Precisely.
Think about it; Democrats want to raise our taxes. That's harsh, and that works against Joe Everyman who is working to get by.
Democrats don't want children to have to tell their parents that they are about to get an abortion.
Democrats don't want religion displayed in public (unless its the "religion" of secularism, athieism, or socialism).
Democrats want everyone to resolve their problems by suing each other...dragging all of us into courts and running up countless legal bills.
Democrats want gay marriage, though they keep denying it whenever they run for national office.
Democrats want to ban law-abiding citizens from owning guns, so that only criminals are packing heat.
Democrats want to limit home-building permits so that home prices keep escalating (i.e. supply and demand).
Democrats don't want new oil drilling because they want high oil prices so that they can limit how much we drive...ditto for Democrats not wanting new highways (they've banned new highway construction in California already).
New taxes, high oil, high home prices, guns only for criminals, abortions on demand for our children, gay marriage, sue everyone, crappy roads (due to not enough new highways being built), and no religious displays in public.
That's the Democratic Party.
Walk into *any* bar in America and start demanding all of the above and you'll get your face smashed and your butt tossed out.
So Democrats *don't* openly advocate all of the above. They take baby steps, nipping and tucking and hoping to get it all in over time...denying anything in the above list whenever the Public gets wind of the Dems' hidden desire for any particular aspect.
Democrats win elections, at least, outside our nearly gay, Greek city-states of the day, when they say conservative things during campaigns (e.g. former Senator Daschle), no matter how liberal or leftist they actually *vote*. Look at the new Senator from Colorado for example. He promised to vote against judicial filibusters during the 2004 election campaign (never for a moment meaning a word of it).
But when word finally gets through the Corrupt Old Media's filter...word that the local "conservative" Democratic Party politician is actually a flaming socialist (e.g. Daschle), these guys get voted right out of office.
And since the Corrupt Old Media isn't gaining new ground (but rather, is shrinking), I see this trend accelerating in our favor. Their ability to cover for their favorite leftists is declining.
Consider that the LA Times put 28 more reporters on the trail of so-called "Arnold groping" prospects than they did on Kofi Annon's war-inducing oil-for-food scandal, Michael Jackson's trial in Santa Barbara, the bogus "sexed up" charges against Blair, or French President Chirac's corruption.
Likewise, what a shame that for *decades* Dakota newspapers refused to print the liberal votes of Senator Daschle, instead only mentioning his conservative rhetoric.
But this sort of double-standard has an ever-declining power to influence national politics. It also points out that Democrats can't win in the Heartland with a level playing field. They have to have aid from a corrupt news media to even be competitive...because the Dems' ideas/policies aren't the least bit popular with most Americans.