved at Bush's weak backbone. Bush 42 was also out of touch with the economy. Ok, now I remember Clinton highlighted the weak economy against Bush 42, but under Clinton the economy never improved until 1994 when the Republicans took control of Congress.

In 1996, the Republicans swallowed a large stein of stupidity by nominating Bob Dole, a good man way past his prime for anything other than retirement. Clinton nearly lost to him. What did Clinton run on? He ran on the good economy that the Republican Congress created for him. He co-opted so many Republican platform issues that he announced 'the era of big government is over'.

I never saw a vision from Bill or Hillary Clinton that seemed realistic or practical. All I saw was alot of lies, a devaluation in the dignity and moral standing of Americans and a greed for their own self-interests. I remember the 'coffees' where drug dealing political donors would be paraded past for photos with the First Couple. It was an awful display of everything hateful about America and humankind, greed, avarice, deceit, cowardice and lust.

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