Posted on 12/26/2006 2:14:23 AM PST by Aussie Dasher
The Democratic presidential lineup tilted more to the left when former Virginia governor Mark Warner and Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh dropped out of the race for the 2008 nomination, party strategists say.
Both men were prominent advocates for a centrist Democratic agenda on national security and domestic policies. Their withdrawal from a dozen declared and potential candidates left behind a field of almost all liberal contenders for an office Democrats have won in only five out of the last 14 presidential elections.
The result "could mean a more left-leaning field" of Democrats heading into the 2008 primary contests that will allow liberal candidates to use the rhetoric of moderation without embracing centrist policies themselves, said former Democratic congressman Tim Penny of Minnesota.
"If you don't have a genuine moderate in the race, it allows liberal candidates to put on the mask of moderation, because there's no certified moderate to compare their rhetoric to reality," said Mr. Penny, a party strategist and a senior fellow at the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute at the University of Minnesota.
Mr. Warner, a pro-business Democrat who was hawkish on defense issues, and Mr. Bayh, who served two terms as governor in a heavily Republican state and has chaired the centrist-leaning Democratic Leadership Council, found little support for their brand of politics in a party of liberal superstars such as Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, the early front-runner, and Barack Obama of Illinois, who is running just behind her in the polls.
(Excerpt) Read more at washtimes.com ...
No but maybe this will give some incentive to Bloomie to switch back to the Dem side and promote his moderately pro-fascist agenda.
If you don't have a spineless enabler in the race it allows the DBM to present their rhetoric as reality, Mr. Penny, you party propagandist.
"Democratic dropouts" don't want contents of their FBI files revealed
It will be amusing to watch the lefties twisting themselves into pretzels as the attempt to appear moderate.
If Senator Ben Nelson decided to enter the '08 Presidential race, then there would be a pro-life Democrat running as well as a true moderate Democrat running.
The Rats idea of "centrist" is to face to the left. I just hope there are some conservative Republican candidates.
certified moderate to compare their rhetoric to reality
Some pigs are more equal than others.
In a nation of concerned informed voters, this would tip the scale toward Pubs. That it may not shows how far we have fallen in just a few short years from 9/11 days of warrior instincts.
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